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snake dilemma


ausfire

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Not a big problem.

A visitor to my demo bought a snake and a couple of leaf hooks and she asked if I could make a snake into a hat hook. I said that would be OK and I would make one. Thinking it would be straightforward,  I neglected to ask her what sort of design she had in mind.

Now, if you were asked to make a snake hook to attach to a wall, would you make the head end or the tail end hold the hat?? I opted for the latter, making the snake crawl up the wall. I would have liked it to be coming down the wall with the head raised into the hook, but that would hide the head when the hook is used, losing the snake effect.

 

Anyway, I forged this one from some 3/8 all-thread (de-galled) and I'll see whether she wants it this way or not. The last pics show another snake I made and I was going to turn its head upwards for the hook but it didn't seem right.

Any other takes on a 'snake hat hook' ?

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19 hours ago, John in Oly, WA said:

maybe have the snake going horizontally across the wall with one of the middle "S's" in the body bent up into the hook, then you could see the head and the tail while it was in use?

Now there's an idea! Have the snake horizontal - now that's real lateral thinking. Thanks John.

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That's just what I was thinking John beat me to the suggestion good for you. Long and sinuous leaves lots of possible hanging . . . devices(?) Hats want a smooth curved surface that supports from the inside of the band so it doesn't distort. A sinuous loop is perfect, the tail can come out in a more common coat hook shape. Wickedly curved fangs would make nice key hooks. OH I almost forgot umbrellas! Sinuous loops away from the wall are perfect for hanging anything with a hook or T handle.

I wouldn't think of using all thread for snakes and such but you convinced me the first time you posted a pic of one of your snakes. For the North American version you'd use a copper brush on the head rather than brass. 

I'm loving the idea of the horizontal serpent . . . Hangers!

Frosty The Lucky.

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Thanks Arkie.

Frosty mentions a copper brush. I have often thought copper would make a good burnishing effect, but have never seen a copper brush. It's hard enough to find the fine bristle brass brushes. The ones I like are snow board brushes and I used to get them in Australia, but it seems they are using nylon ones these days. The last brass brushes I bought came form America. So what are copper brushes used for and are they available anywhere??

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5 hours ago, ThomasPowers said:

I noticed that when I searched on "copper brush"  most of the hits were actually brass brushes; but the people selling them had added copper brush in the descriptions---I am NOT amused!

I agree. And some hardware stores will try to sell you 'brass' brushes which are really brass coated steel. A magnet reveals the deception.

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1 hour ago, ausfire said:

I agree. And some hardware stores will try to sell you 'brass' brushes which are really brass coated steel. A magnet reveals the deception.

Like the harbor freight ones...yeah....

                                                                                                                              Littleblacksmith

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I have bought actual copper (bronze) bristled brushes.  It wasn't easy!  I found them online though.  They do not work nearly as easily as brass brushes!  The temp at which the color transfer occurs is cooler and much narrower with the bronze brushes!  I usually have to make several repetitions to get a good effect and even then the copper heat colors to a much darker tint than the brass!  I still like the effects though and will often spend the extra time and effort to get it!  A much easier method, that offers much more variety, is to use metallic acrylic artists paints.  These can be thinned and dry brushed or wiped on and then be buffed back to whatever opacity is desired.  The better brands will hold their colors quite durably and can be mixed with (or over tinted with) burnt umber to get antiqued effects that are startlingly realistic... undetectably so!

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On ‎7‎/‎1‎/‎2017 at 6:41 AM, ausfire said:

I have often thought copper would make a good burnishing effect, but have never seen a copper brush

Ausfire, perhaps a guy could make a copper brush using segments of stranded electrical wire

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I don't know when I bought my last copper brush, I think it was at a gun shop. Un twisted copper wire works for brush on color. It might more trouble than it's worth for folk that don't have Copper Heads to watch out for.

Brass brushes are still available here up to BBQ grill size brushes, some grills don't suffer steel brushing very well. Real hardware, welding supply and gun shops have real brass brushes, I'll have to stop by the local gun shop and see if they still have copper brushes.

Frosty The Lucky.

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On ‎30‎/‎06‎/‎2017 at 3:02 AM, John in Oly, WA said:

maybe have the snake going horizontally across the wall with one of the middle "S's" in the body bent up into the hook, then you could see the head and the tail while it was in use?

OK, John, I have taken you up on that suggestion. This snake is from a 700mm length of 10mm all-thread (rusted) and the bend extends outwards to accommodate the hat. I squared off a couple of lag screws for mounting to the wall. The loop in the body curves upwards more than is apparent in the photo.  I tested it and the hat sits securely enough with the snake's head and tail both visible. Problem solved.

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None of my walls have wooden beams behind the sheetrock/wallboard  that close together.  

When I make a wall mount item for folks I go in and measure where the 2x4's are in their walls to be sure it can be mounted correctly! (We have a lot of "vernacular" buildings out here that H.P.Lovecraft would have loved with their weird non-euclidian geometry and a blatant disregard for framing building codes...)

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32 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said:

None of my walls have wooden beams behind the sheetrock/wallboard  that close together.  

When I make a wall mount item for folks I go in and measure where the 2x4's are in their walls to be sure it can be mounted correctly! (We have a lot of "vernacular" buildings out here that H.P.Lovecraft would have loved with their weird non-euclidian geometry and a blatant disregard for framing building codes...)

"Vernacular building." Great new term for my vocabulary! Thank you Thomas. Vernacular buildings are REALLY common around here, we're outside the building code zone, national and state are it and only then if you want to get financing. :rolleyes:

Do any of the vernacular homes in your neck of the desert have a mobile home hidden in them somewhere? Around here common seed is an old mobile or motor home, camper, Rv, etc. That folk start leaning and attaching lumber to until something house-like grows under the blue tarps. 

Of course the typical vernacular home owner isn't too concerned with hanging their hat so putting hangers on a wall isn't a problem. -_-

Frosty The Lucky.

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Most of the old ones are adobe with the bricks made in the back yard. So often small rooms added higgledy piggledy; sometimes no foundations, no hallways, (Had a realtor try to sell me a house where our teenage daughters bedroom would have to be accessed by walking through the master bedroom...) As I mentioned it's possible to get houses with no right angles in them---even the ceilings and the floors!

We don't get the earthships down here it's too hot for them. 

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The best sheetrock anchors I have used are the ones where you drill a hole, insert the anchor, hold it against the wall, and pull the two tabs which mushroom the anchor behind the wall. Snap off the tabs in front and the anchor is permanently held in the wall. Kind of like a pop rivet for sheetrock. These don't fall out like a molybolt does when the bolt is removed.  

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On 7/2/2017 at 4:42 PM, ThomasPowers said:

olfart: is that NE corner as in Texarkana or as it Perryton?  One is more east and less north and the other is more north and less east...the rasptlesnakes I see a lot of down here along the US-Mexico border.

 

Mine is the Texarkana corner.  We have a few rasptlesnakes, but mostly copperheads and water moccasins.  My wife killed 17 copperheads near the house the first summer we lived here.  Our herd of 6.5 cats has reduced the snake population to a more reasonable level now.

Aus's snake looks sorta like a brasshead.

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