Already made it to my third post in Learning to Blacksmith. Good things come in threes! In #2 I forged a pair of bolt tongs, in this post I’ll go over using them for the first time making a special hook for my desk at work.
Blacksmithing with a purpose
I’ve been itching to get out into the shop and try out my new bolt tongs and today at work I found a reason.
Like many others out there I work in a huge space at a small desk surrounded by a square cubicle. It’s the kind of space where you can clearly hear a conversation on the other side of the building.
Working in a noise-farm isn’t conducive to my productivity so I commonly wear a pair of headphones streaming music while I work. These are on-the-ear headphones, not the little earbuds.
When not in use, I hang them on a push pin that is stuck into the side of the cubicle wall. The pin is constantly sliding out and is not a great solution.
Today it hit me. Why not forge a hook that I can hang on top of the cubicle wall and in turn be able to hang my headphones on the hook.
Forging an “Over the Door” style hook
This hook only took one session of blacksmithing and the entire process went very well. In all, I think it took about 45 minutes.
Material
Half of a leaf spring U bolt.
Forging the hook
The process was straight forward and not complicated. As per usual, I just winged it.
This was a good project for my skill level and I was able to practice fundamental techniques. Since the bolt was U-shaped and round, I got it straightened out on the anvil and cut in half.
Next, I squared the bolt to approximately 5/16 of an inch which drew it out ever so slightly.
After squaring the stock, I forged the hook portion in two heats. The correct terminology escapes me, but in the first heat I flattened and flared the one end then rolled it ever so slightly. On the second heat, I first cooled the flare then forged the hook without damaging the little roll-effect I had already forged.
The next step was to draw out and flatten the other end. This was an especially important exercise for me to get right because while I wanted the stock flat I didn’t want the width to exceed that of the body of the hook.
The top of my cubicle wall is about an inch wide, so after I drew out and flattened the end of the hook, I made two 90 degree bends to make another albeit square hook to hang on the wall.
Lastly, I made a decorative 360 degree twist in the center of the hook and cleaned it up with a wire brush. While still hot, I sealed it with some paste wax.
Lessons Learned
Going into this project, I had a clear idea of what I wanted to create. I think that clarity lent to forging the hook quickly and easily. In fact, this is probably the first time that I haven’t walked away from the forge tired and sore.
My grip strength is getting better, but my thumb is still developing a hot spot. I experimented hammering with and without gloves and in the end, found taping my thumb with some athletic tape did the trick. I might try some moleskin next time.
Final Thoughts
The best thing about blacksmithing is that you can solve problems. It’s no wonder that to this day there are so many anvils scattered around the United States. When a farmer or rancher needed a tool or a part to fix equipment (or pretty much anything made from metal) they made it by hand. They certainly couldn’t drive down to Ace Hardware or get on their cell phones to buy it on Amazon.
