Spanner Coat Hook

I wanted to make a coat hook to hold Motorcycle helmets and jackets.
This was to be a gift for a friend's Man Cave.
Bending the spanners proved to be a challenge as no one seemed to know how to go about it.

You will need:

1.Two large spanners One inch or larger. Buy the kind that has an open end on one side and a ring on the other.
Pawn shops are a good source for cheap spanners. These are both a top brand. In our country they are doubly cheap as we work in metric sizes.

2. Four T nuts and Cap Screws for attaching the spanners to the wood

3. An old piece of wood. Get a nice thick piece. I cut off a length from a scaffolding plank. Make it long enough to accomodate the width of the hats/helmets

4. Drill Press and metal drills. The yellow coloured Tungsten bits works best

5. Bench vise and a vice grip or shifting spanner to hold onto heated spanner and bend

6. Two gas blow torches. One works but take ages to heat the metal. With two it is a matter of minutes.

7. Some building clay bricks to create a "forge"

8. Safety equipment

Look at the picture and familiarize yourself with the bends and the direction they will take.

I wanted the offset of the ring to assist in "hooking" the helmet in place. This can be quite tricky to get right if you start out wrong.

First place and drill the holes for attaching to wood. This can be done afterwards. It is difficult to get the bended spanner into the drill press and hold it still afterwards.

I used 6mm Cap Screws with T nuts at the back. The scews turned out to be too short so I had to countersink the nuts.

Set up the spanner for bending.

I placed the spanner in the bench vise with two bricks behind to form a "Forge"

Then I placed the blow torches on a chair so that they focused their flames on the spot that needed bending.

With two torches it took about 3 minutes to achieve bending heat.

Once the spanner starts to glow red it is about ready.

Grasp the top of the spanner with a vise grip, shifting spanner or some other tool. It's hot at the top too!

Now start to apply even pressure and slowly work the metal into the bend.

The metal has spring to it and will always jump back a little. You will need to bend it past the point where you want it.

Now comes the difficult part. The second bend

Turn the spanner around and heat for the second bend.

Here you can see the second blowtorch in action.

I drilled the corresponding holes in the wood and inserted the nuts and bolts.

Drill more holes to attach coat hook to wall. Rawl bolts or similar heavy duty attachment recommended. Helmets, jackets and coat hook can get quite heavy.

You're done! Sit back, open a beer and prepare to be admired.