Porch broom-and-hat rail with hand-forged hooks
This is a project for the porch corner where everything ends up: the hat that should be inside, the broom that should be inside, the dog leash, the second hat that belongs to the partner and which they cannot find. A piece of oak, a few hand-forged iron hooks, and the corner gets its act together. Hand-forged hooks are not optional - the stamped ones from the box store sag in two seasons. Buy them from a blacksmith. The whole project hinges on the hooks looking like they have been there longer than the porch.
Materials
- Oak board, 1x6, three feet long
- Five hand-forged iron hooks, three to four inch
- Twenty #8 wood screws, 1 inch, with finish washers
- Two keyhole hangers
- Boiled linseed oil
- Steel wool, fine
Tools
- Mitersaw or handsaw
- Drill with countersink
- Random-orbit sander
- Stud finder
- Level
- Pencil
Build it
Cut and finish the oak
Cut the oak to 36 inches. Sand to 180. Wipe with a damp rag, let dry, hit it again at 180. Apply two coats of boiled linseed oil with a rag, fifteen minutes between coats. Knock back any sticky spots with steel wool the next morning.
Lay out hook positions
Mark five hook positions, six inches apart, centered along the length. The first hook sits six inches from the left end, the last six inches from the right. If your hooks have asymmetric mounting holes, lay them out left to right consistently so the rail looks deliberate, not assembled.
Pre-drill and mount the hooks
Pre-drill each hook's screw locations into the oak. Oak will split on you if you skip this step. Drive the screws through finish washers - the washers are the difference between a rail that looks made and one that looks installed.
Add wall hangers
Mount two keyhole hangers on the back of the rail, four inches from each end, recessed slightly with a chisel so they sit flush.
Mount the rail
Find studs in the porch wall - if you don't have studs in the right spot, use heavy-duty drywall anchors rated for thirty pounds. Hold the rail level, mark the keyhole screw locations, drive the screws leaving them out a quarter inch. Hang the rail. Step back. Move the broom there now, before you forget.
Tested on my own porch.
Things that go with this build
A short rail of cabin-adjacent finds. Not the tool list - this is what to look at after you've finished and you're sitting on the porch.
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