Frankentools to the Rescue

For specialty tasks, the hardware store has the parts, but YOU have to make the tools

Today’s post begins with a little video that shows me twisting a red-hot metal rod in a vise.

To twist the metal, I used a tool that I have never seen in a hardware store. That’s because I think it was MacGyvered for this specific task. It’s a standard crescent wrench with a piece of metal welded to it.

Frankentool 1: This crescent wrench with a rod welded to it enabled me to twist hot metal in a vise with two hands.

That helped me make a decorative shaft on my hand-forged hook.

The end result was a beautiful wall hook, probably the best thing I made at my weeklong stint at the John C. Campbell Folk School, which hands down is my happiest of happy places.

In addition to blacksmithing, I also learned weaving on a loom that was operated with foot pedals. By manipulating the pedals, I created a placemat with a distinctive pattern. My chosen pedal pattern was easy to remember: 1-2-3-4-1-2-3-4-1-2…

Key to a tight weave is keeping the threading on the loom taut. Cue the next Frankentool. On the back of each loom, the instructor had us hang two weights that consisted of large flat washers threaded onto metal shower curtain rings. Like this:

Frankentool 2: Flat washers threaded onto metal shower curtain rings are hung on the back of the loom to create tension in the thread.

A loom crisis looms, however. Metal shower curtain rings are increasingly difficult to find because they’re being replaced with plastic ones, the instructor said. Plastic rings don’t hold up very well, and their design is less compatible with the loom. She admitted she now hoards metal shower curtain rings. Well, there are worse problems.

But that’s the awesome thing about a hardware store. It may not have the exact tool that you need, but it likely has the parts to make the tool you need.

I am not including any photos of myself in the wood-carving studio, where I was tasked with making a spoon. But I will share this little gem:

I gave new meaning to the words ‘hand carved.’

That’s the floor of the wood-carving studio. And those little drops? That’s my blood. Believe me, carving knives look harmless, but those little mofos are sharp.

And this is just a portion of the floor dotted with blood. I covered a lot more square footage in my search for a paper towel to staunch the flow. After all of that, my hand-carved spoon turned out terrible. I mean, truly terrible. When somebody asked me, “Where do you plan to display your wooden spoon?” My reply was, “In the back of a very dark drawer.”