The Model Boatyard - Making Small Hooks

Making small hooks is an interesting little job in ship modeling and serves as a good learning tool for making other sorts of iron work.

Photo 1: These are the tools you'll need (from left to right): a pair of round nose pliers, a pair of flush cutters, and a pair of smooth-jaw, needle nose pliers. Also shown is the straight brass wire used to make the hook. You'll also want a small, flat file. Note: the squares on the graph paper are 1/5-inch wide (that is, 5 squares to the inch).

Photo 2: Begin by forming the eye using the round nose pliers.

Photo 3: Use the needle nose pliers to bend the shank of the hook backwards

Photo 4: Cut about 1/4 of the eye off the end using flush cutters

Photo 5: Close up the eye to make it smaller using needle nose pliers.

Photo 6: Form the hook using round nose pliers

Photo 7: Use the flush cutters, held at an angle, to cut off the end of the hook

Photo 8: Shown here is the hook after its been cut off. It will require a bit of final shaping. You may also want to file the end of the hook to make it a bit sharper

.Photo 9: The completed hook. Of course, the hook will need to be blackened.