Cant Hook

**Bushmiller** · 4th September 2013, 09:17 PM

I have a few cant hooks, but none of them were up here in QLD. I had to move a pile of old power poles and I thought I would probably do my top trying to roll them with a crowbar. I thought you might like to see my little effort. Of course as usual, there is no obligation to read so feel free to exit right now.

If you're still reading I guess there is nothing much on TV or you are really, really bored with the election campaign and even this thread is an improvement over the Tony and Kev show.

Here goes. I did in fact have a couple of parts from old cant hooks so I suppose I cheated a little. I had a "protection plate" from the original cant hook that I have taken the design from for all subsequent hooks. As you can see, the four holding bolts were a little the worse for wear. Actually they wore better than the timber, because there was a handle in there once

.

cant hook 2 002.jpg cant hook 2 004.jpg

I cut off the bolts and salvaged the plates. The hook came from something that was intended to be used with a crow bar. I have tried using it as intended but it drove me to distraction as it slips around all over the place.

cant hook 007.jpg cant hook 008.jpg

So I cut the ring off. Unfortunately the hole was 25mm and I used an old 22mm bolt, which is much larger than required. As you can see later, 12mm is ample. A couple of thick bushes are required either side of the hook so the bolt head is clear of the plate. Trouble is that big bolts need thick bushes. I had a small piece of thick steam pipe, but it took it's toll as it is not mild steel. I can't remember if I tripped the circuit breaker seven or eight times during the cutting.

cant hook 009.jpg

When fitted, it looks like this:

Cant hook 3 004.jpg

In fact this shows both bolts. Normally if starting from scratch just the smaller bolt is sufficient and it is placed in which ever hole is suitable for the size log. I was not going to cut 22mm holes! The additional holes were 13mm.
The hook did not have the best curvature. It is important that the point can bite into the timber. This is the way I did that:

Attachment 283902 Attachment 283903 Attachment 283904 Attachment 283905 Attachment 283906 Attachment 283907

Yes I know they are not quite in line, but the logs don't know that

.

I bent the hook out a little to grind the weld profile and then pulled it back in with a clamp. I used a 2.5mm rod for the root run and then a 3.2mm to fill the "vee." I ground it back flat because it has to pass through the slot in the plate.

Cant hook 3 005.jpg Cant hook 3 010.jpg Cant hook 3 007.jpg Cant hook 3 006.jpg Cant hook 3 012.jpg

The timber handle was a piece of spotted gum that I milled recently and had quite a bit of sapwood in it. Spotty is good in that way as the sap makes good strong handles. This particular piece was a bit thinner than I would have liked. 50mm thick would have been good but this was about 40mm. Finished it was less than 35mm. I made it a little wider to compensate and extended that width further up the handle, but I'm fooling myself thinking it will be as strong.

Cant hook 2 011.jpg

Now that brings me to a little issue I had. I decided that I would like to have some kind of point on the bottom of the handle. The advantage of this is that it can be used as a crowbar too. If I had not gone down this track the cant hook would have been simple and finished right here and you could have returned to the TV thinking "glad that wasn't any longer."

But there is more to come. I will be back after tea

.

Regards
Paul

**Bushmiller** · 4th September 2013, 09:19 PM

Ooops! The pix aren't displayed properly. Can a moderator tell me what I've done wrong please or help?

Regards
Paul

**Bushmiller** · 4th September 2013, 09:57 PM

This is what we are looking at eventually.

Cant hook 3 015.jpg

Hopefully the pix issue can be sorted.

Regards
Paul

**DJ’s Timber** · 4th September 2013, 10:08 PM

Unfortunately you'll need to re upload all the images and insert them again Paul.

**chambezio** · 4th September 2013, 11:43 PM

Thanks for the story and pic Paul. I think I will make one as well.
With the pics, I found that when you select from your files the hit the upload button it takes a while to get them into your post. I found that out when I was doing the couple of stories over the last couple of days. When I previewed my thread I realised it hadn't grabbed the pics, so I uploaded them again and waited till the were in place(Took a few minutes for the 3 or 4 pics I used
Is the point on the handle preferable over a small foot/toe? I have never used one so I really don't know.

Thankfully the Tony and Kev Circus Show will be all over in a couple of days. What will we do for boring entertainment then?

**Bushmiller** · 5th September 2013, 12:49 AM

I've kind of sorted the pix in the original post. Just ignore the bit that says "attachment." I can't work out how to delete that.

On with the plot:

The pointy bit on the end of the stick! I used a bit of offcut 4 x 2 RHS together with a piece of steel I found in the skip at work. It is a high carbon steel of some description. It may be a wear plate. The time consuming bit was to make a transition piece to the wedge from the RHS.

This was the process:

cant hook 004.jpg cant hook 005.jpg

The blade needs to be clamped and inserted:

cant hook 014.jpg cant hook 006.jpg cant hook 012.jpg cant hook 013.jpg

The RHS is welded up first. This clamps the blade and puts significant heat into the steel to remove moisture in preparation for the low hydrogen rods, which themselves have been heated in the oven (yes, SWMBO's oven and yes I did get the third degree). This process makes the rods easier to use and importantly removes moisture from the steel.

Cant hook 2 001.jpg

Arguably this joint will not be under huge stress, but it does save the weld breaking down the track. The next step was to do a bit of tidying up:

Cant hook 2 006.jpg Cant hook 2 007.jpg

Life was about to get difficult because the internal size of the RHS was larger than the timber. I cut and glued four sides onto the handle and then fitted the tip with two bolts.

Trouble was I had not allowed for the extra length the tip would provide and it got in the way of rolling. So I removed it, cut off about 100mm of the handle, glued four more packing pieces and re-attached the tip. So now it looks like this:

Cant hook 3 014.jpg Cant hook 3 013.jpg Cant hook 3 016.jpg Cant hook 3 015.jpg

As you can see, it was finished in the dark so I haven't tried it out yet, but I think it will be good.

If I was starting from scratch again I would use 75 x 50 RHS and timber to suit. That would save a huge amount of work. The hook itself may need a little more curvature. I would achieve that the same way as I did the first cut, but a little closer towards the bolt holes.

For the rolling of logs the point is not needed at all, but if you want to lever a log, something to bite into the ground is essential.

Regards
Paul

**Bushmiller** · 5th September 2013, 12:53 AM

Originally Posted by chambezio

Is the point on the handle preferable over a small foot/toe? I have never used one so I really don't know.

Rod

I think the point or blade in this case is the way to go.

Regards
Paul

**artme** · 5th September 2013, 08:01 AM

Good one Paul!!!

Not one either on my to do or to use list. I have developed an inexplicable aversion to such work.

**Bushmiller** · 5th September 2013, 08:35 AM

Originally Posted by artme

Good one Paul!!!

Not one either on my to do or to use list. I have developed an inexplicable aversion to such work.

Arthur

That's quite OK. A cant hook is not for everybody

.

Regards
Paul

**BobL** · 5th September 2013, 11:06 AM

Originally Posted by Bushmiller

Rod

I think the point or blade in this case is the way to go.

Regards
Paul

A flat probably work better. I have oval ends on mine with the wider part of the oval aligned with your flat.

To stop the end of mine sliding around I added teeth.
I like the way you can adjust the length of the hook on yours.

**dai sensei** · 5th September 2013, 01:29 PM

Hope yours wrks well. I ended up just buying one of Weisy's big steel beasts

. Single point contact and multiple position hook (a number of bolt holes) on a dirty big steel pole. Weighs a ton, but works really well.

I'd take a photo, but left it at the farm.

**Bushmiller** · 5th September 2013, 02:05 PM

Originally Posted by BobL

A flat probably work better. I have oval ends on mine with the wider part of the oval aligned with your flat.

To stop the end of mine sliding around I added teeth.
I like the way you can adjust the length of the hook on yours.

Bob

I like the teeth on yours

.

Regards
Paul

**Bushmiller** · 5th September 2013, 08:44 PM

Originally Posted by BobL

Bob's cant hook demonstrates the point (sorry) I was making about the hook's ability to grip or bite into a log. There is nothing worse than heaving hard on a log and have the cant hook slip. At best you feel foolish and at worst you hurt yourself. Somewhere in between finds you flat on your back!

With the combination of hook point and teeth it is hard to imagine it slipping ever.

I said at the start all my cant hooks were elsewhere. Not strictly true as I had two hooks are used with a crowbar. The first I used for the rebuild and today I found this one which is smaller but demonstrates a better point angle.

Cant hook 4 002.jpg Cant hook 4 001.jpg

Regards
Paul

**Bushmiller** · 6th September 2013, 10:21 AM

BobL has shamed me as the tools and devices he makes are always painted ups so prettily. I rather like blue (didn't have any red). Actually blue is what I got and all tools are blue until the tin is used up!

cant hook 6 003.jpg cant hook 6 001.jpg cant hook 6 002.jpg

The Spotted Gum has had a couple of coats of Organoil Garden Furniture Oil on it and rubbed in with a scourer.
cant hook 5 002.jpg

Just some dimensions for those of you who are interested (and for those of you who aren't if you were too slow clicking off):

Overall Height	2100mm
Max timber width	82mm
Min Timber width	58mm
Weight	14Kg

The length is more than required, but it is difficult to make a short cant hook longer so I prefer to err in the long direction. Besides which some of you might be really tall. Much of the weight comes from the metal parts. The RHS had a wall thickness of 4mm (2.5mm would be ample).

The hook is 1/2", but I wouldn't go much less than that. The protector plate is about 2mm thick.

If I was starting from scratch I would use 75mm x 50mm x 2.5mm RHS and make the timber shaft to suit that, which would end up being about 70mm x 45mm at the widest and 45mm square for the upper part of the handle.

Regards
Paul

PS Thanks to DJ for pointing me in the right direction for the table of dimensions

.

**BobL** · 6th September 2013, 12:07 PM

Originally Posted by Bushmiller

BobL has shamed me as the tools and devices he makes are always painted ups so prettily. I rather like blue (didn't have any red). Actually blue is what I got and all tools are blue until the tin is used up!

You should see them now - chipped and battered - I guess that's a sign that they have been used.

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