How I Made These Designer-Worthy Coat Hooks on a Lathe

Mark the axis points

Starting with a 1-1/2-in. x 1-1/2-in. x 4-in. wood blank, find the center on each end with a center finder and create a divot in the center point with a nail set. The more accurate the location of the center point, the less vibration you will have when you start up the lathe to get the blank balanced.

On the end that will be mounted toward the headstock side of the lathe, mark a second axis point — 1/2-in. from center. The second axis will be used to offset the blank and create the hook end.

Drill mounting holes

At the end of the blank with just the single center mark, drill a 5/16-in. hole at this mark 1-1/2-in. deep. Drill these at the drill press to make sure the hole stays as plumb on the blank as possible.

Balance the blank

Mount the wood blank onto the lathe between centers. Place the drilled hole in the tail drive end and the other in the spur drive attached to the headstock. Be sure to seat the spur well.

Start the lathe at a lower speed to ensure everything is tightly secured and that the lathe doesn’t bounce excessively with an unbalanced wood blank. Slowly bring the lathe speed up to speed (1200-1300 rpms). Check and adjust tailstock pressure as needed to keep the blank secure without excessive force. The most important part of safe woodturning is to ensure your wood blank is always tightly secured, well-balanced and centered.

Use a roughing gouge to work from one end of the blank to the other, slowly removing the corners of the blank until there are no longer any flat surfaces and the wood blank has been shaped into a round cylinder. The wood blank will run smoothly once it is balanced.

Turn a cylinder

Set an outside caliper to 1-1/2-in. and turn the entire cylinder to this thickness using a spindle gouge. Once you have the desired thickness of your cylinder, start sanding it with 150-grit sandpaper. Work through grits until you reach 400-grit. Sand the whole piece to remove any tool marks. Never skip a grit.

Once the piece has been turned and sanded well, mark three lines with a pencil, 1/2-in. apart, measured from the headstock side of the blank:

• The first line (3-1/2-in. from the tail drive end) and the remaining half inch of the 4-in. blank is to be left untouched because of the spurs and center point of the spur drive that are embedded in this part of the blank.
• The second line (3-in. from the tail drive) is where you will part off the piece when done.
• The third line (2-1/2-in. from the tail drive) will define the width of the “hook” at the end. The goal is to maintain the cylinder’s diameter at this portion of the hook (between the second and third line) and never reshape or change the dimension within this 1/2-in. section.

Change axis’s and keep turning

Change the axis of the mounted piece on the headstock to the second axis point marked 1/2-in. from center in step one.

With the blank set and secured into the second axis, use a spindle gouge to shape the end of the cylindrical piece to create a hook to the desired profile up to the third line. Use an outside caliper set to one inch and turn the neck of the hook to this thickness. The layout of these measurements is important, so all your hooks look the same. Dedicating one caliper to each measurement will make this process easy to repeat and ensure all measurements remain the same through all your hooks.

Sand the newly turned body of the hook while it is off-center in the second axis point to the same 400-grit as the rest. Always sand from the underside of the workpiece. That way, your arm isn’t hanging out over the top of the lathe as it spins. Keep your fingers out of the way so the hook shape cannot catch them. Never wrap the sandpaper around your fingers. You want to be able to quickly release the sandpaper if it gets hung up on your piece.

Part the hook off

Once the hook has been sanded, use the spindle gouge to remove material between the first and second lines. Use a parting tool to cut off the last 1/4-in. on the second line, leaving a flat end.

Clean up the parting nub

After parting off the hook, you will find a small nub where you have separated the hook from the rest of the blank. This area will need to be sanded and oiled to blend in with the rest of the hook. Take your time, run through all the grits with sandpaper and apply a coat of a wipe-on finish. Allow the finish to fully cure before handling or hanging the hook.

Hanging the hooks

Screw a 1/4-in. threaded insert into the hole you drilled in step two. Then hang the hooks in your desired location. If there is a wall stud at this location, use a 1/4-in. hanger bolt screwed directly into the stud. If no stud is present at your location, use a 1/4-in. snap toggle drywall anchor with some short lengths of threaded rod to screw the hook into place.

FAQ

How high off the ground should a lathe be?

When standing next to the lathe, the centers of the tail and head drives should align with the height of the woodturner’s elbow. This will make reaching easier and allow for better tool control.

Does a lathe need to be level?

A lathe should be solidly level to the ground it stands on. If one leg or side of the lathe is off-kilter to the other, the lathe can rock violently with the off-center of a piece of wood. This is critical for safe and efficient turning.

How much weight can these coat hooks support when installed?

If installed in drywall using a snap-toggle style drywall anchor, the hook’s three-inch length acts as a lever arm. This puts more stress on the anchor than a flush-mounted item would. We recommend keeping loads under 20 lbs per hook in this case. If screwed directly into a wall stud, the hook can typically support more — up to about 25–30 lbs — but actual capacity depends on factors like embedment depth and stud condition.

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