'Forged' (Ahem) Hardware

If you like to see money and good effort get pooped down a rathole, you have found the right blog. There are many weird and false starts with a book. Here is today’s.

I’m still trying to work out what the word “peasant” means in terms of this book. Of course, it means that most of us toil to help the ultra-rich (I did my share from 1990 to 2011). But what does the word mean in terms of the furniture, hardware, techniques and the overall style of the pieces in the book?

Today I worked on the “hardware” portion of this question.

I needed a way to attach a tabletop to some legs and battens below. My first thought was to use big clenched nails. That seemed very peasant-y. So, I bought some 6" boat nails from Tremont (shown above). The price? Not terrible – about $30 (with shipping) to do the job.

When the nails showed up, I was impressed by the quality. But my mind started reeling when it came to the installation. Hmmm. Drill the right stepped pilot hole through 4-1/2" of sugar pine in order to fasten a tabletop to some heavy battens. Then clench 1-1/2" of the tip of the nail back down into the batten. That’s a big job.

I made some test joints. Things did not look promising. Clenching these nails took a lot of skill and a sledge. The nails were more than 1/4" x 1/4" square at the tip and bending them was no small feat.

After destroying a few nails and test boards, I shifted gears.

Why not attach the tabletop to the battens with long hex bolts, nuts and washers (above)? That would also make the table portable for the Nomadic Peasant. And the hardware was cheap – about $10 from our neighborhood store.

The problem was that the zinc coating on the hardware looked like complete ass.

Time for a Peasant Makeover.

At first, I considered soaking the hardware in citric acid or vinegar to remove the zinc coating and expose the raw steel. (Never burn off a zinc coating with a torch – if you like your lungs.)

But the hex heads would still look too modern and out of line with the table, which was built and engraved entirely using hand tools.

I took the hex bolts back to the grinder. I shaped their heads and removed the numbers debossed on them. I left enough of the hex on the head so a ratchet set could still grab the head. Then I darkened the bolts and washers with two coats of liquid gun blue. When the solution dried, I buffed the result with a 3M grey pad.

Bingo. These look somewhat handmade. Not forged but “forged.” Or a forged forgery. Anyway, they look good enough. They are inexpensive. And widely available anywhere. What more could a peasant want?