DIY Horseshoe Coat/Hat Rack

by Pinspired to DIY

3 Materials

So, hubby has had some horseshoes and railroad spikes sitting around in the shop for quite some time now (as is the case with MANY of the parts and pieces in the shop! ). But I'm sure we will eventually find some use for a lot of it... Or at least that is what I keep telling myself each time I come to stare at the masses of pieces and parts in our garage AND in the shop! But I force my OCD-tendencies aside and try to focus on my projects! Well, this time we actually did find a use for some of those pieces and parts - the horseshoes and railroad spikes!

diy horseshoe coat hat rack, crafts, how to, pallet, repurposing upcycling, tools, woodworking projects

We made these coat racks as gifts and we made two of them, each a different style. Here is a brief overview of how we made them, for the full tutorial, please visit my blog at the link at the bottom of the post.

Materials:

1 - 1x6 board @ 6 ft OR 1 - 1x12" board @ 6 ft

3 Horseshoes

3 railroad spikes

3/4" screws with a wide head

Mig welder

Chop saw

Kreg Jig (if using 1x6 boards)

Drill press

Spray paint

wood stain

First, cut board(s) to length. I was using boards we had on hand and we only had 1x6 boards, so I cut two 1x6 boards to length (if using a 1x12 board, you can cut one board to length). If using 1x6 boards, you'll need to use a Kreg Jig to drill three pocket holes into the long side of one of the boards. Then, using wood glue and pocket hole screws, attach the two boards together.

Next, I sanded the boards until all sides were nice and smooth. Since we were making two coat/hat racks, I wanted a cleaner style look to the one and a more rustic look for the other. For the cleaner style, I stained the board with Minwax Dark Walnut stain.

For the rustic style, Hubby first took a large chain to the board to give it that old, rustic, dented look.

We then used Minwax Gray stain on the board and then added some streaks of Ash stain to give it a few darker streaks.

While the boards dried, Hubs began preparing the horseshoes and railroad ties.

First, hubs cut the railroad spikes in half (he discarded the pointed end and kept the half with the wide end).

Then, he welded the railroad spikes onto the bottom curved section of the horseshoe:

Once a railroad spike was welded to each horseshoe, hubs drilled two holes in each horseshoe so we could fit a screw through it to attach them to the wood board.

I then spray painted the horseshoe/railroad spikes. We painted one set with a Brushed Nickel color and the other set glossy black.

Once the paint was dry, we attached the horseshoes to the boards, spacing them evenly apart.

Once we had them attached, I realized the horseshoe perfectly resembled the symbol for the Indianapolis Colts football team (the person the gift was for was born in Indiana). So, to make the coat/hat rack a little extra special, I decided to add "Indianapolis Colts" onto his hat/coat rack.

I traced the name of the team onto the board and then painted in the lettering to complete the first coat/hat rack.

And here is the other completed coat/hat rack (the more rustic of the two):

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Frequently asked questions

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2 questions

Lori on Jul 04, 2016
What did your husband cut the railroad ties?

1
Liz on Aug 06, 2017

How did you get the smooth finish on the horseshoes? Was there any sanding involved?

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2 of 10 comments

Sandra Crosbie on Jul 04, 2016
I really love the rustic ness of it.

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Renata on Jul 09, 2016
I wanna make these but don't have a welder,,, can I borrow hubby's?......lol

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