First, since the oak plank was not the same width at either end, I had to figure out where the approximate centre line was and mark it with two pieces of masking tape. The keyhole hangers mounted on the back of the plank were measured up from that centre line as shown below ....
The two keyhole hangers were spaced to match the studs in the wall where it would hang. I used a hammer and chisel to carve a little recess for the hangers, and drilled a slot inside the recess so the screw heads on the wall would be able to slip inside the keyhole. Here is a closeup of the keyhole hanger in its notch ....
Once the keyhole hangers were in place, and before I mounted the hooks, I hung the plank on the wall and then measured down from the ceiling using a strip of masking tape across the front of the plank to mark a horizontal line, so I could hang the hooks in such a way that the rifle was straight, more or less, with the plank and on the wall. Then I took Gobblerforge's hooks and cut a thin strip of leather from a leather strap I had and glued a strip into the inside radius of each hook to provide a soft cushion for the rifle. Here is a photo of the hooks with the leather strips glued in, one hook already mounted on the plank, and the strip of masking tape that I used to line up the rifle and determine the position of the hooks. ....
Once this was done, I mounted the plank on the wall. In spite of all my trying to figure out where the centre line of the plank was, it didn't really look right. Turns out, it looked right if the top edge of the plank was more or less level and the bottom edge sloped up. I mounted one end of the plank and then moved the other end up and down until I figured out what looked right. I then moved one of the wall screws up 1/4" and hung the rack. Perfect!! Here are some shots of the rack and closer ups of the hooks ....
I really like the look that this rack and hooks gives to the display of the old '73. Because of the thickness of the wrought iron hooks, it holds the rifle away from the plank a bit which really presents the old rifle beautifully. You can't really see this very well in the photos, but it just adds something extra to the rifle.
I am extremely pleased with these hooks that our own leverguns member Gobblerforge made. In fact, I am now trying to figure out a rack that will hold four old Winchesters and Marlins and will be ordering some more hooks from Gobblerforge when I've figured out the design. That will probably take me several months to finalize the design, as this is a busy time of year for me.
P.S. I should add that Gobblerforge also supplied the screws to match the hooks.
