I liked the idea of quarter sawn oak gun racks with wrought iron hooks so much that I ordered another eight sets of hooks from Gobbler Forge. This time, I purchased some quarter sawn oak planks that were a bit narrower than my rustic gun rack, so I asked Brad of Gobbler Forge for shorter shanks and, since the shanks would be mostly hidden behind the gun, I dispensed with the twist. Also, I wanted one of the sets for a 130 year-old English double barreled shotgun, I had one of the forearm hooks made extra wide to fit the double 12-bore barrels. To pad the inside of each hook, I cut a thin strip of leather and glue it into the inner radius of each hook. Here is a photo of some of the hooks, showing the bottom set (for the double barreled shotgun) with the leather strips already installed ....
I purchased the 1" x 8" x 28" quarter sawn White Oak planks from a specialty lumber store about a half hour away from where I live. I like the figuring in the wood that one gets with quarter sawn oak. Here is a photo of some unfinished planks leaning up against a bookcase in my somewhat messy office ....
I routered the edges, sanded the surfaces with 150 grit paper, stained them with Provincial, and finished with three coats of semi-gloss urethane. The hooks hold the gun out from the wooden back enough such that a cable lock can be hidden behind the stock between the gun and the wooden back. I like the look of the gun being held slightly out from the wooden back; it displays the gun better, at least in my view. Here are some photos of the first two racks I finished without the cable locks (required when displaying in Canada) ....
