Introduction: An Aeronautical Mechanic's Wall Hanger

About: I'm an Engineer and a Maker, who believes that "DIY" is a way of life and "Open Source" is the way to go. Sharing promotes innovation!

This is a cool-looking and easy to make wall hanger that will cause an impression, especially if you are into mechanical stuff.

I work in the Air Force and we recently had to reject a number of Fuel Nozzles from our P-3's engines. They would typically be thrown away for scrap, but I thought they would be great to use as "aero/mechanical themed" coat hangers for my department.
I shared the idea with my colleagues and they too thought it would be a nice touch in the office.

With that in mind, I selected a few of the nozzles and, when I finally got a day off, I put myself to work.

Not only it turned out as a nice looking wall hanger, but It was also pretty cheap (assuming you could also find some fuel nozzles).

For this project I had to buy:
- 1 wood board (120x12mm, 1 meter long)
- 1 long wood piece (20x10mm, 1,5 meters long)
- 16 steel bolts, nuts and rings (6mm in diameter)
- 2 brass hanging pieces
- 1 roll of thin foam (to save money, I bought a foam roll for exercising at a local shop. Just €3 and only a small part was used)

I also used, for the cover, a bit of nappa that I had lying around.

So all in all, I reckon I spent less than €10.


Step 1: The Fuel Nozzles and the Project

Here you can see a Fuel Nozzle in detail.

Thank's to it's design, it was pretty easy to employ it as a hanger.

Using 4 nozzles and after a google search for wall hangers to get a feel for the proportions, I did the project's draft.

Step 2: The Board

Using the 120x12mm profile wood board, I cut it to the intended length (0,5 meters).

Using a cranial drill, making the hole to fit the fuel intake of the nozzle was straightforward. After a fit check, each group of 4 holes for the bolts was drilled.

To give a more round and nice feel, I decided to put a layer of thin foam in the front, where the nozzle will sit. A hot glue gun to hold the foam in place and a cuting blade to cut out the holes did the trick.

Since the fuel intakes and the bolts will stick out in the back, I made a frame using the 12x10mm wood and nailed it to the back of the board.

Finally, the board was covered with nappa for a perfect touch. With the blade I then made some cuts to allow the nozzles to be mounted on top of the nappa.

Step 3: Final Assembly

To finish it up, I just bolted each nozzle as seen in the picture.

To hang the hanger (pun intended), I just attached two brass hangers in such a way that they will be hidden when the hanger is in the wall.

That's it. Hope you enjoy!

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