How to Weld a Skull-Mount Wall Hanger

Hanging a skull mount directly from the wall doesn’t do a wide and tall deer rack justice. With the tines pointed straight out, you don’t get to see how high those G2’s really reach, or how far the spread stretches. Here’s a better way to hang skull mounts. It will show off any skull—and your welding skills. The project calls for attention to detail and clean, strong welds. Overall, it’s a good project for practicing the basics of metalworking.

You Will Need

• ¹⁄₈-inch steel plate
• ³⁄₃₂ brazing rod
• .035 brazing wire
• ³⁄₈-inch steel rebar
• ³⁄₁₆-inch steel rod
• ER 70s-6 welding rod
• Shielding gas (Tig: Argon; Mig: 75 percent argon, 25 percent carbon dioxide)

Back Plate

Measure and cut the back plate to 4-by-6 inches. Use an angle grinder with the cut-off wheel. Next, drill two ¼-inch holes into the plate. Align them vertically—you’ll need these holes to mount the plate to the wall. Cut the ³⁄₈-inch rebar at 3 inches and bend it in the middle so it angles up at about 35 degrees when attached to the plate. Measure and cut a ³⁄₁₆-inch steel rod and bend a 2 ½-inch radius (this will be used to ­stabilize the skull).

Arrows/Arrowheads

Cut three pieces of ³⁄₈-inch rebar to 4 inches. These pieces will be your arrows. Next, measure and cut two 2-inch-square pieces of ¹⁄₈-inch steel plate. Draw an arrowhead on each plate with a marker, and then use a ball-peen hammer and angle grinder to shape the arrowheads. Bevel the edges with a grinder for a bladelike look, and then hit each with a sanding pad. Weld the arrowheads to the rebar arrows and wrap them in ­brazing wire.

Read Next: How to Camo-Dip a Deer Skull

Fletching

Use pliers to cut two pieces of brazing rod to 2½ inches. The fletchings should taper, so each pair of rods should be slightly shorter than the previous pair. Cut a total of 18 rods (nine pairs). Weld the brazing rod to your remaining rebar arrow.

Assembly

Lay out the pieces to check spacing, then tack-weld all three arrows to the plate. Make your welds at the bottom of each rebar arrow and at the top of the plate behind the rebar. Then tack-weld the bent ³⁄₁₆-inch rod to the bottom of the 3-inch rebar. This piece will stabilize the skull, so adjust it to fit the skull you’re working with. Now weld the 3-inch piece of rebar to the back plate so it curves upward. Finish welding all the tacked parts, and hit everything with a sanding pad to take off any sharp edges. Secure the back plate to a wall stud, and hang your trophy.