Recently Doug and I finished making new roller hooks for the Kelsey press. The old hooks were both bent out of shape, and visibly worn down inside the hook area. Yet again I find that I forgot to take making-of photos for this step, but I hope finished product photos will do.

In the picture above, the top hook is the old one, and the bottom is one of the new hooks. As you can see, there is a slight bow to the old shaft and the hook is misshapen. The detail photo below shows the wear on the old hooks (on the right) much more clearly:

We used the same diameter gauge steel as the original hooks, and we measured and bent each hook to match the old ones. We used a wire bender to create the hook bend and a manual threading die to thread the top of the shaft.

I eventually want to get new springs and nuts, but for now, I am just going to use the original ones with the new hooks.

Now, all that is left is to make a base for the press and get the pressure adjusted correctly! (Although I am sure I will find something else that needs to be done before the end!)