A while back I posted some pictures of a balance beam I made in the shop out
of 6061 bar stock aluminum. I was thinking I might like to give some away
to my fishing club if I could make them cheap enough. The aluminum is
certainly cheap enough if I buy it from a metal distributor, but there are a
few things that add up.

To attach the handle to the beam requires some form of ring so that the beam
can swing freely. I used key rings on my first three, but they are all of
unknown quality and materials. Some are chrome over brass which is not
strong, but will never corrode out. Others are cheap chrome over some
ferrous alloy which are strong, but will most certainly rust. I need to
find a cheap decent quality ring for this. I even considered making my own
out of stainless wire, and mage a small jig to stamp it into shape. This
brings me to my second item.

Hooks. I need a moderately large snap hook to actually hang off each end of
the beam. In my first practice runs I used some stainless steel hooks
removed from a high quality fish stringer. They work very well, but that
quality of stringer is hard to find, and relatively speaking they are
expensive. Yes, with these I can make a a balance beam cheaper than I can
buy one, but not much. I was thinking if I could find the right stainless
steel wire I could make my own snap hooks on a duo-lock type design except
just keep the bottom part (large end) straight.

http://www.uk-hooks.com/prodimage/Th...85-duolock.jpg

I was thinking I could set some pins in a board or weld pins to a plate to
make a quick and easy bending jig. TIG wire does come in sizes that would
be suitable, but I would need to know what alloy will be bendable with some
manageable force, and yet have good strength and decent springyness after
being bent to shape. Each hook would need to be able to hold 10+ pounds
without distorting. I am thinking a 1/16" or 3/32" wire would be pretty
close to what I am looking for. I figured when I got a little closer I'ld
throw a caliper on the hooks I have for size.

So what alloy wire should I try for this, or can you suggest a source that
is different entirely?

Bob La Londe
www.YumaBassMan.com