Railroad Spike Grip Tool

Railroad Spike Grip Tool

The railroad spike grip tools continues my journey into grip implements with an old west theme, starting with the silver dollar.  This prototype was constructed at a more reasonable price point.

(20) railroad spikes - $27.16

(20) 1/4-20 eye bolts - $18.97

Materials = $2.30 per unit

The prototype took me a while to build and also secure some tools.  

Drill press - $60.  I had a wire brush that I could attach to the drill press, but may get a bench grinder, with wire brush

Had 13/64 drill bit, but may buy a few more

Tap and Die Set - $24.14

The process was pretty simple.  I brushed off a lot of the rust with a wire wheel.  Hit it with some PB Blaster.  Lined up the spike in the vice under the drill press, drilled a 1.25" deep pilot hole, drilled a 1" deep 13/64 hole, and then tapped it and secured the eyebolt.  The first one took me 1.5 hours, but it should go faster in the future.  (1) I will have a better grinder to clean it off.  (2) I will do a better job of cleaning up the hole before utilizing the tap.  The metal shavings slowed the process down quite a bit.  (3) I may chased the hole with a 1/4 bit for 0.25 inches so I am not cutting threads for the entire length.

• Cleaning the spikes should take 1-2 hours.
• Drilling the holes should take 1-2 hours.
• Tapping the holes may take 2-3 hours.

On a high side of (7) hours labor x $20 per hour = $140 + $50 in material = $10 each production cost and should sell for $25 each.

First things first, I need to hook it up to a loading pin and see if it is any good.

UPDATE: 2/11/2026

The grip tool worked great.  I had a top lift of 145 pounds and it felt challenging in terms of grip strength and not strictly pain tolerance.  My daughter tried it and was able to lift 50 pounds with her dominant hand.  I intend to continue the build out.

UPDATE: 2/13/2026

Cleaned all of the spikes with bench top grinder/wire brush.  Worked really well, but tedious and messy.  Took about an hour.  Drill bits ordered from Amazon and will do phase 2 on Sunday.  A couple o of the spikes were bent more than the others and a couple had sharp points that I filed down.