Mallet suggestions

[Michael Ray Smith]

Somehing to consider when doing this might be to think about what might happen to such a mallet if it becomes unusable in the future. Will it get thrown in with the fire wood?

Another is that a dead blow mallet works by the weight being able to move freely in the head. The weight is trailing as the mallet is headed toward its target. When the face of the mallet hits the target, the weight continues toward the target with the effect of adding more force as the mallet stops moving. This also has a tendency to deaden the bouncing of a mallet.

jtk

Jim, I figured I'd remove the weights and reuse them if (when) the mallet is no longer usable. I'll probably have to melt the epoxy, which probably won't be much fun, but, like Scarlett O'Hara, I'll think about that tomorrow. Or in five or ten years. If I'm not so senile by then that I forget they're in there. On the other hand, I didn't think about the dead blow effect. . .

[Ed Barry]

I have a round mallet that I made of Locust. It was from a downed branch in the woods. As I was turning it, I had my doubts on how it was going to work, but it has served me very well through a number of projects. If you elect to go this route, I would recommend turning it rough, put it in a paper bag to dry, then finish the turning.

[Kenneth Speed]

Jim said, "Now I have a strange desire to make a bigger bonker."


I have a really nice carvers mallet with an ash handle and a brass head that I've used for years but I, too, wanted a bigger bonker!

Before this thread started, I discovered I had a piece of white oak that didn't have a home so I made a wooden mallet with a four piece head and a tapered socket for the handle somewhat similar to the mallet on the youtube video in this thread. What I did differently is that I essentially mortised the handle at the grip side so that once the handle was wedged, the head could 't leave the shaft in either direction. I wish I knew how to post pictures here because I have photos of it both unassembled and completed. In any case I glued it together with Titebond III and clad one face with a mild steel plate and contact cemented a sheet of "rubber" to the other face.

I didn't need to drill it out for sinkers or sand or anything else because as near as I can tell with my little kitchen scale it weighs almost three an a half pounds! I named it, "BUBBA" and have told some of my friends that I really don't have to hit anything with it. I just show it to the pieces I want to fit together and they whimper and crawl into alignment!

Seriously, I don't really "hit" with it; I basically use it in more of a controlled drop. BUBBA sits comfortably with one face on my workbench with the handle in a perfect position to be picked up and I'm amazed at how little effort is required to use it.


Ken

jtk[/QUOTE]

[Jim Koepke]

Kenneth,

Here is how to post images:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...s-of-June-2011

I don't think it has changed much since then.

Looking forward to some images,

jtk

[Tony Joyce]

Adam,
Just an observation, but had the handle tenon went all the way through the head it probably would not have failed. The same should be said for any wood used. Jatoba is a very hard and durable wood, well suited for use as a mallet.

Just my opinion & worth exactly what you paid for it!!

Tony

[Kenneth Speed]

Hi Jim,

Well Shoot! I picked out a couple pics of BUBBA and a shot of a tiger maple pencil post bed I made(it has a story I'll only tell in a private e-mail!) but the files are all too big. I can always take another smaller picture of BUBBA tomorrow and I'll try to figure out how to shrink those existing photos.

BUBBA teeters on the thin edge between being a tool and being a sight gag although it doesn't look as big as it really is in photos. I took BUBBA to an open house at the Connecticut Valley School of Woodworking and showed it to a few guys and their responses were almost totally uniform. They'd look at and say, "Holy ****!" But then when I'd put it in their hands they'd hold it for a few seconds and growl, " I LIKE it!"

In any case, thank you for the guidance,

Ken

[Jim Koepke]

Hi Jim,

Well Shoot! I picked out a couple pics of BUBBA and a shot of a tiger maple pencil post bed I made(it has a story I'll only tell in a private e-mail!) but the files are all too big. I can always take another smaller picture of BUBBA tomorrow and I'll try to figure out how to shrink those existing photos.

Ken

You need a program like Graphic Converter, used on Macs, not sure if it has a Windows version. There should be some program on your computer or available on line to resize your images or a way to save it as a .jpg.

When working with graphic files, it is wise to make a copy to work on so you don't take any chances with the original.

jtk

[Adam Cruea]

You need a program like Graphic Converter, used on Macs, not sure if it has a Windows version. There should be some program on your computer or available on line to resize your images or a way to save it as a .jpg.

When working with graphic files, it is wise to make a copy to work on so you don't take any chances with the original.

jtk

It's called MS Paint. Works wonders for a simple resize, and it comes with Winders!

[Gabe Shackle]

Google's Picasa works very well also.

[Tony Joyce]

Not sure of the version of windows you're using, but you should be able to select the file & right click on the mouse and select edit.

Tony