Referred to as "unsolicited design modifications" in my shop ;-)Originally Posted by Phil Mueller
Referred to as "unsolicited design modifications" in my shop ;-)
"A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".
– Samuel Butler
Contributor
George, could you please explain why using burl is the best way? Until you said so, I wouldnt have considered using such special/rare piece of material that way.
Thank you!
Fred
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."
“If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”
Member
Old timers used a burl to make a mallet because the interlocked grain would not split in any direction. The worst thing that might happen to a hard worked mallet was a few chunks falling off. But,the mass of the head would stay intact.
At the museum,I used to make a quick mallet from wheel fellys that were defective,and left laying around. They had to be from a large wheel,but already had the mortise cut,and a nice curve in them. Make a quick handle,and voila. I still have a few of those made that way.
A "Gentleman's mallet" made from an ash wheel felly. They were a bit smaller than regular mallets,and had the little decorative cuts. Head about 3 1/2" wide and 5" long(I guess).I varnished this one(should not have),but the old ones were never varnished(Got carried away! Now it's a bit "precious").
Total time: about 1/2 hour. Ash is not the greatest wood for a mallet,but it was pre cut,and free,and just used for driving chisels.
Last edited by george wilson; 05-02-2015 at 9:40 AM.
Contributor
Thanks George. I like it varnished, even if it's not "correct". I like the decorative flourishes near the handle and the way you tapered the handle to meet the head/mortise. Your eye for design even kicks in for simple things like a mallet.
The little bit of Ash I've used was good to work (with electric tools, anyway) and I waxed it. Came out a lovely shade of white.
Fred
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."
“If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”
Contributor
Phil,
Very nice mallet.
+1 to everyone on this post, good comments all. I enjoyed the good comments, and I learned a bit by the good points made.
George, enjoyed your mallet as well, and the comments that went with it.
Stew
Contributor
George, Thanks for this. I never thought to use Burl, but I think I will when I build a replacement for my current wooden mallet. I use my mallet for three tasks, assembly, setting holdfasts and releasing holdfasts....seems easy enough but I've caught an edge on errant blows and chipped off chunks of the mallet.
Phil,
Think of it this way, when you use a splitting wedge to split fire wood you put the wedge into the end grain and it splits along the grain. When you are wedging lengthwise you are creating this same effect. When you are applying the wedge 90 degrees to the long grain the wedge's force is pressing against the end grain.
vs
or this;
The axe, if used in this chopping manner will wedge itself into the wood, this is the effect we're looking for, it utilizes the shear strength of the material to keep everything in tact.
Both effects are in use, the first (much like the splitting wedge above) is used to force the handle to expand and the second shear force is used to keep the assembly together. If both the mortise and the tenon are wedged in a way which splits the wood, eventually it will complete the job.
Last edited by Brian Holcombe; 05-02-2015 at 11:18 AM.
Bumbling forward into the unknown.
Contributor
thanks for that diagram, Brian. It has answered a couple of questions I've had about this technique. I can easily see where a=B, but I'm confused about the formula. 3deg - 8deg?????
Contributor
Anytime! Better stated as angle A must equal B which can be 3 to 8 degrees.
Bumbling forward into the unknown.
Contributor
Gotcha! Thanks. Seems obvious now!
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