T.J. Mahaffey
11-13-2005, 1:29 PM
Warning: Tailed apprentices are mentioned here, but the result is a hand tool. ;)
I found what looked like an old cut-up stump at an auction. Some old wood with a few natural edges.. Nobody else seemed to want it and, to me, it looked like it *might* be walnut. I snagged it all for $3.
http://workshop.tjmahaffey.com/workshop/img/tmp/auction_walnut.jpg
A week or two later, I had a chance to mill it up and see what was inside. Despite various natural splits and weathering, this is what I ended up with:
http://workshop.tjmahaffey.com/workshop/img/tmp/auction_walnut2.jpg
Now, here it is a week or two later and I made this yesterday from the biggest chunk: (Finished with two coats of Danish oil)
http://workshop.tjmahaffey.com/workshop/img/tmp/carve_mallet1.jpg
http://workshop.tjmahaffey.com/workshop/img/tmp/carve_mallet2.jpg
I was worried about this chunk's cracks at either end... But luckily the splits didn't go all the way through. The bottom picture shows the large knotted area that was present in this piece. I'm not sure it qualifies as 'figure', but I'm very pleased with the result. Not bad for a first try! :)
By the way, I'd like to also note that it was made on my auction-found, $37 "MacGuyver Lathe", as I like to call it.
http://workshop.tjmahaffey.com/workshop/img/tmp/lathe1.jpg
I also just finished this larger (huge!) standard maple mallet: (Also 2 coats of Danish oil)
http://workshop.tjmahaffey.com/workshop/img/tmp/maple_mallet.jpg
These are my first mallets and I'm pretty happy with the results.
I found what looked like an old cut-up stump at an auction. Some old wood with a few natural edges.. Nobody else seemed to want it and, to me, it looked like it *might* be walnut. I snagged it all for $3.
http://workshop.tjmahaffey.com/workshop/img/tmp/auction_walnut.jpg
A week or two later, I had a chance to mill it up and see what was inside. Despite various natural splits and weathering, this is what I ended up with:
http://workshop.tjmahaffey.com/workshop/img/tmp/auction_walnut2.jpg
Now, here it is a week or two later and I made this yesterday from the biggest chunk: (Finished with two coats of Danish oil)
http://workshop.tjmahaffey.com/workshop/img/tmp/carve_mallet1.jpg
http://workshop.tjmahaffey.com/workshop/img/tmp/carve_mallet2.jpg
I was worried about this chunk's cracks at either end... But luckily the splits didn't go all the way through. The bottom picture shows the large knotted area that was present in this piece. I'm not sure it qualifies as 'figure', but I'm very pleased with the result. Not bad for a first try! :)
By the way, I'd like to also note that it was made on my auction-found, $37 "MacGuyver Lathe", as I like to call it.
http://workshop.tjmahaffey.com/workshop/img/tmp/lathe1.jpg
I also just finished this larger (huge!) standard maple mallet: (Also 2 coats of Danish oil)
http://workshop.tjmahaffey.com/workshop/img/tmp/maple_mallet.jpg
These are my first mallets and I'm pretty happy with the results.