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Thread: waitin for the glue to dry....

  1. #1
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    waitin for the glue to dry....

    I got bored. Always wanted a walnut mallet - handle is a work in progress - maybe.

    20200215_170143.jpg
    Stand for something, or you'll fall for anything.

  2. #2
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    That is a good looking mallet. The angle on the faces looks a little steep to me. What angle did you use and what is the angle?

  3. #3
    That is a nice looking mallet. Made one something like that for my nephew a few years back. He was just getting into woodworking and really appreciated it. Thanks for sharing!

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by Robert Hayward View Post
    That is a good looking mallet. The angle on the faces looks a little steep to me. What angle did you use and what is the angle?
    8 degrees. I made a test mallet a year ago with square faces and cut it a bit at a time till it felt right. 8 degrees felt right
    Stand for something, or you'll fall for anything.

  5. #5
    Very nice!!!!
    "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.”

  6. #6
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    How did you cut the angered slot for the handle? I've tried a few different ways and I never get the angle right the first time.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Neil Gaskin View Post
    How did you cut the angered slot for the handle? I've tried a few different ways and I never get the angle right the first time.

    First I cut the handle, then laid it on the mallet and drew the lines. Drilled a 1" hole on the drill press and went to work with the chisels. Hogged out a lot of the waste with mortise chisels and then used a 1" bench for the final paring work on the sides and the slopes. Speaking of the first time: I had to make a new handle when I planed the first one down below 1" and the fit was sloppy. Practice, practice, practice.
    Stand for something, or you'll fall for anything.

  8. #8
    Bill, good job. Too bad that cushy DRAGNET sign off job is now in China !

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Neil Gaskin View Post
    How did you cut the angered slot for the handle? I've tried a few different ways and I never get the angle right the first time.
    Quote Originally Posted by Bill Carey View Post
    First I cut the handle, then laid it on the mallet and drew the lines. Drilled a 1" hole on the drill press and went to work with the chisels. Hogged out a lot of the waste with mortise chisels and then used a 1" bench for the final paring work on the sides and the slopes. Speaking of the first time: I had to make a new handle when I planed the first one down below 1" and the fit was sloppy. Practice, practice, practice.
    An alternative method that many folks use for this format mallet is to make the head as a lamination of three pieces of wood so that the middle layer can be constructed in a way that the mortise is inherent to the mallet head without having to be cut after the fact. I even use that method for passage door construction to avoid dealing with deep mortises! And for angled mortises, yea...that's how I'd do it.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  10. #10
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    Jim, you're missing the point! Where's the fun if it is not as complicated as you can make it!!

    Bill, that is a nice mallet. What is its weight?

    The handle design is very important. Avoid anything stick-like (parallel). Tapered is better. Best still is a twin grip, where you can choke up when needed. Here's a very heavy mallet I made for morticing into hard, hard wood. It is a single piece of Jarrah infilled with brass for extra mass. Look at the handle ...





    Regards from Perth

    Derek

  11. #11
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    Other than tradition, are there any advantages with a wooden mallet? I don't chop mortises by hand much, but when I have a rubber or plastic mallet seems to work fine.

    John

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Derek Cohen View Post
    Jim, you're missing the point! Where's the fun if it is not as complicated as you can make it!!

    Bill, that is a nice mallet. What is its weight?

    The handle design is very important. Avoid anything stick-like (parallel). Tapered is better. Best still is a twin grip, where you can choke up when needed. Here's a very heavy mallet I made for morticing into hard, hard wood. It is a single piece of Jarrah infilled with brass for extra mass. Look at the handle ...

    Regards from Perth

    Derek

    My thoughts exactly Derek - the whole point - besides needing the mallet - was the fun of making the mortise thru 3" of walnut. It weighs a shade over 1.5 lbs. When I said the handle was a work in progress, it was for the very reason you point out - I like the idea of a dual grip handle, being able to choke up for the normal work, and go to the end of the handle for some serious pounding.

    I'm curious to see how the walnut holds up. I chose the walnut because I had some left over from the conference table, and I'm trying to use up as much as I can of my wood stores, since we are going to be moving. Again.
    Stand for something, or you'll fall for anything.

  13. #13
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    Paul Sellers has an interesting video series from 2015, FYI. A 2 hr mallet build.
    Last edited by Eugene Dixon; 02-17-2020 at 7:13 AM.

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bill Carey View Post
    ...was the fun of making the mortise thru 3" of walnut. ....
    LOL For some of us, that ain't fun. But you're correct in that if you really enjoy it, that's the best way to do it!
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Becker View Post
    LOL For some of us, that ain't fun. But you're correct in that if you really enjoy it, that's the best way to do it!
    It's a relaxing thing for me, Jim. Kinda primitive too - after spending the day in front of 5 monitors and 2 computers, getting to pound on something besides a keyboard is almost zen like.
    Stand for something, or you'll fall for anything.

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