Yeah, I know - do a google search - I did. All the links to plans are ancient and I could not find a single one that works.
Does anyone have any fresh links? I'm interested in making a mallet using the laminated wood technique with a flat face. I don't own a lathe.
Thanks, Bob
Sat, Jul 24, 2004, 8:45pm (EDT+4) wrobertdavis snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com (Bob=A0Davis) says: Yeah, I know - do a google search - I did. All the links to plans are ancient and I could not find a single one that works. Does anyone have any fresh links? I'm interested in making a mallet using the laminated wood technique with a flat face. I don't own a lathe.
Nope, don't got no steenkin' links. I've got a lathe, and having made a laminated mallet or two, found out I don't care for them at all. Much prefer the turned.
Don' need no steenkin' plans. Easy enough. You make one to see how it's done. Plywood, whatever, doesn't matter. It's a prototype. Put something together, see if it works, next one, do for pretty. Figure the handle size, glue up 2 or 3 pieces for that. Then 2-3 pieces, front and back of handle. Then, however many pieces on each side, make it as thick as you want. You can round off the handle after. No prob. You can also take a chunk of 4X4, use a bandsaw to cut a handle, and viola, instant mallet. Glue up two chunks of 2X4, and do the same. No prob. Or, drill a hole in a chunk of 4X4, glue in a large dowel, instant mallet.
JOAT Expensive tennis shoes won't cure a sore toe.
- Bazooka Joe
Here's one that works:
I make flat and round mallets on my lathe. Yeah I heard you, you don't have a lathe. Mallets go for about $25, the cheap 14X40 HF lathe is on sale for $79. After the first 3 mallets it's free. Spring for some cheap tools and factor in another mallet to break even. Just my 2 cents, Dave in Fairfax
I really wish you hadn't said that...
Sat, Jul 24, 2004, 5:48pm snipped-for-privacy@reynlow.com (T=A0Stapleton) says: Here's one that works:
Isn't that what I just told him? LOL
There's a number of links out there that work, including one for a dovetail mallet.
JOAT Expensive tennis shoes won't cure a sore toe.
- Bazooka Joe THE NEW COPPERPLATE
Sat, Jul 24, 2004, 6:35pm (EDT-1) snipped-for-privacy@die.spammer.die (Australopithecus=A0scobis) laments: I really wish you hadn't said that...
I got my 39' HF lathe some years back. Ooooh, it's soooo much fun. Hehehe
I got the $10 set of 5 tools, to learn sharpening on. Then the plan was to get a higher quality set. One problem, they haven't worn out yet, so I'm still stuck with 'em. LOL Sharpen 'em on a belt sander, loads faster, and I figure if the angle is "close", that's good enough. They're not like a plane, where you're using the blade at the same angle all the time, so the sharpening angle would mean something there. You're hand holding the tool, and constantly changing the angle, so I figure the sharpening angle can't be very critical, in a case like that. Regardless, I'll keep on sharpening on a belt sander, because it seems to work. The el-cheapos probably dull a bit faster than high dollar tools, but that's pretty minor, when you compare cost.
JOAT Expensive tennis shoes won't cure a sore toe.
- Bazooka Joe THE NEW COPPERPLATE
I recently made one out of some scraps of goncalo alves and maple. I didn't have a plan; just face-glued a few pieces together, squared them up, and attached a handle. You'll want to use a dense hardwood to get some heft, and you'll probably want to glue and square it so that the striking face of the mallet is end grain.
To attach the handle, I used a tapered mortise cut through the head and wedged the tenon. The taper keeps the head from working loose if the glue isn't sufficient to hold it. I also cut the face at a slight angle as is common on many commercial mallets. A spokeshave was used to round the handle (I don't have a lathe either).
This bigger mallet is my favorite with my mortising chisels.
Cheers, Nate
Thanks for all the replies, guys. I didn't really need a plan after all. I just had no clue what dimensions to use. You've given me enough verbal and actual pictures to get started. And its not as if I cannot afford to make a few mistakes on such a simple project.
I'm off to creative, hand-made land to see what I can do with a couple of handsaws and rasps and sandpaper.
Bob
OK, I'll bite. was it the HF that got you, or the sudden realization that you wanted one? I've had one outside for several years covered by a tarp. I knock the snow and rain or before using it, oil the bearings occassionally and replace the belt every 5+ years or so. It isn't fancy, I wish it went slower and had a bigger MT, but it turns things just fine. Acorns, mushrooms, Large bowls, small bowls, mallets, pens, candlesticks, you name it. If I had the space, I'd go for a nifty fancy lathe inside, but since reality intervenes... For a beginner lathe it isn't a bad choice. As a more advanced lathe, well it's the turner not hte tool that counts.
Dave in Fairfax
the price made turning seem like a real possibility. Turning tool handles in my drill press with a nail-thru-board as a tailstock...sucks. Your followup about keeping it outdoors makes it even easier to consider. Gee, thanks, pal! ;-D
Australopithecus scobis wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@die.spammer.die:
What might put you over the edge is the fact that turners make the most amazing stuff out of wood that furniture makers consider potential heating fuel.
One member of our club has a business card which declares his specialty to be 'firewood conversion'.
Might have to go and see what I can do in that area. After I work down the project list that accumulates faster than woodworking catalogs after a trade show....
Patriarch
Always happy to make another addict. %-) Seriously, if you want to talk about this without burning bandwidth, send me a message on the back channel and I'll give you a phone number. Depending on where you are, I may be able to do more than that. Having someone to help you through things makes a big difference.
Dave in Fairfax
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