Popular Post Isaac Posted September 9, 2016 Popular Post Report Share Posted September 9, 2016 In search of something to turn on my lathe before I could acquire the necessary wood for my main project I decided to make a mallet. I've never actually used or seen one of these mallets in person, so I just kind of eyeballed the dimensions, it has some decent heft, so I think it is in the right ballpark. This mallet by Narex was kind of my inspiration, though they use Beech wood. The hard maple and beech wood have nearly identical Janka hardness, so I should be ok, right? https://www.amazon.com/Narex-Turned-Carving-Mallet-825701/dp/B018JOQ7GY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1473464075&sr=8-2&keywords=beech+mallet I laminated together some scrap pieces of hard maple, using about 20 clamps on a 10" piece of wood to ensure total closure of all four joints. I then did a hand planning and table saw cuts to make a octagonal shape and took it to the lathe. I'm still getting the hang of the lathe, I left a couple dings in the handle, but nothing serious, and I intend to put this thing to work, so presumably it will get some bangs anyways. It looks smaller in this image than it is. Any suggestions on a finish? It has a nice surface as is, and obviously whatever I put on it will need to survive the intended use of hitting things. Bonus, If I ever need to turn a wooden bottle, I'm about 90% of the way there already. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardA Posted September 9, 2016 Report Share Posted September 9, 2016 Just use Danish oil, and go beat something! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isaac Posted September 10, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2016 1 hour ago, RichardA said: Just use Danish oil, and go beat something! Good idea. Just slapped some on and it really brought out the beauty of the thing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whotookjobin Posted September 10, 2016 Report Share Posted September 10, 2016 Got a finished pic? Looks great, love the comment about the bottle lol - that was my first thought when I saw the pic of it on the table. Nice. I also recently saw a mallet build recently by John Heisz (sp?) Where he wrapped the handle with string and then dipped it in urethane to harden it up - had a very cool look to it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JosephThomas Posted September 10, 2016 Report Share Posted September 10, 2016 Looks nice and fun. I wouldn't bother finishing it, or if I did I would just toss on danish oil (if you can handle the stink) or do nothing. I certainly wouldn't do anything that would build a surface film. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isaac Posted September 10, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2016 Thanks guys, I'll take a pic tomorrow. You are right, Danish oil does take forever for the stink to go away... Not sure why. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Isaac Posted September 10, 2016 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted September 10, 2016 Here it is after a couple of coats of Danish Oil. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaneymack Posted September 10, 2016 Report Share Posted September 10, 2016 Very nice, Issac ! Sent from my SM-N910W8 using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardA Posted September 12, 2016 Report Share Posted September 12, 2016 Well, Have you beat something with it yet? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isaac Posted September 12, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 12, 2016 Just now, RichardA said: Well, Have you beat something with it yet? I took a few wacks with it over the weekend, but most of my time in the shop this weekend was focused on organization, I managed to produce a nice little rectangular container with dividers for my sanding discs and another for sheet sand paper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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