Lignum Vitae Carving Mallet Care

woodripper | Posted in Ernie Conover on March 18, 2006 02:14am

Does a new lignum vitae carving mallet require any maintenance to keep it from checking? It came coated in paraffin wax. Should I oil it, and if so with what? Any other tips on keeping it nice. I am planning on using it to strike hornbeam handled bench chisels. Thanks

Replies

ErnieConover | Mar 18, 2006 02:45pm | #1
Lignum is a very check resistant wood and you should not have much problem. The rub may be that most of these type of tools are third world and the makers may not be very careful about moisture content of the wood before manufacture. The best thing you can do is coat the ends of the mallet with wax for the first six months. This will keep the end grain from loosing water faster than the face grain toward the middle of the tool. The good thing is that even if it does check a bit it will still be perfectly usable. A check will affect the beauty (which is in the eye of the beholder) but not the usability. I often have turning students make carving mallets from wet beech. Even though we coat the ends with wax they often check a bit. They drive chisels just as straight; however, for that factor is in the hands of the user.

Regards,
Ernie Conover