I have a good-sized block of Lignum vitae (the real stuff). One of the uses I can think of for it would be to have a mallet turned, similar to these (picture from lignum-vitae.com ):
The block is 10″ x 10″ x 4″ Is that big enough to make 2 mallets? I’ve not used a mallet-powered chisel, so this is for future use, and I don’t know how big they are. I’d like to either make 2 and sell 1, or make 1 and sell the rest of the L. vitae.
How hard is this stuff to cut with a bandsaw. I treasure this block, so haven’t been willing to experiment.
forestgirl — you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can’t take the forest out of the girl 😉
Replies
Jamie, I take it the thickness is 4 inches and you want to do a one piece turning, so the max diameter of the head can be just on 4 inches-so you can get two mallets plus a lot of shavings, and a strip of dimensions about 10 x4 x slightly under 2 inches.
Any decent bandsaw blade will cut that like butter, but I am not the right person to advise on that as I use metal cutting blades exclusively.
The burning question is "how on earth have you managed without a mallet?" (In the same way that you have done without hand planeing until recently?)
"(In the same way that you have done without hand planeing until recently?)" You win the prize!! roflforestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
I forgot to ask- just post off that offcut to me-I can make a set of plane handles with it in exchange for the pictures (;)Philip Marcou
Oh, sheesh! there go those amazing cats of your -- again! They are simply too funny.
Taking suggestions of other things I can do with the L. vitae if I don't make a mallet. My thoughts are
guides for the bandsaw
sole for a plane -- got a hankerin' to make a toothed plane like the one Tom made awhile back.
Others?forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
You can get that fancy nylon stuff for bandsaw guides so unless you have just some small bits which otherwise would be thrown away. Plane sole = good idea-make some nice dovetails there, O.K.Philip Marcou
Jamie,
if you are careful you might get four heads from the block with fitted handles. I like two mallets, one about 2/3 of the weight, its a good idea if one of your mallets can be comfortably held with the hand wrapped around the head and used that way (head in your palm) - very light and controlled hits. You also might like to try a design that tapers towards the handle with a slight general curve. (See if I remember to take a shot of mine this weekend). The aim of this shape is to focus the striking power / balance of the tool better and to expand the size of the 'sweet spot' so that you can watch your work rather than the mallet.
I've always thought these were a maul, but the dictionary suggests I may be mistook.
How do you keep the other half away from the pantry and your tools without such a suitable blunt instrument?
David
Actually, if you are really really careful you could get an undisclosed number of mallets- it depends on the size and type....
I think that for an uncontestable opinion on this matter you should approach Lataxe, mallet maker of note.Philip Marcou
Patto, I'd love to see a pic of the mallet(s) of which you speak. Given how expensive this wood is, I want to be sure of the destined design before doing anything with it.
Gotta let Nick in the pantry -- he cooks better than I do, LOL. forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Here is a related question: In making a froe mallet or other club for heavy work out of green wood, is it better to use a root or limb, or to split some out and shape it? I have done a fair amount of log house work, and fence work, and seen that wood in the round tends to develop radial checks. Is there a way to avoid that?
Not sure I can help much with either question. Will pass on the froe mallet query. As far as wood-in-the-round goes, you can delay checking by coating the ends of the logs, but they will check eventually, I don't think there's any way to prevent it unless you submerge the logs in water -- makes living in the home difficult, LOL.
There are lots of log homes on our island, I have a good friend built one in the mid-1980's. Yep, the logs have checks. She was entertained by a cacophony of creaks and groans and pops for about a year as the logs finished drying and the place settled. It's a gorgeous home!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
That's what I thought. I think I will split out some Osage and then shape it with a drawknife. Has the right authentic feel, anyway, for making a froe mallet, don't you think?
Can't hurt to try. What're the roots like on the Osage?? Any big knobs? (per Tom above....I think it was Tom).forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
The club I made for use with a froe is elm branchwood with a few knots coming out of it .I turned it green put a groove 3/8 in from the end and bound it with re-bar wire.A few turns wound really tight.You don't hit with the tip of the club and it has never split in 6 years
Jamie,
Sorry for not responding earlier - too many things on at night.
Attached are some pics of the mallets. Easy to see which is the favorite, and it has been occaisionally misused. Two of the shots show standard 'grips' used for carving light work. I have not seen, and can't imagine, using a full swing from the end of a long handle on these tools. I have sometins belted a mortice chisel with this mallet.
The smaler of the two mallets was turned for an 8year old (now 11). It was a bit heavy but the handle was about right. I should have made the top about 60mm max diameter and perhaps 20mm shorter. No precision here.
The 'favorite' has the curved taper I mentioned. This is a useful shape fo me as it increases the rage of angles over which I can use the tool and get a sweet spot - no glancing blows.
Hope this helps
David
Thanks for the pics, David. Really appreciate you taking the time.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
forestgirl, I wouldn't worry about the weight of the mallet. It's nice to have one that is reaosonably small but still has some heft to it. Just because I've never tried, I think I added a picture of my LV mallet to this message (hopefully). It's hard to argue with the idea of a plane sole either however. Three years on a shelf is probably long enough so I'd get the lathe and/or bandsaw fired up.Matt
Thanks for the pic, Matt -- nice mallet! I have enough stock for both if I want, so we'll see what evolves.
Here, I cropped and resized the pic for the dial-up folk.....forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
The Lignum Vitae makes fine mallets, and is not too heavy. My wife bought one when getting her sculpture degree at university about 25 years ago. It was wax permiated, BTW. I used it the day before yesterday on a dovetail. Except for very minor damage, it is as good as new.My latest idea for a froe mallet is to make a club out of either a branch or a split of Osage Orange (also called Bois d Arc, and Hedge), which is hard, dense and heavy and grows wild all over our property. Free and virtually indestructable. What could be better?
Was the minor damage there before you used it on a dovetail? <grin> You're lucky to have the Osage orange growing in your area. Sounds like an idea for sure.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Sir Philip,
Them be some mighty fine looking kitties, but they really do look like they're just waiting to find something to get into (especially the lighter one...). ;-)
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"I'm sorry, Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that...."
-- A.C. Clarke
Hiya Mook ,
So , do they let you wash and wax them in the sink ?
they are beautiful
dusty
Keep it in a plastic bag or it will split for sure. LV turns like butter.
Amazingly enough, this block has been sitting on my shelf for 3 years and has been fine. It might have a light coat of wax on it, I don't remember. I got it at an on-site estate auction years ago along with a similarly sized block of maple, and I'd bet it had been sitting in his basement for several years also.
Darned stuff sells for $10.50/pound at Edensaw lumber in Port Townsend. My block weighs in around 22# if memory serves.
I'll check to see if it's waxed. If not, will do so. If you're interested in L. vitae, take a look at the link in post#1 -- intriguing site.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
I was wondering if you were ever going to dive into that stash of "Gold" ?
Enjoy !!Work Safe, Count to 10 when your done for the day !!
Bruce S.
FG,
I started turning my own mallets about 3-4 years ago. I practiced on a 4x4 piece of poplar and then did some nice ones in maple. Okay, so guess which one is my favorite...yup, the poplar. It's lite enough but heavy enough to do the job..an the damn thing won't wear out. The maple mallet just sits on the shelf looking pretty..sign! I'm not so sure I'd waste your stock on a mallet.
So it might be too heavy? Maybe I should calculate about how much it'll weight the L. vitae is heavy. The other thing I might need a mallet for is to hit a froe with. Don't thiink I could bring myself to use one from LV though.
Hmmmmm, ponder.....you've given me something to think about.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
J, too nice for a froe unless you are only doing delicate thin slips . For a froe ya want a branch limb of a maple or harder and green, starting at 6" on the working end down to a fat softball bat handle in steps. If you use a froe to split spindle squares green to turn you need much more mass, weight and leverage-or much bigger arms.
I would suggest several nicely sized of the rectangle style mallets with turned or shaved handles, slight angle on the face to insure a square hit and oval split wedged like the famous Latex model or you could do a smaller version of your pictured style which would be very handy for chopping or carving -just not too heavy as you can always choke up on the handle. All the best , Paddy
edit for stupidity. and spelling
Edited 3/8/2007 9:52 pm ET by PADDYDAHAT
Hey Jamie,For hitting a froe, you don't want a mallet, you want a club. Tradditionally, the best wood for a froe club would be hickory root. Apparently, the root is dense enough, and knarly enough to resist the abuse it takes from the back of the froe. The club will eventually end up looking pretty rough in any case.Tom
I have a length of some kind of ironwood tree/branch laying out in the yard. Wanna help me divvy it up to get a "club"?? Dimensionally, it's not very big, maybe 32" long and 7-9" diameter, but sheesh is it heavy! Kinda twisted too, IIRC. Actually I may have a smaller piece in addition.....will take a look.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Forestgirl,
If you turn one to sell, I'll buy it. As embarrased as I am to say it, I don't have one either. Please let me know as I don't have a lathe. Thanks,
Jeff
FG,
I turned a Lignum vitae mallet based on Chris Pye's design on his website (designed for carving but it seems appropriately sized for 'regular' chisel use as well. I'm not sure I'd want to start bashing a mortice chisel with it (this may be more my hang up and fear of damage). If you don't already have a specific plan in mind, take a look at that Pye mallet. I didn't need to do any bandsawing so I can't help you there.
Matt
Now that I see you have a similar piece of maple, why not make the head from the Lignum Vitae and the handles from Maple? You could get two mallet heads and maybe make an end cap from the handles. You wouldn't even need to use the piece of maple you bought with the lignum.
Food for thought. How about a mallet and the guts for an infill plane kit? LignumV and Brass would be an eye catcher.
Work Safe, Count to 10 when your done for the day !!
Bruce S.
Hi Forest Girl,
I have used a Lignum Vitae mallet for years. In the '70's they could be purchased for about $13.00, coated in paraffin.
I love mine and use it all the time.
Don't worry about the weight, just make 3 different sizes. You will probably use the lightest one the most.
Oh, did I say 3? Can't you get 3 from your block rather than just 2?
Hal
http://www.rivercitywoodwork.com
Forestgirl:
I have turned lots of LV and it really work well. You will get two nice mallets out of your block. When your done just coat the with beeswax before you take them from the lathe.
Ray
Hi, Railyn, thanks. You mention waxing them before removing from the lathe. Brings to my attention I never asked about finishing in general. Seems like I wouldn't want to put wax on the handle. Should the mallet be shellacked perhaps?forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Forestgirl:I have always used wax and have had no trouble with it. You will find that beeswax leaves kind of a sticky texture just after aplication. There will also be a build-up of oils from your hands as you use it which will enhance the look and feel of the handle. There are also nateral oils in the LV that will work its way out of the wood. If you find problems later on you can re-chuck the mallet in the lathe and resand and finish the mallet. As you may already know, LV is used for bearing blocks on naval ship drive shafts. Ray
Jamie, slap on some Zinsser dewaxed shellac first-then put wax or whatever you favour next. Excellent stuff-universal cure -all , especially for those spraying catalysed finishes .Philip Marcou
Yeah, I'm a SealCoat fan. Just asked today at the local "designer" paint store (man! are they busy) if they can order it for me when I run out. They only stock it by the gallon, LOL!! but they will order me a quart whenever.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Jamie:
Our 26 or so year old old Lignum Vitae mallet has wax all over. It is not tacky and is kind of whitish -- more like parafin than beeswax. I don't know if there is anything under the wax or if they applied it to raw wood. Whichever the case, the mallet only shows wear from use and has not checked at all
Joe
Edited 3/15/2007 3:26 pm ET by Joe Sullivan
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