I am looking for a lignum vitae mallet to go with my new Lie Nielsen chisels and can’t find one, either locally or on the web. Do they not make them any more? Does anybody have one to sell or know where I can buy one? I had used one and it had a nice feel and balance and hit.
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Replies
Yes, me too, but forestgirl has all the good lignum and won't share!!! I even tried to hire her to make me one. Maybe we can bribe her?
Jeff
These folks offer one.
http://www.fine-tools.com/ham1.htm
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Samuel P. Huntington
hanks fir the info. I have to check out the mallett and see what that wuld cost me in $US.
Dave
Try sculpture supply centers. That is where I purchased mine many years ago...a store that catered to people sculpting in wood. JL
great idea,I'll try it.
good luck Dave. JL
Oddly enough, I thought I posted the same thing, but it is not on the thread. So, I'll just agree with you and add that we have lignum Vitae mallet (round) that came from an art supply house when my wife was studying sculpture years ago.
Joe
I also posted something in another thread a couple of days ago, that was not there when I went back to it a day later...go figure.
Derek Cohen brings up an excellent point when he asks which is expendable, the chisel handle or the mallet...because one of them will suffer from the beating.
My lignum vitae mallet is also round, and I still have the original that I have had for more years than I care to tell. I also have one of the LV brass mallets that Derek Cohen mentioned, and I use it for fine carving...a light tap goes a long way when the mallet head can sit in the palm of the hand. It affords wonderful control.
JL
That's because they are sore losers, and would rather live in a cave.
p.s every thing about Western civilization is superior. And you are living proof.
I am not sure how the Hornbeam handles of the LN chisels will hold up to a Lignum Vitae mallet.
The question I ask when considering a mallet or hammer for chisels is "which you you consider expendable?" One is going to have a harder surface than the other, and the softer surface will be deformed as a result. Personally, I would rather replace the mallet than the chisel handles, so I consider mallets to be expendable.
One of the nicest mallets I own is a LV brass carver's mallet - but I never use it anymore as it will damage every wooden handle I have. The exception is using steel headed hammers with steel ringed Japanese chisels, but then these are designed for this practice.
I make my own mallets, use them up, and make another.
View Image
Jarrah (this is a "soft" piece, but heavy), Gum (a light mallet for tapping), and the LV.
Regards from Perth
Derek
Jarrah,That is a good point. I would rather replace the mallet than the handles. What wood do you use for the soft but heavy mallets?
Dave
I have just read Chris Schwarz' review of the LN chisels, and after this it is evident that they are very durable. Use whatever wood you like - the harder the better!
http://www.wkfinetools.com/contrib/cSchwarz/LNChisel/LN_chisel1.asp
Regards from Perth
Derek
Did you try Lee Valley? See if this link works.
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=30005&cat=1,41504,43688
Phil
Phil,thanks. I saw this one and if I can't find the real thing, I might get one of these.
Bowls, green bowls were made of it. If you can find an old set in a junk shop you can make them.
Mufti,
Also, some old (duckpin) bowling balls are lignum.
Ray
IN truth, I believe that Osage Orange (also called Hedge or Bois d'Arc) would work as well. It is good for knife and tool handles in general, and has been used for wheel hubs and other high stress uses. It is one f the densest woods in N America (maybe THE densest), and very hard. It will check, but so will Lignum Vitae if you don't wax or bag it. Must say, I have an Osage doorstop I turned from a chunk of old fence post about 30 years ago and it has not checked -- but it had been drying for about 30 years before I turned it.As I don't have a lathe (that fence post was turned on my father's lathe, now 800 miles away), I can't turn test runs. I can say it is very hard stuff. It will take a polished stone like finish. Made walking sticks out f it a few years ago, Quite lovely.And, here's a big point, unoike the scarce Lignum Vitae, it grows like a weed in some parts of the country and can be obtained free. I still just walk into the woods with a chain saw and come out with fence posts for the decorative part fo our horse pasture fencing.Edited 3/25/2007 11:16 am ET by Joe Sullivan
Edited 3/25/2007 11:17 am ET by Joe Sullivan
Joe, a Kiwi friend of mine here is sadly bitten by that scourge of the woodworking industry-bowl turning. One of his most favoured woods is Osage Orange, which he obtains via his computer. It definitely would make a handsome mallet and it turns like magic.Philip Marcou
Good to know.
Given the density and weight of Osage, you friend must pay as much in freight from here to the far side of the world as he does for the wood.
Does he have a way to keep the orange color from oxydizing? Generally it turns mediup to deep brown fairly soon.
Joe
Thanks, Ray, but I regret I am a bit lost on the vernacular. Nowt betwixt duckling and ducks arse in my dictionary, but then it is an Australian version which came up cheap because of the limited number of syllables used. (Uni etc).
I can hear the ring pulls popping.
mufti, meduck,
In USA, there are two kinds of bowling. When I was a kid, the bowling alley was all "duckpin", with a smallish ball about the size of a coconut, that was held cupped in the palm of one's hand and rolled down the alley. Later on, a "tenpin" alley opened up, with the large balls (soccerball sized), with holes drilled to stick a thumb and two fingers into.
It is the smaller, "duckpin" balls that, before they were made of marbelized resin, were made of lignum vitae.
Nowt aboot ducks atall, but for the size and shape of the pins which I suppose suggested a resemblance to the fowl.
Ray
I am surprised by the lack of mention of green bowls, Tom Paine was a member of Lewes Bowling Club in Sussex about 1768 to 1774 when he was employed as an Excise Officer. Perhaps he was too busy in his later years to indulge in pastimes.
An oddity in London many years ago, Lawn Billiards used balls of lignum vitae weighing 8lb, this variation came over from the Netherlands I think. We must have been swamped with the wood at one time until the commercial need for its particular qualities diminished.
mufti,
"I am surprised by the lack of mention of green bowls, Tom Paine was a member of Lewes Bowling Club in Sussex about 1768 to 1774 "
Hey, I was telling you about the way things were when I was a kid, but I ain't that old! I can barely remember the war of 1812...
"Lawn Billiards used balls of lignum vitae weighing 8lb" hmm what did the cuesticks weigh?
Cheers,
Ray
p,s. pop in and check on our mate Lataxe, won't you? I'm beginning to get a little concerned about his welfare.
Ray,
OK, now this should be good. I would love to hear your explanation of how you would turn a duckpin bowling ball into a mallet.
I envision mortising and tenoning the ball on a proper handle, after turning the ball into a more appropriate expanding cylinder toward the top. Then again, you may be onto something; a ball mounted on a stick!
I wonder what material those poor unfortunate duck pins are made of, being bashed by these lignum balls? Due to their propensity of damage might they be made from a harder wood?
I would think the ducky pins shape would lend themselves to be a more appropriate shape for a mallet? I will go to Canada and secure some used balls and pins to evaluate them for your research should you need them.
The possiblilities seem endless!
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Edited 3/25/2007 9:44 pm ET by KiddervilleAcres
Bob,
Indeed, I once saw a carver's mallet, whose head I was told had been turned from a bowling ball. It was Carlyle Lynch who showed it to me, so I know it can be done!
And one of the scout leaders in our troop recommended the use of bowling pins to drive tent pegs. They are the right shape, and the white finish makes them easy to see when setting up camp in the dark.
However, you won't find too many duckpins north of the border, up there are mostly Canada goosepins.
Cheers,
Ray
Ray,
Why is it that I've not heard of Maple being used for mallet heads? I would think it wood be good. )(&#*
As for Canada goosepins, the one thing they excell at is making a mess of my dock on the lake. They will soon be darkening the skies with their return up north. This may account for the sharp rise in the sale of London poop preventers, AKA umbrellas!
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Highland Hardware sells one with a lignum head and an ash handle. Here's the page from their catalog:
http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=2399
Also, if you live near a woodcraft, sometimes they have a blank or two of lignum vitae lying around, and you could turn your own. The last time I was in Woodcraft they had two.
Good luck,
Andrew
Large Solid Head Lignum Vitae Mallet
Dave, I know your post is from the ancient past but thought you or someone you know may be interested in purchasing a large, solid head Lignum Vitaie Mallet with I think is an Oak handle.
It is approx 50 years old and in mint condition. I bought it in 1963 when a scultpture student, but did not pursue that path.
It is approx 4" in diam. weighs over 6.5 lbs with an overall length of 9.25 in.
In the photo, the lighter area is not any kind of crack, just a surface discoloration.
Photo would not load, even though it is well within size limits. I tried twice, no luck
but I wanted to get this message to you.
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