Osage

Re: Osage

William Duffield, on the Cohansey

>Yup, it would work fine. I've made two carver's mallets from hedge. One of them is now my backup plane adjusting hammer, since my recent acquistion of a Chester Tool Works brass, lignum vitae and ash hammer.

Note that a typical carver's mallet has a long grain striking surface, while your mallet, depending on it's design, might have an end-grain striking surface. Bois d'arc works well in that configuration too.

Of course, its performance depends a lot on it's intended purposes. I have mostly stopped using wooden headed mallets for assembly, because hard rubber dead blow mallets don't leave dings in the wood. They do leave skid marks, but those are easily sanded or scraped off. For carving and for chopping mortises, I prefer a wooden mallet. If, however, you are striking chisels that have iron striking rings, you would be better off using a hammer with a steel head.

Re: Like this? *LINK*

Dave Mount

>I made some and they've served very well. I use them mostly for whacking chisels. Like Mssr. Duffield, I also use a soft-faced mallet for assembly.

There's a mallet design out on the net by John Gunterman that actually specifies Osage orange (see the link at the bottom below the pic).

Go for it!

Dave

Dave Mount, Two Harbors, MN




Gunterman mallet design

Thanks!!!

John Parker

>I was planning on using the mallet for striking chisels. Those are the type I am planning on using. I like the angled face.

Damn!!

Tom Sontag - St. Louis

>You stole my thunder completely! I just completed a gaggle of osage orange headed mallets and was THIS close to posting a gloat picture.

Sigh.

I may do it anyhow. I modified the design a tad to provide tenon shoulders along with a dovetail shaped flare to the handle's tenon that keeps the head from ever going either way. I laminated the head using PU glue.

Hardness (lbf) of:

walnut: 900

hard maple: 970

white oak: 1060

osage orange: 2040

ebony: 3220

Re: Post 'em anyway!

Dave Mount

>