lignum mallet

Wow

Jim in Burlington On

>That's pretty sweet. I priced out the same stock here and it was 40 dollars. It was 10 bucks cheaper to buy a turned mallet from LV that was about 3 years ago or so.

Re: lignum mallet

Steve Kubien

>Nice gloat on the price and a beautiful piece of work to boot!

Steve Kubien

That's purdy! Nice job too!

Scott Burr freezing in Ben Lomond,CA

>

Re: lignum mallet

Frank

>Those look great. The price was a little high for me. Ha Ha I made my mallet out of a $2.00 yard sale baseball bat. I made the mallet out of the big end and then made 2-3 pens out of the small end. But my mallet wasn't as pretty as yours.

Frank

So/Calif

Re: lignum mallet

todd hughes

>I've had baskets of old Lignum Vitae mallets over the years and don't think I have ever seen any that looked like that wood...Is that the same Lignum Vitea wood that they used to use? All that I have had were much darker with redish to black colors and some light orange streaks. I wonder if they had another wood they just called lignum ?....Todd

Re: lignum mallet

Frank D. in Montreal

>That's what I thought when I saw the wood, although I'm no expert. Last piece of real lignum vitae that I saw was about 4" by 6" by 14" and it sold the day it arrived for $500.

Nice mallet BTW Jack

Frank D. in Montreal

>

Good bet, Todd.

David Barnett

>"Is that the same Lignum Vitea wood that they used to use? All that I have had were much darker with redish to black colors and some light orange streaks. I wonder if they had another wood they just called lignum?"

I've recently noticed turning squares sold as Lignum Vitae which are actually a close family member; Bulnesia arborea, aka Maracaibo Lignum Vitae, Venezuelan LV, and Colombian LV. It's a pretty close match to LV proper, almost as dense, less oily, lighter in color and grows into a much larger tree. It was introduced by the prolific David Fairchild and occurs as a not-uncommon Florida ornamental, although two consecutive winters with hard freezes wiped out the ones in my old stomping grounds. The wood can be very pretty, could be mistaken for canarywood until you heft it, and turns nicely, almost like machineable wax.

Are you sure?

Denis Ch�nard, Orl�ans, Ont.

>Unless there's a mighty premium for thick stock, based on the price that LV and A&M Wood Specialty charge, such a piece that you describe should not cost more than $150 Canadian.

Oh, and nice mallet, Jack!

DC

Re: Are you sure?

Frank D. in Montreal

>Yes Denis.

I believe there is a world ban on felling lignum vitae (guaiacum officinale) trees (I'm not 100% sure about this but I've read it from several sources); it's one of the world's most endagered species (of trees). Langevin Forest received two batches of about eight pieces each that were selling between from $400 to $600 each, and both batches were sold within two days.

There are similar or perhaps related species that are sold under the name "lignum vitae", perhaps fine substitutes but not true guaiacum officinalis.

A&M

Jim in Burlington On

>I was there a week ago looking thru their lumber there wasn't any big pieces for making a mallet there. I'd like to get a bigger handle on a mallet. There's a few nice pieces on e-bay going cheap enough. I'm sure there's a fair supply in boat building yards.

CITES, Appendix II

David Barnett

>Not an outright ban but regulated since 1992 for Guaiacum officinale and Guaiacum sanctum (either can correctly be labeled 'lignum vitae'). Although slow growers, recent surveys show the Guaiacums populations are rebounding nicely.

Re: CITES, Appendix II

Frank D. in Montreal

>Thanks for the info David, that's good to hear. Between my books and the Internet it's not always easy to know which sources are reliable and up-to-date.

the real thing

Jack Guzman from Maine

>I think I know now why this wood sold cheaper than I expected.It's not the same thing.But it is pretty,and it is dense and it makes for a very nice mallet. Thanks for all the kind remarks.---Jack

Re: the real thing

Moses Yoder in White Pigeon, MI

>That is a nice mallet, but when you said you bought the chunk of lignum vitae for $10 I figured they just made a mistake in the pricing. The last chunk of lignum vitae I saw large enough to turn a mallet was $175. You are fortunate though to have that piece of wood; if you happened to be there and they had another chunk like that I would be interested in laying my hands on it, which would include shipping costs and a little bit for your trouble. Being 8 ounces heavier than the maple it must be a very dense wood, and the grain is really nice. Great job.

Re: Are you sure?

todd hughes

>While back I was at an Amish friends auction and I bought this huge [maybe 5 ft long 6X6 in.] Coopers plane with out a blade or wedge. They sold it as a railroad tie [!] and I got it for $2 opening bid.Figured what the hey. Went to load it but boy was that thing heavy. I know a fellow that is into coopers tools so told him that I'd give the thing to him.Other week I bought a boat and had to move the plane off my front porch to make room for the boat and again I noticed how heavy it was and looked at it a little closer and you know what I think the entire plane was made out of Lignum Vitea! I'm going have to give it another look but I am pretty sure....does look like I am going have to re examine my offer to give it away too! [the fellow wasn't all that excited about it anyway]....Todd

Argentine Lignum Vitae

will tracey

>The lignum vitae that this mallet is turned from is most likely from Aregntina. True lignum vitae comes from Lignum Vitae Key in the Fla. Keys. Relatives of the true species grow elsewhere, mostly in central and south America, and they tend to be similar in working properties. I've purchased some of this stuff from West Penn Hardwoods and they sell it as Argentine Lignum Vitae. I believe that they have a bit of info on their website. It's close, but its not the real thing.

How much do you all need?

Doug Trembath

>I happen to have a trunk from the collection of a pretty famous tool maker that is maybe 14" in diameter, and four feet tall. It has provenance from about thirty years ago. Certainly too heavy to lift, but you can move it okay. It works really well. I made a mallet with L.V. head, and cocobolo handle that is really too heavy for chisels, but when sculpting, will flat take a bite with a big carving gouge almost effortlessly.

I could make some of it available to you all. I know the last price I saw for L.V. was around $11.00 a pound. Certainly not the cost some of you have cited here.

A buddy of mine has some billets maybe 6X6 and four or five feet long. Must have been some kind of beams or something, but he has quite a bit of it.

Doug Trembath

Studio in the Woods

"vera" wood? Nice Mallet!!

john jesseph

>

Re: Argentine Lignum Vitae

Clay C in Miami

>Well, LV does grow on Lignum Vitae key, but it also grows on most of the other Keys (I know of a stand on Key Largo), and in mainland S FL - all same species. (I expect it also grows in the Caribbean, seems I remember tales of ships getting it in the old ports in Jamaica, Hispaniola, etc.)

It's mainly the fact that it is SO slow-growing that contributes to the rarity.

Clay