The winter of 2013/14 was pretty brutal. But I got out to the shed in January. I was thinking that since I had a decent set of chisels, thanks to Sally buying me a set of Narex bench chisels for Christmas, I ought to have a carvers mallet to go along with them. I was also thinking about the pile of birch in the firewood pile from the tree I had to remove the previous fall. It was a huge tree and I loved the shade it gave us, but it was well rotted in places and the whole top fell off, narrowly missing the house. I walked out back and took a look.
It looks like I can find one that is about "handle" sized.
Then I peeled all the bark off of it.
Then I found a piece that was about "mallet head" sized and cut a piece of that off.
I took the bark off that too.
Then a touch of work getting the handle a bit rounder and to size.
A hole to match. The brace and bit is a nice quiet way to make a hole.
I then cut a kerf in the handle,
then a wedge in the kerf,
Now I glue the wedge in the kerf, put a bunch of glue in the hole and around the handle end with the wedge in it, and stick the wedged end into the hole and give it a few raps with a hammer. This forces the wedge into the kerf which expands the end of the handle in the hole......A fox wedged tenon. Then we put a clamp on it and let it dry.
It works quite well I am pleased to say. It is not very heavy, so for gentler work it is just perfect. It has a few dents in it now, and that is as it should be. It looks right at home on the shelf.
That is the story of how I got a mallet for free in the middle of winter. A few more projects to go for the year.
Thanks for dropping by!
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