As Jessie from the Fast Showwould say, “Today Oi ar been mostly makin’ a mallet”.
I had an old beech mallet that the ladywife has used in her garden to whack in stakes. It was always too small and light, as confirmed by my recent use of it to hit mortise chisels for the first time in anger.
So, after perusing various FWW articles and tips, I selected some design aspects amd have made a hefty new mallet from a plank of hard, dense beech I’ve had lying about by itself for a while. The mallet has 5 degree faces and was made by gluing two 7/4 pieces together to form the head – after cutting sloping rabbets in the cente of each to form the hole for a wedged handle, when the two halves were mated.
The new mallet has heft and weight, hopefully sufficient for the mortise chisel-whapping. The mortise chisels have hornbeam handles and are hooped (Two Cherries).
My question is, what (if anything) should I finish the end grain of the mallet faces with?
* Oil (or might it cause a slip)?
* Glue-size (to help bind the wood fibres more)?
* A lump of leather (I have plenty spare at 2.5mm thick, after lining vise jaws on the newly-made bench)?
Nothing? Something else?
Advice would be appreciated.
Lataxe
Replies
I don't know what the "best" answer is, but when I made myself a flat faced mallet from a rescued firewood log several years ago, I rubbed it down with a few coats of BLO. It has worked fine and never slipped.
I haven't read it yet, but isn't there a mallet article in the latest FWW? What does that chap use as a finish. BTW, his finger looks to be in the path of the bandsaw blade when cutting the handle tenon!
Oh, and my choice for driving mortise chisels is a large urethane head carvers mallet. It has plenty of weight (available in a few different head sizes), has a striking face all around, and the joints in my striking arm appreciate the slight dampening of the impact jolts. http://www.woodcraft.com/images/family/web5382big.jpg
Edited 12/22/2006 10:15 am ET by Samson
Samson,
I didn't like the mallet in the latest FWW as it requires a round handle bit inserted into the head. This seems like it would be more prone to come unstuck, especially if the round is carved/rasped (as in the article) rather than turned accurately. My mallet has a rectangular insert for the handle - a wedged tennon in effect.
The author used an oil finish, as I remember, which I'll use for mine too. I was just wondering if the end grain faces, as the hitting surface, would benefit from being "toughened", if possible.
For instance, if oil is used on the end grain, I could imagine it being wicked up by the pint and maybe softening the face...?
Those urethane mallets look comfortable but various books I read on mortising opine that a flat surface for hitting is genrally safer than a round one; and that a "big hefter" is better than a (usually) lighter carving mallet. Still, if yours works I may just indulge myself. :-) A spare mallet must be A Good Thing.
GRW: The ladywife has read your post and is sending you a special mushroom quiche, with those lovely red and white-speckled ones in it, that grow in profusion around here. You will enjoy the whole thing (quiche and its aftermath). Say hello to Alice and the White Rabbit for me.
Lataxe
33300.4 in reply to 33300.2
I didn't like the mallet in the latest FWW
I wasn't intending to endorse the mallet so much as suggest his finish may be appropriate.
For instance, if oil is used on the end grain, I could imagine it being wicked up by the pint and maybe softening the face...?
The head of the mallet I made was from a large limb on a non-fruit cherry that used to grow in my yard. The wood was more like apple than the typical cherry species one typically obtains from wood purveyors. The end grain did not drink excessively nor soften in the least with the application of BLO.
various books I read on mortising opine that a flat surface for hitting is genrally safer than a round one
I have antique pig stickers, with handles that have decently wide flatish handle ends. Perhaps that makes a difference? I've not missed yet, even though I'm never looking at the handle end, but always at the blade. I find the smallest urethane mallet (12 oz) is my go-to-guy for malleting duties in the shop. I also have the heavy (20 oz.) version that I'll get out if I'm chopping a really big mortise.
"big hefter" is better than a (usually) lighter carving mallet.
A certain amount of heft is nice as it lets gravity do most of the work. That said, there is such a thing as too heavy as well, because then you are working against gravity in the other direction. I tend to chop (resonably delicately) with my mortisers as opposed to whack away as though I'm driving a stake into the heart of the wood. While the mallet and mortise chisel both look brutish, I still feel that in cabinet work they are more like specialized carving tools than post and beam M&T hogging barn construction tools.
Still, if yours works I may just indulge myself. :-) A spare mallet must be A Good Thing.
As I say, I like my mine a great deal for carving, dovetailing, and M&T among other things. I feel like a pusher.
Edited 12/22/2006 9:32 pm ET by Samson
Lataxe,
Thank the Mrs. for me. But I think I'll go on a diet for a while. The only thing I'll be putting in my mouth is my foot.
My wife used my mallet on her garden stakes too. I got it back and made her one of her own within a few days. Mine is called a mallet. Her is called a "Husband Wacker". Lucky for me she's never really tested it.
Enjoy the holidays all.
Lataxe,
You do want the mallet to wear...so it can be replaced....with new concepts you've been thinking about...
"GRW: The ladywife has read your post and is sending you a special mushroom quiche, with those lovely red and white-speckled ones in it, that grow in profusion around here. You will enjoy the whole thing (quiche and its aftermath). Say hello to Alice and the White Rabbit for me.""First time I've heard me laugh in years."Adopted from an old country song. You said the food's good there; now do you have any good Scot's whiskey?I don't like the round end on the mallet either. Its a little bit of showmanship. Just put a square handle in a square hole and wedge it. And then shape the rest of the handle the way you want it.I glue up ash because my chisels have ash handles, turn them on a lathe, do not finish them and then burn them when they're done. Seems to me that two woods of the same species does less damage to each other.Don't fix it if its not broke.pins
Pins,
You have either had some of the ladywife's quiche or a Very Special Scotch, as you are rambling about a mallet or something. :-)
I liked mine until I saw Samson's lignum vitae one. I think I will have to raid the local bowls club and nick one of their bigger balls. It seems rude to chuck a round lump of lignum V down a grassy sward at a little white ball when it could be whacking my chisels.
Why are you burning your ash? It gives a cheery heat, true; but burning it seems a waste, especially when you have gone to the trouble of turning it and so forth.
Lataxe, who has been sampling Jura and Old Pulteney this evening but still prefers Lagavulin.
Lataxe,I have had neither. Rather I have just had a lovely steak with claret.I have two commercially produced LigV mallets and one 'joiner's' mallet, all from Garret Wade, but usually I make my own these days. I did use the joiner's mallet chopping mortises for electric outlets in logs for a log home I built and I use the LigV mallets on the rare occasions that I am forced to chop mortises by hand. My mortising chisels and timber framing chisels are not ash and they take a pretty good beating.I don't put any finish on my mallets and when, and if, the mallet starts to fall apart I just throw it in the woodburner, as happened with one I made of walnut.pinsAnd a Blessed Christmas and a happy and holy New Year for you and your ladywife. And I agree: I never play games with little white balls and I never go on boats without loos.
I really wasn't interested in mallet face finishing, but seeing 47 hits, thought - hummmm - WHAT can be so interesting about that?
So I read 'em. Great thread! Now I want a mallet, too.
Mike D :)
Lataxe,
I'd dip in a herbaside.. Then tell the wife.. Maybe she'll stop taking it to the garden.
nowt
Best you can do is to send me both mallets. I will take care of your question at no charge. And I will return them after they are ready to return. Don't hold your breath! <ROFLOL>
Geez!Another thread that interested me totally disolving into ameteur hour at the Elks club...You guys ever get tired of being "cute"?This forum has very little about wood working anymore......sigh..Sorry but EVERY thread I've been going to ends up like this and I might as well whine here.See around ..... maybe....10saw
10,
I have rarely been called cute but find I quite like the concept.
It is possible to discuss things without going all po-faced and ultra-serious you know. Also without taking offense at this or that remark which blots your blueprint of a Utopian WW forum. Clowns and fools often have a good eye for naked emperors, grandiose kings and the simple truth behind the costumes and posing.
Of course, this thread is not getting me too far with the mallet-face-finishing question, although I am inclined to take His Excellency's advice of "nowt" at the moment.
As mallets interest you just now I will use this as an excuse to ramble on about mine, in contrast the the one recommended in the latest issue of FWW. Apologies in advance if any cuteness has crept in. :-)
The head is 4 inches thick, of dense-grain beech, as beech resists crushing and splintering. Maple, in my experience, is a bit prone to chip on the corners so I ignored the FWW mallet design there.
The handle is a rectangular piece of straight-grained ash, which bends and absorbs shock well. The handle is through-tenoned into the head and kept in place with: a wedge; a shoulder; some dabs of PVA; one dowel through both head and handle near the shoulder.
The FWW straight-oval handle seemed too simple - prone to slip out the hand (no swell knob); lacking any feel for the right gripping place; likely to get a loose head after a few bashings.
The handle seemed important, so I looked at axe handle design and adopted these ideas:
* Make it 16 not 12 inches long, to balance the large head.
* Shape the handle with drawerknife and spokeshave so that one's hand is "guided" by the slopes/narrow-section towards the ideal holding position 2/3rds the distance from the shoulder. This section is faired into an ovoid shape, returning to (rounded corner) rectangles at the shoulder and swell-knob ends.
* Leave a swell-knob on the handle-end to prevent the mallet leaving your gasp should you swing it a bit vigorous-like.
* Round all the sharp corners so the beast can be comfortably gripped close to the shoulder or to the swell-knob, if required.
There, you are either now facinated, bored, cuted-out or all 3 at the same time!
Lataxe, cute as kitten with a pink bow on.
Alright, I'll take up the chealenge of livening up this thread - by opening myself up to ridicule! Attached is a pick of the first mallet I made over a decade ago when I first started on the road of hand tools in earnest. I did the best I could with my limited tools and skills. It works fine, but is more than a little embarassing at this point. The handle is a maple dowel, the collar and swell knob were bits of mahogany I had in the scrap box. Oh, and I did it all without a plan; can you believe that!
http://home.comcast.net/~samson141/doofy_mallet.jpg
The full arsenal:
http://home.comcast.net/~samson141/mallets.jpg
I think I need to make a new hammer version just to save myself from embarassment ;-)
Samson,
Your mallet is a fine conglomeration and reminds me of the bench I have just made, an item also constructed using sundry chunks of vari-coloured wood lying around the woodstore. I see I must take some pics......
Lataxe
Hi Samson,
I, too, have the lignum-headed carving chisel in the center of your snapshot; works well, and I enjoy its fragrance! How do you find the brass- (bronze?)headed mallet to use? I was apprehensive about its potential for painful and unwelcome assaults upon my ears, so I never bought one.
Don't own any flat-faced mallets, as I find them far more taxing on my forearms, wrists, and hands with extended use; I can relax my grip on the round-headed mallets on the back-stroke, which I cannot when using a flat-faced mallet.
Thanks for sharing your photos. BTW, your first mallet is just fine if it's functional, comfortable, and safe to use; what else could you ask for?-Jazzdogg-
"Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive." Gil Bailie
Thanks, Jazzdogg, and the rest of you for being kind.
As for the brass mallet, I like that I can cradle teh head in my fingers when carving. The sound never bothered me. Truth told, the smaller urethane mallet meets the lion's share of my mallet needs.
Samson,
Some mallet photos. As you can see, it got oiled.
Lataxe
A very handsome mallet indeed!
And the oil looks good. Thanks for posting the pics.
Sire, I have seen some handsome mallets indeed in these photos. Some observations if I may:
The head- it is preferable for this to be in one piece, rather than glued. Not that we don't put all faith in modern glue, but well there you are.
The handle- if it be rectangular in cross section, rounded/oval where the hand grips it and tapering bigger towards the top of the head whilst still being rectangular in cross section then this is superior as a tight fit is guaranteed at all seasons no matter what.Since it tapers in the head then it can tightened as needed by an intelligent tap,- or easily removed to put in a dark corner if one has damaged it by beating a lawn mower or Ford half shaft or a snake.
The material- well Beech is traditional , but it is fashionable these days to use other exotic stuff pillaged from virgin rain forests etc..One should chamfer the edges, just as on metal hammers.
The weight and size- if you are building galleons for the Portuguese Navy then there will be a direct relationship, which your knowledge of Cosmology will support.
Ofcourse, those carvers have their own ideas on the shape and function of their mallets, but who are we to hold that against them? At least it gives those turners a chance to turn something other than bowls. (Not included in that licentious remark is the esteemed Rootburl, aka Keith Newton)
Philip Marcou
Philip,
Can a mallet be handsome? Well, the ladywife sometimes says that I am (in moments of passion) and I have a heed not unlike that of a mallet, so I suppose you can. (And someone tried to call me cute - cuh)!
As to gluing mallet heads - I rely on modern technology (the glue) but also on proper technique (flattening the glue-faces accurately with one of them Marcou plane things). This means that if the mallet falls in two, you have to give me my money back, as the glue was fine. Another plane will be acceptable. :-)
Of course, I will apply my new mallet only to mortise chisels and other legitimate targets, so it will remain quite neat and tidy. I do wonder at a man who not only beats up little snakes but does so with a valuable mallet. I suddenly have a mental picture of you shaving with a plane and must rush off to the plane cupboard now, to examine for hair or soap......
Lataxe
Edited 12/24/2006 11:09 am ET by Lataxe
Well my shame was too great. I decided to take a couple hours this Christmas afternoon, while my daughter played with her new things, and make a new mallet. I used another piece of the cherry I had to take out of my yard a few years back for the head. The handle is maple. Squared up a 7/8ths hole I drilled through and wedged the handle (sawed the kerfs this time!). Shaped the handle with rasps/files/sandpaper. While it's nothing special, I'm not ashamed of it, and it's kind of fun to see how far my woodworking has come in a decade even as reflected in this simple project. Cheers.
http://home.comcast.net/~samson141/new_Mallet.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~samson141/New_Mallet_2.jpg
Sign me up for 2 gross. Can you ship tomorrow? Rich
I'll need tomorrow to make 'em. They'll go out Wednesday. ;-)
Thanks!
Samson,
That is a very Good Looking Chap and fair cries out to be gripped and whopped on to a compliant tool.
I notice you have made a "dodu" type handle, where one's grip is guided by a bulge rather than by a "waist". Is the mallet a mortise, carving or general purpose implement? I am now interested in mallet design, although I will apparently need to watch out for copyright concerning the exact shape of handles, heads and possibly even the chosen wood. :-)
Lataxe, mallet-fancier.
Thanks, Lataxe.
As for the handle, I just made one that seemed comfortable and have never heard of dodu. I knew I wanted a swell at the end and a strong square collar at the top (to correspond to the wedged end and trap the head). Between the two, I suppose I could have gone a lot of ways, but opted for this as I would rasp some then grip, rasp some then test the grip etc. ....
Is the mallet a mortise, carving or general purpose implement?
yes
Well, it likely tends more to the mortising and general pupose, but aim to just try it out at a host of tasks and see what it likes.
As for copyrights, I believe they've all expired long ago and you are free to borrow from any of the other borrower's designs you notice and fancy.
If I find the right piece of wood for the head, I would like someday to make a somewhat larger headed one - at least 4x3.5x6 - perhaps with a curved top and barrel sides. I'd still make the handle roughly 12" as I think a choked up grip would be how I'd use the brute.
Happy New Year!
Samson,
You mention,
"If I find the right piece of wood for the head, I would like someday to make a somewhat larger headed one - at least 4x3.5x6 - perhaps with a curved top and barrel sides. I'd still make the handle roughly 12" as I think a choked up grip would be how I'd use the brute".
The implement you describe sounds like it has tendencies towards a "beetle". These are used in green woodworking and some other traditional crafts, to impart a vicious and heavy blow to another tool such as....a lataxe! (ie a froe).
A crude version of a beetle is often "made in the woods", as needed, consisting of a knotted section of a 6 - 10 inch diameter treetrunk, of a dense wood like oak. A stout, straight, riven piece of the same trunk is used as the handle, rounded and inset into an augured hole in the head, kept in place with an internal wedge in the head-end of the handle. (The wedge opens the handle end inside the augured hole, as the handle is driven into the head). This is known as "a knocker".
It is a good jape to loosen the handle a bit, so the head flies off dangerously when the hapless woodworker next whops his froe. (Newbies, ignore this grossly irresponsible talk).
Perssonally I have always fancied a proper beetle, with the barrel shape, some iron hoops and a two-hands handle. I would use it to deal with annoying salesmen and such, rather than nice timber or my lovely tools.
Lataxe
PS: I would only wave the beetle at the salesmen; never would I whop one, as this is both illegal and immoral, as is the trick with the loosened knocker head, probably. Also, as I am a lataxe, some joker might take my beetle from me and apply it to my person, claiming he was only trying to rive a nearby tree in the approved manner.
Now that's just showing off - no two ways about it - unseemly, and everything. You could have at least made the chamfers uneven, it being a utility tool and all.
Mike D
I try. "Unseemly" - I like it.
I actually made all the chamfers free hand with a chisel and just eyeballed it. That cherry (a non-fruit type form my yard) cuts very nicely - dense but even grained - a lot like apple. The back of the chisel just registers against what you've already cut and keeps things even. But, if you saw it in person, you'd have no trouble telling it was made largely with hand tools - not much machined perfection in the smoothing - the chamfers - or the handle.
Lataxe,
Quite the handsome mallet you've made there.
The bench underneath it: would this be the recently-built one?
(BTW, nice tools in the background. How do you like that Veritas chair-maker's spokeshave?)Beste Wünschen auf ein glückliches und sicheres Neues Jahr!
Tschüß!
Mit freundlichen holzbearbeitungischen Grüßen aus dem Land der Rio Grande!!
James
James,
The bench is indeed lurking under the mallet. I have a number of pics of it's making and initial finished state. However, it is still in the process of being refined - a cupboard for underneath, strange-shaped dogs and such.
The "refinements" are also an opportunity to practice handmade joints - M&T for doors, dovetails and even a groove in drawers (I need a router plane). :-)
The Veritas spokeshaves are great performers. I got them to go on a chairmaking course a year ago and was able to compare them to the tutor's Anant and (modern) Stanley. The Veritas perform very well indeed whilst the A and the S were nasty chatterers.
The chairs I made then andsince are greenwood and therefoe relatively easy meat for tools such as spokeshaves. I have used the shaves a little on "dried" wood, again with great results, in terms of their performance. They cut smoothly,are very adjustable and stay sharp for a long time. If you are wanting ready-made spokeshaves I would say, get these because they seem to offer a very good price/performance balance.
Now I have my eye on Lee Valley's similarly styled chair scrapers, which would certainly be better than a card-scraper on chairs (I tell myself). Will they never stop seducing me with their tool porn! (No, they won't).
Lataxe
Sir,
Very nice looking bench, if you don't mind me saying so.
<<The Veritas spokeshaves are great performers.....>>
Those chair-making spokeshaves from LV have been on my lust list for a while, but, up 'til now, I hadn't come across anyone that had used them and could comment on their working qualities. Thanks for confirming that they are, indeed, fine and functional tools. (I've also been looking at those chair scrapers; they keep looking better and better....)
<<Will they never stop seducing me with their tool porn! (No, they won't).>>
You're absolutely correct about the seductiveness of their tool porn. Both LV and LN (notice the close similarities in both the initials and the sound of the full-length names....hmmmmm) put out high-quality tool porn: full colour photos of alluringly-positioned planes, with a lustful glint off that curvacious, satiny bronze surface....the finely-grained, silky-smooth cocobolo knob and tote..... Whoa!!! I better stop before I get carried away here.....
<<(I need a router plane). >>
Veritas has a relatively newly-introduced one (last six months or so), that looks pretty nice (I'm sure that you have already seen this fine example of tool porn....). LN just introduced a new #271-type router plane, and is supposed to be introducing a #71-type very shortly.
<<The "refinements" are also an opportunity to practice handmade joints - M&T for doors, dovetails and even a groove in drawers....>>
If you don't yet have a router plane for the drawer grooves, a back saw (or an Azibiki), a straight-edged saw guide (a straight piece of wood about 1½"/37 mm or 2"/50 mm high) and a crank neck chisel of appropriate width makes nice grooves in a reasonable amount of time. Just clamp the saw guide on the wood where you want one of the walls of the groove to be, score the cut line with a marking knife, and saw to depth (I use a piece of masking tape on the saw blade to mark the depth); repeat for the other wall of the groove. Chip out the waste with a bench chisel (the same way you would on a mortise) and then use the crank neck chisel to flatten/smooth the bottom of the groove. (If no crank neck chisel, then a bench chisel bevel down works almost as well to flatten the bottom of the groove.) First one's a bit slow, the rest move right along. Same technique also works well for dadoes and sliding dovetails (although for the sliding dovetails, your saw guide needs to be beveled at the same angle as the male portion of the dovetail).Beste Wünschen auf ein glückliches und wohlbehaltenes Neues Jahr!
Tschüß!
Mit freundlichen holzbearbeitungischen Grüßen aus dem Land der Rio Grande!!
James
James,
I read a review of the LV spokeshaves on that website that is run by Chris Schwartz (I think is the name). I'll try to find the url for you......
Just to give you a minus as well as the pluses:
The ss handles are a bit small, if you have big mits. However, they can be replaced with handmade alternatives (the handles, not the mits, which are quite hard to construct). LV even sell a kit of threaded rod, brass washer and such to help (you then just have to carve the new handles).
LV are also selling a fancy spoon shave, for hollowing out chair seats and such. Oh, the rotten, dirty rascals!
Lataxe
James,
A link for you to the spokeshave ramblings:
http://www.wkfinetools.com/contrib/cSchwarz/chairTool/chairTool1.asp
Here also are pics of another mallet (I blame Samson and his serried ranks of mallets for making me construct another myself).
This mallet is a "little donker", made for tappy-tapping rather than whopping. The wood is ekki, a silicate-laden hardwood with a specific gravity of just over 1 (ie it don't float and that little bit that has become my mallet has quite a "bonk"). I call it ekki-thump (a joke only Lancastrians will understand). The finish is just beeswax.
Finally, one pic also of the workbench, as it was when first put together, so lacking its cupboard, dogholes and such (which are still not finished but nearly so).
Lataxe, mallet-addict
Lataxe,
Thanks for the link; interesting article. Then again, I enjoy reading almost everything that Chris Schwartz has written recently; usually thought-provoking stuff.
Nice mallet; looks like a real (chisel) head knocker.... ;-) That's a very attractive wood; African or Asian?
Also, very nice looking work bench. Can't, for the life of me, understand why you've been bashful about showing it off.....
What kind of wood(s) did you use for the frame works?Beste Wünschen auf ein glückliches und wohlbehaltenes Neues Jahr!
Tschüß!
Mit freundlichen holzbearbeitungischen Grüßen aus dem Land der Rio Grande!!
James
That donker is a work of art. Such a pretty shape and such pretty wood. Did you turn it?
The bench is splendid as well.
So tell me, it seems to Neanderthal-bug has bitten you reasonably hard; is your router getting jealous yet?
Samson & James
The donker was indeed turned, out of a small chunk of ekki that I've had for some years. I got a few billets of 3ins X 3ins X 18ins from one of my wood fairies (local chaps who scavenge interesting throw-out timber from where they work).
The ekki, along with a number of other strange exotics, was used as packing for deck-strapped pallets of timber shipped in via the local dock, where my fairy is the crane driver. Previous to fairy-rescue, the packing was left on deck after the unloading of the pallets, then cast into the sea when the ship went off to its next port of call. Those sailor philistines!
The ekki is sometimes seen in posh garden ornaments involving flowing water, as it doesn't degrade when wet and looks a gorgeous dusky pink/puce, with cream specks. Apparently it is also used in docks for pilings, a bit like greenheart.
Ekki is very unstable, however, cracking and warping if subject to significant humidity changes. It likes to be either soaking wet or quite dry. Some left outside, in the incorrect belief that its durabiity would keep it safe, self-destructed: split, warped and fell into chunks.
**
The bench framework is made of similar fairy-brought chunks - sapele and iroko mostly. These were from a fairy who works in the building trade, where the burning and skipping of wonderful old timber ripped out of demolished buildings is an ongoing crime. The bench frame still needs a finish - a coat of oil or three to keep the glue drips from sticking. It is properly designed and jointed but not pretty; functional, rather.
The bench top is rock maple, timber bought cheap from a friend who does large-scale first and second fit work in posh houses. His left-over odds-and-sods are often my starting planks. The vises are Veritas twin screw, which work extremely well. I am currently building a cupboard to go under the bench; this also serves as good practice for doing handcut joints.
**
As to the routers - I confess that the Woodrat has a thin layer of dust on it now. But it is just resting, whilst I learn how to deal with these damned primitive chisels, planes and such.
I cannot get religious and go neanderthal, as I have an anti-idealogy memeplex installed in my wetware. I recommend this memeplex-innoculation to all who have found themselves acting against their own interest simply because of some virulent idea they got infected with, such as using planes other than Marcous or LVs. Just read a Daniel Dennett book, to begin the innoculation process. (Also works against many isms, adverts, cults and the like). :-)
Lataxe
Lataxe,
"Donker", I have a new word in my woodworking vocabulary. Onomotopoeia, gotta love it, even when one can't spell it.
Thanks,
Ray
'Tis a handsome fine knocker.Could you tell me about the knobbed doo-hickey on the edge of the bench? An adjustable stop, perhaps?AndySaid least is often said best,
but said best is often said least.
Andy,
Everyone loves a little donker, as it can be cuddled but delivers a telling blow nevertheless. As Ray notes, the name comes from the noise it makes. (Everyone knows that a "bonk" requires some metal in the implement somewhere). :-)
The thing on the edge of the bench is indeed a movable bench stop. It goes with a bought-in toothed stop that lives on the end vise's movable jaw. This allows various lengths of plank and such to be held edge-up along the front apron of the bench to be planed or whatever.
I am wary of drilling too many holes in bench, so the movable side stop allows use of the existing topside bench holes, rather than drilling another lot of holes in the apron for an ordinary dog. I adapted mine from one shown in an old FWW article concerning bench design.
I'll post a photo of the arrangement in action, in due course.
Lataxe, an old dog learning new tricks
<I'll post a photo of the arrangement in action, in due course.>That would be much appreciated. And perhaps you could include the method you use to lock it to the edge. Something as simple as a hand-screw underneath or an ingenious cam mechanism? Happy New Year, by the way. Since you get it first, please let us know if this one is any good.AndySaid least is often said best,
but said best is often said least.
Andy,
Herewith some photos.
A peg (or just a dog) through the contraption and into one of the dogholes along the top edge of the bench keeps it in place. The face of the contraption that grips the end of the plank is left a bit rough and sits at a few degrees less than 90 to the edge of the bench, so the plank can't pop out.
The toothy thing at the vise jaw end is bolted through the vise jaw with carriage bolts; their heads are sunk below the level of the vise jaw's inside face. I suppose you could just screw the toothy thing in to the back of the vise jaw but it's easy to apply a lot of pressure with the Veritas vise so I used them through-bolts to be safe.
The toothy thing was just over £10 ($19). The toothy bit can be pulled out the required amount or set back out the way, then locked with the tommy bar.
The contraption is made of scraps, like the whole bench really. :-)
Of course, the front vise on the other end of the bench-edge can be used to hold one end of longer planks. That vise has its inner jaw flush with the bench front-edge. Also, short planks can be held in that front vise, rather than by the contraption - although the front vise then gets in the way of the planing a bit.
With the contraption, you are stood right up to the plank so bending (and backache) is reduced, as you plane away.
Lataxe
Obviously, you would never make it in a FWW magazine or any woodworking magazine. I went back and looked at your original photos of your bench as well as the last posted ones. Good grief, there are shavings all over! Don't you know that true woodworking areas have no evidence of woodworking in the pictures. ROFL
Real woodworkers don't make shavings, saw dust, or cutoffs! Their shops are as clean as operating rooms. Just check out any woodworking mag or book!
BTW, I would like to have your bench!
A bad day woodworking is better than a good day working -- yes, I'm retired!
81,
I would make you a bench for money, but it is against my principles to exploit other people so openly. :-) As to the shavings, these are photographic props that I keep in a box, to fool you all into thinking I might be a real woodworker.
Seriously, I have found the shavings a bit of a nuisance. The shed was always clean when I used power tools, as the suckers got 99% of the detritus. Those plane and chisel things don't come with shaving-collection hoods and this is a serious design flaw, in my view.
Even when sucked at with the free-standing vacuum, the damnable shavings keep clogging up the pipe! Also, they are trod into the house and the ladywife insists I vacuum in there too!
There's more to this Neanderthal style of WW than one realises.
Lataxe
Lataxe,
That's quite the ingenious holding device you've attached to your bench; much more compact than a hook and a bench jack. Looks very useful and simple to put into action. Very elegant.
Out of curiosity, from whence springeth this idea? I've never seen anything quite like that in any of the books or articles I've read.Beste Wünschen auf ein glückliches und wohlbehaltenes Neues Jahr!
Tschüß!
Mit freundlichen holzbearbeitungischen Grüßen aus dem Land der Rio Grande!!
James
James,
The bench hook/stop was in a FWW article but I can't remember for definite who the author was. Might have been Graham Blackburn or Gary Rogowski or Chris Gouchnor (hope I have the spellings right).
I will dig about in the other PC for the PDF, which I think I saved....
The toothed wotsit is in many British tool retailer catalogues.
Lataxe
James,
The article that contains a "side dog" is indeed by Graham Blackburn and appears in the Winter 2003 FWW Tools & Shops issue, within an article about the history of benches.
The same issue also contains some very fine planes & spokeshaves made by FWW readers; as well as an article on....mallets! Spooky.
Lataxe
Latax. now you have done it- cranked my juices up on doing a "fine" mallet- as I have a nice cut off 4"x 3+" x @9+" of the hardest, most solid South American rose wood that you have ever seen . This stuff is sooo hard that a well(but not scarey sharp) low angle LV block or my MF type #140 barely created dust as I tried to remove the saw marks. Subsequent sharpening yielded only wispy 1/4' sections 1 to 2" long.
As if I am not without enough tasks at the moment, I now must focus on design/ what wood-handle to turn( this means that the lathe/bench/tools etc. must go south around Valentines day in the next truck load) and reserve time to execute. I have only the planner, the big saws, mortiser, drill presses, a baby 4 1/2" jointer un mounted and most of the hand tools to work with but I will make do. News at 11:00 or 2300 hrs. if you are in that mode. I initially see an arched body, champhered edges all around with some fine beading that describes an arched panel on the sides and front. The handle is still a problem -how long, what thickness,what wood(many are in hand) rectangular split wedged mortise. All suggestions accepted. Paddy.
Paddy,
Don't forget my mallet design fee. :-)
Given the gothic nature of your planned whopper, I suggest a handle of snakewood, 20ins long and decorated with small but perfect relief carvings showing the 19 main phases in the history of cabinet making in the 18th Century. (Some "experts" say it is 23, but don't listen to them, they are post-modernists in disguise).
Make the wedges in the tennon from the best satinwood, which is probably not a good wedge material but will make the mallet ultra-gothic and therefore worth thousands on ebay (in 2099).
Lataxe, mallet expert (not).
"Make the wedges in the tennon from the best satinwood, which is probably not a good wedge material but will make the mallet ultra-gothic and therefore worth thousands on ebay (in 2099)."
Only if never used.
If there are any signs of use, the mallet, rather than an object of desire, will simply be a dirty tool. In which case it will be sold with "No Reserve," and will bring $7.32.
Rich
LATAX, it may not be Gothic but it will be elegant and functional. I see the first tasks to be finding the center point in the vertical face and creating a slightly under sized mortise, turning and spoke shaving an ovaloid handle to figure the proper size /weight/main body arc/face angles and other proportions for tap tap taping whilst choking up to the head or mid handle to whop a large mortise chisel.
Once the science is done , turn round faces that chamfer to the main square of the body about 1/4" longer to dress the proper angles on the faces and then consider the final handle/mortise and decor. Any suggestions? Paddy
ps. you don't get no stinkin commission!
Lataxe,
Wonderful job on your workbench and side support ideas!! I was wonder where one could buy the black object that bolts to your twin screw vise jaw?
Thank you for posting your work. Quiet Inspiring!
Bill
Bill,
The black thingy-wodgit is a "york end mounted bench stop". I got mine here (its a British WW retailer):
http://www.axminster.co.uk/product-York-End-Mounted-Bench-Stop-480178.htm
You may find one in the US with that "york" moniker.....
Lataxe
I'm curious if you ever found the article in FWW. I'd like to send it to my brother who's building a bench.
Jonnie,
The article was by Graham Blackburn, giving an illustrated history of workbench styles, in FWW #160. The bit about the side dog is at the end of the article.
Here is the Taunton pdf link:
http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/FWNPDF/011160054.pdf
The referencing page is:
http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/ProjectsAndDesign/ProjectsAndDesignPDF.aspx?id=2820
Lataxe
Thank you so much for the reference. By the way, yours looks great.
Is it okay to thank people on here?
J,
Nothing wrong with good manners, which oil the reciprocators of discussion.
On the other hand, nothing wrong either with sinking some teef into the erse of the odd trolling eejit, should one pop up. Happily Knots has very few of these; and those that do skulk out from under their bridge from time to time tend to be easy meat for the virtual pitchfork (to mix metaphors a bit). :-)
Lataxe
I think your mallet are lovely. They look like somthing you can use.
Samson
I was looking at the jpg of your mallets and one of them, the one with the green blush to it, seems to be lignum vitae. Is that the case? How do you like itJ It is a fairly light one from the size. I also noticed the Lee Valley brass midget...a fine detail carving mallet. How do you find the composite mallets?(and don't tell me you just look around and there they are) :-) JL
Don't bother answering this post...I am only about 50 posts behind, and as I read through I found the answers to the questions I asked. JL on one of his many less than quick days
Edited 1/5/2007 1:31 pm ET by jeanlou
I've got a couple of home made mallets that I really like, one bigger, and one smaller. They are both made out of oak(it's what I had) and I used recycled axe handles for handles. The shape and size of the handles are nice for old hands. I just drilled holes in the heads, and shaped the handles, used a wedge to lock them, and we are away. Your idea of making the holes other than round is better, as I will turn a head occasional. I did nothing to treat them and nothing has suffered for that. I would post pics, but I looked at the others, and mine are way to ugly.
Edited 12/23/2006 12:20 pm by ptu
PTU,
Post pics as I like ugly things, in moderation. This is a necessary state of mind as every morning I must look in the mirror to shave.
Lataxe, not all that cute really.
I quit shaving so I wouldn't have to look.
I just looked at them again, and they are kind of embarressing. One of those things that you make in a hurry, and figure you'll fix later, but never do. The problem is that they work okay.
I've never felt the need to finish the face of a mallet. Why would one do such a thing?
Tom
"I've never felt the need to finish the face of a mallet. Why would one do such a thing?"
For some of the same reasons one adds a sealer or finish to anything else made out of wood. Why do we oil cutting boards, salad bowls, or wooden spoons? Why do we finish a rocker or a table?
- it offers some slowing of the transfer of moisture between the air and the wood which in turn prevents things like checking and aids in maintaining the stability of the wood
- oil, by keeping the wood more supple, keeps the wood from splintering or cracking or chipping in use
- a finish, even just oil, protects the wood from moisture (including sweat) or glue - or at least helps make it easy to remove
- a finish can make the wood look more handsome
Let me ask you, do you chisels have a finish on their handles? How about your plane totes and knobs? Your workbench? Why is a mallet any different?
I'd like to jump in here, in the midst of the fray, because this could be one of the most esoteric points we've ever run to ground,...well I take that back,...but it's up there.
Mallets: Turned dogwood.
Finish: BLO, with a periodically renewed coat of Bri-wax
Rationale for wood choice: It's hard, heavy, makes a well-balanced mallet, and you can whack the cross-eyed ber-snickety out of something without it breaking or showing much ill effects. Also, I had some on hand.
Rationale for finish: It looks good and feels good to the hand. The theory is that it won't ever check or split.
Happy holidays, Ed
The mallets that I have made have been of hickory that I harvested myself, and had seasoned for 10 or 15 years. I waxed the outer surfaces, but have seen no deterioration of the faces after years of pounding.
Tom
Tom,
You seasoned the wood for a decade and coated it with wax. Those sound like finishing steps to me. If you've read any of the rest of the thread, you know I just give mine wipe of boiled linseed oil. Is that much different than your wax? Perhaps you were thinking of some more elaborate "finishing" when you expressed such surprise that a wood worker would take steps to "finish" a mallet? No, we weren't discussing applying a French polish or dyes and HVLP laquers. That ok then?
Post a pic of the waxed hickory beasts. You've seen Lataxes and mine. Let's have a mallet par - tay. ;-)
I dunno if yu has seen the mallet in the Studley tool chest.
I have it's twin, although the handle ain't as pretty.
It is a square brass casting suffed with wood, and the handle sticks through it.
It ain't lacking in either heft or wackability
Methinks the same thing could be economically mimicked by truckin on down to yer "transmission supply" store- the folks who sell bushings and bearings and getting them to find the biggest/thickest/heaviest brass bushing they got, and cobble up something similar.
Course, it would be round, but stuff it with wood of yer choice and poke a handle through it and I betcha yer mortice chisel won't know the difference...
Just an idea....
Happy New Year
Eric
"Methinks the same thing could be economically mimicked by truckin on down to yer "transmission supply" store- the folks who sell bushings and bearings and getting them to find the biggest/thickest/heaviest brass bushing they got, and cobble up something similar.Course, it would be round, but stuff it with wood of yer choice and poke a handle through it and I betcha yer mortice chisel won't know the difference...Just an idea...."You wouldn't be thinking of something like this would you?http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=50229&cat=1,41504And best of the New Year to you too!
nope....that's just facing inside a metallic construct. With the studley mallet, the wood is continous from one face to the other.. I dunno if one method is actually better than the other, but ain't nobody gonna fabricate the LV mallet for themselves unless they transmogrify to metal-head mentality and start casting iron....(nothin wrong with that twist in the slippery slope, but it just ain't something that most folks would do.OTOH, packing a brass bushing with wood is so possible fer yer typical woodbutcher that it was worth mentioning.Eric
Lataxe,
The best way I know to harden wood is to soak it in raw linseed oil (not boiled)
Total immersion for several hours, wipe dry,allow to air dry and buff with a soft cloth. The wood will not be oily and it will be hard as it can be. JL
Jeanlou, I disagree that linseed oil can make wood harder. Soak it as you say, and the linseed will penetrate the wood by a few thousandths, a little more in the endgrain, and that's it. There will be varying degrees (depending on wood species) of coloring imparted to the wood. The oil will eventually polymerize, confering the thin layer of fibers some changed characteristics, due to the linked resin. But that's it. By any hardness test, the mass of the wood will unchanged. Rich
You are free to disagree and I accept your disagreement...but try it as an experiment. Raw linseed oil, not single boiled or double boiled...it is an amazing wood hardener. As it stands, nothing I read in the other posts proposes a way to harden wood, only to protect them from moisture and dirt (except when the dear one uses it in the garden to hammer rodents - no, it was stakes. :-)
I also know that wooden arrows were hardened in fire. I wonder if a mallet face can be hardened the same way? Maybe I will try it when the winter releases its grip on where I live...sometime in May or June.
I also liked the idea of using lignum vitae as a mallet. I have a lignum vitae carving mallet that I purchased in the 60's, and it still is going strong. The end grain is not on the business part of the tool. It is cylindrical in shape, with a turned handle inserted into its base. The handle hasn't broken and I have given the tool a great deal of heavy use. Some cracking is evident on the body of the mallet, but it is still a fine tool. The end grain was sealed with a wax when I bought it, I guess to slow down the drying out process.
I know it is hard to believe, but try raw linseed oil, you may be surprised at the results. JL
jl, Raw linseed oil takes just slightly under forever (never) to polymerize. All that soaking wood in such oil will accomplish will be to have wood that is saturated in its outer fibers with oil. Oil that eventually will become gelatenous and rancid. Rich
Rich,
Were you frightened by some linseed oil once?:-)
JL is asking us to accept his experience and to test his contention if we wish. You are being a bit definite in your rejections, although I admit I currently have the same assumptions/understanding as you about the nature of LO.
I will try the LO soaking on a scrap piece of beech to see what happens. Thank you for the tip JL.
Lataxe, a student of mallets (junior class).
Lataxe,
If the pieces you soak get up and slide away one evening, I will not accept any responsibility for their loss. JL
Thanks for posting your pics. Ingenious hold downs. I would like to copy them, is that okay with you?
PTU,
Although I nicked the concept of that sidedog from a Graham Blackburn article, I feel that my purely fortuitous arrangement of scraps that I made into the Lataxe Sidedog does constitute a Very Original & Important Design. Therefore you should send me the Designer's fee of $10,000 or a few Marcou gift vouchers.
On the other hand, you could change the size of the screws used and this would constitute a Wholly New Design, for which you could charge at least $11,000. :-)
Lataxe, an old dog.
Thanks Lataxe, I'll do that. I'll probably lengthen the linkage point, and adjust the gullet crook, but other wise, will duplicate similarly. The gift certs will be for the Great Northern Tool Swap. Good luck.pretty old, still a dog,
OK Rich. Don't try it...but I have soaked oak before. It never became rancid and it was extremely durable. I once made a jungle Jim for the kids, and cut octagonal pins of about 14'' long by about 1 1/4'' across the flats. The kids grew up, and the their kids are now using the contraption. Some parts needed replacing, but never the soaked oak. They would make nasty Billy sticks. JL
"Some parts needed replacing, but never the soaked oak" *Sigh*OK. The soaked oak stood up to whatever abuse the kids threw at it while the untreated didn't.And as Lataxe admonished me, I should not come on so strong. (actually, I reealy like the smell of linseed oil. Reminds me of oil painting classes which started at age 5.)What, EVER!Shaking head in disbelief . . . Raw linseed oil and wood hardening - Don't try this at home, folks.
Hi rich,It's how you harden willow to withstand the impact of a hard ball (like a baseball) travelling at about 100mph. Been done for about 150 years, up until about 1990. Oil the surface and 'knock the bat in.'Google: "Cricket bat oil." Traditionally, this was linseed or neatsfoot oil, with marketing hype it probably has a lot of driers as well to sell it.Now, this is overtaken by a protective polyurethane armour.Cheers,eddie
Edited 1/2/2007 8:44 pm by eddiefromAustralia
Hmm . . .http://www.abcofcricket.com/Article_Library/art47/art48/art48.htmWell eddie, as you know, here in the colonies we know squat (that's Americun for "nothing") about Cricket. I still know squat about it, but I Googled a few sites about "knocking in" a willow cricket bat.And, Wowsers! It seems raw linseed oil IS used in the hardening process. But wait! It's not the linseed oil that does the actual hardening, now is it mate?After initial hardening of the willow by compression, the oil, any oil, is used to penetrate and SOFTEN the fibers, allowing a mallet to be used (many blows) to further compress (harden) the fibers without being broken.It's the mallet blows, not the oil.Rich
Raw linseed oil should be used to moisten the surface of the bat and enable the fibres to become supple and knit together, forming an elastic surface. This is more likely to stretch on impact, rather than crack. Raw linseed oil is used, as it stays moist for longer than boiled linseed. About a teaspoonful should be applied to the surface of the bat.
This same logic would seem to make it an excellent choice for treating the face of a mallet - supple, strech on impact rather than crack.
Thank you Eddie. Now I won't feel like a woodchuck surrounded by a bunch of malnourished wolves. Maybe I will live to soak another piece of oak. :-) JL
jl, Did you read # 70? Rich ;)
Edited 1/2/2007 9:25 pm ET by Rich14
Yes I did Rich. Let me tell you where I learned about the technique, and this time I won't joke much.
When I was learning my trade the master in the shop was one step before God in all things related to woodworking. I asked him how to harden wood, and he told me to do the raw linseed oil treatment. He actually said that it would be even better to soak the complete piece of wood overnight, but I was too timid to venture there when I posted earlier and figured that in this ''give me quick results'' world, I better reduce the time some. I tried his advice and it worked. What I needed it for was to harden wooden swords and nanchaku parts. I had received my first commercial contract from a martial arts school that needed the swords and nanchaku parts for training purposes. I never had a call back and actually almost made some money on the contract (I guess I got it because I didn't charge enough)
I sure don't expect anyone to take me at my word...who the heck am I anyway?..just another voice on the internet where one better be very wary of all the information available...but I am sincere and mature enough to know that some may try it, most will not and some will think I am full of beans. All the above is fine with me and I lift my glass to all that are still awake after this post. Let the games go on. JL
Hi Jeanlou,Probably should mention that I'm a trade cabinetmaker as well.Best regards,eddie
Edited 1/2/2007 9:46 pm by eddiefromAustralia
Eddie from Australia,
We both have trained in a very satisfying trade. I must also tip my hat to all the people on this forum because I can tell through their passionate rants that they love working wood, and in the end that makes them all brothers and sisters as far as I am concerned. Now, will I try their advice? Maybe...maybe not, but I will enjoy the fray. JL
Gentlemen,
Allow me to suggest that your disagreement may stem from divergent understandings of the term "harden." Rich seems to be thinking in literal terms as in "make the wood harder," i.e., higher durometer reading or the like. Jeanlouis (?) seems to be using the term to mean more resistant to stresses and impacts. Am I correct? If so, there may well be room for compromise.
Samson the peace maker. (Sorry, Lataxe) ;-)
Thank you Samson...and yes, it is Jean-Louis. Now I Feel like there are no more hungry wolves and this woodchuck can go and play in relative safety, for the time being.
When it is too hard it becomes brittle and breaks...a little bit of compromise , swaying in the wind, is always better. It is like tempering steel to the proper hardness, soft enough to last and hard enough to take a good edge. JL
Samson, the peacemaker. Well, I wasn't meaning war at all, you know. Are we dealing with semantics here. Maybe. Yes, I assumed "harder" actually meant "harder." I also learned at the feet of guys a lot smarter than I, though we never called any of them "master." One bit of wisdom from them - raw linseed oil hardens so slowly (if ever at all) that it has no use in finishing wood, only as a vehicle for oil painting. That's why oil paints are stil "wet" months after being laid down and are only "dry" on the surface due to some evaporation of vehicle, but easily smeared underneath years later. If we mean that the end grain of a mallet is made less likely to shatter or chip due to the softening effects of oil making the surface fibers a little like a shock-absorbing sponge, then yes, I guess that such softening is, in effect, um, "hardening." Peace. Rich
Edited 1/2/2007 11:37 pm ET by Rich14
Rich, none of this is particularly serious. No offense intended. The "peace maker" thing was said tongue in cheek. But I think the numerous definitions of "harden" (pasted below from websters.com), the word Jean-Louis used in his original post, leave plenty of room for your natural interpretation (def. 1) and the meaning I took and I think JL intended (def. 5 and maybe 10 and 11).
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source
hard¡¤en /ˈh¨»rdn/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[hahr-dn] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
¨Cverb (used with object)
1.
to make hard or harder: to harden steel.
2.
to make pitiless or unfeeling: to harden one's heart.
3.
to make rigid or unyielding; stiffen: The rigors of poverty hardened his personality.
4.
to strengthen or confirm, esp. with reference to character, intentions, feelings, etc.; reinforce.
5.
to make hardy, robust, or capable of endurance; toughen.
6.
Military. to reinforce the structure of (a military or strategic installation) to protect it from nuclear bombardment. ¨Cverb (used without object)
7.
to become hard or harder.
8.
to become pitiless or unfeeling.
9.
to become rigid or unyielding; stiffen: His personality hardened over the years.
10.
to become confirmed or strengthened: His resistance hardened.
11.
to become inured or toughened: The troops hardened under constant fire.
12.
Commerce. (of a market, prices, etc.)
a.
to cease to fluctuate; firm: When the speculators withdrew from the market, the prices hardened.
b.
to rise higher.
[Origin: 1150¨C1200; ME; see hard, -en1] ¡ªRelated forms
hard¡¤en¡¤a¡¤ble, adjective
hard¡¤en¡¤a¡¤bil¡¤i¡¤ty, noun
¡ªSynonyms 1. solidify, indurate; petrify, ossify. 4. fortify, steel, brace, nerve.
"to make pitiless or unfeeling"
Yeah, that's the one.
Actually, I thought that after all the discussion, "toughen" is the most appropriate description of the raw linseed oil tratment.
Rich
Lawdy!
I am replete with mallet face-hardening data and also several lessons in the sematics of "hardening". And it only took eighty-odd posts. :-) The excursions here and there were rather entertaining too.
Have I mentioned that I love Knots and its many denizens? Here is a great big New Year Hug for all of you (not that kind of hug).
Lataxe, putting raw LO on his shopping list.
PS Would raw tung oil do it do you think? I happen to have some of that but only BLO.
Lataxe,
Raw tongue oil? I could use some of that to sooth my blistered virtual mouth after the lashing it received from friend Rich.
As far as Tung oil goes, Rich would say any oil will do since it only is applied to the surface anyway. I would say that only the best vintage of raw linseed oil will satisfy a truly hungry man!
By the way Rich, the oil treatment is not intended to add a finish to the wood. It is meant to toughen it (is that better than harden? Thanks for the Webster's definition Samson) I am now wiser, and only a little sore from getting kicked around. :-)
Will this never end? JL
Edited 1/3/2007 11:11 pm ET by jeanlou
Hi Jeanlou/Rich,I wouldn't take it to heart Jeanlou - Rich tends to strongly defend his position, which is fine. I learnt something just then.Rich - using the logic in the article you brought up, this is probably the ideal finish for a mallet then, no??Linseed oil is a hardening oil. Perhaps slower than some but it does harden by oxidation. For a surface like a cricket bat, it takes a few weeks - this gives the best of both worlds. Lets you compress the fibres and then hardens up to lock them in position. If it didn't harden, then the bat would be useless. Neatsfoot oil also behaves similarly.I haven't the time to look for a scholarly source, but here's a couple that get pretty close in content and appear to be written by chemical engineers or industrial chemists.http://www.sydneywoodturners.com.au/site/articles/finishing/oils.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linseed_oil#As_a_wood_finishcheers,eddie[edit: you need to keep the thing in a well-ventilated area when it's curing - linseed oil tends to support a beautiful bloom of blue-green mould if you oil something and then lock it in a dark humid place]
Edited 1/2/2007 11:19 pm by eddiefromAustralia
You are right Rich. Don't try it at home because it does have a very characteristic smell. Do it in the garage.
Some kidding aside, it is not for everyone. You have to be from the British Commonwealth to get the full benefit of a raw linseed oil treatment.
By the way, I hope that the person you advised on refinishing his wooden dashboard listens to what you had to say. It was good advice. JL
#70?
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