Info Needed-Making A Maul

[JD50]

When I was infected by the "leather bug" just about one year ago, one of the first things I did was to turn a wooden maul on my wood lathe. I have wood mallets but prefer the maul for tooling. The first one I made was from elm which I have made woodworking mallets from in the past. Elm works relatively well as a mallet where the striking face is end grain since it will not split easily but on a maul the striking face is the edge or side grain. After several months of use I am getting little bits of wood chipping & flaking off that is a bit of an annoyance and becomes a mess on my work. I also turned another maul out of bois d' arc (otherwise known as osage, hedge apple and several other names) which is a very hard wood that grows here in N. Texas but even that one has began to flake off as I use it more.

I have looked at the poly mauls from Tandy and Barry King but my leatherworking budget is just about reached it's max (I don't even want to add up what I've spent in the last few months!!!).

I would consider using poly or some other type of plastic but I am not educated in the plastics area so I have no idea what type of material would be appropriate to use or how to find a source for that material since I would only need a small amount for a maul or two. I also have no idea how to work it if I had it.

I know there are some exotic woods that are very hard like lignum vitae but I don't know if any of these would work any better in the long run than what I have already tried.

Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

J.D.

[TomG]

Have you tried wrapping the wooden maul with a strip or 2 of rawhide? I am currently researching how to make a rawhode maul myself. Now I'm sorry I traded my wood

lathe <g>

Tom

When I was infected by the "leather bug" just about one year ago, one of the first things I did was to turn a wooden maul on my wood lathe. I have wood mallets but prefer the maul for tooling. The first one I made was from elm which I have made woodworking mallets from in the past. Elm works relatively well as a mallet where the striking face is end grain since it will not split easily but on a maul the striking face is the edge or side grain. After several months of use I am getting little bits of wood chipping & flaking off that is a bit of an annoyance and becomes a mess on my work. I also turned another maul out of bois d' arc (otherwise known as osage, hedge apple and several other names) which is a very hard wood that grows here in N. Texas but even that one has began to flake off as I use it more.

I have looked at the poly mauls from Tandy and Barry King but my leatherworking budget is just about reached it's max (I don't even want to add up what I've spent in the last few months!!!).

I would consider using poly or some other type of plastic but I am not educated in the plastics area so I have no idea what type of material would be appropriate to use or how to find a source for that material since I would only need a small amount for a maul or two. I also have no idea how to work it if I had it.

I know there are some exotic woods that are very hard like lignum vitae but I don't know if any of these would work any better in the long run than what I have already tried.

Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

J.D.

[Tree Reaper]

JD;

If I was turning a maul I would want to use quarter sawn hardwood.

That would give you the end grain on the striking face of the maul.

[JD50]

Thanks Tom & Tree Reaper for the replies.

The quarter sawn wood idea is interesting...I do have a piece of quarter sawn red oak laying around the shop somewhere. But I have just about concluded that most any type of wood will eventually began to flake off as it is used. Of course that wouldn't be all bad...it would just give me an excuse to go do some turning and make a new maul!

I did consider the rawhide idea. It looks like that has been used for many years for mallets by alot of leatherworkers. But since I don't have any rawhide I had to move on to other ideas. If I come up with some rawhide sometime I will try that out.

In the meantime...I kept looking at the idea of using some type of impact resistant plastic. I kept looking around the home improvement & farm stores trying to find something made out of nylon or other plastics that might work. I finally ran across some poly pipe fittings at a local farm supply. About the only fitting that looked like the right size and shape was a 3" threaded male nipple. That is really a little to big in diameter but they didn't have a 2 1/2". It cost about $6 so figured I could afford to give that a try. I turned a new maul to the ID of the fitting, took the maul off the lathe & tapped the fitting over the wood, put it back on the lathe and turned down the threads until smooth. I had to stop before it was as smooth as I thought it should be because a few little holes started appearing. The whole thing is sort of a test piece so I figured it would do just to see how it held up. I been using it for a couple of weeks now and it seems to be working much better than wood. Attached is a pic...I know it's ugly...but it will have to work till I can affort a "real" one.

JD

[TomG]

I am playing with some rawhide dog bones. I took a small one and soaked it overnight, Once soft, I unrolled it, flattened it and rerolled it into a mini mallet head shape. It's not tightly rolled enough to be usable, even if it were the right size, but I wanted to see what it would do. Looking at my mallet, I'm not sure how I would wind it as tight as they have it.

I have never worked with rawhide and have since found out I should have cased it like veg tan. Maybe that would have let me wind it tighter....

Someone told me that the dog chews are not good quality rawhide. And the ones I saw at the store had been bleached. But Tandy also carries bleached rawhide, so I don't know how itmakes a difference. And I wouldn't know how to tell quality rawhide from junk.

So, for $3 - $6, depending on size, you could try it out and see.

Tom

Thanks Tom & Tree Reaper for the replies.

The quarter sawn wood idea is interesting...I do have a piece of quarter sawn red oak laying around the shop somewhere. But I have just about concluded that most any type of wood will eventually began to flake off as it is used. Of course that wouldn't be all bad...it would just give me an excuse to go do some turning and make a new maul!

I did consider the rawhide idea. It looks like that has been used for many years for mallets by alot of leatherworkers. But since I don't have any rawhide I had to move on to other ideas. If I come up with some rawhide sometime I will try that out.

In the meantime...I kept looking at the idea of using some type of impact resistant plastic. I kept looking around the home improvement & farm stores trying to find something made out of nylon or other plastics that might work. I finally ran across some poly pipe fittings at a local farm supply. About the only fitting that looked like the right size and shape was a 3" threaded male nipple. That is really a little to big in diameter but they didn't have a 2 1/2". It cost about $6 so figured I could afford to give that a try. I turned a new maul to the ID of the fitting, took the maul off the lathe & tapped the fitting over the wood, put it back on the lathe and turned down the threads until smooth. I had to stop before it was as smooth as I thought it should be because a few little holes started appearing. The whole thing is sort of a test piece so I figured it would do just to see how it held up. I been using it for a couple of weeks now and it seems to be working much better than wood. Attached is a pic...I know it's ugly...but it will have to work till I can affort a "real" one.

JD

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

Instead of winding it, try stacking discs up on a shaft that is threaded. That is how my big maul is made. The top screws down to tighten the whole mess up. I was also going to suggest dog chews.

Any wood will eventually splinter since the hardest wood is still softer than the softest steel. Be careful with the plastic fitting, it may fracture under use. ABS, and PVC are tough, but they do shatter. For plastics, look for an industrial supplier in your area, or try McMaster Carr, or MSC. Most soft faced machinist hammers are made from a nylon. Delrin is hard, but brittle. Plexiglas (acrylic) will shatter, so Lexan (polycarbonate) is a better choice since it is used in some bullet resistant windows. This can be found in sheets, and you can sometimes turn up scraps that you can get for free. I have bent up to 1/4" thick Lexan 90 degrees cold in a brake. UHMW (ultra high molecular weight) is used for wear strips in a lot of industries, and it is ductile. May not be real hard, but it won't shatter either. HDPE, and LDPE ( high, and low density polyethylenes) are what 5 gallon buckets, 55 gallon barrels, and other containers are made from. Grab a hole saw and get perforating. Stack, and clamp. HDPE as well as other thermoplastics can be formed when heated Thermoset plastics will distort when heated. Generally thermoplastics are also heat weldable, and cannot be glued, whereas thermosets can be glued, but not welded.

When turning plastic you need to keep the speeds down so you don't get it hot. If it gets hot it will melt ,and cause you problems. When I am turning plastic on a lathe I prefer HSS tool bits that I grind with a generous back rake. The chip will come off in a long ribbon. If you get sheet stock, and cut discs out with a hole saw all you should need to do is trim it up.

Edited February 7, 2011 by BIGGUNDOCTOR

[azrider]

One other thing to keep in mind, is that most mallets and mauls do get some flakes. I have rawhide mallets, poly mallets, and custom made poly mauls. They all flake a bit. The rawhide flakes more than the poly though. I would imagine that you will get some flakes, even with the plastics.

[bkingery]

Instead of winding it, try stacking discs up on a shaft that is threaded. That is how my big maul is made. The top screws down to tighten the whole mess up. I was also going to suggest dog chews.

Any wood will eventually splinter since the hardest wood is still softer than the softest steel. Be careful with the plastic fitting, it may fracture under use. ABS, and PVC are tough, but they do shatter. For plastics, look for an industrial supplier in your area, or try McMaster Carr, or MSC. Most soft faced machinist hammers are made from a nylon. Delrin is hard, but brittle. Plexiglas (acrylic) will shatter, so Lexan (polycarbonate) is a better choice since it is used in some bullet resistant windows. This can be found in sheets, and you can sometimes turn up scraps that you can get for free. I have bent up to 1/4" thick Lexan 90 degrees cold in a brake. UHMW (ultra high molecular weight) is used for wear strips in a lot of industries, and it is ductile. May not be real hard, but it won't shatter either. HDPE, and LDPE ( high, and low density polyethylenes) are what 5 gallon buckets, 55 gallon barrels, and other containers are made from. Grab a hole saw and get perforating. Stack, and clamp. HDPE as well as other thermoplastics can be formed when heated Thermoset plastics will distort when heated. Generally thermoplastics are also heat weldable, and cannot be glued, whereas thermosets can be glued, but not welded.

When turning plastic you need to keep the speeds down so you don't get it hot. If it gets hot it will melt ,and cause you problems. When I am turning plastic on a lathe I prefer HSS tool bits that I grind with a generous back rake. The chip will come off in a long ribbon. If you get sheet stock, and cut discs out with a hole saw all you should need to do is trim it up.

I've been wondering how to do this also with the stacking and all but wondering what would keep the tools from sinking into the cracks of the layers? Just tightening them down super tight, and how would one make say a 4 lb maul this way??

Peace Bryan

[teamroperdad]

Here is a link to McMasters Carr http://www.mcmaster.com/#plastics/=b2vgdm ,There are other types of rod stock depending on how much you are willing to spend.

It also comes in different diameters, sold by the foot.

And you can change the weight of the maul by the size and thickness, and also the type of metal spacer at the end.

[Winterman]

I'm in the same boat JD50

Here's an idea I'm going to try:

I got the wild idea that I could form my own poly head to use for a maul. Drill a hole in it and fit it with a hardwood handle. I confirmed a process on YouTube on how to recycle plastic milk jugs

by cutting them into strips, grinding them in a blender, then melting them into a mold. The material is high-density polyethylene (HDPE) or No. 2 plastic.

I saw one craftsman make a head for a jointered mallet and although it was smaller than the wooden one he has it was heavier due to it's higher density. Pretty cool.

So, I'm saving plastic jugs of this type (and asking friends to save theirs for me as well), I'll grind them up, melt them down (melting point 248 to 356 F (120 to 180 C) in a mold,

finish it off with some sawing and sanding, drill it and fit it with an oak or hickory handle. Sounds like it might be weird, er, fun.

I'll try to keep you updated on it. Wish me luck

[Riem]

16 hours ago, Winterman said:

I'm in the same boat JD50

Here's an idea I'm going to try:

I got the wild idea that I could form my own poly head to use for a maul. Drill a hole in it and fit it with a hardwood handle. I confirmed a process on YouTube on how to recycle plastic milk jugs

by cutting them into strips, grinding them in a blender, then melting them into a mold. The material is high-density polyethylene (HDPE) or No. 2 plastic.

I saw one craftsman make a head for a jointered mallet and although it was smaller than the wooden one he has it was heavier due to it's higher density. Pretty cool.

So, I'm saving plastic jugs of this type (and asking friends to save theirs for me as well), I'll grind them up, melt them down (melting point 248 to 356 F (120 to 180 C) in a mold,

finish it off with some sawing and sanding, drill it and fit it with an oak or hickory handle. Sounds like it might be weird, er, fun.

I'll try to keep you updated on it. Wish me luck

What you describe is what I did to make my "homebake maul". Only, I don't have a lathe, and used a water pipe I pushed through the molten hdpe plastic to make a "proto handle" of sorts. Still not satisfied with it although the maul works fine for the limited amount of tooling I do.

A couple of points:

• The plastic should be clean with no milk residue clinging to it.
• The more uniform you can get the pieces you are going to melt, the better you will be able to get a tight lump of plastic.
• You don't need to use a blender to grind up the jugs, but it will be helpful if you can. If you use your wife's new blender, you might just have to add the cost of a new blender to your budget... I cut the jugs into small pieces of roughly 1 cm by 1 cm with kitchen scissors and a carpet cutter.
• The plastic will not attain a liquid state when heated but the pieces will fuse together. You may have to use some heavy object to press it into your mold else you might end up with air pockets in the lump.
• Sounds obvious but use a metal mold with smooth sides.
• It takes a long time to melt the plastic - took me about three hours to get the mass I wanted. The hdpe does not stink badly - the smell was gone before my wife returned from work...
• Temperature - I worked at 180°C. Higher than that and the hdpe plastic might start smoking and charring.

Hope this helps.