A visit to the Maul

[SmilinJim]

Wife bought me a maul for my birthday. A 11 oz brass maul from Smoky Mtn Knife Works, a great place. Have used it for a while and then the bug struck again. This is my homemade maul. 19 oz and sturdy so far. Only time will tell. I don't have a wood lathe (yet) so I did the handle on my drill press. Since the handle came out ok I decided to try a push beveler and then the awl handle showed up. I ordered a pinvise chuck off of ebay and epoxied it to the handle. I know, I know I could have bought all of this stuff but I'm getting old and forgetful and need to exercise my mind (what little is left). Got a project in mind and going to try to do it all with tools I make except for the swivel knife. Hmmm, got an idea there too. Dang, gotta quit that.

Keep on Smilin

Jim

[jammon]

Those look nice and well constructed. What did you make the maul head out of?

[SmilinJim]

Hey Jammon

All available from Ace hardware. the head is a 2" pvc endcap. I drilled a hole and put in a 1/4" X 6" carriage bolt. filled it with heavy washers. Squeezed in Gorilla glue between the washers and in all holes. ( It expands and fills the gaps) then a 2" fender washer on the back with a nut to seal the whole thing and to keep the glue inside. Seems to work. It weighs about 19 oz. Don't know how the glue will hold up to the pounding. Didn't want to use a filler that got brittle.

My cost so far is about $6.00

Let me know if any of you have any ideas on this. This is my first one and can probably be improved. Any suggestions for a better filler?

Keep on Smilin

Jim

[JohnD]

Jim, I love seeing the stuff people make on this forum, including the tools. Let us know how the maul works out.

I wonder if perhaps a flexible epoxy might work for a filler. I'd be curious as to how well the PVC will hold up to the abuse.

I've been wanting to make a push beveler for a lttle while now, Maybe this will inspire me.

Nice work, let us know if you tackle that swivel knife.

John

[TwinOaks]

I'm thinking the PVC is going to crack and chip after very little use. It just isn't impact resistant. Perhaps a better solution would be to grap a cheap poly- cutting board and cut some donuts from it. It's dense enough to have some weight, and a stainless bolt recessed in the top would give plenty of stiffness, and an attachment point for the handle.

[SmokinP]

I really like to see folks makin their own tools. You've done some fine work there. Using a drill press for a wood lathe proves that the best tool a fella can have is between his ears.

Might try a farm supply store and look for the pipe and hose fittings used on chemical equipment. I think it's officially called polystyrene plastic. We call it "the black stuff. A lot tougher than PVC and still pretty cheap.

Not too sure what can be used as a filler but I was thinking if you could get a hold of some lead shot from somebody that loads shotgun shells then mixed it with RTV silicone rubber sealant (?)

Just some thoughts. Fine work.

[SmilinJim]

Hey folks,

Twinoaks, so far the white pvc has held up okay, better than I really expected. I've done 6 phone cases and basketweave on all. Only used the home made one. Hardly a scratch on it. I was more concerned that the filler would crack which would allow the head to flex more. So far so good.

SmokinP, great idea on the lead shot. I've got a source for steel shot (we use it for drilling caissons) . Think I'll try one using the shot and either silicon or epoxy. Want to try to keep the filler from fracturing.

I'll post some pics later of the current head and then some of the next one.

Thanks for the feedback and support.

Keep on Smilin

Jim

[bcurrier]

Jim, I'm glad you came back to the thread and posted your experience with the maul. I was wondering how the PVC would work out. I just might give it a try myself.

Bill

[SmilinJim]

An update on the maul. Finally cracked it. Was pounding on some basketweave for a computer case and the pvc finally cracked a little. I had used gorilla glue inside to keep the metal washers in place. It is an expanding type of glue. So when I cracked the maul a little of the glue seeped out. Had not hardened in 3 months. The glue sealed the crack and I sanded off the excess and started back pounding the next day. Still very little wear on the surface. So far a great deal for about $4.00.

Jim

[Tina]

Hi Jim,

I use gorilla glue a lot (a love/hate relationship due to the exspansion, which is what I want but don't like to guard) To get it to expand and harden it has to have access to air. One way would be to drill a hole somewhere on the top, stand it up and start gurading it until it's done, around 1 1/2-2 hours.

[Meleck]

After looking at your tools, I decide that it was worth coming up with my own version. With a hole cutter, I drilled an old plastic cutting board and stacked the pieces one on top of the other. Placed everything on my lathe to even things up and placed a screw through the pieces. Now I have to turn the handle where the screw will be driven into using a threaded insert. It's not finished but I have a good feeling that this make a great maul.

Thanks for the idea.

I found this link on the internet that covers making your own mallet. That's the next thing I'm trying. I'll post pictures when I'm done. But don't hold your breath because I'm a bit of a proscratinator.

Here is the link: Perfect Carving Mallet ( http://www.wkfinetools.com/tMaking/art/pMallet/index.asp )

This site also has a link on making a leather mallet ( http://www.wkfinetools.com/tMaking/art/lMallet/index.asp )

Edited July 28, 2008 by Meleck

[Meleck]

After testing the link, I went to see if the site had anything new. They do have an article on crafting a leather mallet. It's basicaly the same technique that I used with the cutting board but they are using vegetable tanned leather instead.

Here is the link: Small Mallet Tutorial Page 1.

[bigprairie]

A stack of hockey pucks with a bolt through the centre to attach to a handle makes a great mallet - no need to cut up the wife's cutting board.