Cheap Mallet/maul That Weighs More Than The Tandy Kit

[LilRay]

Hey folks, I'm in need of a mallet or maul that has more heft than the one that came in my Tandy kit. I'm having to beat the snot out of the leather to get good impressions. I'm hoping a heavier tool might result in fewer strikes.

Frankly I've been at this a little over a week and I'm wore out.

Is there a Want To Buy section here? I wish I had the money to drop and get a Barry King maul but I need something inexpensive.

Any help is appreciated.

God Bless, Ray

[Mechanical Cowgirl]

Hey folks, I'm in need of a mallet or maul that has more heft than the one that came in my Tandy kit. I'm having to beat the snot out of the leather to get good impressions. I'm hoping a heavier tool might result in fewer strikes.

Frankly I've been at this a little over a week and I'm wore out.

Is there a Want To Buy section here? I wish I had the money to drop and get a Barry King maul but I need something inexpensive.

Any help is appreciated.

God Bless, Ray

If your leather is cased right it really shouldn't take too much pounding to get a nice impression. I'm not sure how light your maul is, I started out with a bright orange deadblow hammer (the orange is a kind of rubber/plastic stuff) that I bought at Harbor Freight. I used that one for years and it must have been cheap since I was in highschool at the time I bought it!

[LilRay]

If your leather is cased right it really shouldn't take too much pounding to get a nice impression. I'm not sure how light your maul is, I started out with a bright orange deadblow hammer (the orange is a kind of rubber/plastic stuff) that I bought at Harbor Freight. I used that one for years and it must have been cheap since I was in highschool at the time I bought it!

Still trying to learn what "right" is when it comes to casing. Trial and error,y'know. The mallet that came in the kit weighs 6oz, according to my kitchen scale.

Never thought of Harbor Freight. Thanks for the tip!

God Bless, Ray

[Tree Reaper]

Is that the little wooden mallet they supplied in the kit?

[yehagirl]

How to case leather

http://www.leatherworker.net/Bob%20Park/Casing%20Leather.pdf

[LilRay]

Is that the little wooden mallet they supplied in the kit?

Reaper, The mallet in my kit was yellow poly. It's just too light. That and me not knowing what I'm doing:censored2: .

How to case leather

http://www.leatherwo...g%20Leather.pdf

Yeha, I've had that dowloaded since I joined. It may as well be in a froreign language. I'm still trying to find just right. I've tried ziplock overnight in the fridge, and I've tried wetting to various degrees with a sponge. I dunno, I guess I'm beetleheaded.

God Bless, Ray

[Hilly]

Reaper, The mallet in my kit was yellow poly. It's just too light. That and me not knowing what I'm doing:censored2: .

Yeha, I've had that dowloaded since I joined. It may as well be in a froreign language. I'm still trying to find just right. I've tried ziplock overnight in the fridge, and I've tried wetting to various degrees with a sponge. I dunno, I guess I'm beetleheaded.

God Bless, Ray

Hi Ray.

I used my yellow Tandy mallet for quite a while with good results. It's plenty heavy for your purposes. I think you are trying to tool while your leather is still too wet. It won't hold a decent impression because the water in the leather seeps back into your cuts, causing them to swell shut, and also seeps under your impressions, and lifts them. Think of your foot prints in a really wet mud puddle...

You can rubber cement your leather onto a piece of cardboard or better yet, a piece of plexi-glass. Then, take a sponge, and sponge it down with water till it looks wet. Put it inside a plastic bag, and give the water a chance to work it's way all through the leather. Leave it in the bag at least a couple hours. Take it out of the bag, and leave it sit on your tooling slab, still cemented down to the plexiglass. When it starts to look like it's dry in some spots and still damp in other spots, begin tooling. This could take several hours or more, depending on how thick the leather is, the temp and humidity of your home, etc. Just leave it sit till it's that blotchy looking, wet/dry color.

If it's a large piece that you might work on for several days, only expose the part you want to work on, and leave the rest inside the bag to keep the moisture in the leather. If you can't finish it in one session, seal it back inside the bag till next time.

When you are finished tooling, wait until the leather is completely dry before removing it from the plexiglass or cardboard.

Hope this helps a little.

Hilly

Edited March 4, 2011 by Hilly

[LilRay]

Hi Ray.

I used my yellow Tandy mallet for quite a while with good results. It's plenty heavy for your purposes. I think you are trying to tool while your leather is still too wet. It won't hold a decent impression because the water in the leather seeps back into your cuts, causing them to swell shut, and also seeps under your impressions, and lifts them. Think of your foot prints in a really wet mud puddle...

You can rubber cement your leather onto a piece of cardboard or better yet, a piece of plexi-glass. Then, take a sponge, and sponge it down with water till it looks wet. Put it inside a plastic bag, and give the water a chance to work it's way all through the leather. Leave it in the bag at least a couple hours. Take it out of the bag, and leave it sit on your tooling slab, still cemented down to the plexiglass. When it starts to look like it's dry in some spots and still damp in other spots, begin tooling. This could take several hours or more, depending on how thick the leather is, the temp and humidity of your home, etc. Just leave it sit till it's that blotchy looking, wet/dry color.

If it's a large piece that you might work on for several days, only expose the part you want to work on, and leave the rest inside the bag to keep the moisture in the leather. If you can't finish it in one session, seal it back inside the bag till next time.

When you are finished tooling, wait until the leather is completely dry before removing it from the plexiglass or cardboard.

Hope this helps a little.

Hilly

Thanks Hilly! I have some plexi left from a window repair. I will use that. Kinda tough learning on the fly, but if I pester enough people, I might eventually get it right. LOL!

God Bless, Ray

[eminart]

I started out with a bright orange deadblow hammer (the orange is a kind of rubber/plastic stuff) that I bought at Harbor Freight.

I'm new at this too, but I bought one from harbor freight as well. I don't know about for your purposes, but it works great for setting rivets and using punches. I think it was something like $8.

[WyomingSlick]

Speaking of tool whackers, there is a video on utube showing tooling in an overseas shop where the craftsmen are stamping and using what looks like about 2x4 chunks of hardwood. Doesn't slow them down a bit, which shows you what practice will do for ya. The guy they show does all the camouflage work on a piece (about a dozen lines) in the same amount of time as some would spend on just one line.

[impulse]

Hi Ray

I'm on a tight budget, so can also recommend a dead-blow hammer - 3lb. I found, with some of the smaller stamps, the rubber surface was becoming chipped so I glued (using contact adhesive) discs of heavy leather (flesh side out) to each face of the hammer. Has been working perfectly now for about a year.

Cheers

Lois

[GoldenKnight]

W Rising poly maul

I have this poly maul & it has been great. They have raw hide & poly mallets also which I have & use.

Some folks have drilled a 3/8" hole in their wooden mallets and filled the hole with lead. You can pour melted lead if you want to go that route, or cut a shotgun shell or two open and pour the lead shot into it an cap it off with some epoxy glue and a thin wood or cork plug.