ContactCement Report post Posted May 2, 2012 $89 for a round maul is a bit much right now. The 1/4" small diameter stamps will destroy my home made hard maple woodworking maul turned on my wood lathe. No way. Will a brass hammer damage or mushroom the tops of the overpriced name brand imported 1/4" tooling stamps ? I also own a 2lb garland split head mallet that needs inserts which inserts would be best ? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Art Report post Posted May 2, 2012 Brass hammer will flake occasionally. Rawhide inserts for the split head, although for any serious tooling, it will be tiring. Art $89 for a round maul is a bit much right now. The 1/4" small diameter stamps will destroy my home made hard maple woodworking maul turned on my wood lathe. No way. Will a brass hammer damage or mushroom the tops of the overpriced name brand imported 1/4" tooling stamps ? I also own a 2lb garland split head mallet that needs inserts which inserts would be best ? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
electrathon Report post Posted May 2, 2012 If you do not go with a poly maul get a dead blow plastic hammer from Harbor Freight. About $5 and they work good. When I am basketstamping I use it instead of my poly maul because of the less amount of bounce. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
capnmeow Report post Posted May 5, 2012 u can get a decent hammer from ebay for 50 ish bucks that looks like the alstohman but arent but there just as good if not better Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chancey77 Report post Posted May 6, 2012 Aaron is right! Poly hammer! Cheap and won't destroy the tops of your stamp handles like brass will! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vikti Report post Posted May 6, 2012 If you want to use your wooden mauls you could get some rawhide and wrap it around your maul so that the rawhide will take the abuse from tooling instead of the wood. If you find any pictures about striking sticks you'll see that they mostly have the heads wrapped in rawhide. After a while the rawhide will start to flake off and crack but you could simply replace it. Just a thought. Damon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
St8LineGunsmith Report post Posted September 7, 2012 go to www.amazon.com and type in wood working mallets in the search bar you might find something suitable. that is where I got my maul. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KAYAK45 Report post Posted September 8, 2012 what good is your hand made maul, if you cannot use it. What the hell did you make it for? It's a tool, and yes it will take a beating. That's what it's for. It's not to "JUST LOOK NICE AND SET ON THE MANTLE" Use it. Or make it a 'WORK DE ART' and keep it pristene condition and look for another, "less gentile tool" to use. Kevin Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DJ1935 Report post Posted September 11, 2012 I've used a brass hammer on all my riveting (copper and rapid rivets) and setting tools every day for the last six years. Never had any trouble with burring the tool heads. Eventually the ends of the hammer get burred then the head is removed and spun in the lathe. Due to the weight of the head I wouldnt use it for stamping as it would probably send the stamp clean through the leather but it definately wouldnt burr the tool ends. DJ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SooperJake Report post Posted September 12, 2012 Why can't a leather or rawhide face be applied to a metal hammer to protect the stamp? Just curious.. Jake Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sylvia Report post Posted September 14, 2012 +1 on the Dead Blow for a quick and cheap solution. +1 on the poly mallet/maul Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Art Report post Posted September 14, 2012 Jake -- that works, but the rawhide will start to flake pretty soon, the flakes are a real pain as you have to watch not to pound them into the leather. Deadblow hammer -1 when "walking a beveler, it just don't work for me. If you like a mallet, a poly works IF it doesn't start flaking. Rawhide Maul -- love them till the flaking starts, then dress them on a belt grinder. Wood maul -- hickory handle and ironwood or live oak head, again, dress on the belt grinder when it gets too banged up, which will be a long time. Brass hammer -- great, they are a bit heavy but they give a unique "made by Thor" impression. I guess you could walk a small one but mine are all too big for that. When the head gets buggered up or little bits start coming off, just dress it down with a belt grinder and an old belt (one you won't use again for anything but brass); never use a file or anything you want to use again unless you have a set just for brass. A Bearman maul will last you on the corner of forever so the price is not so dear. I've seen Bob Beard rear back and wallop the crud out of a big stamp on barely wet leather and it doesn't leave a mark on the maul, and there are no flakes. Art Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BearMan Report post Posted September 14, 2012 Thanks Art, About a year ago I decided to "test" the head material to see if I could damage it. So I mounted a 1/4" bolt in the vice & then mounted a section of the head stock on a axe handle, about 18" long. With a mighty sledge hammer swing I swung & missed the first time. With better aim, I made very good solid contact, to my surprise, all I had was the outline of the bolt end,,, but no real dent or divot. So, on the next swing I purposely hit it with a heavy glancing blow. All I can say is it didn't bounce off like I thought it would, it basically grabbed & bent the bolt,, still just leaving a small mark. So,,, yes it's a very tough material, & I've never seen or heard of anybody having flakes. Take Care,,, Ed Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Art Report post Posted September 14, 2012 Hi Ed, What I was describing as flakes is these tiny specs of maul head material that would appear on the piece I was tooling. Since I am using your mauls now, I haven't encountered it. Art Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ContactCement Report post Posted March 27, 2017 On 9/14/2012 at 0:57 PM, Art said: Jake -- that works, but the rawhide will start to flake pretty soon, the flakes are a real pain as you have to watch not to pound them into the leather. Deadblow hammer -1 when "walking a beveler, it just don't work for me. If you like a mallet, a poly works IF it doesn't start flaking. Rawhide Maul -- love them till the flaking starts, then dress them on a belt grinder. Wood maul -- hickory handle and ironwood or live oak head, again, dress on the belt grinder when it gets too banged up, which will be a long time. Brass hammer -- great, they are a bit heavy but they give a unique "made by Thor" impression. I guess you could walk a small one but mine are all too big for that. When the head gets buggered up or little bits start coming off, just dress it down with a belt grinder and an old belt (one you won't use again for anything but brass); never use a file or anything you want to use again unless you have a set just for brass. A Bearman maul will last you on the corner of forever so the price is not so dear. I've seen Bob Beard rear back and wallop the crud out of a big stamp on barely wet leather and it doesn't leave a mark on the maul, and there are no flakes. Art Just leave the wood lathe spur and center indentations alone and the plastic or rawhide can easily be cut off for resurfacing using a wood lathe and carbide wood turning tool. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ContactCement Report post Posted March 27, 2017 On 9/8/2012 at 6:54 PM, KAYAK45 said: what good is your hand made maul, if you cannot use it. What the hell did you make it for? It's a tool, and yes it will take a beating. That's what it's for. It's not to "JUST LOOK NICE AND SET ON THE MANTLE" Use it. Or make it a 'WORK DE ART' and keep it pristene condition and look for another, "less gentile tool" to use. Kevin The made hard maple woodworking maul I created on my wood lathe is custom made for wood chisels only because I said so ! I am a master woodworker for more than 30 years. I easily chisel mortise and cut tenon joints by hand and they fit tight! Furthermore anyone capable of using a child's plastic ruler can plainly see that wood chisels typically have a 1" striking surfaces that properly distribute and transfer the striking force to the work. Its very profound that when a narrow leather tool 1/4" - 5/16" in diameter penetrates a maul with a wood striking surface, the striking force and energy created will diminished and wasted. Finally the wood maul's surface will be destroyed because of total ignorance and stupidity when it comes to the proper tool selection. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ContactCement Report post Posted December 10, 2017 On 5/6/2012 at 1:49 PM, Vikti said: If you want to use your wooden mauls you could get some rawhide and wrap it around your maul so that the rawhide will take the abuse from tooling instead of the wood. If you find any pictures about striking sticks you'll see that they mostly have the heads wrapped in rawhide. After a while the rawhide will start to flake off and crack but you could simply replace it. Just a thought. Damon I think that a rawhide wrap is a good idea. I'm going to get some iron wood to add some weight to my next maul. I may drill a hole for 1 1/2" diamater plastic rod & cut a disc that can be glued into a hole. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
