Adding Weight To Poly Mallet?

[StrigaMort]

Hi everyone, first post. Very happy to be here.

So I have a basic set of tools. I am starting out making knife sheaths and am really enjoying it. My problem is that for basket stamping, my small poly mallet is sorely lacking. I don't have the funds at the moment to buy the BK maul that I really want, but like the idea of adding some weight. I'm pretty handy, and think I might get away with simply drilling some holes and adding steel shot (or similar),just wondering if anyone has done anything like this.

Does it upset what little balance there is in this puny whacker?

Thanks for any insight.

[arba]

Hi,

I am a newbee and am faced with the same situation. I have some lead flashing laying around the basement and have been considering wrapping it around the poly head and securing it to the handle. Maybe a little rubber cement to keep it from shifting. This may be a stupid idea and have not tried it yet but it's the best I have to offer at this time. I hope someone smarter than me can offer a better suggestion to you.

Good Luck!

[BDAZ]

Harbor Freight has some inexpensive dead blow mallets. +- $6 with discount.

I will often use one when my expensive Stohlman is being used by my assistant.. I also have a larger dead blow for other tasks like punched and cutters.

Cya!

Bob

[glockanator]

If you want to modify your mallet you can always drill a large hole fill it with lead shot and use some type of epoxy to seal it all in. But in all actuality getting a dead be from HF would be cheaper

[Toolingaround]

Hi ya all

I would love something heavier too. I borrowed a dead blow mallet from a leatherworking friend but I found it way to bouncy and not ballanced properly at all for my needs. Just thought I would toss in my experience with one as I wait for the day I too can afford a nice heavy mallet or maul.

Cheers, Toolingaround

[WyomingSlick]

Sure you can add weight. Just drill some good pilot holes and put as many woodscrews as you want in there. Would probably be a good idea to do it in sets and try to keep the mallet balanced. Strips of lead secured to the head should work fine also.

[StrigaMort]

Thanks guys, I'll let you know how it works out.

[glockanator]

http://woodworker.com/16-oz-wooden-carving-mallet-mssu-128-087.asp?search=mallet&searchmode=2

You can always try one of these. Price is reasonable

Edited April 25, 2014 by glockanator

[StrigaMort]

http://woodworker.com/16-oz-wooden-carving-mallet-mssu-128-087.asp?search=mallet&searchmode=2

You can always try one of these. Price is reasonable

Seems like that would get dinged up pretty quickly. Wood chisels don't have the tiny surface area of a leather stamp, and I don't think you usually hit as hard. If I didn't need a bunch of other stuff I'd just buy the $50 BK. Rats.

[St8LineGunsmith]

I would say just get the small BK Maul from Springfield

[WyomingSlick]

I would say just get the small BK Maul from Springfield

For crying out loud ! Wake up ! He said .........he doesn't have the funds to buy one,

[WyomingSlick]

You know, on second thought, forget about adding lead strips. Bare lead is not a good thing to have in your shop.

What you might do, is get some fully jacketed bullets, and drill just slightly underside holes is the mallet head, and then pound the bullets in. Like with the screws, space the bullets to keep mallet balanced.

[St8LineGunsmith]

For crying out loud ! Wake up ! He said .........he doesn't have the funds to buy one,

I know what the OP said and I dont think your comment was called for

I tried adding weight to a mallet and it dont work very well thus the reason for my comment

Like I should have to write an explaination for my comment in the first place

[WyomingSlick]

I know what the OP said and I dont think your comment was called for

I tried adding weight to a mallet and it dont work very well thus the reason for my comment

Like I should have to write an explaination for my comment in the first place

LOL Your signature quote is pretty ironic. Yes my comment was called for. If I am following a thread, and there is a new entry, then I have to take the time to open the email notification and check it out. In this case, it was a total waste of my time to read your suggestion that the OP do something he already said wasn't in the picture.

[StrigaMort]

Guys, seriously?

St8,it would have been more complete if you had mentioned that you had tried modifying a mallet in your first post, but it doesn't really matter to me that you didn't.

For the record, everyone's comments, recommendations, opinions and experiences are welcome in my threads regardless of whether or not others find them beneficial. I've never understood why people get upset about another person's post in a DISCUSSION forum. Say what you please, or don't.

WS, I appreciate your input. Really,I can clearly see that you are helpful in a lot of threads that I've looked at. I cannot imagine, however,how you get by if a post like the above bothers you.

Golden rule and all that. I also tend to try and think of how I'd say something were the other person standing in front of me. It's worked pretty well for more years than I care to admit.

Again,thanks for all comments in any of my threads.

I picked up a 1.5lb dead blow yesterday from Harbor Freight Obviously it won't be optimal (otherwise everyone would be using them), but it feels pretty good. Certainly better than the small poly. I nearly bought a kit of wheel weights, but I think it would have been a waste of time. I hate not knowing what I'm missing, but in this case, I guess I'm happy because I'm not seeing an eminent downside to this $6 pig. Guess I'll have to shell out a few bucks one day to find out, but for now I'm happy. I think.

Edited April 30, 2014 by StrigaMort

[BDAZ]

Posts crossed...

Edited April 30, 2014 by BDAZ

[St8LineGunsmith]

Striga mort

just trying to keep you from postponing the inevitable cause once you try one of the little one pound mauls it will be all over at that point

but seriously a maul will give you the most consistancy in your stamping not only with the depth of the impression but the placement accuracy is increased with less stress on the hand.

so ya although pricey buying a maul will be a beneficial addition to your leatherworking tool collection

[dirtclod]

If your going to be using stamping like a basket weave i would get a 24 ounce a 16 ounce is to light for stamping. A 16 ounce is fine for tooling though.

[St8LineGunsmith]

I am partal to the one pounder, the two pounder wears my arm out.

[StrigaMort]

I am partal to the one pounder, the two pounder wears my arm out.

Well it's a good thing I'm strong like bull.

Seriously though, when I picked up the 1.5lb dead blow it felt heavy enough that I was surprised that anyone used this weight, or even heavier. Now that I've used it, I can see why. I tried a little back to back with the poly mallet. The Tandy whacker felt terrible after using the DB. It felt really bouncy and way waaay too light. I was using the basket stamp. I guess I could see using it with a seeder or something else that cuts deep, but for heavier stamping I think the 1.5lb will be the minimum.

Even if I never use the DB again after buying the BK maul, it'll have been worth the $5 just for the experience in weight.

[dirtclod]

Your impressions will be a lot deeper and crisper with the heavier one to and with a lot less effort.

[BDAZ]

The HFDB mallet is very useful for punches and snaps setting as well. I use it when I don't want to ding my good maul. The heavy HFDB hammer is great for heavy tasks like whacking the arbor press or using large punches. on heavy leather.

Cya!

Bob

[St8LineGunsmith]

Striga Mort

as BDAZ said the dead blow hammer will still have its place in your leather shop for setting snaps and other hardware