TomG Report post Posted January 25, 2015 I am making a new maul and decided to try making a leather handle like on my Tandy Stohlman maul. I glued up a bunch of 3" squares using contact cement and clamps and then mounted in my wood lathe. So.. I have a few questions for any of you who have done this. 1) Is leather harder on the tools than wood? I seem to be having to sharpen my roughing gouge frequently. 2) I do not have a chuck - only the spur and live centers that came with the lathe... How do I taper it down thin at the end of the handle. I have about a 2.5" cylinder now and can already see it flexing as I cut it. Thanks Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tinkerton Report post Posted January 26, 2015 Did you put a core in it or is it just the straight leather? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TomG Report post Posted January 26, 2015 No core. I thought about it, but haven't done lathe work in a long time and never on leather. I wasn't sure of what to use. Like I mentioned. With only a live center and a spur, all I could think of was a wooden dowel glued in, but then, I'd have to drill that out for the mounting bolt on the maul. What would you suggest? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tinkerton Report post Posted January 29, 2015 I'll admit I know nothing about turning, but looking at a leather handled maul, it looks like there's most likely a metal rod that goes through the entirety of it. That would give it strength, rigidity, and mass. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TomG Report post Posted January 29, 2015 Yup. There is always a metal rod or bolt that runs the length of it. The leather itself will never support the torque and flexion of a handle like that. I finally slowed down enough that I'm planning on heading the garage later to work on it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oltoot Report post Posted January 30, 2015 I don't know if you could chuck up the finished maul but I have done it using a drill press and coarse sandpaper. I cut the stack to near finished dimension with a knife before finishing with sandpaper. To turn out a lot, I think that they are stacked up on a threaded rod, compressed to prevent slippage, then rough turned. They are finished when final assembled. It's a bit on the hard side to do just one and get by without all the creative solutions learned the hard way. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BIGGUNDOCTOR Report post Posted January 30, 2015 They are turned with a rod inside. Doing it without one can be dangerous if it comes apart while turning. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TomG Report post Posted January 31, 2015 I had wondered about it before I started turning. But the square pieces got out of alignment when I glues and clamped, so I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to get a hole straight down the center. I should have made my squares a bit larger to allow waste during turning and done the center dowel. I'd still have the problem of attaching it to the lathe. I don't have a 3-jaw chuck and I'm not sure if the spur bit on the head spindle would hold a dowel of the size I want to use for the center bolt. But now that I have it turned down to a cylinder, I can probably square it up enough to drill a center hole straight and try the dowel. Fingers crossed... And I may just stick to wood <g> Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BIGGUNDOCTOR Report post Posted January 31, 2015 Get a chuck, and a live center for the tailstock....life will be easier. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oltoot Report post Posted January 31, 2015 The easy way is to punch holes in each piece of leather and stack them on the rod/dowel one at a time instead of trying to drill a hole through the center of the stack. Oh yeah, you would be surprised at how much compression you can squeeze out of wet pieces as you build the stack, then a fan to dry before the turning/smoothing. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TomG Report post Posted January 31, 2015 Hey oltoot, A number of years ago, I got the hots to make my own maul out of rawhide. I mentioned it either here or on one of the yahoo groups and one of the members had a fresh hide of rawhide he had just made. He graciously sent me a whole bag of rawhide disks he cut for me. The even precut the center hole just like you suggested. I did exactly what you said. Soaked them for a while, then I took a couple of squares of 2x6, drilled the same hole in the centers. I pushed my bolt through one and stacked all the rawhide on the bolt, topped it with the other 2x6 and tightened as hard as I could. Every few days, I'd go down and tighten some more. I seem to recall it took a week or 2 to dry thoroughly. I think it was Bearman who gave me instructions on how to do the assembly. I use it all the time for stamping and it's still holding up. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
St8LineGunsmith Report post Posted March 13, 2015 I made a handle by cutting out rounds from 3/4" graduating in 1/16" up to 1 1/2" then punching a 1/2 hole in the center then stacking on a 1/2" threaded rod then smoothed out with a drum sander attachment on my drill press no need for a lathe. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
