Granite Slab For Pricking Irons?

[ARFFGuy]

Hi everyone,

I've been slowly accumulating the tools I need to make my first few simple projects (cardholders, bifold wallet, tool roll etc.). I have a few Seiwa diamond pricking irons for making the holes and I was planning on using a large clean and sanded pine wood round with a plastic cutting board on top as a work surface to punch the holes on (I live in a small townhouse and don't have a garage or spare room to work in). Would this work or do I need to source out a granite slab for this type of work? I do plan on getting into some simple tooling work eventually, but for now its going to be simple projects with no tooling and no rivets or snaps. I'd also like recommendations for something to strike these irons with as well as something that will work for when I start tooling. I know there are several different options and I'll eventually end up with 3 or 4 different striking tools, but for getting started I was thinking of getting a basic poly maul like this one http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B0006618PO?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_act_title_2&smid=A3DWYIK6Y9EEQB.

Cheers,

Paul

[TinkerTailor]

Punch straight into the end grain of the pine round. It will be easier on the chisel than the plastic. If it gets stuck in the plastic it is more likely to break than the wood. End grain wood is the original self healing cutting surface. The plastic is easier to cut on with knives..

If the round is small enough to put in your lap, it will be almost silent. On the table, expect your neighbours to hear some thumping.

Edited January 24, 2016 by TinkerTailor

[ARFFGuy]

If the round is small enough to put in your lap, it will be almost silent. On the table, expect your neighbours to hear some thumping.

I was planning on cutting it to a comfortable height for so it could sit on the ground while I was in a chair

[TinkerTailor]

I wasn't sure if you were referring to a "wood cookie" or an actual round. I heated with wood for many years and i see you mean a real round. Some of the apt dwellers on here think any piece of tree 2" thick is a round.... That thumpin stump will serve you well. The mass should help alot with the noise as well as maximizing the damage productivity of your hammering........Check out nigel armitages videos if you have not already. He has a really cool stump setup. His tools and stitching clam are attached to it..

[ARFFGuy]

Check out nigel armitages videos if you have not already. He has a really cool stump setup. His tools and stitching clam are attached to it..

That's where I got the idea from! I live in North Vancouver but I spend a fair amount of time in the Cariboo so I have a good source for large, pre-dried hunks of pine. Any thoughts on the maul? poly maul vs poly mallet vs rawhide mallet?

[TinkerTailor]

That's where I got the idea from! I live in North Vancouver but I spend a fair amount of time in the Cariboo so I have a good source for large, pre-dried hunks of pine. Any thoughts on the maul? poly maul vs poly mallet vs rawhide mallet?

I never had a rawhide I liked. To be honest i break the rules and use a 3lb rock drilling hammer for alot of stuff, most of my hole punching and hand setting. Not worried about tool damage using a steel hammer. They have long handles, i can dress them up at least a few times, and they last way better if you hit them straight without a limp wrist. I have a crappy wooden mallet that i got at the dollar store for tooling. I don't do alot of tooling.

maul vs mallet? I look at it as a work position issue, If your elbow is on the bench, the maul with the head tapered puts the face of the striking surface level with the bench when you hit the tool. If you are standing and hitting with your elbow in the air, use a mallet. That is why cobblers hammers have such an angled face, they are hammering on things at eye height, so the face angle keeps them from having to raise their arm so high to swing.

For other stuff i have a couple ball peens, a couple sheetmetal hammers, a cobblers hammer, couple tack hammers, a tinners rivet hammer and some others. I may have more hammers than i need........Funny thing is i actually have uses for all of them.

Its amazing the ways humans have found to smash stuff with a mass on a stick...

[ARFFGuy]

Thanks for the input Tinker! I think I'll get a maul and a mallet to try and see what I like better

[TinkerTailor]

Btw, skip the craft-tool.

Check this lee valley mallet:

http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=30003&cat=1,41504,43688

Its cheaper and way nicer.

Edit: just checked link in original post to amazon, that one looks like a good deal, provided the head stands up.

Edited January 24, 2016 by TinkerTailor

[ARFFGuy]

That's great, Thanks Tinker. I have a Lee Valley on my way to work!

[billybopp]

Where poundy pound implements are concerned, don't forget to look at your local auto parts and home improvement stores! Some of the stuff they sell there is suitable for leatherwork, and in some cases exactly the same thing for less cash.

One of my favorites is a dead blow hammer, which is really nice for 3D stamps and other bigger stamps. You don't get those double strikes so much with a dead blow. Double strikes might make coins more valuable, but for leather not so much.

Bill