Plastic Pipe Leather Maul

[ContactCement]

What is needed for the project. Advanced wood turning skills to turn a perfect cylinder matching the inside diameter of the plastic pipe.  Two part epoxy.  Lead bar which I pounded to shape on an anvil then pounded though a hole in hardwood. Finally I pounded it into the 1 1/2" hole and added 11 oz to the wood mallet. A grand total 23 oz mallet. The plastic pipe seems to be pretty tough and keeps the wood inside from splitting. Do not drill too deep for the lead. A little lead adds weight fast. Its winter and I didn't need to melt the lead bar to shape it nor did I wish to breath the fumes. Oh hard maple was used and 2 1/2" plastic pipe. Let the epoxy cure well before use. No glue needed for the lead. It simply expands to fit when pounded into the hole. I forget the abbreviation on the 2. 1/2 " plastic pipe as if was buffed and trimmed to length on the wood lathe. Its worrking good enough for an easy impression with a couple strikes.

Edited December 9, 2017 by ContactCement

[mikesc]

What you are calling PVC is highly unlikely to be PVC..far more likely to be HDPE.

[ContactCement]

PVC PIPE LEATHER MAUL. 

UNFORTUNATELY TOO MUCH TIME PASSED AND THE ORIGIONAL TITLE WAS INDEED CORRECT.  I  am correcting the dimensions from the earlier post. The Outer Diameter is Approximately 2 3/8" and the Inner Diameter is 2"  ( I used a ruler not vernier to measure the outer diameter )  The photos are proof.  Anyhow this PVC pipe maul takes a beating and hasn't become indented as of now from tools. The length is 8 1/4" and the striking surface length is 3 1/4"  The bottom line and reason for the post is to prove that one does not need a metal lathe to make a decent leather maul. Simply put: The tooling leather most likely don't care how much you wasted on a brand name designer leather maul.

Edited December 9, 2017 by ContactCement

[mikesc]

Interesting..here almost all pipe like that sold is HDPE..mainly because PVC ( can get it in "hard" or "soft" ) gives off some really nasty gases when burning, and HDPE doesn't..although "soft" PVC is sold as flooring, electrical insulation, soft tubes ( like in medical applications ), huge amount of uses, and when applied to cotton as "waterproof" textile all over the world and is what most inflatable pool toys etc are made from.The EU is more restrictive about it's use than the USA, mainly because of the Phthalates and outgassing ..We see HDPE more often in the rigid form..HDPE is what you have in "milk jugs" and other packaging in contact with food or water for human consumption ..

HDPE is more dense..stands upto wear better, can support higher temperatures ( not much higher, but higher ), has better solvent resistance etc.

A lot of people use HDPE bar ( or POM ) to make their home made mauls from.PVC in "bar" from is harder to find.
If you use a solid bar you can get the "taper"* into the head which allows you not to have to lift your elbow so high ( the lower you have your elbow ), the less back and shoulder pain you get ) when striking the stamps for tooling.

* You don't need a lathe to get the "taper" onto a bar of HDPE, you can do that in a bench drill with a sanding block..shaping the handle ( unless you have one already made ) without a lathe though could be awkward, re "don't need a metal lathe"..I think that the turned metal ( maybe brass ) on the expensive mauls is just for decoration, you can get the weight into the maul by using a piece of threaded bar as long as the maul and drilling the HDPE bar and the handle to fit the threaded bar..add a couple of heavy nuts and washers to lock it all together , ( and provide extra weight in place of the lead, lead is expensive unless you have some hanging around ).You could also drill and tap a piece of brass and fit that onto the end.

Careful if you make a heavy maul out of PVC, for really "whacking" hard, when PVC "fails" it will splinter and shrapnel ( which is why it doesn't get used in fireworks and pyrotechnics anymore ) HDPE rips, less danger of any small "bits" flying off after a really hard whack on something.

Edited December 9, 2017 by mikesc

[ContactCement]

Thanks for the info. Hopefully the combined data helps others as well. The main drawback I see with my maul is the PVC pipe wall thickness. It is however epoxied to the wood. I suspect the metal weights / discs on other mauls compensate for the weight of plastic and stacked leather handles. I personally see threaded rod as a potential weakness if the wrong metal is used. It should be only threaded at the ends so it doesn't score hole in the plastic weakening it. The worst part of most retail name brand leather  mauls is I rarely see any implied warranty or replacements plastic sleeves. Which is unfortunate the main reason I made my own.

[Kulafarmer]

The PVC pipe will eventually crack, always does, just sayin

you could try getting ahold of schedule 80, its grey and much thicker

Edited December 19, 2017 by Kulafarmer