Maul dimensions?

[DaveP]

looking at making my own maul.  What's the average length of handles and the UHMW head length plus diameter? Going to use a brass keeper on head end about 2" in diameter.  Use wood in picture for handle. Wood is remnants of custom rifle stocks. With a stainless steel rod down the middle.  

Thanks again 

[DaveP]

If used length of this Osborne hammer...overall length would be about 9" with the head around 3". 

[Zonker1972]

i measured a maul at tandy when i thought about making a maul from HDPE. i came up with a handle ~5" long, diameter depends on how big your hand is and a HDPE head of 2.5" tall with a 3" diameter.

i hope that helps

zonker

[DaveP]

Thanks Zonker.

Would HDPE be better than UHMW? Or what about Delrin?

Thanks again 

 

[DaveP]

After talking with Robert Beard about mauls...this is what I've got so far.  It'll have a polyurethane head with brass for some weight.  

[DaveP]

Progress...it's 5 1/2" long. I may trim ends to 5" in length.  But it fits well in my hands. 

Edited May 25, 2020 by DaveP

[DaveP]

Little bit more progress 

[DaveP]

Metal work today and more polishing. Ends are brass with stainless steel rod and end cap. Basically waiting for the polyurethane to arrive, more coats of Tru-Oil to the handle. Not sure if I'm going to make the acorn nut or just buy one. 

Edited May 27, 2020 by DaveP

[Retswerb]

That’s shaping up nicely! You’ll have a nice tool when you’re done.

[DaveP]

Thank you Retswerb!

Still waiting on head material to arrive.

[chuck123wapati]

That's gonna be beautiful! 

 

[DaveP]

Thank you Chuck 

[Frodo]

WOW. Beautiful

Is the head going to be brass with plastic ends? 

[DaveP]

55 minutes ago, Frodo said:

WOW. Beautiful

Is the head going to be brass with plastic ends? 

Thank you Frodo.

 The brass will be at each end of the head. The head will be between the brass... red polyurethane with a durometer hardness of 70. 

[dikman]

Looking good, Dave. I just bought a packet of acorn nuts from the hardware store for mine (quick and easy).

[DaveP]

Do over time!!

After I took it off the mandrel the hole is off center:(

 

Started another one this morning. Shape tomorrow afternoon after epoxy dries. Hate wasting time!

[Scootch]

You may want a variety of sizes.  I use a 16oz tampered head for tooling, 24oz cylindrical head for flower centers and a 48oz cylindrical for bag punches and such.  Are you planning to face them with a xylophone finish?  The Barry Kings come with the textured finish.

Your work looks super nice.

Scootch

[dikman]

I'm curious, why is the off-centre hole a problem?

[Spyros]

It's not.  But when you're making something so nice you want it to be perfect

Personally I'd just take a round file and straighten it, even if it means the fit of the threaded rod wouldn't be perfect any more.

Edited June 7, 2020 by Spyros

[dikman]

The hole won't be seen once it's all assembled, so no-one will ever know, and it could always have epoxy put down the hole to fill in the gaps. It looks so nice that it would be a shame not to use it.

[Spyros]

My only concern is that epoxy is kinda slippery for a handle?  Especially if you've handled some oil/wax before.

I'm talking about the outside now.  Normally wooden tool handles have no finish whatsoever for this reason, just sanded to high grits for presentation.

Edited June 7, 2020 by Spyros

[chuck123wapati]

2 hours ago, Spyros said:

My only concern is that epoxy is kinda slippery for a handle?  Especially if you've handled some oil/wax before.

I'm talking about the outside now.  Normally wooden tool handles have no finish whatsoever for this reason, just sanded to high grits for presentation.

I think Dikman means to put the epoxy inside the handle so you can center it. Knife makers and tool makers both do this routinely to The only person that can will ever know your handle is off center is you I cant see the problem at all. OR you can simply glue a dowel back inside the hole and redrill it! 

[DaveP]

Well, the second one came apart from the glue joints I didn't put in. I put the old back in the lathe and turned a little bit along with sanding. You won't notice it too much. Still waiting on the head material.  Epoxy would be on the inside.  The handle is coated with Tru-Oil.  It's not slippery. Would someone post a pic of Berry's mauls? I didn't realize that they are textured.  Does that make a big difference? 

Thanks again 

[Spyros]

Supeglue it and put it back on the lathe? I mean the glue joints only need to hold for you to turn it, after that the nuts on the rod will hold it together anyway. 

Edited June 7, 2020 by Spyros

[Scootch]

9 hours ago, DaveP said:

Would someone post a pic of Berry's mauls? I didn't realize that they are textured.  Does that make a big difference? 

Thanks again 

I never tooled with one that was smooth to compare the difference but I understand the concept of texture.  I don't know the durometer of his heads.  Maybe a softer head wouldn't benefit as much from some texture.

Scootch