I posted about my new oak mallet on FB. And, to my surprise, a pal said it gave him ‘mallet envy’; could I make him one? As I haven’t got enough oak left, I’m trying out marine-ply.
Handles shaped with new palm-router.
I bought a Katsu brand palm-router, from Amazon. For just £40! It arrived today. And I used it to shape the handles, as shown in the pics above and below.
Burn marks need sanding out. But other than that, it did exactly what I wanted. Result! One minor bummer is that a set of new router bits I recently bought don’t fit. But that’s another story…
Holes for hanging them up.
Tomorrow, at S&F, I’m intending to finish (or near enough finish) these two, by shaping the heads, sanding the whole lot, and applying some kind of finish. Linseed oil and paste wax, prob’. If I can source some?
The front gate and gate-posts were looking a bit tired and tatty. I’d painted the balls gold, some while ago. But I’d not addressed the sorry state of the blue main coat.
So I did that today. I found a full/unused sample pot of Valspar (B&Q) ‘Mountain Moss’. A green that I rather like. so I used that.
Some years ago the handle for this saw either broke, or I just plain didn’t like it (plastic?). So I made a new one, using marine ply.
The new handle had several issues: it was way too thick; the groove I cut for the saw blade was way too wide (so much so the blade wasn’t properly secured in the handle); and it was plain ugly, shape wise.
I decided to: shape it a bit more, and thereby improve it aesthetically (even if only a little it!); cut it in half, sand it down, and re-glue it, so the saw blade groove was appropriately sized; and shellac it.
I did the last of these first. Fine. The next step – pics one and two above – went south very quickly. My Japanese pull-saw cut fine, but I wandered off course. So I took the handle to S&F, and cut it in half on their bandsaw.
Sanding the two internal faces brought the whole thing back into the realms of workability. I then had to fill in the wandering cut wound, which I did with a sawdust and wood glue mix.
When it came time to glue the two halves of the handle back together, I needed to use a thin veneer – white oak scraps did the job – to re-establish a gap sufficient to re-insert the saw blade.
I also had to use a few different saws to clean out the blade insertion part of the handle, so I could slot it back in. I re-used the same fixtures to secure the blade. And it looks and feels a helluva lot better.
I oiled the screws in the handle, and the blade, with Teresa’s sewing machine oil. To combat rust encroachment.
Another little tool maintenance job done. I find these small tasks strangely satisfying!
First thing I did today at Shedders & Fixers (hereafter S&F) was put my current project, a Paul Sellers style router plane – pics one and two below – through the drum sander. Thereby achieving a uniform thickness.
Second thing I did was take off and re-work a plywood saw handle, as shown in pics three to six, above. I made this some years ago, to replace a broken handle. But it was way too thick, and not terrifically well formed.
The drum sander once again did sterling service, bringing it down to a much better thickness. After thinning, I spent most of the rest of my time at S&F today shaping said handle; making it look and feel nicer.
I think I’ve put about five layers of shellac on it. But I’m not 100% sure? I really like how it looks; the way the shellac makes the plys ‘pop’!
The top four photos below show some rather nasty holes in the Keruing parts of this particular shell. Top row, as they were; below, after chisel clean up.
The bottom four photos, above, show other lesser bits of shell damage (pics five and six), and dowels that are no longer fully flush (seven and eight).
In the gallery below, pics one and two see me carve and fit a repair using the wrong wood (rosewood). Oops! Pics three and four I’m back using Keruing, aka the right wood.
Effecting repairs.
Somewhat to my own amazement, I think this drum may turn out ok. Despite all the traumas and setbacks it’s suffered.
Cheesecake and ice cream. Yum!
Leftover paella from yesterday’s family visit (Hannah and Tim), for dinner. Then a lovely pudding. And now I’m in bed. Could do a lot worse!
I’ve no idea where or when I acquired this particular saw! I’ve got quite a few saws. And I forget all the occasions on which I’ve found them. Mostly – this one included – they are freebies!
Above, the ‘before’ state.
Lightly sanding the handle.
I took it apart, to clean and restore it. The handle has some damage. Just about visible above. More obvious in the pair of ‘after’ pics, below.
Complete, left; damaged, right…
But I’m getting ahead of myself! Back to the restoration, in progress.
Blade and screws in a vinegar bath.
The metal bits went in a white vinegar bath, to get rid of the rust. I put a coat of pre-stain, and then a layer of shellac on the handle.
Above, the ‘after’ state.
I’ve tried to preserve some of the patina and character of the handle, whilst also improving it.
Interesting grip…Am I holding it right?
Having put it back together, I still want to do at least one more coat of shellac. Poss’ more? The blade needs oiling, to prevent re-rusting.
Blade and screws/nuts oiled.
After oiling the metal parts, or at least the blade, I put a second coat of shellac on the handle.
The final job – tomorrow, perhaps? – will be sharpening the teeth. I doubt I’ll bother ‘setting’ them…
Hannah and Tim visited today. Which was lovely. So cooked a hoooge paella. So massive it spilled all over the cooker. And for pud we had an apple tart Tim brought over, with ice cream. Very nice!
Later on we sat out in the garden, and had a wee fire. Before going back in and watching a Bilko episode. And then they were off…
I was at Shedders & Fixers today. I wanted to finish my new oak mallet. Which I’d worked on yesterday – cutting out the two channels for the handle – and laid out, for shaping today.
Let’s hope she holds this time!
I did the shaping at S&F. And all seemed well. But when I tried to drive the handle home, it split the mallet head along the glue line.
Top end.
Some mark-up lines are just visible. Even after sanding/shaping. At this point I was pleased as punch.
The above photo clearly shows the curve of the top, and the inward slopes of the sides. The latter disappear in the image below. A trick of the perspective.
Bottom end.
Note slight round-overs on the base of the mallet head.
Shaping and sanding the handle.
Once I’d split the head, I spent ages reworking the two channels, and the handle, as well. Until they all fitted together without glue. Hopefully after this second glue up, the handle will seat itself properly, wi’out rending the head in two.
Whilst working on the oak mallet, I took my glasses off, and – very dumbly – put them on the ground.
I them promptly forgot I’d done so, and stepped on them. I bent the left arm to almost 90° out of alignment, and cracked the frame, so the lense fell out.
I managed to more of less straighten out the bent arm. Super glue, so called – ha! – failed to bond the frame. As did hot glue. Third time around? Araldite epoxy.
That’s what’s currently holding the specs together. Along with some wound around masking tape… will the epoxy hold, once the tape comes off?
