+- Woodnet Forums (https://www.forums.woodnet.net)
+-- Thread: Just say no to juvenile wood (/showthread.php?tid=7306375)
Just say no to juvenile wood - JimReed@Tallahassee - 06-24-2016
Juvenile wood is the earliest growth of the tree. It is difficult to control and makes poor projects. Kinda like its human counterparts. Woodworkers should always avoid juvie wood whenever possible.
I found a lignum vitae mallet that was turned from a small tree or limb. Both mallet head and handle were turned from a single piece of wood. The mallet is great but the handle is problematic because it is juvenile wood. I think the best way to make a mallet like this is to turn a separate handle from ash or hickory. Maybe I will fix this one someday. Anyway, the juvie wood handle split and made the mallet a pain to hold. Luckily I had some duck tape to rescue it.
Here is a shot of the base. You can see the lignum heartwood and sapwood. It has held up well with just one small crack and no big splits.
The handle repair means that it is comfortable again.
Re: Just say no to juvenile wood - wing nut - 06-24-2016
Is there nothing duct tape and velcro can't fix ?
Re: Just say no to juvenile wood - Window Guy - 06-24-2016
wing nut said:
Is there nothing duct tape and velcro can't fix ?
Not to much, and don't forget bailing wire
.Steve
Re: Just say no to juvenile wood - Steve N - 06-25-2016
Window Guy said:
[blockquote]wing nut said:
Is there nothing duct tape and velcro can't fix ?
Not to much, and don't forget bailing wire
.Steve
[/blockquote]
Bailing wire repair of a mallet
Man you're hardcore
Re: Just say no to juvenile wood - salmo - 06-25-2016
Quote:
The mallet is great but the handle is problematic because it is juvenile wood.
What's wrong with the handle being juvenile? Too skinny?
Re: Just say no to juvenile wood - JimReed@Tallahassee - 06-25-2016
salmo said:
[blockquote]Quote:
The mallet is great but the handle is problematic because it is juvenile wood.
What's wrong with the handle being juvenile? Too skinny?
[/blockquote]
When large oak trees are milled, the interior juvenile wood is left in a large billet and is used for RR ties. Sometimes the interior juvenile wood is left inside a beam. Quarter sawn wood has the juvenile wood ripped off the edge. Cabinet woods like walnut and cherry are cut to the center but those boards are usually not the highest grades.
The reason is that juvenile wood is unpredictable and is prone to warps and splits. The early growth is not consistent and the resulting wood varies in density and can have defects. Once a tree establishes its growth, the quality of the wood increases.
Re: Just say no to juvenile wood - salmo - 06-25-2016
Thanks... Understood... Had the bad experience myself in past with borg #2's...
I thought you meant the Lignum mallet in particular... I have one similar to yours with a pretty skinny handle (by design), but no warping and such... I may add a cork sleeve handle, a-la fishing rods (poles) just to make it more comfortable...
Re: Just say no to juvenile wood - BaileyNo5 - 06-25-2016
Hi Jim
I have a mallet made from the exact same wood. Ours is the original lignum vitae, not the green stuff from Argentina. It's one of my favorite mallets, in spite of the cracks. When the wood was available, I think it was quite common to make mallets from the pith-in branches. I'll take a pith-in lignum vitae mallet over anything else, any day.
Don't know if you saw my post in woodturning about Hawthorne Mallets, but I just made a batch of 'em from pith-in Hawthorne. Soaked them in Pentacryl, and only 1 tiny crack out of 5 mallets.
Re: Just say no to juvenile wood - JimReed@Tallahassee - 06-26-2016
True lignum is good for mallets. This one is a little large and heavy for general use but it is nice to have when a good whalloping is in order. I like the looks of the hawthorne. Bet the mallets are just the bomb.
Re: Just say no to juvenile wood - iclark - 06-26-2016
Steve N said:
[blockquote]Window Guy said:
[blockquote]wing nut said:
Is there nothing duct tape and velcro can't fix ?
Not to much, and don't forget bailing wire
.Steve
[/blockquote]
Bailing wire repair of a mallet
Man you're hardcore
[/blockquote]
Use it to wrap the handle like an old sword.