Wanted,Wood Carver

[RonB1957]

Looking for a dedicated wood carver to work with and test one or two of my mallets. I recently had a limited amount of resin infused plain sawn hard maple mallets CNCd, based on a hand turned mallet of the same hard maple. I still need to alter them slightly by hand. These are single piece mallets weighing between 19.5 and 20.5 ounces. Down the road a bit I will need some one to test a two piece version as well. They will look similar to the pic. This one was hand turned. Thank you.
Got one. Thank you.

[Arlin Eastman]

Really really nice mallets Ron.  What is the % of the slope of the head?  From what my friends who has been carving over 35 years says between 3* to 5* or when the mallet hits the tool it the mallet should face should be level.

Also why not someone who used chisels a lot since it is the same thing I think.

Arlin

[RonB1957]

Hi Arlin,
     My octagonal joinery mallets are at 5*. My round carving mallets are closer to 3* and slightly rounded since carvers are often swinging at odd angles. Also, I asked for a dedicated carver assuming they would have a broader reference of mallets to compare it to. I had a limited number of single piece carving mallets made and they were based on what felt right to my hand. But I am not a dedicated carver. So I sent out a  couple to get opinions. Some wood carvers do not even like round mallets. Unfortunately, I just can not afford to send out a bunch of them. Expensive to make. Hence the selective process. Thanks for asking. Best wishes.

[MattP]

Hi Arlin,
     My octagonal joinery mallets are at 5*. My round carving mallets are closer to 3* and slightly rounded since carvers are often swinging at odd angles. Also, I asked for a dedicated carver assuming they would have a broader reference of mallets to compare it to. I had a limited number of single piece carving mallets made and they were based on what felt right to my hand. But I am not a dedicated carver. So I sent out a  couple to get opinions. Some wood carvers do not even like round mallets. Unfortunately, I just can not afford to send out a bunch of them. Expensive to make. Hence the selective process. Thanks for asking. Best wishes.

I carve, but I'm not what you're looking for. Did want to say the mallet looks gorgeous and looks effective. I like the shape much better than my current wooden mallet.

[RonB1957]

Thank you. Trying to come up with something ergonomic, and attractive. It's that form vs function thing. :
  
" Always spinning the hamster wheel". Best wishes.

[wmickley]

The handle is way too long. So the balance is poor. I have carved white oak full time for months already, but just looking at that mallet makes my arm sore.

[MattP]

The handle is way too long. So the balance is poor. I have carved white oak full time for months already, but just looking at that mallet makes my arm sore.

That carved ball on the end of the handle--a mallet with a pommel, go figure--looks like it would serve as a counterweight in the way it does on a sword. I would actually love to try that mallet out.

[RonB1957]

The handle is way too long. So the balance is poor. I have carved white oak full time for months already, but just looking at that mallet makes my arm sore.

    Then you would want one of these 2 piece mallets. Shorter light weight handle. Infused head. Steel bolt passing all the way through. So even if the epoxied tenon ever came loose ( doubtful ) the rod and brass caps would prevent it from coming apart. 
     I am obviously not a full time carver, but I tend to hold the mallet up toward the head unless I really need to wack some thing. The over all length of the single piece mallet is approx. 10.5". The head portion is approx 3.75" long. The 2 piece is slightly shorter.
2 piece prototypes, of sorts. I settled on the one all maple in the middle. The one to the left, Walnut, is a slightly lighter mallet at 16oz. The brass ring really doesn't do anything. Just aesthetics. ala Blue Spruce. I won't be using those.

Something more representative of what I am doing, between every thing else. :


The one on the left, hand turned, the others are CNCd then re turned by me to add a little more detail.

[RonB1957]

By the way, wmickley, 
As I recall, you did not care for my Ebony saw that I considered a more traditional saw. ( compared to what I usually make )

Soooo here is one just for you. It is a Spear ( no Jackson ) duplicate I made after refurbishing the original brought to me. The original had a 0.015" thick plate, 10" long filed 16 ppi rip. The handle I believe was beech and was a full 15/16" thick. There were no hint of "crisp" lines clearly being purposefully rounded.

My version: 9.5" tooth line. 16 ppi rip, beech handle approx. 15/16" thick

So what is really a "traditional saw design"? In my view, it is simply a matter of what our life experiences are, what we read in magazines and preference. Thanks for your thoughts and best wishes.

[RonB1957]

I carve, but I'm not what you're looking for. Did want to say the mallet looks gorgeous and looks effective. I like the shape much better than my current wooden mallet.

Hi Matt, and thank you. I looked at a lot of mallets on line, in stores etc. The only thing that even came close to what I thought was a good design was Dave's ( Blue Spruce ) . He has a knack for simple elegance in design. I liked the "Wood is Good" mallet with the urethane head. Quieter and softer blows. Even then I wanted something with a more attractive form and I could shift my hand on depending on what I was hitting. Most if not al the mallets I found were either too light weight, requiring huge heads to get the weight, or the handles were lacking. Hence my expensive little quest to come up with something I think is better. Time will tell. Probably should have stuck with just the one for me and friends.
Either way, a limited number were/ are being made. So back to my hamster cage.