Wooden Mallet by Elijah - 1:1 - FINISHED

[Elijah]

Greetings!

I've recently started school at the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding, I thought I might post a project from the curriculum. This mallet was both a practice project to learn mortise and tenon joinery, but also to create a useful tool to use through the year. 

 

I started with the handle by making a template, cutting the template out, and then using it to transfer lines to cut on the band saw. I cut the handle and then shaped it using a spokeshave, chisels, scrapers, and a little bit of sanding. There were marks left by the saw, but I decided not to fuss over it too much and I decided to live with them.

 

The mallet head was made from a solid maple block, and I drilled a hole before laboriously chiseling out the inside to create the mortise.

 

Once the mortise and tenon fit, I marked the mallet head for beveling the faces to an appropriate angle. 

 

Then I cut the excess wood off, rounded the top and bottom, cleaned the faces and fixed the head to the handle using wedges. I chamfered the edges with a small chisel. Once that was done, I applied a light coat of beeswax orange goop finish. I don't remember the proper name, but it smelled nice!

 

Even though I didn't use any glue, it's quite solid and very satisfying to use!

 

[Landlubber Mike]

Very cool Elijah!  Nicely done!

[Elijah]

Thank you!

[mtaylor]

Very nicely done, Elijah.  I hope the schooling goes well.  BTW, wood burn you name on that beauty so no one will steal it.

[Egilman]

There is something very satisfying about building and using something you made yourself... Especially doing it the old time honored way...

 

It's a accomplishment, something they don't teach but in very few places anymore...

 

Well done...

[Elijah]

Thank you, that's a good idea Mark. I don't have a wood burner but I'll find some way of marking it. 

 

Egilman, fortunately this is one of those few places!

[Canute]

Nicely done, Elijah. It will give you pleasure fore years, since you made it yourself. 👍

[lmagna]

Well made Elijah

 

But as you know this is only the start. I have seen a couple of the boats made there for sale in Port Townsend over the years and if they are an example then you have some treats coming in the next year or two. Beautiful work in Cedar and Oak, along with other woods that I do not know as well. Are you doing full time or just taking classes?

[popeye the sailor]

great looking mallet!    

[Elijah]

Thanks all! 

 

Actually, the classes themselves are full time. We start at 8 in the morning and end at 5, five days a week. We also have some really nice boats in the works! There's a folk boat that only has the stem, keel and transom done and then there's a small trawler that we'll be lofting in the near future.