diamond in the ruff. now a gem.

[tobytools]

just a improvement on an old mortice chisel. took me 30mins at nans shed where i play more than do anything. thats where my lathe is. anyways i cant remember what the wood is i think cherry but more sure its pear, just some fruit tree i chopped down at work a while back, sorry the pics arnt the best,
its still in shed soaking in linseed oil so it dosent split. after work im putting a metal strike button on the end.
im experimenting with the top and a bit of shaft of a domed table bolt, on a scrap piece of wood, would normal adhesive with shavings stick the metal into the fitting or would it just come loose, might leave chisel as it is and try it out on m&t
the chisel size is 5/16
also the handle is big and round and fits like a glove
ive only done a few handles so be nice with comments please,

duno why i posted this just thought someone might enjoy the read and pics

TT

 

[Racers]

Looks good Toby.

I wouldn't bother with the strike button,
That branch is nearly big enough to make a mallet head.

Pete

 

[tobytools]

Looks good Toby.

I wouldn't bother with the strike button,
That branch is nearly big enough to make a mallet head.

Pete

thanks pete,

ok so bad idea with the strike button, should i put a ferrel on the strike end or just leave it, hopefully it dont fall apart when i whack it.
i will make a mallet with two turned bits of wood tomorrow, good idea.
i need some box wood.

cheers again
TT

 

[G S Haydon]

Nice one Toby.

To my knowledge these mortice chisels did not have strike cap or ferrule. Just enjoy using it.

 

[AndyT]

It looks very practical - and economical!

I agree that there is no need for a ferrule or strike button.

 

[maltrout512]

Nothing wrong with a little bit of leather :lol: traditional on some chisels and not to hard to make. Just a thought.
Looks better than a metal feral and easy enough to replace. I can post a picture of one I made (handle with leather) some time tomorrow for you to see.

 

[tobytools]

Nothing wrong with a little bit of leather :lol: traditional on some chisels and not to hard to make. Just a thought.
Looks better than a metal feral and easy enough to replace. I can post a picture of one I made (handle with leather) some time tomorrow for you to see.

Ye please that would be great. Ther is a piece of black leather or raw hide between the chosen and handle you can see in pic. I got rid of loads of chisels lately and was gona get gona get shot of this one to as I brought a Narex mortice. They are both 5/16 so will be interesting to see what preforms better for me, already the ward is +1

I have a thing about trying to over do things lol. Ill leave it as it is a give it a bast tomorrow.

Thanks everyone for positive comments. It's not a great feat to re handle a chisel but Im chuffed to bits.
TT

 

[Dangermouse]

Lovely handle Toby. I seem to have built up a few tools that need new handles recently, so will be having a go at some new ones in the near future. I love the process from choosing what wood to use to turning the handle to getting a nice finish. Very therapeutic.

 

[tobytools]

Lovely handle Toby. I seem to have built up a few tools that need new handles recently, so will be having a go at some new ones in the near future. I love the process from choosing what wood to use to turning the handle to getting a nice finish. Very therapeutic.

give it a go, its fun believe it or not i like to play on the lathe every now and then. when im at work (tree surgeon company) i all ways take a few bits home mostly fruit woods or what ever i fancy, i have a bit of laburnum wood in the shed. its beautiful wood ill make my next handle out of that,
also its nice to hold a tool you have restored or made (not there yet)
TT

 

[Racers]

Looks good Toby.

I wouldn't bother with the strike button,
That branch is nearly big enough to make a mallet head.

Pete

thanks pete,

ok so bad idea with the strike button, should i put a ferrel on the strike end or just leave it, hopefully it dont fall apart when i whack it.
i will make a mallet with two turned bits of wood tomorrow, good idea.
i need some box wood.

cheers again
TT

It should be o/k.

My favorite wood for handles and mallets is Hawthorn, its tough, interlocked and seems to dry with out to much splitting.
If you come across some save it.

Pete

 

[tobytools]

Hawthorn, funny you should say I have a few bits in shed, one blank I got ready for drying slit in half a while back but now I have to smaller blanks. I gona have a mess around after work so ill post pics of mallet. Might use hawthorn as head. Dunno yet. Thanks
TT

 

[Racers]

My best mallets where made from Hawthorn, until I discovered bowling balls!

Pete

 

[tobytools]

gona upload pics of mallet in 5 mins hope you all like
TT

 

[tobytools]

here im my mallet i made after work, the shaft is cherry same as mortice chisel and i chose laburnum for the head. you cant realy see in pic but one face is flat and the other is rounded but with flat face.
i should of done it all in laburnum as the haft would of looked beautiful with the different thickness showing different parts of the grain but "ifs and buts" not bad for first mallet, going to make a carving style mallet also, duno what type of wood to use yet will sleep on it.
hope you like it. because i enjoyed making it
cheers
TT

 

[Racers]

Carving style mallet suggestion



Charity shop for the bowling balls.

Pete

 

[Lons]

Hi Toby

Just a tip if you want to turn a small one piece carving mallet. Bore a hole in the end of the mallet head, dovetail it out a little and pour in some molten lead (you'd think it would burn but my beech one didn't). The result is a nice small but heavy tool you can hold in the palm of your hand for controlled taps on the chisel.

Here are a couple of mine both 2 piece. The little one is in with my carving tools and difficult to access at the minute
.

 

[tobytools]

Hi Toby

Just a tip if you want to turn a small one piece carving mallet. Bore a hole in the end of the mallet head, dovetail it out a little and pour in some molten lead (you'd think it would burn but my beech one didn't). The result is a nice small but heavy tool you can hold in the palm of your hand for controlled taps on the chisel.

Here are a couple of mine both 2 piece. The little one is in with my carving tools and difficult to access at the minute
.

That's a very good idea but I don't have the equipment to do something like that but it's given me a likewise idea, I saw some old metal lathe blanks (cylinder solid metal) ill drill and insert that into the head for added weight, thanks for the idea, I surprised it didn't burn, Ill give that ago next week when I have some spare time as I need to start building my side table.
Thanks for all the nice comments and helpful advice.

Nice mallets every one,

All the best
TT

 

[Lons]

Hi Toby

Just a tip if you want to turn a small one piece carving mallet. Bore a hole in the end of the mallet head, dovetail it out a little and pour in some molten lead (you'd think it would burn but my beech one didn't). The result is a nice small but heavy tool you can hold in the palm of your hand for controlled taps on the chisel.

Here are a couple of mine both 2 piece. The little one is in with my carving tools and difficult to access at the minute
.

That's a very good idea but I don't have the equipment to do something like that but it's given me a likewise idea, I saw some old metal lathe blanks (cylinder solid metal) ill drill and insert that into the head for added weight, thanks for the idea, I surprised it didn't burn, Ill give that ago next week when I have some spare time as I need to start building my side table.
Thanks for all the nice comments and helpful advice.

Nice mallets every one,

All the best
TT

Be careful how much weight you put in. What I did was tape bits of lead to the mallet until I got the weight I wanted.

lead is very easy to melt, just a small tin and a blowlamp and bits are free for the asking from any roofer. As I said, I dovetailed the hole so the lead would stay in but one idea might be to use the same drill to bore a hole into scrap wood then your mallet. use the scrap as a mould then split the wood when cold and glue the lead plug into the mallet heah=d.
Could still dovetail it I suppose and then cut a slot into the lead, insert a wedge and bang it in.

Bob

 

[AndyT]

If you get bits of lead flashing I'd have thought another option would be to cut a strip and roll it up tight to make a cylinder then hammer into a matching hole. Glue a wooden plug over it if necessary.

 

[rxh]

Nice handle and mallet, Toby

How did you get a good fit for the tang of the chisel in the handle? I made a handle for the mortice chisel I bought last Saturday but I made the hole too tight and the handle split when I tapped it onto the tang - so I'll have to start again