Why Bother

[Harbo]

A few weeks ago, at Yandles, I bought a piece of Lignum Vitae for £19.99 to make the head of a carver's mallet. I already have some ash for the handle.

Yesterday I received Tilgear's catalogue which has one ready made for £14 plus VAT !!

I know the enjoyment of making something is priceless but........



Rod

 

[mudman]

Make it bigger than necessary and with a radically different shape to those in the catalogues.
Use it for a bit and if you like it great. Otherwise, re-mount it on the lathe and take a bit off to give a different shape. That way you get a mallet that suits you, not one that almost suits most people.

BTW, a cheap way of getting lignum vitae for mallets is to keep an eye out for old crown bowls. I obtained four in a market for only a couple of quid or so.

mind you, they're still rolling around the workshop waiting to have something done with them after about two years or more.

 

[Colin C]

Hi Harbo

I would make my own

[/img] as I have never liked the ones you get off the shelves.

I dont like the handles and you can always make a smaller head, lead weight it to get more weight in a smaller head.
That way you can use more of your Lignum for other things

 

[Colin C]

And here is a pic of the handle

[/img

 

[Stu in Tokyo]

Yep, sometimes it sure is a "Why Bother" type of thing, but, too often, I end up not liking the standard tool that comes on the cheap.

I agree that you can make one that fits your hand, just how you like it, and the weight and balance is just how you like it, a custom built, hand fit tool, is a joy to use, a price point tool off of an assembly line, can certainly do the job fine, but it is not a "joy" to use.

I'd bet that if you made one for yourself, that really did FIT you hand etc, and say someone gave you a store bought mallet, I know which one you would reach for almost all of the time

Cheers!

 

[Woodmagnet]

Well said Stu. :wink:

 

[Anonymous]

Harbo, I know what you're saying but think of Ikea furniture - I can't buy the wood for the price of their tables, but I wouldn't buy one from them

I would make my own mallet with the ballance and weigh distribution to suit my needs :wink:

 

[Wiley Horne]

Also....might be worth checking whether Tilgear's is true lignum (Guaiacum sp.), as opposed to Argentine lignum (Bulnesia sp.).

Wiley

 

[David C]

Wiley,

How does one tell the difference please?

Are there any simple visual clues?

David

 

[Colin C]

I should be going down there today and will take a pic of them as some times they can have a lot of sap on them ( not as hard and can flake with use )

I hope it helps

 

[mr]

Harbo, I know what you're saying but think of Ikea furniture - I can't buy the wood for the price of their tables, but I wouldn't buy one from them

Wouldn't that be an argument for buying the table and then recycling it into something else? The table being cheaper than the wood etc.
Cheers Mike

 

[ByronBlack]

Harbo, I know what you're saying but think of Ikea furniture - I can't buy the wood for the price of their tables, but I wouldn't buy one from them

Wouldn't that be an argument for buying the table and then recycling it into something else? The table being cheaper than the wood etc.
Cheers Mike

It depends on whether the ikea piece is actually wood and not some nasty veneered particle board or some such. I like ikea furniture for temporary furniture but I've yet to see anything that is particularly well made or sturdy.

I have however contemplated going to my local second hand/charity shop to buy up all their really really dirt cheap furniture; think tables, beaurau's (sp?) chairs etc.. but I can never really tell what wood they are in, if I can work out a good way of identifying them I could have a source of cheap hardwood - they have tons of the stuff outside their shop everyday and it's right next to where I work. I did once ask the 'creature' inside the shop what they are made of, which was a mistake, the answer I got was a slack-jawed monotone 'wood'. vey helpful!

Another thought had crossed my mind - buy some of the mahogany tables from auctions and re-use it, they seem to go for much cheaper than to buy the raw wood, but it's a little harsh to destroy someone elses work.

 

[mr]

Ikeas wood seems to be made of pressed paper most of the time.

Cheers Mike

 

[Harbo]

I have the task this weekend, for my daughter, of putting back together some Ikea furniture which has come apart!! You get what you pay for and for someone staring up a new home, Ikea is the cheapest way to go about it - apart from possibly buying SH?
My father used to buy up old mahogany furniture to use as a source of timber - I often wonder if he destroyed anything valuable?

Back to the mallet - I will make one and possibly try to save the core (hole for handle) for something else - too expensive to waste by drilling out?
The Tilgear mallets are made from Palosanto ("same species as Lignum Vitae but grows in a different country")? Made in the UK - 3" dim head costs £12, 4" £14. Quite a good price IMO.

Rod

 

[TonyW]

I have the task this weekend, for my daughter, of putting back together some Ikea furniture which has come apart!! You get what you pay for and for someone staring up a new home, Ikea is the cheapest way to go about it - apart from possibly buying SH?

Same with my daughter she is starting a new home and has gone for Ikea and John Lewis - reasonable prices. Actually I quite like some of the Ikea stuff myself - the simple design that is!! Having declared that I like some of it I hope you will all still speak to me

Cheers
Tony

 

[Wiley Horne]

Hello David and all,

This is in regard to Lignum vitae (Guiacum officinale and G. sanctum) and its substitutes, especially Bulnesia sarmientoi and B. arborea. I couldn't walk into a shop and know the difference--would have to ask the vendor. I was suggesting that differences in price can sometimes be explained by differences in the article being sold.

Here is a vendor who sells both Guiacum and Bulnesia, and discusses both a bit:

http://www.exoticwood.biz/lignumvitae.htm

If you follow his links to Argentine lignum vitae, B. sarmientoi, he says that it is a bit lighter in color than true Guiacum, and is the best of the substitutes. He also says that Guiacum is very rare these days in trade.

Here is a link which discusses Argentine lignum vitae, or Palosanto, and its uses. Note its density which is in the same ballpark as Guaicum:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulnesia_sarmientoi

In the above and elsewhere, I found 5 or 6 different spellings of Guiacum--and used the one most seen in dictionaries.

Wiley

 

[David C]

Wiley,

Thank you very much, most interesting.

I am lucky to have a lifetimes supply of small bits of lignum for my home made bandsaw guides.

I bought these from Stanley Davies, a well known arts & crafts maker in Widermere, (The Lake District). He was retiring when I started in the early 70s. A delightful man and very nice furniture, some of which is now in the Victoria & Albert museum in London.

Stanley had learned with Romney Green, his workshop was without electric machinery. His circular saw was human powered.

I have just got a nice book about him,
"Stanley Webb Davies 1894 - 1978" Arts & Crafts Furniture Maker, by Hugh Wright.
ISBN 1904147208 published by Bookcase, 19 Castle Street, Carlisle, CA3 8SY www.bookscumbria.com

best wishes,
David

 

[Nick Gibbs]

I know the enjoyment of making something is priceless but........

Yeah, but if you only eat packaged meals you forget how to cook! And as Stu says it will fit your hand better if you make it yourself.

I think that lignum vitae is one of the species very close to extinction (both Guaiacum officinale and G. sanctum). I'm pretty sure they are both on the CITES Appendex II list which means they should be used with great caution (at least that's what I wrote in The Real Wood Bible!!). For a native and local alternative you might consider boxwood. I've used it for mallet heads and it is beautiful (lovely to turn), with a creamy texture. Not as heavy as lignum, but with a swirling grain it shouldn't split. I've sure Yandles sell it. You could probably fill it with lead or something to increase the weight.

Nick

 

[Harbo]

Well I did bother using a £10 piece of Lignum and a spare bit of ash:



Bit of a brute but I did not want to waste too much wood - handles about 7" long!

Rod

 

[Woodmagnet]

That's a "smasher" Rod, and well worth the wait for the picture. :wink: