Just finished making a maul! Check it out.

G

GrizzlyKnives

Well-Known Member
After doing some basket weave stamping on a test piece of horse hide, I decided that it was finally time to retire my crappy little wooden mallet (hobby lobby mallet, ultra light) and get with the program on making a maul. I'm low on funds this week so I wanted to keep it as low $ as possible...well, you can't beat free.

I had told my cousin, who is a wood-turner, that I would like to make a wooden maul...at least till I could make a proper one out of raw hide or nylon. So, today, she took a piece of ash firewood and shaved off the bark and chucked it into the lathe for me. After a quick tutorial on the basics, she let me have at it.

This is my end result. It's been sanded to 220 and is in the process of getting a tung oil finish. I don't have an exact weight at the moment, I figure at least 24oz. I can't find my postal scale or my tape measure and it's too late to run outside to look so exact specs will come later.

A couple things I plan on doing: 1) taking the torch to the work face and flame hardening the wood; it's ash and quite hard but a little flame hardening won't hurt and 2) depending on it's initial weight, I plan on making it a little heavier by drilling the end and filling the cavity with melted lead.

Not bad for a first time at the lathe, I gotta say I could really get into wood turning.

grizzlymaul_zps542bbe60.jpg
 
Very nice! That is pretty clever. I didn't think about that. My father is a wood worker and loves turning something new. I will have to pick his brain about something like this.
 
Very cool! I am a big fan of do it yourself projects. I need to find someone who turns wood in my area.
 
Looks good..Ash is very hard.When you are finished with it,you should be able to drive nails with it :)

God bless
 
Thanks for all the kind words! My only concern from the get go was the work face getting really dinged up and having chip outs. I figured ash would help against this. From what I've read the flame hardening should also create an even harder work face. But, if it does happen, I had thought about getting a piece of leather and hardening it then gluing it to the face. Another gent suggested a piece of rawhide, which is also a good idea. In fact, the next one of these I make, I may include a recessed channel in the head to allow for a rawhide or leather wrap. Hmmm, then you could stitch it together and replace as needed...? Ideas, ideas, ideas :).
 
The rawhide wrap in a channel was my first thought. I like the idea of saving the wood for the wow factor and the replaceable work surface.
 
I'll probably turn another one soon with a channel.

Got around to measuring it today and putting it on the scale, here are the specs:

9.5" long
16 oz on the dot (I don't know how I managed that!)


Also, I went ahead and flame tempered the work face with a torch and lightly toasted the handle grain. This picture is after 2 light coats of Formby's Tung Oil finish.

grizzlymaul2_zps10cb75fe.jpg


I'm anxious to start using it, I have a sheath to do as soon as I finish the knife that goes in it.

What weight do most folks use?
 
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I look forward to hearing about how this works for you! I think this is a great tool you made.

When you ask for weight that people use, weight of what?
 
Lovely maul... I turned mine out of Purple Heart a few months back and its still going strong. I did make the mistake of waxing it with a homemade carnauba, beeswax, paraffin concoction and it kept of flaking off. After a few minutes with a torch and buffing wheel it all worked out well.
 
Weatherman- Thanks! As for the weight, there are many different weights of mauls that leather workers use. From my googling, it seems that 16oz is a good weight to start with. So, I'm going to give it a try and if I think it needs a bit more, say increasing to 20oz (another good size), I will drill the center and fill with molten lead.

Mike- Thanks! Ash was the hardest wood I had on hand in my cousin's woodpile. Seeing how fun it was to turn this one, I may order up a piece of exotic wood and have at it. I bet a Lignum Vitae maul would be crazy strong!
 
Hey Grizzly, out of curiosity. Do you know how to make a maul with the round plastic for the hitting area. I would be interested in how those are made as well.
 
From my understanding from many searches on the leatherworker.net forum they're fairly simple to construct. Easiest construction would start with a long carriage bolt, head down and assembled from the bottom of the handle to the top. From the bolt head would be a flat washer, then the handle, then several more flat washers, add on your nylon "puck" that's been drilled to accept the bolt, a couple more flat washers and then a nut. From what I gather, weight is gained or lost by adding or removing more washers.

The nylon for the head can be found at a plastics supplier, it has a special name that I can't remember right now.
 
Grizzly, if you can remember about the name of the plastic I would like to know.

I did some searching and I come across custom made ones but no type of plastic. I think I would like to try and make one. I like yours and it came out awesome, which I why I would like to make one...
 
I have made two mauls. A heavy one and a mid weight. I don't remember how much they weigh, but can weigh them for you.
I don't have photos but will take them if you are interested. Both have teflon heads from the same piece.
I core drilled the piece i had and ended with two pieces.
I used 1/2" all thread and made front and back connectors.
Heavy has purpleheart handle, mid weight has stacked leatherhandle.
Fred
 
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