Skills Meeting October 22nd

Turning a Mallet

Wooden mallets are usually used in carpentry to knock wooden pieces together or apart, or to drive dowels or chisels. A wooden mallet will not deform the striking end of a metal tool, as most metal hammers would, and it also reduces the force required to drive the cutting edge of a chisel.

A decent mallet can be an ideal project to help develop spindle turning skills while making a tool that is very useful in a woodturner's shop where it can be used to:
• Set a drive centre into a piece of wood without damaging the end of the Morse taper
• remove a turned piece from a sticky cup chuck, gently tap off a box top that has seized while being fitted
• There is nothing better than a comfortable mallet to drive a chisel or carving tool.




Please read the article Turning Mallets prior to the meeting.

A face shield is necessary and should be basic equipment in any woodturner’s shop.

Bring any or all of the following tools (sharpened):

• Parting tool (1/8" would be best)
• Roughing gouge
• Spindle gouge (3/8" or 1/2" is best)
• Bowl gouge if you don't have a spindle gouge (1/2" fingernail type grind preferred)
• Skew chisel (3/4" or 1" is best)
• Awl
• Pencil

There will be some tools available if you are short.
Do not bring sandpaper.

Please note that safety rules will be rigorously enforced:

• Safety glasses (at minimum) must be worn for small spindle turning
• Full face shield must be worn for larger pieces or cross grain turning
• All jewellery must be removed
• Loose long sleeves must be tied off or rolled up
• Tool rests may not be moved or adjusted while lathe is running
• No sanding during skills night turning sessions