New uses for old leather belts and used corks

[BobL]

Had this one in the back of my head (the "plan", not the "mallet") for more than a decade. Originally I had the notion of using a flat sheet of leather and a flat sheet of cork on the heads but I though I would go for some recycling.

The handle's perhaps a touch too small but it's very well balance and delivers a nice "bouncy" blow that you wouldn't necessarily get from flat sheets of material. You can feel it recoil nicely, a bit like a rubber mallet.

The wood is red gum - it was terribly split and had to use a lot of resin filling the cracks.

The corks are from bottles of good aussie reds.

[Clinton1]

Nice :D

[Bodgy]

Ripper, Bob. Well done.

Certainly beats those clear plastic thingos.

Add it to the list to make, we seem to have an excess of materials. Thanks God they're not all screw tops (yet).

How would you feel if you owned a Cork Tree plantation in Portugal? Nervous?

[BobL]

Thanks chasps. I was feeling pretty special after making this hammer so I'm laying bed re-reading Chapmam's "Workshop Technology" page 231 and guess what I saw?

It's been done before! Well the leather bit anyway.

For those that don't know, that "Workshop Technology" series (3 books) are real classics. They're really a reference metal work books but the principles apply across the board and it's so easy to read because the guys craftsmanship shines through. Highly recommended if you can find it.

[Knurl]

Now, I don't have any "soft" hammers in my workshop - only a wooden mallet, which I rarely use. When I do use it, it's with chisels.

So the obvious and perhaps silly question is what do you hit with the leather/cork hammer and why?

[Auld Bassoon]

I like it! How easy/difficult would be to renew the leather?

[echnidna]

I like it! How easy/difficult would be to renew the leather?

Can you run fast nuff to catch a cow .... or a goat?:D

[BobL]

I like it! How easy/difficult would be to renew the leather?

The leather roll and corks are fixed in place into a 10 mm recess in the face of the mallet head with a 3 mm layer of silicone. Once the silicone had been layed down on the faces the leather and cork were clamped firmly into place so the wet silicone extruded upwards about 10 mm into the gaps between the cork/leather. On the leather face you can just see the silicone has gotten to the surface in the middle of the roll.

As usual with silicone, it was tricky not smearing it all over the place but once dry it's not moving too easily. I figure when either faces are beyond useful life I will cut out the old leather/cork and silicone new roll/corks in place.

Knurl, soft hammers are useful for easing wood into places it may not wish to quite go without denting it. The common way of doing this is using a piece of softer wood between the hammer and the wood or one of those cheap plastic headed hammers, or a wooden mallet wrapped in cloth. Rubber hammers also do the same thing but can leave marks. The leather face will also be be useful on (particularly small) chisels so as not to beat up the handles too much.

I can't see myself using this hammer all that often but it will be nice to use when I do. I only use wooden mallets on chisels, and find them very useful in situations like tapping things into alignment or into place.

[Auld Bassoon]

Can you run fast nuff to catch a cow .... or a goat?:D

The mind boggles :D Imagine one of those Benny Hill type chases: The Goat being chased by a Bassoon followed by a stroppy Ozwinner :eek: :D :D

[Arron]

Great idea Bob, permit me to emulate.

In response to the question about why would you use it - well if you have RSI or any similar complaint then you really should be careful with your hands and the last thing you should be doing is hitting things with your fist or open hand when trying to ease things into place. I use one of those plastic/hard rubber ones all the time - but its still a bit hard, especially when working with cedar. The cork solution looks much better. I think mine will be corks on both sides. Need to drink more wine.

Arron

[BobL]

Great idea Bob, permit me to emulate.

In response to the question about why would you use it - well if you have RSI or any similar complaint then you really should be careful with your hands and the last thing you should be doing is hitting things with your fist or open hand when trying to ease things into place. I use one of those plastic/hard rubber ones all the time - but its still a bit hard, especially when working with cedar. The cork solution looks much better. I think mine will be corks on both sides. Need to drink more wine.

Arron

Some good points Arron.

[Knurl]

If anyone needs a few corks for a hammer, PM me. I love my wine and keep my corks.
I have a design for a cork board and have been planning to make one for about five years now. No boards yet - but plenty of corks.

As you know it's essential to drink regularly ...you never know how many boards you're going to need. Shame about the Stelvin revolution!

[Wongo]

Nice, I really like the leather bit. I too made a mallet similar to yours. The only difference is mine is square and I glued the leather flat on the heads.

I think yours is better.:)

[silentC]

Another notch in your belt, Bob. A real corker.

:D

[TassieKiwi]

If anyone needs a few corks for a hammer, PM me. I love my wine and keep my corks.
I have a design for a cork board and have been planning to make one for about five years now. No boards yet - but plenty of corks.

As you know it's essential to drink regularly ...you never know how many boards you're going to need. Shame about the Stelvin revolution!

"If all be true that I do think
There are five reasons we should drink;
Good wine - a friend - or being dry
Or lest we should be by and by -
Or any other reason why"
Henry Aldrich 1647 - 1710

[jmk89]

Bob

I was wondering how your leather mallet is holding up? I have a large sheet of leather and thought if I soaked it and rolled it I could make a mallet like the one in Chapman, Workshop Technology.

BTW does Chapman have any hints on how to make the mallet?

I was thinking of getting a suitable galvanised pipe fitting (eg 75mm) to use as the outher casing and to give some heft, fill it with the leather roll (with the leather projecting by about 20mm each end) and then fixing a handle through with wedges which can be removed if the leather roll needs to be replaced. What do you think?

Would it be worthwhile to glue the roll together? What glue do you recommend?

Should I cover the roll with a leather skin so the faces are perfectly flat?

Should I use shellac to impregnate the leather - I see that some commercial leather mallets are advertised as being shellac impregnated?

[BobL]

Bob
I was wondering how your leather mallet is holding up? I have a large sheet of leather and thought if I soaked it and rolled it I could make a mallet like the one in Chapman, Workshop Technology.
I don't use it much but when I do use it is just the bees knees. I use the cork side for light persuasion and the leather side for greater persuasion - alternating between the two as needed is also very useful.


BTW does Chapman have any hints on how to make the mallet?
I think the one in chapman is designed for metal forming/shaping.


I was thinking of getting a suitable galvanised pipe fitting (eg 75mm) to use as the outher casing and to give some heft, fill it with the leather roll (with the leather projecting by about 20mm each end) and then fixing a handle through with wedges which can be removed if the leather roll needs to be replaced. What do you think?
It depends what you want to do with it. I use mine to take apart old furniture or help drive tightish fitting joints into place. An all leather one might not be heavy enough for that.


Would it be worthwhile to glue the roll together? What glue do you recommend?
Mine is silasticed together. The strip is about an 25 mm wide and rolled up on itself. Only the inside half has silastic applied to it and it is embedded into the red gum block in a couple of mm deep layer of silastic.


Should I cover the roll with a leather skin so the faces are perfectly flat?
Flat faces are used for metal shaping. Mine is very slightly domed.


Should I use shellac to impregnate the leather - I see that some commercial leather mallets are advertised as being shellac impregnated? I think this is also done for using as a metal processing tool although shellac would possibly stop the leather from absorbing dirt.

[jmk89]

I think I'll put it on the TUIT list

[IanW]

........ Need to drink more wine.
Arron

Yeah, and since they are all using those Stelvin caps these days, you will have to drink fine old stuff to get corks.

So, got to get into the cellar tonight. Judging by the number of old corks that crumble, it looks like a sizeable dent could be made in the racks by the time I get 8 sound corks!
Oh dear, that will be hard......
:D :D

[Scribbly Gum]

There used be a commercial product like your hammer which had a soft copper insert in one side and a rolled pigskin insert in the other.
I think it was marketed as a "Thor" hammer or some such.
I have one somewhere in my shed left at the house by the previous owner.
I'll see if I can find it.
Cheers
SG