So, dried coffee grains in hand, 2-part epoxy at the ready, time to give this a whirl. It really makes quite a mess, but I guess the idea is you force as much down the cracks as possible, then let it cure. At least with the epoxy I was using, there was no visible difference between wet and fully dry a day later.
Looked ugly, but not unexpected. From here, I started to clean up with a skew chisel. The coffee-epoxy turns quite nicely, leaving a smooth surface. Most of the crack was filled, just a couple of gaps. The tear-out at the top of the head and near the join to the handle is a bit troubling though. I will be well off my desired dimensions if I have to cut away all that material. Frustratingly, I actually made the lower part of the taper worse with a large chunk ripping out. I am not quite sure what happened there, it is clearly not a spiral catch.
I decided to try the epoxy fill method, but this time using shavings from the turning instead of coffee grounds. I had not tried the glue fill method on this scale, previously only using cyanoacrylate for small cracks. I want the finished mallet to be well made, but at the same time, it is a shop tool - an ideal project to take some risks and learn. The hornbeam shavings were not nearly easy to see as the coffee grains, all but disappearing when wet except for the largest bits.
Cleaned up with a skew, there is some definite improvement, but I am also seeing the limits. Next time, I might try some finer sawdust from the workpiece instead of the larger shavings, where I don't want the darkness from the coffee. The grains from the coffee actually work into gaps quite a bit better than wood shavings. Still some gaps in the main crack, and to improve the tearout near the bottom of the head I am really having to alter the intended taper, while at the top I am also taking away diameter. Initiating the cut with the skew chisel right at the head is a trickier cut than I expected.
From here, I decided to move on to the handle, to get a sense of what the bottom taper would look like if I decided to cut away more to improve the surface. Fairly easy stuff, just some time with the roughing gouge to bring the handle down to the largest diameter.
The key element will be the coving cut down from the bottom of the head into the handle. That will really define the head, and whether or not a more aggressive taper will just be off. I cut it, less aggressive than the FWW model, as well as cutting the knob at the end of the handle. The head has taken on a definite two-taper shape, which I think is fine. But when I look at where I have ended up, I am just not satisfied.
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| Interesting photography note - this shot differs from the others in that a daylight bulb is on, just to the right, whereas the others all have 'warm' lights from the left and overhead left. |
Somehow, this mallet has drifted quite a way from the lines of the model in the FWW article. I suppose I should have made a pattern to help keep on track, but some of it was not really in control - with the smaller diameter due to clearing away the flaws in the billet, it was always going to be quite a bit different. One of the dynamics I seem to be up against constantly is 'good enough' versus the reason for doing it in the first place. It won't take much for this mallet to be usable, but I don't want to leave a flaw just to save time. If I get into the trap of costing out my time doing this, it won't make sense to do any of it at all.
On this project, I have just about reached the end of the functional stage. With a bit of sanding and a finish, I have a usable tool. But it just doesn't quite look right. The handle looks like a sausage. It is probably a bit too thick, it doesn't feel uncomfortable, but it might get awkward working on mortises. When I look at the model in the article, I actually think the wide area of the handle is a bit much, however I think even that would be an improvement. So, one more sesson, try to make the handle somewhat more pleasing, some sanding, and then an oil finish.
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