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Tape yer mallet - Printable Version

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Tape yer mallet - JimReed@Tallahassee - 06-24-2016

The recent post on mallet finishing made me remember my favorite mallet tip. I was a young woodworker who had just finished college and was living in married student housing. My ex wife, The Plaintiff, was still in school but I had a job. During the search, I visited a cabinet shop in Durham and did a little dumpster diving on the way out. There were some luscious mahogany 8/4 cut offs. They musta been making some cabriole legs. Anyway, I loaded the back seat and made plans to carve a chess set. Huggins Hardware was on Franklin Street in Chapel Hill where I loved to browse. I saved up my change and bought a chisel for the project. It was a Stanley #60 3/8" butt chisel and was one of my prized tools (there we not many tools in the stable then). For Christmas, I got a carvers mallet from Constantine and was able to practice safe chisel work. One hand for the chisel and one hand for the mallet means no stabs. Somewhere I read a tip about covering the mallet head in tape. It softens the blow, keeps noise down, and lowers rebound. So I covered my mallet in friction tape. It was in the spring of 1972. Sometime in the 1990's, the friction tape glue began to fail and I covered that tape with duck tape. That means the tape covering has lasted about 44 years. It is a treasured shop tool that I use frequently. The tape makes it user friendly. Tape yer mallet is a highly recommended practice.



Both wrappings seem to be holding up well. The best news is that there have been NO chisel stabbings in 44 years.




Re: Tape yer mallet - Alan S - 06-24-2016

That was durable tape!

I once got a deadblow mallet that left black marks, so I swaddled it in tape. That has prevented black marks for several decades, though not 4.4. I don't think it's on the original tape still.


Re: Tape yer mallet - eg54string - 06-24-2016

Good tips, esp. regarding hand placement.

Not following that tip, along with rushing to finish a (DT pine jewelry box) present, led to 4 stitches and an ER visit for me this past Christmas Eve.

I sure remember Franklin street, also. Esp. "Town Hall." Around '74-'75.

Eric


Re: Tape yer mallet - MichaelMouse - 06-24-2016

Pick from a number of colors and patterns if you get the type of friction tape they use to tape hockey sticks.