Furnished content.
(from Lumberjocks.com)
Hey all! This is my first post. Any advice and critiques welcome!Just finished this mallet (unintentional war hammer) made from Oak (outer plates of the head) and Poplar (handle and inner plates of head. In hindsight poplar may have been a poor choice for a part of the striking surface. Sanded the handle down with 320 for a smooth finish on the hand. Tried a rougher paper (120) on the top but no matter how long i sanded, with the more abrasive paper, I could not get out some of the groves which followed the grain in the oak. Chiseled out the tapered portion of the handle then hand sanded smooth. I dont have a table saw so some of the longer cuts in the head were not as flat as I would like but came out after some adjustments and sanding.I aligned the wedge and groove with the length of the head which in hindsight, again, may not have been a good choice as the pressure is pushing the outer plates apart instead of pushing the inner plates along the long axis of the head. No cracks though but im worried the whole thing may just pop apart of me when I go to use it. Oh well next time.Finished with minwax tung oil but honestly I dont know if I like it or not. I have ordered some pure tung oil to try out on future projects.