Mark Emig Posted September 19, 2012 Posted September 19, 2012 Hi all, I've been meaning to write this for a while, and finally got my round tuit. I was at a demo where John Rais was the demonstrator-it was the Berkshire Blacksmiths meet at Greg Phillips place in Montgomery NY. He was talking about his progression on technique has been moving to really smooth tapers on his work-give a much nicer look. Well, how he does it is on the last heat or so he uses a wooden mallet instead of his hammer for planishing the work. I have been using this a lot, and it works very well-especially on the viney, organic stuff. I have looked at old work by guys like Cyril Colnik and others, and have envied those beautiful smooth tapers. Well-now I can do it. Give it a try-it works very well-and I figure if it's good enough for a guy like John Rais- it's good enough for me. Quote
beth Posted September 20, 2012 Posted September 20, 2012 what kind of shape wooden mallet do you use mark? sounds interesting but doesnt it just smoke and burn the whole time... or is the mallet soaking wet? Quote
Ten Hammers Posted September 20, 2012 Posted September 20, 2012 Beth, to answer your question ( but you asked Mark I know ), the mallet is simply a top tool. If you have a nice smooth place on the bottom (like the horn or radiused edge) you get some of the predicted result. I still like using a nice smooth faced steel hammer for finishing but use a mallet for some things (dry and yes it may smoke if the stock is too hot ). Quote
01tundra Posted September 20, 2012 Posted September 20, 2012 I guess a rawhide mallet would work as well? Quote
Daniel.85 Posted September 20, 2012 Posted September 20, 2012 I guess a rawhide mallet would work as well? I use a rawhide when straightening small stuff, should work. Quote
Mark Emig Posted September 21, 2012 Author Posted September 21, 2012 Actually, you get very little smoke-you're hitting it just like with a forging hammer so the wood is in very little contact with the hot iron for a very short period of time. If you leave the mallet on the metal you'll get plenty of smoke :) And I don't bother to soak the mallet-which sounds like a good idea by the way. Quote
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