So, to the delight of my heart, my grandson called and asked me to make him a mallet that he needs for his job. He gave me a rough idea of what he wanted and a YouTube link so I could make one for him. He had brought me a large fallen branch from his home a few years ago, so I knew it would be a perfect choice because it was Red Oak, a hard wood. The turning happened without too much drama. (it was very cold in the garage and I could've used mittens to keep my hands warm but I didn't want them filled with wood chips! lol)
And since the wood was very dry, there were a lot of dusty sawdust that made a right good mess!
After sanding and a good rub with oil, I left it until the next day.
I took it off the lathe and sanded down the ends, signed it and oiled the ends for the big ta-da moment.
When I was getting ready to wrap and box it up to mail to him,
I noticed someone peeking out at me! I almost asked Bill to remove it but decided I needed to be brave and pull it out myself! I was very afraid it would break in half--it didn't!
He came out in one piece, I wrapped him in a tissue and squished him. Ughhhhh! I then dropped some CA glue down the hole to be sure there wasn't another one! lol
And here is the first of its kind from my lathe,
a 10 1/4" oak mallet!
I was very excited to be asked to make this for #1 grandson,
but also to be able to fill the request!
Love does stretch your abilities!
