The Turning Bug by Peter Huisman

The turning bug has bitten.  I need a lot of handles for chisels and such.  Having seen and admired the work of others on the Porch list, and now that I've got my lathe behaving somewhat, I've been mixing shavings and sawdust with swarf and sweat.

Here are the pics:

This cus-ornary swirly grained piece of Jarrah
is going to become a handle for my mallet.

I'm really surprised at how well the rough grain has sanded off.

Here she is, my very first home grown mallet.

The head, a lump of PVC - U (plastic), is held on tight by a timber wedge.  The PVC-U has a surprisingly good weight to it giving the mallet a nice balance without requiring additional ballast.

Both handle and head presented their own unique problems in turning,
especially for a novice like myself. Tearout of handle's grain meant
a lot of sanding, and the block of PVC - U didn't much like
sharp chisels carelessly poked at it.

My "Maker's Mark" Produced by my Galootaclaus 2006
gift from PJMcB. Now the mallet is complete.

Stung by the turning bug. A chisel handle out of a lump of Sheoak.

Old brass plumbing fittings turn into nice ferules
to finish the handle off.

The PVC-U has a surprisingly good weight to it giving the mallet a nice balance without requiring additional ballast. An added bonus about all of this is that the various woods, PVC and brass fittings all came from salvage at no cost.

Gotta love that!