Classic Boat — February 2018

92 CLASSIC BOAT FEBRUARY 2018

CRAFTSMANSHIP

Boatbuilder’s Notes

Make a natural mallet

BY ROBIN GATES

Boatbuilders have a long tradition of making their own tools, and with the majority of

new tools now travelling 11,000 miles by sea from point of manufacture to a UK boat

shed, this frugal approach has renewed significance.

A simple tool to make is a wooden mallet, used everywhere from decorative wood

carving to bashing out the waste of a mortice. You can make an effective one-piece

mallet from an acutely angled branch, with head and handle at 45 degrees; similar

branches were used by Bronze Age boatbuilders to make handles for their adzes.

This oak mallet measures 12in (30cm) overall, and 4^3 / 4 in (12cm) from the top to the

striking face, which is 2in (5cm) diameter.

At 14oz (400g) the weight is typical of a carving mallet. To ease clamping, keep the

piece long for as long as possible.

If you saw to final length too soon, the clamping set-up may obstruct the tools. Finish

with linseed oil to resist moisture and the mallet is ready for its first strike.

Compared with a turned mallet with head and handle in line, the acute configuration

seems to position the mallet hand at a more natural angle when striking a carving tool,

and it also strikes with tough end grain rather than the weaker long grain.

Cutting gauge for small rebates

Small, precisely right-angled rebates – or rabbets – can be cut with a cutting gauge. The cutting gauge differs from the marking gauge in

having a knife-edged blade instead of a pin, and is normally used for cutting veneer or thin strips for inlay.

Run the gauge down the edge of the board repeatedly until the cut is down to the intended depth, then turn the board through 90

degrees and run the gauge along the face until the two cuts meet. In this instance I have cut a^3 / 32 in (2.4mm) square rebate in mahogany.

The job would have been no easier or quicker with a rebate plane, and needlessly complicated using machinery. As a bonus, the cutting

gauge removes the waste as a neat strip of timber – not shavings – which may be useful elsewhere.

1 The finished mallet used to drive a gouge to cut a channel 2 Find a branch with a smaller branch at 45 degrees

3 Debark and cut to solid timber with the draw knife then smooth with the spokeshave, working across the grain

4 Saw a flat striking face 5 Chamfer edges with a knife to prevent splintering

ROBIN GATES

ROBIN GATES

1

(^245)
From left to
right: the
cutting gauge
has a knife-
edged blade;
run the gauge
along the edge,
then the face;
waste is parted
in a single strip
3