Surprise - I'm not a woodworker

[MaxC]

Hi everyone

I have barely held a hammer in my 56 years and over the past few months have become bloody minded enough to take up woodwork.

I love timber furniture and I really like the look and feel of timber in almost every setting, but I've just never been good and doing things with my hands.

I bought a couple of old sideboard/buffets with the idea that restoring them might teach me some skills and I'm working on that for now. I'm also poking around for some scrap timber to play with. I have been able to confirm that I am very bad at this sort of thing but I am also enjoying myself tremendously.

If you see some gormless questions from me in the forums (so, the thin end of the hammer is the *handle*???) please give me a pass.

cheers

Max

[KeithP]

Max, you have come to the right place. Welcome to the forum.

Regards
Keith

[verawood]

Welcome to the forum Max.

[BobL]

Welcome aboard.
Restoration is a good way of starting out.
You can take the opportunity to look closely at construction and design and also learn a lot about finishes.

If you are getting into restoration where you need to take the furniture apart I recommend getting yourself a soft faced hammer, leather faced hammers are good for this and if you can't find one of these then a soft plastic faced hammer can workout.

[MaxC]

See, this is why I am here I have never heard of a soft faced hammer but a quick visit to the Bunnings website tells me that it makes absolute sense. Thanks so much for the tip.

[Simplicity]

See, this is why I am here I have never heard of a soft faced hammer but a quick visit to the Bunnings website tells me that it makes absolute sense. Thanks so much for the tip.

Welcome Max,

Making a soft Face Hammer could be a great little project,it does not have to be turned on a lathe.
You could make a great little hammer with some basic hand tools.
An learn a heap doing it.

Cheers Matt.

[crowie]

G'Day & Welcome to a top forum "Max".
There are a stack members in and around Sydney, across NSW plus the rest of Australia and the world.....
You'll find a heap of helpful & knowledgeable blokes & ladies on the forum and for most very willing to assist.
Make sure you show off your handiwork as everyone loves a photo, especially WIP [Work In Progress] photos with build notes.
Enjoy the forum......
Enjoy your woodwork......
Cheers crowie

[BobL]

This is my hand made "taking furniture apart" hammer.
The whole thing was shaped by hand using just a a spokeshave, although I did use a drill press and a Forstner bit to drill out the cork holes and to make the recess for the leather insert.

I don't drink alcohol but SWMBO was prepared to suffer for the cause and contribute the corks.
Originally I was going to use an old belt but I found I had enough rawhide leather to make the leather face.

LCMallet1.jpg corks.jpg leather.jpg

I though I was so clever making this but a few months alter I found an example of a leather faced mallet in a book on medieval armour.

[MaxC]

Dang that's cool. Thank you for sharing.

[Tonyz]

See, this is why I am here I have never heard of a soft faced hammer but a quick visit to the Bunnings website tells me that it makes absolute sense. Thanks so much for the tip.

WRONG bunnings and common sense are totally different

also search youtube for furniture restoration, but take everything with a grain of salt and suspicion
some people really good
some are total yobs
some should have never been born

[homey]

Max,

Suggest you have a look at Thomas Johnson Antiques Restoration on YouTube. He’s a pro, been around a long time. Nothing flashy but some good stuff here.

Best regards,

Brian

[old1955]

Welcome to the forum Max.

[JJF]

Welcome to the forum Max