Croquet Handles
Posted by Nathaniel.
So I just got my package of 6 1.25×48 hickory dowels.
Umm.
I apparently didn’t realize just how large a 1.25 inch dowel is. And when you’re making a mallet you don’t want 75% of the weight to be in the handle.
I need to go to the hardware store tomorrow and feel their dowels. I’m not thinking that 7/8 inch dowels are closer to what I actually need.
On the other hand, the 3/8 inch walnut dowel that I got to pin the handle into the head looks really really nice.
So does anyone have any great ideas for huge dowels?
August 9th, 2005 at 8:09 pm Using
Dude, you bought inch-and-a-quarter dowels?!?
Those are like, John Henry-sized, or something.
Actually, sledges and stuff like that tend to have handles with elliptical cross-sections, and could easily reach 1.25 inches on the major axis.
As for the big dowels, I’m thinking you could cook up a swell end table or something with them; all you’d need is a decent top for it.
August 9th, 2005 at 9:27 pm Using
Yeah….
I probably should have done things a bit more scientifically, by like holding different sized dowels and seeing which ones were the right size. Instead, I just got the biggest ones that they had.
They are very pretty and I didn’t pay very much for them, but they aren’t going to work for this project. The could definitely be table legs though.
I’ll bring one in tomorrow and see what people think.
August 9th, 2005 at 10:38 pm Using
barbecue?
August 24th, 2005 at 7:07 pm Using
Table legs perhaps… but actually my thought was more along the lines of Tim’s elliptical suggestion. Big handles may mess up the weighting issue, but at the same time I think that anything under an inch or maybe 15/16ths will be kinda wimpy given the heft of the mallet heads.
August 24th, 2005 at 7:12 pm Using
I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go with 1″ or 7/8″ so I bought both. (they were only like $3 each).
I think I’m going to go with the 7/8″. They’re definitely strong enough and once you wrap some cork tape for a grip, they’ll be big enough.