Reply To: Tear out when chopping dovetails
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A non bouncy surface will certainly help, though do yourself a favor and keep the wooden mallet or make a lighter one, if you really want to switch over to a Plastic one.
But stay away from rubber mallets, if by rubber mallet you mean what i think you do, you lose alot of force that way, tiring you more quickly and they tend to spring/wander around a bit.
AS for sharpness its a skill that takes time but is well worth it, practice practice practice.
A little tip if you are using a wax based compound on the strop, if you charge it up add a few drops of leather oil afterwards and rub it in nicely.
That prevents the glassy layer of wax forming that peels of after a while and also distributes the particles more evenly. You can do the same thing if the strop appears to be losing its grit, it prolongs the periods between having to apply new compound you can do that 2 or 3 times before having to recharge.