The Legless Mule®

Therapeutic! 5 STARS!

I really love the Legless Mule! A solid and attractive piece of kit! So easy to use and to manipulate the piece one is working on. I make little wooden things - like key rings, fridge magnets, and xmas tree decorations - for a local farm animal rescue sanctuary to sell, and I thought about making some spoons. Then, because I want to produce items fairly quickly I decided to make a ‘spurtle’ - a modern design, not the old Scottish oat stirring design, it’s kind of a spatula - thereby dispensing with the need to carve a spoon bowl. So, I made my first prototype with nothing but a drawknife, a flat-edge spokeshave (from Melbourne Tool Company), an Opinel knife to touch up the ends, a Forstner bit (in an electric drill) for the hanging hole, and a pestle for burnishing. Then oil. No sanding! The wood is ‘Chinese elm’ - not the best wood, but good for experimenting. I have some beech to use, and some garo garo (from which I have made spoons before). I love just sitting at the bench peeling off layers of wood with the drawknife and spokeshave, it’s very relaxing and satisfying. It reminds me of when I used to have a pole-lathe (I don’t live in a forest anymore) and the wood would come off in glorious wet ribbons. Not sure in which order the photos will come through - the first one (or it might be the last if the order I uploaded them is reversed) is a photo of a spoon (unfinished, of course) I made before the spurtle which shows the stock removal. The others show the process and tools, and the last one is the finished product (with a bit of amateur Pyrography!). Thanks Chris!

Sorted me out on a Saturday!

Update! I was accidentally sent a discounted B grade unit in the shuffle. Chris contacted me within the hour of emailing him (on a Saturday while he was doing some housework) and let me know I had a A grade unit on the way, and the worm holes and imperfections were part of the aesthetic and not structural at all. Great customer service!l I will be ordering more stuff soon. I recently purchased the A grade Legless Mule from The Wood Tamer, I was very excited to add this to my shop, but unfortunately, the unit I received feels rushed and lacks the "fine craftsmanship" finish I expected for this price point.

Beautifully made I’m enjoying using it. It works well.