Today I got out one of the walnut pieces and turned it on the lathe. I was after at least one woodcarving mallet, and I got two! I got a full sized one, and a mini. I was pretty happy with that, and even happier how they turned out for a first try.
I made them, brought them into the house with linseed oil on them, took the picture with my cellphone, then saw there was a couple of spots that needed to be touched up. I used the oil-wax mix in the house for it, and now it has a similar silky-smooth finish on them, but without missing a spot. There are some things I have learned from this make and now have some idea on how to do the next one or set. For one, the large one has the handle reversed. I like the dimensions quite a lot, but when held upside down in the hand. The handle feels quite comfortable the other way. My only worry is that it is too weak to be made upside down like that. The narrow bit will be up towards the mallet head!
I see more coming, and I hope to put a few up for sale on this site!