AARoads Forum

Non-Road Boards => Off-Topic => Topic started by: bandit957 on June 11, 2023, 11:30:56 PM

Title: Gavels
Post by: bandit957 on June 11, 2023, 11:30:56 PM
Has anyone here ever owned a gavel?

Back when I was in school, sometime around 8th grade, there was a kid at school who had a gavel. He was president of some school club, and he brang in his gavel to conduct meetings. I don't know too many other people who owned a gavel.
Title: Re: Gavels
Post by: Scott5114 on June 12, 2023, 03:01:31 AM
I have one that I got on Amazon to use when making a ruling in Dungeons & Dragons, as a joke. It's in my desk drawer right now.

Maybe I should bang it on the desk whenever I moderate someone.
Title: Re: Gavels
Post by: hotdogPi on June 12, 2023, 06:48:41 AM
Quote from: Scott5114 on June 12, 2023, 03:01:31 AM
I have one that I got on Amazon to use when making a ruling in Dungeons & Dragons, as a joke. It's in my desk drawer right now.

Maybe I should bang it on the desk whenever I moderate someone.

How much damage does hitting someone with a gavel deal?
Title: Re: Gavels
Post by: 1995hoo on June 12, 2023, 07:33:03 AM
I have a paperweight that's shaped like a gavel.
Title: Re: Gavels
Post by: Scott5114 on June 12, 2023, 07:53:31 AM
Quote from: 1 on June 12, 2023, 06:48:41 AM
Quote from: Scott5114 on June 12, 2023, 03:01:31 AM
I have one that I got on Amazon to use when making a ruling in Dungeons & Dragons, as a joke. It's in my desk drawer right now.

Maybe I should bang it on the desk whenever I moderate someone.

How much damage does hitting someone with a gavel deal?

1d4 + STR.
Title: Re: Gavels
Post by: ZLoth on June 12, 2023, 09:19:03 AM
I have one as part of my Toastmasters kit.
Title: Re: Gavels
Post by: Rothman on June 12, 2023, 12:29:06 PM
Hm.  I made a big, ugly wooden hammer at Old Sturbridge Village years ago that could be used as a gavel....
Title: Re: Gavels
Post by: J N Winkler on June 12, 2023, 01:02:46 PM
I have never owned a gavel.  I do know a district court judge, and I think she received one as a gift from fellow lawyers when she was appointed, but I have no idea whether she actually uses one in her courtroom.

I have been in court on several occasions, the most recent of which was to serve as a juror in a murder trial.  None of the judges used a gavel.
Title: Re: Gavels
Post by: 1995hoo on June 12, 2023, 02:18:56 PM
Quote from: J N Winkler on June 12, 2023, 01:02:46 PM
I have never owned a gavel.  I do know a district court judge, and I think she received one as a gift from fellow lawyers when she was appointed, but I have no idea whether she actually uses one in her courtroom.

I have been in court on several occasions, the most recent of which was to serve as a juror in a murder trial.  None of the judges used a gavel.

I know a federal judge who has a massively oversized gavel that he received as a gift from a former law clerk. It's big enough to require two hands and the plaque on the base says "For Rule 11 motions." (A Rule 11 motion, for those who don't know, is a motion for sanctions for filing a frivolous document or bringing a frivolous lawsuit.)
Title: Re: Gavels
Post by: Hot Rod Hootenanny on June 15, 2023, 01:58:11 AM
I have a rubber mallet. Would that count?
Title: Re: Gavels
Post by: GaryV on June 15, 2023, 06:27:43 AM
How about a meat tenderizer mallet?
Title: Re: Gavels
Post by: Rothman on June 15, 2023, 07:01:30 AM
Quote from: Hot Rod Hootenanny on June 15, 2023, 01:58:11 AM
I have a rubber mallet. Would that count?
No, actually.  Gavels are strictly wooden.
Title: Re: Gavels
Post by: kphoger on June 15, 2023, 09:39:07 AM
Quote from: Rothman on June 15, 2023, 07:01:30 AM

Quote from: Hot Rod Hootenanny on June 15, 2023, 01:58:11 AM
I have a rubber mallet. Would that count?

No, actually.  Gavels are strictly wooden.

Hmmm...  I was thinking of the mallets used to play chimes, but I guess those are typically rawhide, not wood.
Title: Re: Gavels
Post by: SectorZ on June 15, 2023, 01:55:11 PM
Is a croquet mallet gavel-adjacent? If so count me in.
Title: Re: Gavels
Post by: Scott5114 on June 16, 2023, 06:47:58 PM
Quote from: Rothman on June 15, 2023, 07:01:30 AM
Quote from: Hot Rod Hootenanny on June 15, 2023, 01:58:11 AM
I have a rubber mallet. Would that count?
No, actually.  Gavels are strictly wooden.

Both of the official US Senate gavels have been ivory (https://www.senate.gov/art-artifacts/decorative-art/other/71_00002_000.htm). (The first one was used from 1789 to 1954, when Richard Nixon broke it. It was replaced by one donated by the government of India.) The Senate gavels are unique because they don't have handles; you hold them from the top and tap downwards.
Title: Re: Gavels
Post by: HighwayStar on July 17, 2023, 06:06:11 PM
I own 3, 2 were gifts and one I made myself in the style of the US senate gavel.
Title: Re: Gavels
Post by: triplemultiplex on July 19, 2023, 05:57:43 PM
I keep seeing this thread title and think it says "Gravels".
Title: Re: Gavels
Post by: US 89 on July 19, 2023, 10:06:32 PM
I'm waiting for the Gävle goat (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%A4vle_goat) to chime in.
Title: Re: Gavels
Post by: J N Winkler on July 20, 2023, 01:33:46 AM
Quote from: US 89 on July 19, 2023, 10:06:32 PMI'm waiting for the Gävle goat (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%A4vle_goat) to chime in.

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