Mallet handle

[adamcherubini]

Just a couple thoughts. The classic joiners mallet has a tapered handle. Be sure to Google it to understand what I’m talking about. The taper stops the head from flying off when the glue fails.

I do not like this style of mallet, tho I have built several. I like a turned “carvers” mallet. I use it on my chisels because I don’t want to look at the mallet or indeed the chisel handle. I look at the cut.

For the other things people use joiners mallets for, I now use a plastic dead blow hammer, which I ironically think is superior to the traditional mallet.

[photobug]

   

iclark pid='8022305' dateline='1633495093']If I remember correctly, one of my co-workers got bismuth pellets from a gun supply business for his son's science project. The bismuth pellets are for loading one's own shotgun shells. The smaller beads work better than B-Bs for making a dead blow hammer or mallet.

The problem with using cast-in-place for weight (the molten lead like in the video or B-Bs in epoxy) is that they always make the weight of the mallet head off center.

I did use BBs with epoxy because that is what I had on hand. 

I have only needed a mallet a very few times in the past, the most recent was to build this mallet.  I had a lot of fun building it but it, cutting tenons and using my block plane and chisel to clean up the lines before finishing it.  I used a bandsaw to cut out the shape for the handler then pretty much ignored the shape I intended and used my stationary belt sander to shape the handle.

I am happy with the outcome and look forward to future projects like this.

[Derek Cohen]

This is my heavy joiner’s mallet. Look at the handle - it is shaped to permit two grips. One at the end, and the other choked up. I see many mallets with poorly designed handles - essentially large, straight dowels. These are not ergonomic in the least.



This mallet is heavy, made so with brass laminations. The head is double tapered and wedged ….



All my hammers and mallets now are faced with UHMW …



Regards from Perth

Derek

[photobug]

This is my heavy joiner’s mallet. Look at the handle - it is shaped to permit two grips. One at the end, and the other choked up. I see many mallets with poorly designed handles - essentially large, straight dowels. These are not ergonomic in the least.



This mallet is heavy, made so with brass laminations. The head is double tapered and wedged ….



All my hammers and mallets now are faced with UHMW …

Your mallets are on a whole level beyond my skills.  The original plan I used had what you described, a straight handle, I at least gave it some contour.

I am at a loss for how you built yours.  Are the handles turned?  Is the head one solid piece with the white wood inlayed?  Or did you glue up the outer faces?

I like the idea of UHMW.

[iclark]

photobug: your mallet turned out great! I am curious about the woods that you used.

There is nothing wrong with using what you have on hand. It is often very much better than having to wait for that next key part before we proceed.

One of the nice things about making your own mallet or other tools is that you get to learn about what suits you and your style of working. Some of us have more than one of things as we experiment with variations or tweak things for a specific application.

The "white wood" in Derek's mallet head is actually brass. I am humbled by how well he does those inlays as well as the many other tools that he has made. If you have not visited his website, it is filled with knowledge and eye-candy (using that term in the most positive and appreciative way).

[photobug]

photobug: your mallet turned out great! I am curious about the woods that you used.

There is nothing wrong with using what you have on hand. It is often very much better than having to wait for that next key part before we proceed.

I am not exactly sure of the woods.  I used what I had on hand, which means some of everything.  My garage is so full of wood, I could make 100 mallets to finally get it under control.  I believe I used Maple for the handle, Walnut for the cheeks and Padauk for the center.

I am now super motivated to do more hand tool work.  An upcoming project is the Samurai Workbench.  It will allow me to do some joinery and then give me a bench to do further hand tool work.

Some things I would do in the future mallet builds.

Do a double taper like Derek.  I really like the idea of being able to choke up for precise hammering/malleting. or swing from the end of the handle to swing for the fences.

My handle has a large shoulder on all fours sides under the mallet head.  It looked like a tight fit when the glue squeezed out but when the glue dried I had a small gp all around I had to go back with a wood filler to hide this gap.  Next time I will bang harder on the head and do a better glue clean up to ensure a tighter fit.  It was not bad a but a wood worker would have seen the gap.

As far as the quality of the mallet I will be building my workbench in the next month and see how it works.

[Derek Cohen]

....
I am at a loss for how you built yours.  Are the handles turned?  ...
....

The handle is oval, not round. It was shaped with spokeshaves and rasps.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Philip1231]

Just a couple thoughts. The classic joiners mallet has a tapered handle. Be sure to Google it to understand what I’m talking about. The taper stops the head from flying off when the glue fails.

I do not like this style of mallet, tho I have built several. I like a turned “carvers” mallet. I use it on my chisels because I don’t want to look at the mallet or indeed the chisel handle. I look at the cut.

For the other things people use joiners mallets for, I now use a plastic dead blow hammer, which I ironically think is superior to the traditional mallet.

OK, agree 100%. I love the look of the mallet you are planning, and will probably build one some day. Having used both styles, the turned/round mallet has a lot going for it, as Adam indicated.

[Derek Cohen]

Just a couple thoughts. The classic joiners mallet has a tapered handle. Be sure to Google it to understand what I’m talking about. The taper stops the head from flying off when the glue fails.

I do not like this style of mallet, tho I have built several. I like a turned “carvers” mallet. I use it on my chisels because I don’t want to look at the mallet or indeed the chisel handle. I look at the cut.

For the other things people use joiners mallets for, I now use a plastic dead blow hammer, which I ironically think is superior to the traditional mallet.

Adam, I have turned carver mallets in the past, and have the BS mallet shown by Phillip. I prefer a more traditional cabinetmaker's mallet for non-hooped chisels. Mine is a modification of the Veritas ...



The other hammer I use is a traditional gennou, and this is - understandably - with Japanese hooped chisels ..




The heads on these mallets/hammers are quite a lot smaller than the round carver's mallet .... well, it seems so. In actuality, I think that the carver's mallet requires greater directional effort since the "flat" section on it round face is really minute. A slightly off-centre strike will create a glancing blow. Further, in my experience, the flat mallet/hammer imparts greater directed force for its size. My BS mallet has lain unused for years.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Darknight]

I did use BBs with epoxy because that is what I had on hand. 

I have only needed a mallet a very few times in the past, the most recent was to build this mallet.  I had a lot of fun building it but it, cutting tenons and using my block plane and chisel to clean up the lines before finishing it.  I used a bandsaw to cut out the shape for the handler then pretty much ignored the shape I intended and used my stationary belt sander to shape the handle.

I am happy with the outcome and look forward to future projects like this.

Your mallet turned out great! There is another style you may want to try, if you ever decide to build another, that I think is called a detail mallet... I'm going to try one of these in very near future. I've seen two different videos on them: Blacktail Studio and Matt Estlea

The second one is a turned mallet, but you wouldn't need to turn it.  I just thought the size and style would be very handy for some detail chisel work.

Again, nice work on your mallet!!