Mallets and Choping Mortises *LINK*

Re: Mallets and Choping Mortises

William Claspy in Cleveland

>I've never used a turned mallet like those in the link, but I've always thought those were more for carving work.

If you are a whallop-mortiser, you want something with more swing and heft. I shop built the mallet I use for mortise chopping.

It is the bigger of these two, made of maple.

Bill

Re: Mallets and Chopping Mortises *LINK*

Ted Shuck, Centennial, CO

>I use an English carpenter's mallet for this sort of work. I am generally happy with it. I have included a link to one at Joel's store. Since you have hard maple available, you might condider making one.

Ted


English carpenter's mallet

Re: Mallets and Choping Mortises *LINK*

Bob Smalser, Seabeck, WA

>There's a rule somewhere that you have to make your own mallet, you know.

I've made a dozen or so over the years....mostly carpenter mallets.

But my favorite for mortising has become a large hard maple carver's mallet with molten lead poured into a Forstner bit hole in the center.

Weighs over 2lbs, you don't have to look at it when striking and combined with the larger mortising chisels has improved my mortise chopping time significantly.

Chopping Mortises

Re: Mallets and Choping Mortises

Chad Boehlke

>I build my own out of hard maple and use oak as a handle. Its ugly but it WORKS. A chunk of tree limb 4" dia. with a hole drilled and a handle. I go through a mallet every 3 years, so I don't want to buy one when I can make one.

Re: Mallets and Choping Mortises

Don Thompson - Cutler Ridge, Florida

>I use a 23 oz. square mallet like this one from Garrett Wade.

Adam says we should not hit our mortise chisels.

Mortising a la Adam *LINK*

Don Thompson - Cutler Ridge, Florida

>Well, I was sort of wrong. The Adam technique requires tapping the chisel to outline the ends of the mortise, but the rest is pushing by hand.


Adam Cherubini on Mortising

Re: Mortising a la Adam

Dean in Burlington

>Pushing by hand in hard maple? Is this possible?

What kind of chisels are you using?

Scott Burr in Ben Lomond CA

>That will tell you what kind of hammer/mallet to use (or not).

I use this guy because I use Japanese mortice chisels. I also have a 450g one for the big stuff. I won't hit the smaller (under a 1/4") ones.

If you�re using the western type I can't recommend a round "carvers" type mallet, then tend to glance off the side of a chisels handle IMHO.

I'd go with a jointers mallet as shown in others posts.

Re: Mallets and Choping Mortises

Jack Guzman from Maine

>I made these three. The one on the left is my first.This tends to misfire alot.You have to watch where you strike with it.I stopped using it after I turned the maple carver in the middle.That one is my most used mallet. Nice to hold and never misses.Plenty of power for most any work and light enough for delicate hits. When I want to whale on something I grab the purpleheart mallet on the right.I just made it for something to do one day but it turned out to be useful.---Jack

Re: Mallets and Choping Mortises

Ted Shuck, Centennial, CO

>Jack,

I'm glad that you posted this with the comment that you have problems with the mallet on the left of your picture.

I have one like this with a round handle and one similar to it, but with a rectangular handle fitted into a rectangular mortise in the head. I find the one with the rectangular handle much easier to use. I get a tactile feel of the direction of the head from the handle and don't "misfire" with it nearly as much.

I never really thought about it before and realized that the handle was the source of the problem.

Ted

Always willing to blame poor quality work on inadequate tools. <;^D

Re: Mallets and Choping Mortises

Dean in Burlington

>Hi Jack,

What is the diameter's of the 2 round mallets. I was talking to the guy at the link I provided and he said the medium mallet is 2 3/8 and the large was 2 3/4. I am leaning towards the medium mallet seeing I am a small guy but he said the large would be better for chopping mortises in hard maple like I'm doing or "whaling" as you so called put it :)

Re: Mallets and Choping Mortises

Jack Guzman from Maine

>My small mallet tapers from 2 1/4"to 2 7/8".The big one is 3 1/4" at it's thickest.---Jack

that's funny

Jack Guzman from Maine

>That never occured to me,but now that you mention it,it makes perfect sense.

Maybe I'll make a new handle for it.thanks---Jack

Re: Mallets and Choping Mortises

Dean in Burlington

>Wow...that's big!!! I guess size does matter :)