Mallet Recommendation

I use

jim reed @ tallahassee


>a round tapered beech mallet that is about 3" at the base. Wrapped it in duct tape (makes the mallet *bite* the head of the chisel). It is lightweight, but I can swing it all day long. I have some larger ones, but they get heavy pretty fast.

Re: Mallet Recommendation

Jack Guzman from Maine


>I have two round mallets.The lightweight maple one I use for dovetailing and most everything else.For heavy mortising(deep cuts with a wide chisel in hard woods) I use a lignum mallet that weighs 8 oz. more than the other.I believe the maple one is 13 oz.---Jack

Re: Mallet Recommendation

Ted Shuck, Centennial, CO


>I have two of these mallets and I like them very much. They are the 12 oz and 20 oz sizes. I use the 12 oz mallet almost all the time. The 20 oz mallet only gets used when hitting mortise chisels larger than 3/8". I find that I get less rebound shock into my hand and arm using these mallets compared with a wood mallet and they are quieter.

Regards,

Ted

Re: Mallet Recommendation

Jim in Burlington On


>I use the Lignum mallets from LV. The smaller mallet get's alot more use than the larger one. I left the wax on the end of the mallet to help avoid checking and wiped it off the rest with mineral spirits.

Re: Mallet Recommendation

Rusty Miller


>There was an article in Wood magazine a while back about turning a mallet. They used a piece of maple about 1 1/4 square and put four pieces of a good hard wood aroung it. I made 2. One out of buginga and the other out of wenge. They both work very well.

Rusty

Make one.

Ted Wong

Re: Mallet Recommendation *LINK*

Dan Donaldson


>I use this one.


mallet

Re: Mallet Recommendation

James Watriss


>I have three by my bench at school. A walnut and maple one, which I made at school, an 18oz mallet, of the type being described by everyone else, and a modified veritas brass journeyman's mallet. (http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=1&p=30263&cat=1,41504)

I learned with the 18 oz. It's the exact same dimensions as the 12, but it's weighted. It's nice, and chops well. It's my favorite for setting my holdfast in place, because it's got enough oomph to do so with a good swing, and it's cushioned enough that I don't feel like a blacksmith doing so.

I really love the small brass mallet. I don't like the handle it comes with, I find it too short. So I turned a longer handle for it. My only problem was that the handle split a little bit, so I wrapped a narrow piece of linen rag around the split part, soaked in glue. Call it a crude composite collar. It's kept the handle snug around the screw, and even if it looks like arse, the mallet itself is a wonder. Brass hits with serious authority. And without rebound, so there's no shock to go up your arm. Light taps are great for detail work, and it makes chopping dovetails a breeze.

A very cool article on how to make your own  *LINK*

david.marcus.brown



mallet article