I made a joiners mallet. I’m trying to challenge myself by only hand tools. The wood was found in the basement; I think hickory head and I have no idea what the handle pieces are. The handle and head were each laminated and the handle was mortised in, wedged, and glued. I rounded out the handle with a spokeshave and rasp.
There are plenty of things I could have done differently, but I’m just glad I pushed myself to finish it. And now have a fairly heavy-duty mallet, so I dont need to swing on the chisels as hard. I think if I were to make another one, I would find a single block of wood for the head instead of laminating cut pieces.
Looks great, I think the laminated head might be more work, but should produce better results. You might consider putting a bevel on the edges which will reduce the chance for them to split and chip. Might also want some finish too, something like wax or linseed oil.
I was just about to suggest that. Good call.
Thanks for the tip for the chamfer. Someone else mentioned that too, so I’ll definitely try that and see if it can reduce the tearout. Im not sure if I’ll put a finish on it, but maybe I’ll try linseed oil. That seems minimal and this whole thing is an experiment anyway haha
The finish definitely doesn’t need to be fancy. Linseed oil or paste wax is fine. Or both, that’s traditional for shop tools. It should be something that is quick and easy to apply that will provide some protection for the wood.
That is beautiful! You’re off to great start.
What is the purpose of a joiners mallet ?
Tapping tight woodworking joints (dovetails, box joints, etc) into place.
Fuck yeah! That looks awesome. Great work and keep it going.
Adam Savage would be proud :)
Edit: If you haven’t read his book: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/43319933
Nice, this looks good! i don’t have much power tool so my project always got stalled because it’s a PITA sometimes to do tenon joint, and always got it…wrong 😂
What do you use? Chisels? I bet one of those oscillating tools and a Dremel would be enough to make some hand crafted mortise & tenon joints.
At first glance this looked like a sex thing.
But are you worthy to lift it?
It looks great! I have some extra wood laying around from some ramps I made, and I’m thinking about a wood project. I’m probably going to make one of those western boot taker-offer things, but this project looks pretty awesome too. It would definitely be useful for lining boards up.
