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Thread: Finished my first project - Mallets!

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Loveland, CO
    Posts
    418

    Finished my first project - Mallets!

    I finally got off my butt and finished what I consider my first real woodworking projects: a pair of mallets!

    Both started out as planks that I cut into strips and laminated to form the heads. The handles were shaped with a spokeshave, and they are held in place with wedges, not glue. Finish is just BLO. I plan to add more coats to each of them.

    Mallet #1 had a walnut handle and maple head. This one I cut the center strip of the head in two in order to create the mortise for the handle. This was, by far, easier than chopping the mortise with a chisel... Overall, it's not bad, but there are some issues that I notice. Things like little areas that tore out during planing or chiseling, particularly in the walnut handle. I also made the angle of the mortise too large, so there's a bit of a gap on the top of the head where the wedges didn't spread the handle far enough to fill the mortise. It's also a little on the light side, but it'll do. Not bad for a first attempt, I think.

    Mallet #2 I just finished today. It's the opposite color combination of Mallet #1: a walnut head and maple handle. I started with a wider, thicker piece of maple for the handle. (Two pieces laminated together.) This let me try sawing tenon cheeks on the handle. That went okay, but I went just a hair deep on a couple of them, leaving some kerf marks where the shoulder of the tenon meets the handle. I also tried chopping the mortise in the walnut with a chisel. Talk about hard work! I ended up drilling out a good amount of the waste and attempting to square up the mortise with my chisels. Also hard work! It's definitely not pretty inside of that mortise, let me tell you... But the handle is secure. This time I used walnut wedges in the maple handle for contrast, and also left the top of the handle proud of the head for a neat design aspect. Lastly, I cut the end faces of the head at approximately 5°, as I've seen recommended, to get a more solid impact when striking a tool or board. The handle is a bit short, but I kind of like it that way. It provides more control with a heavier head.

    So, what do you Creekers think? Any feedback? Suggestions? Constructive criticism? Let me have it!




  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Location
    Atlanta, GA
    Posts
    6,390
    Way cool. Love the wedged tenons and the contrast in species.

    You whacked anything with them yet?
    When I started woodworking, I didn't know squat. I have progressed in 30 years - now I do know squat.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Loveland, CO
    Posts
    418
    Thanks for the kind words, Kent. I haven't hit anything with them, yet, no. I at least wanted to get a photo of them together before I started giving them some extra character from use.

    I plan to use the maple-headed mallet as a chisel mallet. The walnut is fairly soft, so I plan to use the walnut-headed mallet for "encouraging" boards during assembly.

    I chose these because they'd be useful as I start my woodworking efforts, and I'd learn some things as I made them. Definitely fun projects!

    On a side note... I thought I had put this in the neander forum. Did the thread get moved?

  4. #4
    Those are both handsome mallets Eric. I have found a full 5 degrees off 90 to be too much and I think especially with that short handle you might find 2 or 3 degrees to be plenty. Try driving a wooden peg and I suspect you will want to change the slope.

    Really nice first project.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Sep 2014
    Location
    Sparks, NV
    Posts
    25
    Those are a couple of attention getter, no matter how taken. good job. I had never thought about the angle for the mallet head, good info, thanks for the post and pictures. . .JoeB

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Libertyville, IL (Chicago - North)
    Posts
    360
    Eric, I like your mallets.

    You may want to slightly crown the heads and round the edges of the walnut persuader so you don't ding the boards you are encouraging. Seems like that encouraging process often occurs under duress, when patience and fine control might not be front of mind.

    What's the next project going to be? I made a simple holder for my mallet that hangs from the ceiling of my basement shop. It allows me to make a quick draw on my mallet, and is a place to which it can be returned easily. Do you have a place for your new mallets?

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Loveland, CO
    Posts
    418
    Bill, thanks for the suggestions. I did round the edges a tad, but it might be good to put a larger radius on them. I also like the holder idea. Right now they're just sitting on a shelf and taking up room.

    My next project..? I'm thinking of making a bo (staff) for training in my karate class. I've tested making a straight, round dowel about 2 feet long using hand tools. It actually turned out really well. So, I'm thinking I'll extrapolate that out to 6 feet in length, and probably make it out of hickory.

    Otherwise, I want to start practicing dovetails, so maybe a small box would be a good place to start down that road. Or just grab a practice board and start sawing and chopping away.

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