Would cherry make a good wooden mallet? Or should it be Oak or something else like walnut?
Why cherry? Because that is what I have on hand.
[OP]
Member
Would cherry make a good wooden mallet? Or should it be Oak or something else like walnut?
Why cherry? Because that is what I have on hand.
Marshall
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A Stickley fan boy.
Member
My mallet is soft maple and walnut. The walnut is only on the sides of the head and rarely strike anything unless I close my eyes and swing. The center section that takes the beating and the handle are soft maple, so I think cherry should be plenty hard enough.
Member
Yep. Don't overthink it. Cherry will be fine. It may get beat up faster than some other woods, but certainly good enough. Down the road you can make a few of different hardness. I have a nice chunk of dogwood I scavenged on the side of the road waiting...
Contributor
+1. I made my first mallet out of laminated 2x6. Still works just fine.Originally Posted by Noah Magnuson
Fred
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."
“If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”
Moderator
Might depend on what you want to whack. I've made them from softer woods like cherry and also from much harder woods like dogwood and lignum vitae. A soft wood will last a long time if used gently but if used with vigor a harder wood should last longer. Heavy, hard, and strong: black locust, osage orange, various ironwoods, hard maple, white oak, ... Also, if you make a mallet such that you can strike with the end grain it might hold up better than if struck on the side grain, as with a mallet with the head and shaft turned from the same block of wood. This one is dogwood, hard and tough but still slowly disintegrating! (much more abused now)
mallet_IMG_20170205_191948_.jpg
JKJ
Contributor
Sure. Mallets are quick and easy to make, a fun distraction when you want a quick project. If it only lasts 20 years rather than 30, big deal. Sometimes I find it quicker to make a new one than to find the old one I've left somewhere. My lignum vitae mallet is pushing 40, cracked and beaten, but still works just fine. The only disadvantage of cherry is that it is pretty light. Easily solved if you drill the end of your blank, fill with molten lead or shot to taste, and then plug it prior to turning.
Contributor
My favorite mallet is made from a type of cherry:
Mallet 'justed.jpg
The one with the handle pointing at ~2:00 o'clock is the one made of cherry.
The one with its handle pointing at ~5:00 o'clock is made of oak. The oak seems to splinter a bit more than the cherry. That could be because it is hitting on face grain instead of end grain.
jtk
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
[OP]
Member
I just checked the wood stash that a friend gave me a couple of weeks ago. There is some oak in the stash too so, maybe I'll make two mallets one from oak and one cherry. Or maybe I'll just make one handle and swap heads s needed.
Marshall
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A Stickley fan boy.
Moderator
Maybe cherry handle and laminated cherry and oak with hard oak striking faces?
[OP]
Member
That should work or maybe one face oak and the other cherry. I was thinking of doing something like Jay does starting at the 10:55 mark in this video.
Marshall
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A Stickley fan boy.
Contributor
Oak, Beech, Hickory, Maple, Ash, Apple or other fruit woods tend to be good mallets that last. I wouldn't put walnut or cherry on that list. They are on the list of "yes, any wood can make a mallet, but that doesn't mean its suited to that."
Contributor
Hi Marshall,
Finally Found an old post of mine on making a mallet:
https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread....erry%2C+mallet
There should be some cherry out in the woodshed that is getting just about right for making another one or two.
jtk
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
Member
I made one from cherry a few years ago. It is a bit light and will dent fairly easily but I really like it.
2B1539E8-104D-4530-9E93-847E73A4B125.jpg
Last edited by Robert Cherry; 05-25-2018 at 8:32 PM.
[OP]
Member
Thanks Jim for digging out that old post. It proved very useful.
Marshall
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A Stickley fan boy.
Member
As I understand it, it is all in what you hit with what you are hitting it with. If you are trying to drive home a piece of tigerwood/acacia, using a mallet made from White pine (just as an example) may not be the best option. Building with a more sensitive/softer wood project, a softer mallet may be a better pick. But if all you have is cherry, have at it and make 2!!!
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