Comments on: Why not mallets – myths busted again!

By: Buying good tools cheap – On chisel hammers – Paul Sellers

Buying good tools cheap – On chisel hammers – Paul Sellers — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 10:47:07 +0000

[...] use at the New York New Legacy School of Woodworking.There’s a blog I wrote on chisel hammers here and another here, and if you want the nylon shaft version and want to reshape the nylon shaft as I [...]

By: George Bridgeman

George Bridgeman — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 11:51:00 +0000

Hi Paul,

I’m using a Forge Steel mallet from Screwfix at the moment. I’ve just finished building my workbench (from your course) and a new mallet is something high on my list of priorities as my current one is all but destroyed after chopping mortises for the bench. You get what you pay for, I guess.

Now I’ve got my bench finished, I’d love to try making my own mallet. Could you send me the design you mentioned? I’ll try and find somewhere to get some maple and see how I get on.

George.

By: Ken Haygarth

Ken Haygarth — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 18:16:00 +0000

Hi guys,
Some great comments, I use a carvers mallet my self, but I believe in each to their own. Whatever feels right for you, is the way to go.

By: Paul Sellers

Paul Sellers — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 01:55:00 +0000

Patrick,
You actually get good COP with round carving mallets once you get used to them. In actuality, carvers often use glance-blows to effect a scalloping cut say for the inside of a leaf or petal. That’s when round mallets come to their own.

By: The Kilted Woodworker

The Kilted Woodworker — Sun, 15 Jul 2012 03:41:00 +0000

One of my first woodworking mentors made me turn my own mallet of Osage Orange as my first project under his guidance. He said once I turned Osage Orange from a rough limb to a mallet that everything else would seem a breeze in comparison. He was right. Most everything else seems like butter next to Osage Orange.

When he passed away, his widow gave me his old Lignum Vitae mallet. You can still pick up good LV mallets, if you know how to look for them. I pick them up for cheap at antique malls when they are mislabeled as potato mashers. For $5, I feel I have to “rescue” it, so… I’ve ended up with a small collection of them over the years. Probably need to thin them out, though.

By: Patrick Anderson

Patrick Anderson — Sat, 14 Jul 2012 17:27:00 +0000

Paul,

Well said as always and I’m glad you don’t worry about saying anything that may be taken as controversial. There are too many people out there spouting off that theirs is the only way.

I’d be interested in seeing the mallet design as I’d quite like to make my own as I have a panel beaters hammer for the day in day out chopping.