Making your own mallet?

[Doug Tait]

6 minutes ago, Gav73 said:

I make mine out of a single piece of seasoned beech log. They last about a year (and they are used a lot) before the handle invariably snaps and then they just get chucked into the fire.
 

They look ideal, like the idea that they become logs when retired as a tool, thanks.

[Will C]

Mine have always been one piece of holly or oak. Hold the limb and use the trunk section as the mallet. But as often as not the axe works just as well. Find a upward swept limb, it will help you get more height/better angle to hammer with.

[Doug Tait]

4 minutes ago, Will C said:

Mine have always been one piece of holly or oak. Hold the limb and use the trunk section as the mallet. But as often as not the axe works just as well. Find a upward swept limb, it will help you get more height/better angle to hammer with.

An upward limb using the trunk as the head is a great idea. Would you say the natural branch union is stronger than shaping the whole thing from a section of trunk?

[agg221]

Mine have been made from the stumps of elm suckers - the first one vanished so I made another. I find something around 6" diameter, dig it out about 6" below ground, cut off the side roots and round up the underground bit as the head and the very bottom of the trunk as the handle, carved down to a decent diameter as a grip. I have given it a serious hammering on froes and everything else and it has worn down rather than split.

Alec

Edited September 22, 2021 by agg221
should add that these are unseasoned and I started using both of them pretty much straight away. Still didn't split!

[Will C]

59 minutes ago, Doug Tait said:

An upward limb using the trunk as the head is a great idea. Would you say the natural branch union is stronger than shaping the whole thing from a section of trunk?

Eventually the trunk splits. They dont seem to snap the handle off so yes prob fairly strong

[sime42]

There are also such things as Beetles, heavy wooden hammers used for wood working and hedge lsying. Anyone know the difference between Beetles and Mallets? I've got a feeling that Beetles are bigger and heavier, but I'm not sure.

This is quite interesting, but doesn't really answer the question.

 

 

The Mallet and Beetle – Lost Art Press

BLOG.LOSTARTPRESS.COM

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267. A mallet should be made of some very hard wood, and, if it be not made of a knot, the ends of it should be banded, like the beetle, to keep it from splitting. That part of a tree, if it be tou…

 

 

 

 

[Stere]

Also can be called the commander or persuader for big ones -  used in timber framing

 

 

 

Wooden Mallet for Stakes | FINE TOOLS

WWW.FINE-TOOLS.COM

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Wooden Mallet for Stakes

 

 

Edited September 22, 2021 by Stere

[difflock]

35 minutes ago, sime42 said:

There are also such things as Beetles, heavy wooden hammers used for wood working and hedge lsying. Anyone know the difference between Beetles and Mallets? I've got a feeling that Beetles are bigger and heavier, but I'm not sure.

This is quite interesting, but doesn't really answer the question.

 

 

The Mallet and Beetle – Lost Art Press

BLOG.LOSTARTPRESS.COM

---

267. A mallet should be made of some very hard wood, and, if it be not made of a knot, the ends of it should be banded, like the beetle, to keep it from splitting. That part of a tree, if it be tou…

 

 

 

 

Well!!!!!!!!!!

That was QUITE the rabbit hole I just fell into.

Absolutely Fascinating.

Thanks Sime.

[Guest Gimlet]

2 hours ago, Will C said:

Mine have always been one piece of holly or oak. Hold the limb and use the trunk section as the mallet. But as often as not the axe works just as well. Find a upward swept limb, it will help you get more height/better angle to hammer with.

Exactly this.

Here's mine (pic from earlier "tools" thread):

The mallet on the left with the curved shaft is the one I use for knocking in stakes, which can start off at eye level or higher, especially if the hedge is on a bank, and as Will says, the curve in the shaft helps present the mallet square to the top of the stake and makes it far easier to use and less likely that it will deflect and crack you on the knuckles (and when the face starts to bur, don't be tempted to trim it off, leave it alone. That helps stop deflection as well).

 

The straight shafted one I use for tapping down the bindings once I've set them, to achieve a nice even run. For that job you're working more at waist level and the straight shaft works better. 

They might look crude but these mallets have become as familiar as a pair of old slippers and I'd hate to lose them. They have the same status in my tool bag as my hooks and axes.

Edited September 22, 2021 by Gimlet

[Silverhooker]

On 22/09/2021 at 22:47, Gimlet said:

Exactly this.

Here's mine (pic from earlier "tools" thread):

The mallet on the left with the curved shaft is the one I use for knocking in stakes, which can start off at eye level or higher, especially if the hedge is on a bank, and as Will says, the curve in the shaft helps present the mallet square to the top of the stake and makes it far easier to use and less likely that it will deflect and crack you on the knuckles (and when the face starts to bur, don't be tempted to trim it off, leave it alone. That helps stop deflection as well).

 

The straight shafted one I use for tapping down the bindings once I've set them, to achieve a nice even run. For that job you're working more at waist level and the straight shaft works better. 

They might look crude but these mallets have become as familiar as a pair of old slippers and I'd hate to lose them. They have the same status in my tool bag as my hooks and axes.

Lovely looking set of tools you've got there .