what type of mallet for bench chisels [Archive] - Sawmill Creek Woodworking Community

dan sherman

08-05-2009, 3:25 PM

Hopeful in a couple of days I will have a box of Narex bench chisels setting on my porch when I get home from work. These will be my first chisel, and will be used primarily for making/cleaning up mortises.

Ok now for the question, what type of mallet would be best for me to learn with the round carver style, or the flat faced square style? To put it differently is one style better than the other when it comes to making mortises?

Jerome Hanby

08-05-2009, 3:47 PM

I think the square face would be easier to use. If you have a lathe, there are plans floating around on building both kinds. Nothing like yet another project (YAP?)

Richard Magbanua

08-05-2009, 4:06 PM

Tony Zaffuto

08-05-2009, 4:45 PM

Got more than a couple. The ones I use are a "Wood is Good" (don't remember the weight--maybe 12 oz., maybe 20 oz., but I love it) and a Craftsman hammer with a hard plastic face and a rubber face (again I love it, and although I've had this for 8 to 10 years, the faces are replaceable, the hammer is USA made and the price is cheap). I don't like the wooden mallet I have, the small brass/cherry carver's mallet, the Japanese chisel hammer and so on.

T.Z.

Gary Herrmann

08-05-2009, 5:29 PM

I have both kinds. I usually reach for the round one I turned out of osage orange. Don't have to look at the mallet or think about it. Just line it up and take my swing.

george wilson

08-05-2009, 5:31 PM

I prefer a flat faced wooden mallet. Personally,I don't like round carver's mallets,and do not see why they are used,except that they are easy to make. Not that it may prove anything,but I have seen many old prints of workmen,and have not seen one of a workman cutting mortises with a carver's mallet. If it was universally done with flat faced mallets,there must be a reason for it.

This is purely my own opinion,for which I may get roundly criticized!:)

Gary Herrmann

08-05-2009, 5:34 PM

Good pun, George.

Casey Gooding

08-05-2009, 5:44 PM

I have the "Wood is Good" mallet (actually two) and love them. I do find them a bit bouncy for chisel work.
I made one about the same size from sweetgum and it works nicely.
I have been lusting after the Blue Spruce Toolworks mallet for some time.

Auguste Gusteau

08-05-2009, 5:45 PM

When needed, everything becomes a mallet.

Auguste, who apologizes for his bad English

george wilson

08-05-2009, 5:53 PM

Very true,Auguste!! I was doing some high relief metal chiseling back in the 70's,and for some reason I picked up a piece of beechwood that was left over from cutting something out. I used that piece of wood for MONTHS! Did some of my finest metal chiseling with it.

Later on,I made a nice,wide face chasing hammer.

P.S.: I wasn't aware of my own pun!!

glenn bradley

08-05-2009, 6:34 PM

Very much a personal preference. I rounded the square face of this one (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=72340&d=1190430648), shortened the handle and added some weight. This is the end result of fooling about over a period of time. If I make a nice one (which was my plan, tht's why all the fooling about with this one. . . to get it the way I wanted) it will incorporate most of these "features".

Thomas Crawford

08-05-2009, 7:28 PM

So, how about some pictures of these self-made mallets? Inspire me to make one, especially a flat-faced one.

Graham Hughes (CA)

08-05-2009, 7:59 PM

Round, square, whatever. I use flat ones because that's what I have. I think it's easier to make a really heavy one in the flat style--you don't have to find some really thick examples of lignum vitae or whatever--and they don't roll around, but I have a small carver's round mallet that's quite nice for light tapping.

george wilson

08-05-2009, 9:03 PM

My mallets are nothing to see. I used to make them out of left over wagon wheel fellows that didn't come out right. they were curved,already had a square mortised through them,and the wheels for ox carts were as big in cross section as a heavy mallet. All I had to do was make a handle.

I do have several nice steel hammers I could photograph and post.

dan sherman

08-05-2009, 9:54 PM

I don't have a lathe (well one for wood anyway), thus if a round one has no significant benefits I can just make a square faced one.

Another question I have is why are so many mallets made out of extremely hard wood?

I would think a soft wood, or at least a soft hard wood would be better, it would damage the chisel less and transmit force to the chisel just as well as the hard wood.

Danny Thompson

08-05-2009, 10:37 PM

Here is a laminated square-faced mallet I made a couple of months ago:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=120819&d=1245121737

The head is roughly 2 1/8" wide x 3 5/8" tall x 5 5/8" (think 2 1/4 x 4 x 6). The finished handle is roughly 3/4" x 1 1/4" x 12".

The design is an amalgam of several others:

http://www.leevalley.com/shopping/TechInfo.aspx?p=43969
http://www.woodworkingonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/11/Joiners%20Mallet.pdf
http://www.rd.com/17873/article17873.html
http://www.shavings.net/images/club.jpg
http://www.finewoodworking.com/ToolGuide/ToolGuidePDF.aspx?id=27778

Construction steps: http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showpost.php?p=1157111&postcount=1

george wilson

08-05-2009, 10:47 PM

Soft wood deforms and cracks more easily. The best old time mallets were made of a hardwood burl,because the burl won't split.

Danny Thompson

08-05-2009, 11:22 PM

Hey George,

There is an argument that your mallet should be a softer wood than your chisel handle because a mallet is more easily replaced. What do you think?

dan sherman

08-06-2009, 12:31 AM

Hey George,

There is an argument that your mallet should be a softer wood than your chisel handle because a mallet is more easily replaced. What do you think?

That's why I was thinking a soft wood mallet would be better. For example, if you had a bunch of Barr chisels (nice but $$$), would you beat on them with something that could damage them?

Narayan Nayar

08-06-2009, 1:14 AM

I have both types as well as some hybrids.

large, flat faced mallet
round mallet (blue spruce)
Glen-Drake Tite-Hammers in various sizes

I can't say I've developed a strong preference for one over the others in any given situation, but I generally reach for the large, flat faced mallet when I'm working on larger things or when I really want to whack something hard (mortises in hard wood for example). I reach for the Blue Spruce when I'm doing dovetails, and the Glen-Drakes for pretty much everything else. And when they're not handy (I have no idea how, but it does happen), I'm known to use a piece of wood.

Honestly--it's a preference, not a "one's better than the other" thing. Any of these mallets could be used in any of the situations mentioned and for the most part, neither the butt end of the chisel nor the wood being chiseled would know the difference.

And you too will end up with more than one. Promise.

Bob Barkto

08-06-2009, 2:59 AM

Some prefer a round mallet for cabinet work but I think the mechanics are all wrong and have the memory of bruised hands to prove it.

Round are great for any work where the blows are mostly short, more wrist than arm action, like a carver would perform. There is less movement from fulcrum to strike and so less room to err and mis-strike. Also the energy involved is significantly less so mis-hits aren't nearly so damaging to flesh or work.

Anytime there is more arm action, or a longer arc to the swing, like mortice work or most any furniture joinery, then a square or flat face, quite large in relation to the tool, will go a long way toward delivering the most energy to the tool and also reduce the chance for a mis-hit.

Softwood self destructs too readily. I've been using the hard maple mallet on my wood handled chisels for most joinery work for over 30 years. The chisel handles are fine. For mortising, the 4lb'er normally only strikes hooped chisels, but it has been used on some all wood handled chiels without harm.

That's just my experience.

Here are a few of my joinery mallets (and others) just because I took this picture a few days ago to post on another place and had it handy.
The monster in the center is 4lbs. The octagonal one is mostly for assembly work. The tiny brass mallet is my plane hammer!

http://img28.imagefra.me/img/img28/2/8/6/bobbarkto/f_r5dxcja6m_d47de52.jpg

Jim Koepke

08-06-2009, 4:17 AM

Every one has their own way of doing things.

My choice is broken down as to whether the chisel is being tapped, hit, whacked or whaled upon.

Each successive term is an increase in the degree of force behind the blow of the mallet.

Taps and hits can be performed by either a carvers mallet or a flat faced mallet.

A whacking and a whaling are done with a heavy flat faced mallet. When doing mortise work, I am a whacking and a whaling on those chisels that are made to take a whacking and a whaling.

jim

Richard Jones

08-06-2009, 6:41 AM

I don't think the differences would be big. It probably comes down to what you become used to. I made my first one on my lathe. It had linseed oil on it in about an hour. Surprisingly easy. I have the Narex chisels and it seems to work much better than the rubber mallet I was using before. I realized it's not a question of which type of mallet I'll use, but how many more I can make! I suggest making several of different sizes/weights and using different woods. I made mine out of a crab apple log.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/magbanua/3686507977/in/set-72157620945121460/

That is a gorgeous hunk of wood. Does it check as bad as apple?

Really stunning.

Rich

PS My mallets are turned as well, mostly persimmon, dogwood, and black gum. I do have a squared-up maple mallet that I use for knocking joints together or apart.................

Richard Magbanua

08-06-2009, 7:08 AM

Thanks! It only checked in 2 small spots. I've got a lot of this left. It's from my neighbor's crab-apple tree she cut down last year so it's been drying a little bit. I figure if it checks it's ok. It's just a mallet.

george wilson

08-06-2009, 10:00 AM

I think that chisel handles should be properly designed to take the blows that will be inflicted upon them. It seems like many chisels today do not have the leather bolsters around their tops,or metal ferrules like Japanese chisels still have. My older chisels have some reinforcement, but I see that some new ones don't.

Of course,Japanese chisels are struck with steel hammers,which I'd never do,but chisels all ought to be reinforced. Carving tools are the only class that do not have reinforced handles. They are struck more lightly.

Old design mortising chisels have a very large diameter to take blows better,and rounded tops which make sure the blows don't chip the edges away.

The Blue Spruce chisels have no reinforcement,and no bolsters at the tops of their blades either. I haven't owned any,but I suppose their plastic infused handles are supposed to make up for these short comings? I know they are very highly regarded.

I am in the hardwood mallet group. Have any of you seen a legitimate commercially made softwood mallet?

Brian Kent

08-06-2009, 10:36 AM

From left to right:

Medium store-bought mallet.
Large whacking mallet made by a friend.
Small bloodwood shop-made for my bloodwood block plane.
Plane mallet, with brass end for blades, wood end for plane bodies.

I would rather have a wood end that matched the shape of the brass, but this works anyway and it removable.

Jon van der Linden

08-06-2009, 10:43 AM

I've never damaged a chisel by hitting it with a mallet, or done more than make some light impressions in a mallet from hitting a chisel. If you are damaging something then you're hitting it too hard. Force is generally not the answer. Of course if it "needs" to be hit that hard and it's being damaged, then you have the wrong tool!

On the flat vs round controversy, I use both. Generally I believe in flat mallets for joints and round for carving. When carving you'll angle the chisel or gouge in all kinds of directions. The mallet won't be swinging in a straight line from the shoulder like it does when making joints, which is why a round head is needed. In practice I use round plastic/rubber coated mallets almost all the time because of the noise factor. With shared walls I want my neighbors to stay friendly!

David Barbee

08-06-2009, 12:10 PM

I faced this same issue a few months ago. I had spent all my available tool cash on some LN chisels and tenon saw. So it was time to go low tech. I had read a few threads on a forum about making mallets out of firewood. Just so happen that a recent ice storm had left me with plenty of that. So I decided to give it a shot. The first mallet I made (left) was way to large and the handle big and hard to hold on to. So I give it another shot and come out with what has been a great little mallet (right). It is a piece of firewood I got from a hackle berry limb. After I turned the mallet I simply put the mallet in a cup with boiled linseed oil. Not only does this keep the green wood from cracking but it also adds weight. I soaked my mallet for about 4 days. Every day I would turn the mallet over and place the other end in the cup. This is a very doable project for beginner. I do have a lathe, but I am far from being a turner.

David

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_-KLMDN3xkQM/SjM1c6GrDtI/AAAAAAAAAEg/M1JQyyGK7LY/s320/IMG_1845.jpg

george wilson

08-06-2009, 2:04 PM

I actually haven't damaged a handle either with a hardwood mallet. There is also the good chance of snapping a blade if you strike too hard.

Jim Koepke

08-06-2009, 2:36 PM

... If you are damaging something then you're hitting it too hard. Force is generally not the answer. Of course if it "needs" to be hit that hard and it's being damaged, then you have the wrong tool!

Or a dull tool. A sharp chisel does not take as much force to cut wood as a dull chisel.

jim

dan sherman

08-06-2009, 3:50 PM

I have a bunch of 4/4 hard maple at home, so tonight i will see if i can't knock out a design.

george wilson

08-06-2009, 4:33 PM

I suppose a burl these days is too precious to use for a mallet head,but if anyone has a chunk they don't want to turn into a bowl,it is the best material.

harry strasil

08-06-2009, 8:05 PM

Beaters in my basement shop.

L to R, 9 volt battery for size.

Small Osage Orange Mallet.

Small club, actually an Antique Potato Masher from a flea mkt.

My new Hickory Mallet.

Hickory Club turned by a friend with the masher as a model.

Large Hickory Timber framing Mallet.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v81/irnsrgn/wood/beaters.jpg

In my demo tools, I have a hickory club half way between the two shown that was made by riving, then a Drawknife and finally a spokeshave, and a much larger one that I use with a large Froe.
2 Hickory Mallets similar to the two smaller ones, but with tapered ends in the heads so the handles can be removed easily,to store in a tool chest.

george wilson

08-06-2009, 10:54 PM

Harry,that battery you are counterweighting the mallet with is going to pop loose at the first good whack!!!!

harry strasil

08-07-2009, 8:59 AM

good one George, I guess I forgot the wiring, oh well if it falls off, it will still be a CORDLESS tool.

Thomas Crawford

08-07-2009, 9:33 AM

My store-bought mallet is "loose", i.e. I the head comes loose from the handle and I have to push it back on. For the homemade ones do you wedge the handle in (like a wedged M&T or a regular hammer) or do you just use the friction?

george wilson

08-07-2009, 10:01 AM

Wedge it. Saw a slot,and wedge it. If you don't want to bother tapering the mortise,let the end you wedges protrude about 3/4". Or,is this handle going into a blind hole?

matt braun

08-07-2009, 11:14 AM