An 18th.style gent's mallet.G.Wilson

[george wilson]

You who may not have examined real old catalogs of tools might want to make one of these. There's not much to them,but I always found the little bit of decoration charming. Just a "V" and 2 nicks designate this mallet as a gentleman's mallet. That,and the reduced size of it. It's out in the shop. I should have measured it. But,I think it's about 1' long. The extreme length of the head is close to 5",and the thickness is no more than 3".

I used to make these out of discarded wheel fellowes(sp?) that the wheelwrights didn't quite get right. The mortise would already be cut,and the curved wood was just right.

All I had to do was saw off the head at the striking faces and make a handle. Sloppy coat of shellac- Siamese seed lack,I think I recall. It is a beautiful colored lac,and never loses its gloss like regular,refined shellacs.

You could make one pretty easily. The smaller mallet is fine for driving carving tools,or most other work except heavy pounding.

Enjoy.:)

[Chris Vandiver]

George,
Love the mallet! Is the handle through mortised into the head?

[george wilson]

Yes it is mortised through,and double wedged with wooden wedges.

[Brander Roullett]

Yes it is mortised through,and double wedged with wooden wedges.

Here is one I made recently

Blog post
http://www.badgerwoodworks.com/2010/06/meet-the-thundergod/

Maple head, Myrtle handle, lathe turned.
I drilled a hole in the head, and wedged the top of the handle. It's a very solid beast, and comes in handy around the shop.

badger

[john brenton]

Any particular recommendation you have on grain pattern? Is there a prescribed grain orientation that you know of (ie. sloping forward, sloping backward, straight across)?

Just curious.


You who may not have examined real old catalogs of tools might want to make one of these. There's not much to them,but I always found the little bit of decoration charming. Just a "V" and 2 nicks designate this mallet as a gentleman's mallet. That,and the reduced size of it. It's out in the shop. I should have measured it. But,I think it's about 1' long. The extreme length of the head is close to 5",and the thickness is no more than 3".

I used to make these out of discarded wheel fellowes(sp?) that the wheelwrights didn't quite get right. The mortise would already be cut,and the curved wood was just right.

All I had to do was saw off the head at the striking faces and make a handle. Sloppy coat of shellac- Siamese seed lack,I think I recall. It is a beautiful colored lac,and never loses its gloss like regular,refined shellacs.

You could make one pretty easily. The smaller mallet is fine for driving carving tools,or most other work except heavy pounding.

Enjoy.:)

[george wilson]

The best grain pattern is a burl. I have not had a burl I wanted to waste on a mallet!!

Otherwise,I don't pay much attention to the grain,and have never broken one of my mallets. Maybe someone could shed more light. Mallets aren't something I've given much study to.