Contributor
Mostly my round mallets are used for carving or hitting my froe. Not the same mallet for the two different jobs. The froe mallets are a bit large for use at the bench. Maybe if a tree stump was being carved then the froe mallet might be used on bigger gouges.
jtk
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
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I just remember Paul Sellers (and later The English Woodworker, Richard, forgot his name, who used to build and sell benches also followed suit) uses lately a Thorex hammer for most of his chiselling work, although he once said the flat wooden mallet was his favorite. I have never tried using such kind of hammer but I am sure you can do nice chisel work even with just a block of wood if you have good chisel skills. The only time I use a metal hammer in my wood work is when I nail things or when I dry-assemble/seat dovetails (you listen to the sound for clues).
Simon
This discussion can move in many directions. Even if metal headed hammers/sledges/mauls/axes/..... are excluded such tools certainly influence whether or not one might “need” what some may more narrowly define as a mallet. The Asian type chisels, with hoops, are typically designed to be struck with a metal headed genno. Dead blows with shot heads... Thor makes a variety of “mallets” which one can sustitute a wide variety of plastic, leather, metal heads, on the same “mallet”.
As construction materials change....What do we call a mallet made from a wood plastic blend? I just installed a sink that I think is some sort of plastic/rubber/ rock blend...
Wood is often blended with other materials now, our material of choice is undergoing changes that we will need to adapt to.
Last edited by Mike Holbrook; 05-29-2018 at 12:14 PM.
[OP]
Contributor
Hi Al. Yes, I'd say it did. But since I was always "choking up" on the original handle I don't really mind it.Originally Posted by Al Launier
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.”
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The round head of a carvers mallet does not push the chisel to one side or the other if the blow is not 100% square to the tool, unlike a flat head hammer or mallet.
The answer to your dilemma is another tool purchaseOne flat head & one domed head - and lots of brass bling!!
A Glen Drake tite-hammer:
GlenDrakeMallet.jpg
Member
Interesting thread.
As a hobbiest, I've never tried a round mallet....I will say that the Tite-Hammer #4 is my favorite for stonework in my dental office.
However, I really think the Japanese are onto something.
If you get the chance, try a gennou with a custom handle.
Check out Stan Covington's thread on making a handle for gennou.
Contributor
Good lord fellows, three pages on mallets. Don’t you know there is a ruler trick thread going on right now?
Am I in before anybody mentioned Bluegrass?
Simple laminated hard maple mallet for me. Have tried rubber, and a hard plastic face. Feel like I get more done with less effort with the maple. Never tried one of the round ones.
Member
Who could resist a Thor hammer? https://www.amazon.com/Thor-712R-Fac...ds=thor+hammer
I tend to use this or a different dead blow almost exclusively.
Contributor
See, I told you ... a flat side is best ...
Somewhere in Malaysia ...
Regards from Perth
Derek
Contributor
Somewhere in Ohio...
mortise set up.jpgmortise.jpgnext dry fit.jpgdry fit clamps.jpg
Member
Meanwhile, somewhere in Vietnam...
https://goo.gl/images/CajPcs
The jury is still out...
Simon
Contributor
Somewhere I saw a video of Frank K. Demonstrating the use of a cabinet scraper on dovetails. I noticed that he picked up a flat scrap to hit the scraper with, not his pretty round mallet. Maybe he has a special scraper basher?
Jim
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