A Woodworker’s Mallets
Tool: Woodworking Mallets
The list of hammers I use is ridiculously long but these are ‘hammers’ of a different breed, they are Mallets. Here is a gallery of four different mallets, 3 of which, I use on a regular basis. The mallets include a 16 oz. Rubber Mallet, 1 3/4″ Rawhide Mallet, Large Wooden Mallet and a 1.5 lb. Iron Carver’s Mallet. Can you guess which one I don’t use very often?
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Of the four, I probably reach for the rubber mallet most often, using it to knock together frames large and small. The rubber mallet is great for knocking apart furniture without damaging finished pieces. Rubber Mallets comes in different densities and weights. Mine is very old and bears no maker’s mark.
The Rawhide mallet is supposedly for leather, jewelry and machinery work. This one was in a toolbox I inherited and I use it for lightweight projects or finished pieces I don’t want to mar.
Check out my wooden mallet. This one is a real peg pounder. Also inherited but from a different woodworker. This wooden mallet is at least 100 years old.
My woodcarver’s mallet is a tribute to my favorite tool; My chisels. I can’t believe I’ve used this mallet for 10 years and the price tag is still in tact. It’s a 1.5 lb Malleable Iron Mallet and it cost $31.50 then and probably still does. This type of mallet for chisel work is preferred due to it’s dead weight which delivers the force in a positively forward motion. Also quite easy to hold in several ways for tapping shaped blades on delicate work.
It’s funny how certain things look so odd at first sight. I never went to school and had someone show me this funny mallet. I hadn’t seen one in a book.. Someone gave this to me and told me, “It’s supposed to be for chiseling.” I don’t really use it like a hammer or a club to beat the chisel handle, I just hold it in my hand like a rock. (funny, I actually have a rock that I found one day, used and saved 25 years. wtf?)
Links:
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SK 8723 Rubber Mallet with Hickory Handle 23-Ounce
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Robert Larson 615-1220 Large Carpenters Mallet
Filed under: Hammers and Mallets | Tagged: Hammer, Mallet