# my first (and probably only) mallet



## phinds

Occasionally I need a whacker that is softer than a steel hammer and harder than a rubber mallet and, being the professional that I am, I just smack things with a two by four, or a smaller piece of wood if that's what's called for or just whatever's laying around, unless it's the dog.

having seen lots of mallets on the woodworking forums, I thought I'd do one, so I did. I just cannot seem to get away from lamination/segmentation so naturally I had to laminate it.
The intent was to have the handle have a cross section like a rectangle with semi-circle on each edge, pretty much like you get on claw hammers, but I got carried away on the lathe and turned it down round which looked fine although it did strip off almost all of the canary. BUT ... it really sucked in terms of giving me a solid grip so then I glued on some tapered wings along most of the length and wrapped/glued some soft cotton clothesline around it and got it back to the shape/grip I wanted. Looks crappy but feels great. Has just the grip I want.

The handle is a split piece of cocobolo with maple veneer on the inside and canary wood on the outside with two little chunks of paela to make the bulbous end. I didn't like the really sharp edges so I rounded them over with a router.

It has one coat of natural stain. The head is black locust sandwiched between pieces of chechem (that stuff is hard as a rock). Final weight is 29 oz so it's a fairly hefty sucker.

Reactions: Like 16 | EyeCandy! 3 | Way Cool 6


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## Sprung

Nice mallet, Paul! I like the laminated look.


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## DKMD

I think it looks good, and more importantly, it looks like it'll work for banging on stuff!


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## Ajctg2

Even Thor would be impressed. That things a beast!

Reactions: Agree 1


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## phinds

DKMD said:


> I think it looks good, and more importantly, it looks like it'll work for banging on stuff!


Yeah, the grip is more comfortable than my two by four

Reactions: Like 1


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## NYWoodturner

Nice work Paul. I like the wrapped handle and bet it feels better than if your original idea panned out.


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## phinds

NYWoodturner said:


> Nice work Paul. I like the wrapped handle and bet it feels better than if your original idea panned out.


Actually, yeah it does, so it all turned out well. Since it intended to be utilitarian, I don't care how it looks.


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## NYWoodturner

In New York City that wrapped handle would probe;y get you and extra $50 lol


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## manbuckwal

Nice work Paul ! A very unique look to it


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## phinds

manbuckwal said:


> Nice work Paul ! A very unique look to it


Is that a polite way of saying looks like crap?


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## Nature Man

I like the wood combo. Wondering how long the rope will stay nice, though, with use. Chuck


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## manbuckwal

phinds said:


> Is that a polite way of saying looks like crap?



Heck No ! It looks great to me ! I haven't seen many "hand crafted" mallets and this very unique .


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## phinds

manbuckwal said:


> Heck No ! It looks great to me ! I haven't seen many "hand crafted" mallets and this very unique .


I was just ragging you. *I* think it looks like crap (the wrapped handle anyway) but as I said I just care how it works, not how it looks.


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## phinds

UPDATE:

been using this for over 3 years now and it's a winner. The face is a bit dinged up now (not deep cause those woods are HARD) but this sucker really has worked like a charm. The grip really has turned out to be excellent (but I do have to say, that cloth rope handle is a dust magnet for sure)

Reactions: Like 2


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## Lou Currier

@phinds ...sounds like you need to enter the mallet swap.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## phinds

Lou Currier said:


> @phinds ...sounds like you need to enter the mallet swap.


Gads. No way am I going to do ANOTHER one of these things

Reactions: Funny 2


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## ripjack13

Bok bok.....





Come on Paul.....you know you want to be paired up with me......


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## phinds

ripjack13 said:


> Bok bok.....
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Come on Paul.....you know you want to be paired up with me......


I'm not going to comment on that

Reactions: Like 1


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## Lou Currier

Come on everyone...peer pressure

Reactions: Like 1


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## phinds

UPDATE:

been using this for over 6 years now and it's still a winner. The face is even more dinged up but this sucker really has worked like a charm. The grip really has turned out to be excellent (but I do have to say, that cloth rope handle is a dust magnet for sure). I could bang on rocks with this thing and other than another face ding or two, it wouldn't be damaged.

Reactions: Like 3


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## ripjack13

Pix man. Let's see it.

Reactions: Agree 2


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## phinds

ripjack13 said:


> Pix man. Let's see it.


Wait. That's MY line !

Reactions: Like 1 | Funny 1


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## phinds

After 6 years of banging on hard stuff like nuts and bolts and Mark Peet's head.

Reactions: Like 2 | EyeCandy! 1 | Funny 2 | Way Cool 4


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## Woodhaul

Very cool. Nice job

Reactions: Like 1


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## ripjack13

Wow. Very nice. It still looks good Paul. Well done.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## Barb

My goal one day is to make a mallet like this. :)

Reactions: Like 1


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## phinds

Barb said:


> My goal one day is to make a mallet like this. :)


Well Barb, there's no day like today.

Reactions: Agree 3


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