Looking for Cedar Elm mallet heads. ♫ εηdεd ♫

Frank Rodrigues

Frank Rodrigues

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I'm looking to purchase a couple blocks of Cedar Elm for carpenters Mallets. Does anybody sell them on here? I live in Suffolk Virginia.
 
IMG_1606.webp IMG_1605.webp Not familiar with cedar elm but I have some Grey Elm ( in our area it's either red or grey) 2x4 if that works? Has quite a few bird pecks if you're looking for character??
Rob
 
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rob3232 said:
View attachment 132434 View attachment 132433 Not familiar with cedar elm but I have some Grey Elm ( in our area it's either red or grey) 2x4 if that works? Has quite a few bird pecks if you're looking for character??
Rob
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Rob,
Cedar Elm (Ulmus crassifolia) is a type of wood from south central Texas/oklahoma/Louisiana area. Supposedly one of the better woods for making a mallet. I guess anybody can make something out of anything they choose, I was just asking to see the resources of the forums here. Anything in the 4x4 blocks, like 6" length?
 
Frank,
I have some kentucky coffee tree in that size that might work?
Rob
 
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wow, sounds cool. I guess so, never heard of that. is it hard enough to be a mallet head? i'm googling THAT one!
 
Frank,
Grows all around us here in Austin. The drought a couple of years ago killed a bunch I can get you some its just the when that counts. Ill keep my eye out for you.
 
Frank Rodrigues said:
wow, sounds cool. I guess so, never heard of that. is it hard enough to be a mallet head? i'm googling THAT one!
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...I'd describe it as what you's get if ash and honey locust were crossed.

The grain is similar to both and hardness in the middle. Hardness and strength look to be really close to cedar elm. Doesn't splinter or split much (like oak and interlocked elm grain) so should be good for mallets of any shape. It does shrink a good bit if it's not totally dry though.

But most elm woods shrink even more. Enough that checks in elm are a huge pain if not totally dry before you start working them.

You want a hard mallet wood, then kentucky coffee tree, hickory, pecan, madrone and black locust would be my picks ahead of any elm (though I have to admit haven't worked with cedar elm).
 
I'm guessing the cedar elm idea came from Paul Sellers' blog about his mallet. I noticed he also recommends Osage orange/bois d'arc for mallet heads... lots of folks around here will have access to that.
 
This piece is 4x4x14. If I trim to 12" to ship I think the two knots would be gone.


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Black Locust, when dry, is hard like concrete. Should make for a good mallet head. I'll be back home tomorrow evening and if I find something that might work I'll be sure to post a picture.
 
Could have been that elm was a traditional choice for mallets cause it's a very split resistant wood, I have read that it was the wood of choice for hubs on wagon wheels back in the day. We used wood for heat growing up, sometimes my dad would cut what was locally known as "piss elm" it was almost impossible to split with an ax.....
 
Interesting. That makes sense. But my experience with elm has been almost the opposite. It has interlocked grain but checks spread easily from fasteners if you don't pre-drill well.

I wonder if that's because there are so few old elm trees and all we work with now is sapwood. Or maybe I need to stop using screws and do things the old ways more :ponder:
 
barry richardson said:
Could have been that elm was a traditional choice for mallets cause it's a very split resistant wood, I have read that it was the wood of choice for hubs on wagon wheels back in the day. We used wood for heat growing up, sometimes my dad would cut what was locally known as "piss elm" it was almost impossible to split with an ax.....
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Piss elm and slippery elm here are like that also.
 
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