Project Information
Since I'm starting to feel the need for cutting mortises for my workbench project, and also because it seems to be a mandatory exercise for beginner woodworkers, I've started making myself a mallet this weekend.
It's cut from 20mm oak, the head is three layers laminated together, and the handle tenon has two wedges to keep it in place. Finish is tung oil. I thought of ebonizing the wedges to contrast them against the endgrain of the handle, but on this oak the color is very superficial, so it would have disappeared when cutting the wedges flush. I shaped the handle with my 60 1/2 block plane which was not ideal, but did the job. With a spokeshave I could probably have achieved a more pronounced sweep and with a smooth surface with very little sanding. So now I know I have another tool on my wish list
As usual, full-res creative commons photos are on my flickr.
It's cut from 20mm oak, the head is three layers laminated together, and the handle tenon has two wedges to keep it in place. Finish is tung oil. I thought of ebonizing the wedges to contrast them against the endgrain of the handle, but on this oak the color is very superficial, so it would have disappeared when cutting the wedges flush. I shaped the handle with my 60 1/2 block plane which was not ideal, but did the job. With a spokeshave I could probably have achieved a more pronounced sweep and with a smooth surface with very little sanding. So now I know I have another tool on my wish list
As usual, full-res creative commons photos are on my flickr.