| Project by sIKE | posted 642 days ago | 764 views | 2 times favorited | 12 comments |  |
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Made two of these as Christmas gifts. The heads are made from hard maple and dark walnut and the handle is made from hard maple all finished up with tung oil. The plans are from a recent issue of ShopNotes. This was a very fun project to make and I have a thrid in progress for myself with some Mahogany added to the mix. There are three pieces of 1/2” threaded rod imbedded into the head to add heft. The handle is shaped to the hand of the owner.
Now for the shop accident:
I got my finger boogered up while resawing the maple on the TS. Was using a push stick, zero clearnce insert, and was standing to the side. The board pinched and was sent flying back and up. I had on a thick lined flannel shirt on. My arm was curved and the board raked accross my index finer and hit me hard in the chest. Like a 6’6” 240 lbs guy hit me full on in the chest. I promptly stopped and made a thin ripping jig and no longer cut with the thin piece up against the fence. Lesson learned.
-- //FC - Round Rock, TX - "Experience is what you get just after you need it"
12 comments so far
GaryK
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9537 posts in 886 days
posted 642 days ago
Great looking mallet. I really like the head.
Careful, careful!
-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.
mjlauro
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239 posts in 659 days
posted 642 days ago
very cool lookin’ mallets
CharlieM1958
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7673 posts in 1117 days
posted 642 days ago
Great mallet, and a good safety lesson!
-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"
Karson
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25806 posts in 1299 days
posted 642 days ago
Great looking Mallet. Thanks for pointing it out to me.
-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †
cajunpen
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5968 posts in 964 days
posted 642 days ago
Good looking mallet – thanks for posting and for the safety reminder, glad to hear that you weren’t hurt to badly.
-- Bill - "Suit yourself and let the rest be pleased." http://www.cajunpen.com/
USCJeff
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901 posts in 966 days
posted 642 days ago
I’d tease you about the kickback if I wasn’t scared I’d jinx myself. Really, thanks for the post on the project as well as the lesson learned. If I’m reading your process right, I’ve cut boards in a similar manner as well. I have been decent about using a blade guard/splitter, but it isn’t always feasible. I think we’d better invest in an overhead guard and stand-alone splitter.
-- Jeff, South Carolina
Jiri Parkman
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603 posts in 711 days
posted 642 days ago
Beautiful mallet.
-- Jiri
sIKE
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1094 posts in 652 days
posted 642 days ago
You noticed I didn’t have a splitter, I have been doing some research on that, for now I am thinking about this for now or maybe a dedicated thin kerf ripping blade and the thin kerf version of this splitter. Long term is a TS replacement with riving knives built in.
And of course a decent Bandsaw whose blade doesn’t wander over heck and high water so I can re-saw with it.
-- //FC - Round Rock, TX - "Experience is what you get just after you need it"
jockmike2
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7354 posts in 1145 days
posted 641 days ago
Good looking mallet, looks like it” wood” do the job. mike
-- Mike. mwurm13@yahoo.com
rikkor
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11335 posts in 773 days
posted 641 days ago
That is a great mallet. I am glad you were not injured more than you were. And thanks, by sharing the incident you may have helped the rest of us think a bit more about our shop safety.
Lee A. Jesberger
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3710 posts in 878 days
posted 621 days ago
Sike:
That’s a crazy looking mallet. Very unusual. I like it!
Sorry to hear about your finger. Hope it wasn’t too bad.
Lee
-- by Lee A. Jesberger http://www.prowoodworkingtips.com http://www.ezee-feed.com
JonH
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55 posts in 985 days
posted 369 days ago
Nice mallet! I agree that putting the thin strip between the fence and blade is asking for trouble. Anti-kickback pawls and a zero clearance throat plate are a must as well. A nice thin strip jig that allows the strip to lay off to the waste side of the blade is easy to make and helps keep the wood from flying around. I’ve even used a push stick that keeps the hands up high to just rip down wide stock by adjusting the fence each time. I used the handle of an old handsaw to layout the handle. Its comfortable in my hand, and it works great for pushing and keeping pressure down on the workpiece. Hope the finger heals up soon for making more Xmas gifts!