Elm Mallet

I was given some American elm branch cuttings of various diameters, this was the first of it I’d ever handled. Initially I tried to split it to see if I could take some smaller board from it…no luck! (Incidentally, in both episodes of the Woodright’s Shop that I watched since, Roy mentions that elm can’t be split.)

The mallet I posted previously was given to a friend for use as an ice crusher for cocktails, so it’s now in frequent use in Brooklyn, NY.

This mallet is its bigger, better replacement. The head is elm, with just the bark stripped. The 1” dia. handle is of poplar, in a hole bored through a branch knot on the elm. I secured it to the head by driving a cherry wedge through the peg. One of the striking surfaces is flat, the other is slightly convex.

Finish is “walnut” stain, which I’d never used before, followed by some beeswax.

Easily made in about an hour without power tools or a firm plan. It has decent heft to it, elm weighs about 35 pounds per cubic foot. I’m curious to see how the end grain will hold up.

-- - Power is not revealed by striking hard or often, but by striking true. -