simple wooden mallet

Wooden Mallet, this is a very simple tool to make. I used 3/4 maple left over from my face frames of my kitchen. The handle is simple 3/4 stock with rounded handle and a tapered top going into the head. Make the handle first. You might want to plane the handle down slightly to be able to slide the handle in and out of the head. (at least that is what I did, you can glu them up to be permanent too) Next is the head. Cut the head three times from 3/4 solid stock. Take one of these for the center and lay the handle on it and mark your cuts for the handle to fit through it. When you do your glu-up, you might considder drilling and gluing dowels in the head to keep the parts in place. Be sure to remove all glu inside the head so that the handle will still fit. After the whole head was done, I took my beltsander to it and finnished it off with a 1/2” round over with my router, this will reduce the damage on the wood you are wacking.

For lumber I would take a closed grain like maple. (beech wood be an other good choice)

You can change the size on the plans to make this hammer bigger or smaller depending on the project. An other thing you can do is change the shape of the mallet.

I use this hammer for cabinet assambly and carving. ( I should build a smaller one for carving).

-- http://www.twinoaksgrowers.com