All Replies on Mallets of your dreams

Thats hilarious Al went to bad boys school with Pinocchio ROFLMAO

-- when I am not on Lumberjocks I am on @ http://thisoldworkshop.com where we allow free speech

Al – one of these days I’ll get a holster made up just for you…as long as you don’t mind if it fits my Springfield XD 45, as thats the only pistol I’ve got to use to fine tune the fit. And you would have to be OK with at least a little bit of decorative tooling, since thats really the fun part!

Jay, thats awesome! I know what you mean about no instructions…its a daunting thing to stare at a blank piece of leather. Lucky for me, I’ve got about 50 templates, so I can usually make do.

I’m loving all these whackers on this thread…I may need to put down the duck train today and use up some of that white oak I have laying around…but then again, I could go bowhunting…hmmm

-- Jason K

Lol, Jason; I’ll buy a damn XD45 for it!!! I’ve had my eye on it anyway. 13+1 like my 21SF. If you make a holster for your XD, make two and I’ll buy both the holster and the gun.

-- My dad and I built a 65 chev pick up.I killed trannys in that thing for some reason-Hog

tirebob, thanks…wow…maybe I’ll spend the $85…the construction sounds as solid as they look!

Well…my first mallet may not be a chisel banger…she only weighs in at 15oz…and formed of cherry.

But I had tons of fun carving it out…used the bandsaw, chainsaw, drill press, a few rasps, and sandpaper. BLO for a finish…still wet in the photo. Gotta try a laminated whacker next…
.

-- tr ...see one, do one, teach one...

Terry, Love that one piece.
Think I need to give that a try.

-- Mike - In Fort McMurray Alberta

The is one pretty Mallet, Look at those fine lines, the curvature of the handle as it gracefully blends in to the face,
I gotta go get a tissue sorry…...

-- What we do in life will Echo through Eternity........

That is really exceptional Terry. You are gifted with your ability to shape wood … Saw handles, plane totes and now mallets. Fluid, beautiful lines in all cases. Bravo man.

-- ~Tony

I gotta make a 1-piece.

-- My dad and I built a 65 chev pick up.I killed trannys in that thing for some reason-Hog

You can use it when you wear your 1 – piece.

-- It isn't the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it's the pebble in your shoe. - Muhammad Ali

Yeah, Jason, having a big empty canvas isn’t that big of a deal for me now. That’s my favorite part of woodworking now, trying to figure out how to build stuff from scratch.

But as a 7 year old, not having a picture to follow was a tough task indeed. And it showed that I wasn’t as smart as I thought I was. 7 year olds act that way all the time, but in retrospect it was one of those moments I really regret in life…especially since my mom is the true picture of a blessed saint.

-- jay, www.allaboutastro.com

You can use it when you wear your 1 – piece.
.
Damn! Strength out of nowhere!!!!

-- My dad and I built a 65 chev pick up.I killed trannys in that thing for some reason-Hog

Scott !
You’ve launched him again !
BAD ! BAD!

;-)

One piece …..
sigh…

-- Glen, Vernon B.C. Canada

Al, I now you are in there somewhere…..

-- It isn't the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it's the pebble in your shoe. - Muhammad Ali

need more bleach for my eyes.

-- In the end, when your life flashes before your eyes, will you like what you see?

Thats some V neck ….

-- "there aren’t many hand tools as awe-inspiring as the #8 jointer. I mean, it just reeks of cast iron heft and hubris" - Smitty

What is Al looking for?

Now throw in some ice cream I think we have the makings of a calendar…...

-- What we do in life will Echo through Eternity........

Oh, my…

-- Don't anthropomorphize your handplanes. They hate it when you do that. -- OldTools Archive

And here I was enjoying this thread, now I wish to hurl.
Terry, that is an amazing looking piece to have carved out.
First time I ever used a lathe I turned this out from a 3×4 soft maple pallet runner; I’ve been meaning to make something bigger and laminated but just haven’t got the time to spare on something I don’t use as much as I should

-- --Rev. Russ in NY-- A posse ad esse

Goodness…man boobs on the epic thread, and now this one?

derosa – very nice turned mallet! I really really need a lathe…

-- Jason K

All joking aside, or maybe not. What the hell are these guys thinking posing for pictures like that, let alone deciding its a good idea to put on a pink 1 – piece. WTF. It’s baffling.

-- It isn't the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it's the pebble in your shoe. - Muhammad Ali

I’m the one trailing in the far back with the bulging man pannus.
.
Don’t forget about 3) allowing pictures to be taken and 4) posting them.

-- My dad and I built a 65 chev pick up.I killed trannys in that thing for some reason-Hog

Ok, I’m biting the bullet and going to try my hand at a mallet. I’m going to try the square head style…I have some old oak pallet wood laying around I thought I might use. The first question I have is what angle should the striking faces of the mallet be cut at?

-- Jason K

I heard the face angles should intersect at the end of the handle.

-- Don't anthropomorphize your handplanes. They hate it when you do that. -- OldTools Archive

Well that makes perfect sense, Smit…thanks

-- Jason K

Don’t know if it’s a rule of thumb, or if the mallet police knock at the doors of violators, so proceed as you see fit. :-)

-- Don't anthropomorphize your handplanes. They hate it when you do that. -- OldTools Archive

Try these tips for figuring your face angle:

http://lumberjocks.com/swirt/blog/22319

Whatever happened to swirt, anyway?

-- The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary. - H.L. Mencken

^Outstanding link.

Thanks JJohnston.

-- ~Tony

Wow, great link JJohnston!

-- Jason K

almost missed this one!

-- There is nothing like the sound of a well tuned hand plane. - http://timetestedtools.wordpress.com (timetestedtools at hotmail dot c0m)

I wondered when you would show up Don…nice whackers! I like that round head one…dammit I need a lathe!

-- Jason K

Lol. Ill never get those images out of my head.

Great mallet terry!

Derosa great firts turning!

Don srtrong work on those.I like the long handles.

I had heard the faces should line up w the point of your elbow.

-- Mauricio - Woodstock, GA - "Confusion is the Womb of Learning, with utter conviction being it's Tomb" Prof. T.O. Nitsch

OK, I posted this over in the chisel thread thinking I was here.
So I’m just gonna cross post here.

All this talk of brass makes me want to own up.
I don’t just use that dinosaur mallet and moms old baby Stanley claw hammer
I didn’t post it because it’s not really a mallet, and I’m sure it’s not in anyone’s dreams..
I also have this piece of one inch hex brass about five inches long. It lives in the tray on my bench. There’s no handle, I just hold it in my fist and hit away on the end.
It’s about 20 years old, left over from my days as a CNC machinist.

-- Mike - In Fort McMurray Alberta

Bagtown – that works in my book! It sorta brings up the question, what exactly IS a mallet? Maybe I should have named this thread “whackers of your dreams”...but I fear Al would take it wrong and we would see stuff we didn’t want to see…

-- Jason K

whackers of your dreams

That would have Al written all over it.

-- There is nothing like the sound of a well tuned hand plane. - http://timetestedtools.wordpress.com (timetestedtools at hotmail dot c0m)

Main Entry: mal·let
Pronunciation: \ˈma-lət\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English maillet, from Anglo-French, diminutive of mail hammer — more at maul
Date: 15th century
: a hammer with a typically barrel-shaped head: as a : a tool with a large head for driving another tool or for striking a surface without marring it b : a long-handled wooden implement used for striking a ball (as in polo or croquet) c : a light hammer with a small rounded or spherical usually padded head used in playing certain musical instruments (as a vibraphone)

Now we know what a mallet is per Webster…

-- Jason K

as long as she is good a wacking I would dream of her too as long as she isnt the female counterpart of the boys above. Al that isnt his sack it a panus you remember that word from medical school right? the boy has a big panus not to be confused with a big penis or a large set of nuts.

-- when I am not on Lumberjocks I am on @ http://thisoldworkshop.com where we allow free speech

Speaking of Long lost friends what ever happened to Dr funk

-- when I am not on Lumberjocks I am on @ http://thisoldworkshop.com where we allow free speech

Whack´er
n.1.One who whacks.
2.Anything very large; specif., a great lie; a whopper.

One who whacks…I like it…

-- Jason K

I miss the Doc too, Dude.

-- ~Tony

I posted this in the chisel thread, but I guess it warrants a proper posting. Laminated walnut, maple, and birch, most of it scrap. I call this my Tic Tac Toe mallet, because there’s an X:

and an O:

Though some people see a cat in the last one.

-- ian | "You can't stop what's coming. It ain't all waiting on you. That's vanity."

shampeon, that’s pretty cool.

-- There is nothing like the sound of a well tuned hand plane. - http://timetestedtools.wordpress.com (timetestedtools at hotmail dot c0m)

How did I miss this thread?

Here’s my collection of whacking devices.

I can’t speak highly enough about the Wood is Good carver’s mallet in the photo. Extremely comfortable and absorbs a lot of the shock before it reaches your arm. I bought the 18oz version which is nice, but I think the 20oz would be even better.

The following photos are not mine, but I saved the photos when I came across them because they appealed to me.

Finally, for the newcomers or those who missed it first time around, we had a forum post for hammers some time ago and there are some nice examples there if anyone is interested.

-- Andy -- Old Chinese proverb say: If you think something can't be done, don't interrupt man who is doing it.

Thanks for the quickie review of the ‘wood is good’ mallet, Andy, I was just drooling over those last night. TFWW has sooooo many of my wants…
:)

-- tr ...see one, do one, teach one...

I whack with a whopper.
.
Those are some gorgeus hammers above.

-- My dad and I built a 65 chev pick up.I killed trannys in that thing for some reason-Hog

With all the beautiful mallets on here I was inspired to go out and make one.
Well its 17oz. made of gum and oak. Honestly its most likely to end up in the scrap bin. I lost the plans for it and just winged it from memory. It does fall into the catagory of better then nothing.

-- My theroy in wood working will be. If I'm not enjoying doing it i won't do it.

Looks like a keeper to me, Gator. Just keep shaping the handle until you feel like a Viking. I’d want that in my collection.

-- My dad and I built a 65 chev pick up.I killed trannys in that thing for some reason-Hog

I hate to be a stick in the mud, but I am having a problem seeing the value of angling the head on a mallet, especially the square/rectangular mallets.

Can someone explain to me why you have to have that angled head?

That would mean the chisel at the point of impact would need to be angled in order to get the maximum benefit of the blow of the hammer. Anything else is a glancing blow and wasting energy.

-- Improvise.... Adapt...... Overcome!

If you hold a mallet out straight, the idea is you hit when your in that position. Most people will be at a slight angle.

-- There is nothing like the sound of a well tuned hand plane. - http://timetestedtools.wordpress.com (timetestedtools at hotmail dot c0m)

I think my angled one just happens to fit my stroke but my stroke probably developed to fit my mallet, lol. I think it’s easier on the wrist if the wrist stays in a comportable position. Lysdexic could explain wrist mechanics in his sleep. When I use square head ones, I usually index my finder on the handle for some reason. All the tapered round turning mallets of yesteryear must have had a reason for it. I just don’t know it.

-- My dad and I built a 65 chev pick up.I killed trannys in that thing for some reason-Hog

Thanks gentlemen!

I wasn’t being smart arsed, I am really trying to understand here.

I some antique rock drills and hammers that were used at the Lucky Pete mine in Northern Idaho.

All of the hammers and mallets are square faced and the drills are without any mushrooming. There is no bevel on any of the hammers, by the way they are solid brass heads with Hickory handles, and having been through that mine, I’ve seen where they drilled for explosives at an angle.

Framing hammers and ball peen hammers are also square to the direction of force. Even though most of the time you spend about half your time toenailing at an angle while framing.

As a side bar, One of the brass hammers is marked “14LBS” I weighed it and it miraculously lost 3 pounds 4 ounces… coming in at 10 pounds 12 ounces. I have a feeling that pounding on a chunk of iron with a chunk of brass isn’t good for a hammer, LOL.

Ah, me…. so much to learn and so little time.

-- Improvise.... Adapt...... Overcome!