# Wood for carpenters mallet head?



## Smile_n_Nod

What types of wood are suitable for making the head a carpenter's mallet (the kind with the boxy head, not round)? I know that beech is traditionall, but are there other, more plentiful, woods that have enough impact resistance?


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## richgreer

Any hardwood will do. The harder and heavier the better. I have a mallet made of maple many years ago. If I ever make another one, I may try an exotic that is even harder and heavier. Lignum vitae would be the ultimate. It has a specific gravity of 1.3 and a Janka index of 4000.


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## BrandonW

I made one out of jatoba and one out of bocote. They both are holding up nicely.


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## donwilwol

both cherry.


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## RGtools

Mines walnut. Hard heavy woods are good but don't go crazy on the hardness scale since the harder your mallet is the more likely you are to blow up a chisel handle. I would rather make a mallet than re-handle a chisel.


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## Maverick44spec

I made a mallet (round head) out of bodark (osage orange) once. It was really hard and heavy. I don't know how well it would work for woodworking. I traded it to a friend who is a leatherworker before I ever used it for woodworking (I did use it a little when I was trying to learn leatherworking). He said it was great for punches and stamps. It might also be good for woodworking. You might try that. You could probably find some on ebay or somewhere else online for a decent price.


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## Maverick44spec

Cherry Walnut and maple are also good choices without going overboard on hardness.


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## StumpyNubs

Different woods for different weights for different uses. There's even a place for pine in mallet heads!

*By the way, EVERYONE please do me and Charles a favor: click over to the Charles Niel vs Stumpy Nubs contest thread and help judge the boxes! Then come back here and continue your discussion with the warm inner feeling of having done another good deed…*


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## paratrooper34

Beech. I have a massive beech hammer for all around bench use and it holds up very well to the abuse.


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## PurpLev

As stated - any hardwood. I used hardwood from old pallets:


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## croessler

I made several of these a few years ago and they are still going strong. The laminated head seems to work extremely well.


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## CodyJames

StumpyNubs said it best, different mallets different jobs, soft woods for softer, harder woods for harder. Different shapes and sizes as well. One of my favorite mallets a round handle, with a fatter round head. All one piece of wood, Maple. It's "officially" a chisel mallet, but, I use it for darn near everything and if I want a softer dead blow on it, I have a leather bag I found at a garage sale that I put over it.


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## Boomr99

I made mine out of maple and jatoba. Jatoba is extremely hard, dense and heavy. I use it regularly to bang on chisels and pound in dowels and it has held up very well.

Ryan


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## jace_robert

I am currently researching about hand tools and in Woodworking Magazine from Autumn 2008 there is a list of tools reprinted from Charles H. Heyward and modified by the author Christopher Schwarz that recommends a mallet as haveing a 5" head and made from Beech.


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## roman

just 2 observations

a "carpenters" mallet tells me how many stripes a person has on their shoulders, and to ask that question and read the answers leeds me to the next observation

nobody asked

whatcha doin with it ?……………here in lies the answer

you probably dont need one but they are fun to make, especially if they work when your done making one so I'm gonna go with, what ever you have on hand and agree with the crowd.


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## roman

a "mallet' quickly teaches both "its" limitations, and "yours"

: ))


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## StumpyNubs

Go buy a 2X4 and cut it to length. Round the corners of one end down to fit your hand and start poundin'...


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## bdjohns1

I turned a round-style mallet from a 3×3x12 piece of lignum vitae turning stock I got cheap at a Rockler. It hasn't been too heaviliy used, but it's held up well. Little taps with that monster go a long way.


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## rldunlap

I have used pecan and live oak. Local woods and both very durable.


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## LArgentsWorkshop

I'm getting ready to make a mallet from an oak log I have. Would oak be an acceptable wood for a mallet?


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## HokieKen

> I m getting ready to make a mallet from an oak log I have. Would oak be an acceptable wood for a mallet?
> 
> - LArgentsWorkshop


This is a 5-year-old thread but, since you asked… sure! Oak is heavy, hard and stable. It's not as tight-grained as some may want for a mallet but it will work very well.

Welcome to LJs!


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## LArgentsWorkshop

> I m getting ready to make a mallet from an oak log I have. Would oak be an acceptable wood for a mallet?
> 
> - LArgentsWorkshop
> 
> This is a 5-year-old thread but, since you asked… sure! Oak is heavy, hard and stable. It s not as tight-grained as some may want for a mallet but it will work very well.
> 
> Welcome to LJs!
> 
> - HokieKen


I just found and joined today. Was doing a search on the subject.


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## pmayer

I use oak or maple typically. I leave one end square, and the other end I put a dome shape on it, which minimizes marring with striking case work. With a square joiners mallet it is nearly impossible to smack a large surface so that the flat mallet head strikes evenly, so you end up creasing the work piece with the edges of the mallet. The dome makes it easier to strike exactly where you want to, and is less prone to leaving marks if you use the right finesse. I leave the other size square and I use it to strike objects that are smaller than the mallet head itself, and the flat surface makes it easy to apply even pressure to the smaller object.


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## Smitty_Cabinetshop

Paul, I like the idea of the domed end! Instead of dome, I've added leather to soften the strikes but you've given a pretty thoughtful alternative.


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## pmayer

Thanks, Smitty. I have one where I applied a leather pad on the square side as well and that's nice in some situations as well.


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## LArgentsWorkshop

I'm hoping to get several mallets out of this log. I'll try several configurations.


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## ChefHDAN

I made this one from Ipe & Spalted QS white oak, one end with a 5* cut and the other "domed"


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## LArgentsWorkshop

What about Mahogany, Hickory, Ash? I ask, because I have a bunch of either scrap in my shop, or logs in my yard.


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## Smitty_Cabinetshop

Hickory is a good choice (done that), and ash can be as well (although I haven't tried it… yet).


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## Kirk650

I used Osage Orange and turned a few mallets for myself, friends and a brother. The stuff is almost indestructible, and a great wood for mallets. It helps to have Osage Orange trees. And, I now think it's best to harvest your Osage Orange wood during the winter. In the Spring, when the sap is running, it seems that it's harder to dry the wood without it splitting, and it is prone to splitting.


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## TheFridge

Ash is ok. Lignum is awesome. Lignum and pink Ivory.



























The other is ash and meranti I think and it weights less than the small one.


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## Txkev061

I recently finished my first mallets. I used all I had on hand which was Pecan. Surprisingly hard and heavy. I have used the smaller one several times and am happy with the results. Of course i am a novice at woodworking but if you have access to Pecan I would recommend it.


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## Jerndon

I made my joiner's mallet out of black locust. I used the pith of the tree. Handle is maple. It's heavy and tough which are the essential needs of a joiner's mallet. Film at 11.


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## MikeDilday

These are quick and easy to make

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Estwing-12-oz-Double-Face-Soft-Hammer-DFH12/202183882


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