Mallets are an essential shop tool. When you need to bang on a piece of wood or drive two pieces of wood together, nothing works better than a mallet. A good woodworker mallet will have a head that will not damage the material you are hitting. The mallet should not be overly heavy and should feel balanced in the hand.
I’ve built several of these mallets for my shop and to give away to friends and family. The heads are made of SYP scrap and the handles are either Hard Maple or Cherry. I did build one, Image #2, where the head is SYP with a slice of Cherry in the middle. I gave that one to my brother-in-law.
The two-sections of the hear are joined with TiteBond III Ultimate glue and placed in a vise overnight to cure. The handle is in place during the curing process. Before inserting the handle, a notch is cut in the head end and a wedge of contrasting material is driven into the handle. Padauk is the wood usually chosen for the wedge. After the glue is cured, I then cut the head, on each end, to a 15° bevel. Then it’s time to grab the sandpaper and get to work. The edges are rounded to remove any sharp corners. The mallets are then finished with Howard Oil-based Wood Polish and Conditioner from Lowes, as that is what I have on hand.
Showing the Padauk in the end of the handle
The slot in the handle can be cut either direction. Across the thickness is the best way.
Construction Process:
- I first cut 2 pieces of the selected material, approximately 7-inches long, for the head.
- I then select and cut a handle. I try and cut a piece at least 12-inches long and 1 1/2-inches wide. The handle is usually 3/4-inch in thickness. Hard Maple or a similar hardwood are great materials for the handle.
- I mark the centerline on the 2 pieces of the mallet head. The trenching setting on my Kobalt miter saw is then used to trench out the width of the handle. One-half the thickness of the handle is used for the trench depth. The trench depth is 3/8-inch for 3/4-inch material.
- A cut is made in the handle on the end that is to be inserted into the head. Since the head is about 3 1/2 wide, I make the handle cut about 2 3/4 inches to 3 inches deep.
- I cut a wedge from Padauk or similar contrasting wood about 2 1/2 inches long and 3/4 inches wide for the end of the handle. I use a contrasting wood as it happens to look nice. Padauk has a pretty orangish-red color and goes well with the SYP.
- A liberal amount of TiteBond III Ultimate glue is applied to the 2 head pieces, including the trench for the handle. The assembly is then placed into a vise with the top of the head upright. After the vise is tightened, the wedge is driven into the handle as far as it will go. The wedge also has glue applied to it so that it will not loosen and come out of the handle.
- The mallet assemble is left in the vise for at least 24 hours for the glue to fully cure.
- I then cut the ends of the mallet head to a 15° angle using my miter saw.
- The mallet is then sanded, and the edges rounded to remove all sharp edges and to prevent splintering. (Sandpaper grits: 80, 120, 180, 220, 320)
In Conclusion:
I’ve seen woodworking mallets for over $100 or more. To me, it seems foolish to use something that expensive just to bang 2 pieces of wood together. This mallet is cheap and will work just as well as one of the expensive ones. It’s also made of scraps left over from other projects. Build your own from scraps, and you have more money to buy that next tool you want to purchase. Also, every piece of scrap wood that you use is one that does not go into the landfill or is not burnt and polluting the air.