My Mallet

[crokett]

Here it is. Glued it up this weekend. I still need to shape the head around the handle and the handle needs to be shortened. I will probably also give it a bit more shape as well. Lastly, it looks too long. What is the typical length of a handle?

 

[bluedawg76]

I think it kind of depends upon the size of the head. I have 2, one has a 6 1/2" long head which my wife calls thor, it's sort of caveman-ish in size. It's handle is 18" long (tip-to-tip) The second has a 4 5/8" long head and a ~15" handle. it's the one i use most. I based the sizing on this short write up I found:

http://books.google.com/books?id=CfYDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA31#v=onepage&q&f=false


HTH,
Sam

 

[crokett]

Hmm... so figure the head length is about 1/3 the overall length. Thanks!

 

[bobby g]

david,

I don't see the picture. :dontknow:

bobby g

 

[crokett]

Hmm.... fixed now. dunno what the problem was, all I did was repaste the image URL. Sorry about the pic quality. It is a cellphone camera. Our real camera is broken.

 

[bluedawg76]

oh. i wasn't thinking of a carving mallet, but a mallet for chopping mortises sort of like a dead-blow.

 

[crokett]

I plan on using it for chopping mortises. I like the shape of the carving mallet better than the 2 rubber deadblows I have. It is big and heavy - bigger than a traditional carving mallet. The chisels won't care what hits them.

 

[richlife]

Nice work! Go easy cutting the handle length until you have a chance to use it. Then go slow -- you can't make it longer. (Where have I heard that before?) :gar-La;

I like that shape for a carving mallet. The handles of my favorites are about 1 1/2 the size of the head. I tend to grasp the bottom of the head with thumb and forefinger to use them. For carving, I would perfer a bellied shape handle -- like this () but stretched out.

It's also interesting. I have another heavy wooden mallet (can't remember the wood -- maybe mahogany) that I don't use because the handle is too thin in comparison with the head (and my hand). Tends to cramp my hand and puts uncomfortable pressures on the fingers. I want to convert it by cutting the head down flat on the sides and shaping a more traditional mallet with faces that are flatter while maintaining the angles. I have no idea how it will work, but otherwise it's a worthless piece of wood to me.

Rich

 

[nelsone]

Looks good. Like Rich said, try it for a while before you start cutting it shorter and see how it feels and where you hold it.