Joiners Mallet Questions
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6 February 2015 at 7:56 am #124426
Hello,
I’m currently working on a couple of mallets, and have been wondering some things. I’m hoping @paul-sellers can chime in.
It has to do with the sizing of the mallet heads. I know in the project video Paul varied the size of the mallet heads to account for the differences in weight of the different wood species (Larger for the less dense oak versus smaller for the cedar elm) I am using some cut offs from some sort of Red/Phillipine Mahogany that were reclaimed from some boat cradles 30 years ago. Its been drying for at least 3 decades and shows 13% moisture content on my inexpensive moisture meter (which is normal for wood dried in open sheds in my area, the same as my shop). It is extremely heavy, by my calculations its coming up over 60 pounds per cubic foot. I did some looking online after it was too late to be making noise in the shop and according to wood-database.com, and red oak comes in around 44 lbs/cubic foot, cedar elm at 41 lbs/cubic foot. I know that this measurement varies widely depending on the individual tree (the mahogany I’m using is listed at 42 lbs/cubic foot which is nearly 20 lbs less than the piece I measured). I know this might seem like trivial minutiae, but I realized that if I don’t figure this out beforehand and just use the measurements in the video I could be making a mallet that’s a third again the weight of the original design, which I would think would effect the way it works pretty dramatically.
So my question is since we can’t really calculate what the weight of the mallet Paul is using based on size, what should we be shooting for? Of course this could vary according to preference, but I’ve always found Paul’s suggestions to be an excellent starting point in the past for things like this. It seems like head weight is the only way to quantify what makes the mallet work the way it should for those of us that don’t have the experience to know. I tried to answer my own question with the values from the database, and I came up with something around 32 ounces for the head of Paul’s mallet but I don’t really know.
Also since my wood seems to be quite a lot heavier than what was used in the video, where would it be better to change the dimensions if needed to lighten things up? I would think the length, as taking it off the width or height would make the striking face smaller. I do like the proportions of Paul’s design though so I might take a little off the height and a little off the length.
Anyone else have some experience or ideas about this? Thanks!
6 February 2015 at 10:11 am #124429My short answer is this. Knowing the mahogany as I do, weight variation happens depending on where in the tree the cut is taken from. Near the root or a crotch, even a distance a way, it’s heavier in almost all trees. My suggestion here is to make the mallet to the same size and see how it feels because i like to have different weights but not different sizes. Small mallets from denser and heavier woods work fine but translating that into a specific size is not the practical approach. You can make the mallet to the sizes and then, after using it for a few hours, change the length by 6mm on each malleting face first. This will make little functionality difference. Then you can tale some off the four sides. That way you are customising according to personal feel without compromising the main work which is the mortising and fitting the handle.
6 February 2015 at 10:11 am #124430My short answer is this. Knowing the mahogany as I do, weight variation happens depending on where in the tree the cut is taken from. Near the root or a crotch, even a distance a way, it’s heavier in almost all trees. My suggestion here is to make the mallet to the same size and see how it feels because i like to have different weights but not different sizes. Small mallets from denser and heavier woods work fine but translating that into a specific size is not the practical approach. You can make the mallet to the sizes and then, after using it for a few hours, change the length by 6mm on each malleting face first. This will make little functionality difference. Then you can tale some off the four sides. That way you are customising according to personal feel without compromising the main work which is the mortising and fitting the handle.
6 February 2015 at 11:02 am #124431Hello Charles. I think you have the advice you need, but I thought I’d chime in anyway.
My first mallet, the one in my profile pic, was too heavy for general use. I made it that way because I knew I wouldn’t have a chance to make it any heavier, but for several reasons it now has a smaller brother which I use for most work.
Before I made the smaller one though, I didn’t realise the other one was as heavy as it is. As others have said before, the human body has an amazing capacity to adjust itself to whatever tools are available. You have quite considerable control over the force of your blows by changing the position of your hand on the handle, and of course how much muscle you put into it.
I still use both mallets. The bigger one gets most use for mortise and other heavy chopping; somehow, a lighter knock from the big head seems to drive the chisel more effectively than a heavier blow from the lighter mallet.
Also, I wouldn’t worry too much about the size of the striking face. Looking at the damage on my small mallet’s face (from whacking holdfasts), it’s all concentrated within a 2inch patch, and of course the Thorex (?) hammer we have all seen Mr Sellers using is not much bigger than the chisel handle.
For numbers, if they might be helpful, my small mallet (with handle) weighs 1 3/4lb, and the big one weighs 3lb. I like a nice fat handle as well because your hands don’t tire so much during prolonged use, I’ve settled on 1 1/2 inch diameter but of course you should work out what suits you.
I hope you might find some of that useful. Happy hammering,
Matt
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