The Return of the Great Brass Mallet
Five years ago, I wrote a blog entry about the brass mallets I use for joinery. I mentioned the Canadian-made Veritas Mallet, a compact tool that weighs 17.6 oz (500gr) and costs $39, and a [...]
Lixie Dead Blow Mallet
Tool: 30oz Dead Blow Hammer Shop Now Manufacturer: Lixie MSRP:$68 Well-fit joinery (not too loose, not too tight) and well-planned glue-ups rarely need much persuasion – but I am not always [...]
Blue Spruce Joiner’s Mallets
Tool: Rectangular Mallet Manufacturer: Blue Spruce Toolworks MSRP: $85 For some woodworkers, building your own mallet is a rite of passage. After using dozens of student-made mallets, however, I [...]
Lixie Dead Blow Mallet Test – Some Fun in the Shop
For an upcoming “Tool Test” in the February 2018 (#237) issue of the magazine, I reviewed the Lixie Dead Blow Mallet (the 30 ounce version, with 1 1/2″ diameter heads). While we’ll post the [...]
Two Brands of Brass Mallets
If you follow my blog, you know that I have an affinity for striking tools. Check my entries on hammers, turned mallets and carved mallets (from branches) if you haven’t had a chance to [...]
Small Rubber Mallet – a Cheap Indispensable Tool
In Stanley Kubriks “2001: A Space Odyssey,” the opening scene of our primate ancestors contends that the earliest tool was the mallet. It was made from a femur, but a mallet all the [...]
How to Shape a Mallet Out of a Branch
To initiate our fourth graders into woodworking, we offer them a branch and show them how to shape it into a mallet. The branch-mallet is a great project to introduce students of any age to [...]
The Best Design For a Round Mallet, Part 1
What is the best design for a round mallet? It has to do the job, feel good in your hand and remain comfortable as you use it. Three weeks ago, while at Peters Valley, I had a chance …
Making a Joiner’s Mallet
I’ve wanted to make a new mallet for a while now and at last found a bit of time to take the project forward. I knew I’d want to make a joiner’s mallet. This style is the [...]
Mallet Theory: You Can Get Used to Almost Any Tool
When it comes to holding a woodworking tool in our hands for hours at a time, we have two choices: change the tool or change our attitude. Most woodworkers – surprisingly – refuse to change the [...]
Meet my ‘Mongo’
Among the many tools of Christopher Schwarz’s that I covet is his vintage English brass mallet with wood inserts, a tool he calls “Mongo.” Now, I can cross one venial sin off my [...]