A hard-hitting shop hammer
There are at least a dozen uses for a joiner’s mallet in just about any woodworking shop. Whether you need to drive a chisel, insert a dowel, or knock together tight-fitting dovetail joints, this heavy, wood-headed mallet accomplishes the task. And it does it all with less chance of marring your carefully prepared surfaces the way a metal hammer would.
What’s more, this is a tool you can make for yourself, customizing it to suit the way you work. I’ve specified the dimensions I used, but feel free to shorten the handle if you frequently find yourself choking up and swinging from the wrist rather than the elbow. Increase or decrease the head size to suit your common tasks. Or use heavier woods or added weight to increase the mallet’s mass for more power. Better yet, make an entire set in various lengths, weights, and head sizes—each suited to a task. Even if you just make one, your shop will be the better for it.
Wood Selection
For the mallet’s handle, choose a wood that is strong, durable, and resilient. Hickory, oak, and ash are classic choices, but maple, mahogany, beech, and even walnut will also suit. For the head, look for a heavy, dense species with a high Janka hardness rating. Commonly available domestics that work well include hickory, locust, hard maple, beech, pecan, ash, oak, elm, and osage orange. A number of exotics also fit the bill, but be sure to take the necessary precautions when gluing. Many of these species contain resins and oils that prevent glue from bonding properly. To prevent your mallet from delaminating in use, wipe the mating surfaces with mineral spirits or denatured alcohol and let the solvent evaporate immediately before gluing to promote better glue adhesion.
Heavy, hard-headed, and handsome
The four-part head is glued up leaving the handle slot open. The head then slides onto a tenon cut into one end of the handle. The rest of the handle is chamfered for comfort and control before being secured in the head with two wedges driven in—without any glue—from the top. The faces are angled for better striking and less arm and shoulder fatigue. On the top, a 12"-radius curve trims the handle and wedges flush, and gives the head a pleasing shape. The edges of the head are beveled to prevent splintering and to help protect workpieces from hammer dings.
Order of Work
- Mill and chamfer handle
- Make and attach head
- Trim and shape head
- Finish and take a swing
Get a handle on things
Mill the handle to size along with sufficient stock for the two cores and the wedges. It’s important these pieces match the handle’s thickness. Cut a tenon on one end of the handle blank. Drill two 3/16" diameter relief holes about 1-3/4" in from the end of the tenon. These help to prevent the handle from splitting as you drive the wedges home. At the bandsaw, cut the wedge slots and round the handle’s bottom end. Then finish shaping the grip at the router table. I prefer a 45° chamfer to a roundover because it eases the edges to create a comfortable handle but still gives control over the head’s orientation.
Tenon the handle. Set up a dado blade to make a 1⁄8" deep cut. Clamp a stop block to an auxiliary fence on the miter gauge to position the first two cuts 4" from the handle’s end. Then remove the block and make repeated cuts to extend the tenon to the end you measured from.
Create wedge slots. At the band saw, set up a fence to align the blade with one relief hole. Cut to the hole, then flip the handle edge-for-edge and repeat to make the second wedge slot.
Shape the handle. At the router table, clamp a stop block to the right of the bit. To start the cut, register the handle against the block then pivot the handle until it touches the fence. Feed from right to left. Chamfer all four edges of the grip portion of the handle.
Heads up
Cut the sides to size. Glue the core pieces to one side, centering them with the handle in between. After the glue tacks, remove the handle and glue on the other side. Then bevel both mallet faces at 5°, crosscutting the piece at the table saw. Create the wedges as shown, then slip the handle into the gap in the mallet head and tap the wedges into place simultaneously. Trim the top of the mallet, then chamfer the edges of the head at the router table before sanding and finishing the mallet. I used tung oil.
Glue up the head. Glue the two cores to one side, spacing them with the handle. Drive a couple brads in each piece to keep them aligned as you tighten the clamps.
Create the wedges. Set the band saw’s miter gauge to about 1° and trim the edge off a wide piece of 2" long milled stock. Flip the piece end-for end and repeat the cut to create the first wedge. Then flip again and cut a second wedge.
