Perfect Carving Mallet by James D. Thompson

I like to soften the blows from my carving mallet on my carving tools. That is the reason why, after a whole bunch of experimenting, I came up with the plastic pipe cover for my carving mallet. I am aware that mallets are sold with a plastic cover, but these are in the $30 range, and of course they don't look like a Galoot made tool. :>)

The plastic pipe cover on my 5 year old mallet shows quite a bit of deformation from striking the ends of my carving tools. But the carving tools themselves show no deformation at all.

The small amount of shock absorption in the plastic has no noticeable effect on the cutting action of the gouges. It just protects the struck end.

Here is how I make what I consider to be the Perfect Carving Mallet.

First select a piece of wood and turn it to rough shape. Here I am using a piece of eucalyptus.  Make the head of the mallet about 2 1/2” long, and size the diameter to about .010” larger than the inside diameter of the 2” ABS pipe you will use for a cover. This is so you can heat the pipe and get a good shrink fit on the head after it is slipped on.

ABS is the black plastic pipe used for drain pipe.

I leave the pipe intact until it has been heated and slipped onto the mallet head. This is so I don’t burn my fingers on the hot pipe. You can use any convenient method to heat the pipe, including a soak in boiling water.

After the pipe has cooled I cut it off with a hacksaw. 

Now the whole thing goes back into the lathe. Notice that it doesn’t matter what the condition of the pipe is. It will be turned to clean up. I do clean the inside of the pipe before I slip it on.

Please notice that I have marked the wood so I can always put it back in the lathe in the same position. There is a small spot of paint on the spur which I align the mark to.

Before I put the wood into the lathe the first time, I drive the spur into the end for a good fit. These steps allow me to remove and replace a piece in the lathe over and over again to do intermediate steps, and I can always put the piece back in exactly as it came out.

The pipe cuts well with ordinary turning tools. I clean up the outside diameter and round over the edges now. 

Now I put on the finishing touches. Make sure the handle is in a shape that is comfortable to hold.

Using whatever method you have available, bore a 1” diameter hole about 1 1/2” to 2” deep into the head. 

I pour molten lead into the hole, leaving about a half inch for a plug. The lead gives a little more heft to the mallet, but it is not absolutely necessary to put lead in the end.  I have actually made several of these mallets, and one has no lead, and others have more lead. This gives me a variety of weights to use as I feel necessary.

I turn a plug from the same wood and glue it in. I like the end of the mallet to be flat so it will stand on end when not in use.

This way it doesn’t roll off the table.

Here is the finished mallet. If you look into my “Carving Corner” you will see that I have done a lot of experimenting making mallets. After making all those mallets, I finally settled on this one as the “Perfect Mallet.” At least it is perfect for me. The plastic pipe cover is just soft enough that it doesn’t harm my carving tools, and the cover itself is just tough enough to resist damage.

While you could hold the mallet by the handle and swing it like a hammer,  I have learned that most of the time this is the correct way to hold a mallet while carving. You only use your wrist to tap the carving tool.

PS

I am somewhat fanatical about my carving tools. I have put a vast amount of time and effort into making my carving tool handles, and I sure don't want them messed up.

I also have 2 larger mallets in the traditional style, made of rosewood, which I put a leather cover on. This seems to lessen the damage done to my bench chisels. After a lot of use I have to replace the leather covering, but I don't mind doing that.

One thing is for certain though, I do not like metal mallets. They do damage your handles.

USING WHITE PVC FOR SLEEVE

I have received a lot of email asking whether white PVC pipe is suitable for use in making my “Perfect Handle Mallet.”

The answer is a qualified “yes.” White PVC pipe works almost exactly the same as the black ABS pipe does. And it looks pretty good, when it is new. But the white plastic pipe is a magnet for dust and other grime, and starts to look bad very quickly.

Here is a picture of a new mallet with a white PVC cover. I do not care for it because it gets dirty so quickly, but your mileage may vary. :>)

© James Thompson
Email:  James D. Thompson
Web Site:  http://www.oldtoolsshop.com/Galoots/jThompson/

November, 2005