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Plane an adjacent side at 90° to 3 the face side – use a try to check for squareness. Then, with a set to 63mm, score around the block. This will delineate the width of the . down to the score line. You will now have two sides parallel – repeat the marking and process for the other two sides, setting the marking gauge to 90mm and checking for squareness. Leave the PHOTOGRAPHS BY MICHAEL T COLLINS longer than required – we will adjust the length in a later stage.

Using a mortise gauge set to the 2 3 4width of your 25mm , draw a 50mm long mortise centred on the top of the head ...

... and a 38mm long mortise 5centred on the underside.

Extend the mortise lines to the 6 face side, then use a gauge to Making a join up the lines across the face sides – this will give you the required angle of the mortise. It will also give you an X-ray view of the internal angle of the Bench mallet mortise. Chopping the mortise 4 5 In Issue 6 we showed you how to make a green Using a and 25mm bit, woodworking mallet, now 7 a hole vertically halfway through Michael T Collins What you will need: the wood and then repeat from the gives us a refined design for cabinetmakers • other side. It’s important to try to drill • Ruler through the centre of the wood in t’s hard to imagine being a (Quercus virginiana), a very dense and • Mortise gauge order to meet the hole coming from Brace woodworker and not having a heavy wood. Another good source of • the other side. Use a try square to keep • Mallet good quality wooden mallet. In seasoned wood is old pallets. When the brace and bit vertical. Alternatively, I • Block plane fact, the wooden mallet is essential for selecting a wood for your mallet, make • plane drill horizontally and use the ring trick joinery, furniture making, for chopping sure you used a seasoned piece as this • Rip – this was discussed in detail in Issue mortises and ‘persuading’ joints will prevent the wood from splitting. • 4, ‘Bridle joints’. While it might seem together and apart. Wooden Let’s look at making a medium sized • 25mm firmer chisel like a good idea to drill the hole at the have been around for thousands of ’s mallet from a piece of hard • 25mm spiral bit required angle, it is difficult to control years. I have accumulated a selection , rescued from the wood pile. • Bevel gauge a spiral bit and you will run the risk of in my workshop – some purchased and The handle is made from a piece of • – optional missing the mark on exit. ➤ some homemade. straight grained . • 6 7 Making a mallet was traditionally an apprentice piece – incorporating Roughing out the billet Diagram 1 accurate layout, cutting angles, Split the wood out of a log or obtain Dashed red outline shows original mortises and shaping. 1a piece that is several centimetres sizes of head and handle Length of handle plus length of arm from wrist to elbow larger than the size you want. Wood selection Line of slope on face of head of mallet A mallet head can be made of pretty Layout and bring a block of much any tight grained and well- wood to final dimension 25 seasoned hard wood. A good source of The final dimensions of the head wood in upstate New York is firewood, 2 are 140 x 89 x 63mm and the 144 50 38 140 50 38 50 which is typically oak (Quercus spp.), handle will be approximately 368 x 25 black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia), x 50mm. Orientate the rough-hewn maple (Acer spp.) or hickory (Carya block of wood so that the end grain spp.). However, (Fagus spp.), runs perpendicular to the bench. Using 6 89 273 Elbow pivot point 63 dogwood (Cornus Florida) and apple a , bring one face flat, we’ll 368 (Malus sylvestris) can also be used. My call this the ‘face side’ or ‘cheek of the END ELEVATION SIDE ELEVATION Scale 1 to 5 Scale 1 to 5 MALLET CONSTRUCTION DETAILS carver’s mallet is made from live oak head’. 1

26 www.woodworkersinstitute.com Woodworking Crafts issue 08 27 Hand woodworking Hand woodworking

Once through, we can start to Finishing up the head 8chop out the waste. Chop in small Regardless of the method used Alternative construction method increments, working your way through 16to construct the head, the angle the waste; use the lines you drew on the of the striking face needs to be fine- outside to guide the chopping angle. tuned to fit you. Just like a saw, when it’s in use a mallet should be like an The bevel gauge, or a small block extension of your arm, pivoting at the 9 of wood cut at the same angle as elbow in such a way that the striking the mortise, will help to guide you. face impacts the chisel perpendicularly. Once one side is cleaned up, repeat the So we need to determine the slope chopping process from the other side. angle of the face. The easiest way to do 1 2 Again, use the block or bevel gauge to this without resorting to maths, is to guide the chisel. It is very tempting to place the mallet on the table and mark try to chop out too much wood. Resist a distance equal to the length of your the temptation and be patient. If the 8 9 arm – from elbow to wrist – plus the chisel gets jammed in the mortise it length of the handle. The slope angle is will be difficult to work free and you found by drawing a line from the head will run the risk of damaging the blade. of the mallet to where it intersects your elbow – see diagram 1. Using a crosscut With the bevel gauge set to the saw, remove the waste wood. 10same angle, check the mortise 3 4 for flatness. Be very careful not to Lastly, clean up all the surfaces hollow out the sloping sides – you 17and add a 5mm to Before we determine the angle to cut It is better to add some mechanical want the entire length of the mortise all edges, this will prevent the fibres the head of the mallet, let’s look at an device to hold the parts together. to be in contact with the handle. If from splitting. I hope this inspires you alternative construction method. Very hollowed out, constant pounding to check out the next wood pile or few big box stores carry 12/4 , Simple will prevent any on the mortise fibres at the top and abandoned stack of pallets you come so consider making the head out of 3lateral movement. Hold the sections four pieces of hard maple laminated bottom will begin to compress, across and find some really knurly, of the head together with a few clamps together. and then drill two 10mm holes either resulting in a very loose head. knotty wood to make yourself a couple side of the handle. There is no need to of wooden mallets. ■ 10 11 Cut and plane four pieces of wood to drill the holes all the way through but The handle 125mm thick as per the dimensions they do need to be long enough to span Prepare the wood to 25 x 50 x in diagram 2. Make the handle using the each glue joint. Use the ring method to 11368mm, this will provide 6mm same method described above then cut get holes perpendicular to the head. above the head, 89mm in the head and the two sloping parts to the same angle 273mm for the handle. With a , as the dovetailed section of the handle. Glue and the head together transfer the same angle used to chop 4with the handle in place and then the mortise to the handle, allowing for The parts at this stage could simply glue the dowels in place. Once the about 6mm protruding out the top. 2be glued and clamped together, dowels are seated, remove the handle however, while modern glue bonds are and clean off any glue on the handle Saw out the tapered section, strong, the amount of pounding that a and inside the socket. Allow the head to 12staying on the waste side of mallet undergoes may break the bond. dry. If you really want to get fancy, try using different coloured or dyed the marks. Then the handle 89 25 section. 89 maple. Plane the dowels flush.

25 Use a spokeshave to remove 45 13the saw marks on the tapered 16 51 Dowels inserted through all glue joints 41 but not right through final layer section and bring it down to the pencil 12 13 marks. 140 Roundover handle arrises The section between the taper 14and the end of the handle can 120 be shaped with the spokeshave – the simplest method is to chamfer the corners, making an elongated octagon. 89 Transparent sections removed to form angle on head Diagram 2 Putting a slight concavity in the handle will provide a better grip and prevent the mallet flying out of your hand. Michael T Collins Test fit the handle to the mallet British-born Michael has been working with wood off and on for 40 15– it should slide in with just a years. He moved to New York in 1996 and over the years, has made little resistance as it seats itself. Use the bespoke furniture, including clocks, work, Adams fireplaces, rasp to fine-tune the fit. Ease all the book cases and reproduction furniture. edges of the handle. www.sawdustandwoodchips.com @sawdustandwood 14 15 17 Web: Twitter:

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