I'm tackling my first wooden mallet project and I'm curious about the best type of wood to use. Is it a good idea to craft the whole mallet from a single block of wood that's 10"x20"x28"? I have some experience with woodworking—I've made a few tables and shelves and done some trim carpentry—but I'm not sure if this is too ambitious for a beginner.
3 Answers
For building a mallet, laminating pieces together is usually the easiest way. It allows you to cut the handle hole more easily. You can always rip the big block in half and glue it back together. As for wood, any dense hardwood will do. Ash is a top favorite since it's strong and often used for baseball bats!
I recently made a couple of mallets, and they turned out great! I used ash for one and hedge for the other. I formed the heads from thick branches that dried slowly, and they were pretty short which minimized cracking. You could probably make a mallet from one thick board, but I suspect the grain might not handle stress well; using separate pieces for the head and handle seems like a safer bet.
That block of wood is pretty huge! Are you planning to carve the mallet from one solid piece? If that's the case, you might want to scale down those dimensions a bit; 28" sounds more like a wooden sledgehammer! Two separate pieces would work better for stability. Using a wedged tenon to hold the handle together could be a solid choice.