At a glance
Finished dimensions
Overall sizes
- Head
- 5-1/2 in long at the top, 4-7/8 in at the bottom, 3-1/2 in high, 2-3/4 in thick
- Handle
- 13 in long, 1 in thick; 1-1/2 to 1-3/8 in wide through the head, 1-5/16 in below it
- Estimated weight
- About 18 oz for a sugar maple head; about 25 oz with a white ash handle
Materials
| Item | Quantity | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Hard maple | Two pieces 7/8 × 3-1/2 × 6 in and one 1 × 3-1/2 × 6 in | Head layers; straight-grained and dry |
| Ash or another tough hardwood | 1 × 1-5/8 × 14 in | Handle |
| Wood glue | — | Head laminations only; the handle is not glued |
Cut list
| Part | Qty | Dimensions | Material |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outer head layer | 2 | 7/8 × 3-1/2 × 5-1/2 in, faces trimmed to 5° after glue-up | Hard maple |
| Middle head block | 2 | 1 × 3-1/2 in; 2 in long at the top, 1-3/4 in at the bottom | Hard maple |
| Handle | 1 | 1 × 1-1/2 × 13 in, tapered as drawn | Ash |
Tools
- Saw
- Hand plane or jointer and planer
- Bevel gauge
- Clamps
- Rasp, file and abrasive
The design
- Angled faces. Swung from the elbow, a mallet's head travels in an arc, so square faces strike on one edge. Mallet makers angle the faces so the whole face meets the chisel, as Popular Woodworking's review of Blue Spruce's mallets describes. Here each face leans 5°, so the head is 5-1/2 in long at the top and 4-7/8 in at the bottom; the two face planes would meet about 31 in below the head's top, roughly at a user's elbow. The angle is a design choice; adjust it to your swing.
- A handle that tightens. The mortise through the head tapers from 1-1/2 in wide at the top to 1-3/8 in at the bottom, and the handle tapers to match. The handle goes in from the top; each blow flings the head outward, up the handle, onto a wider section, so it tightens rather than loosens. The handle is not glued, so it can be replaced.
- Laminated head. The head is three layers: two 7/8 in outer layers and a 1 in middle layer made of two blocks. The gap between the blocks is the mortise, so it is shaped by sawing and planing, not chopped.
| Part | Volume | Wood, specific gravity at 12% MC | Estimated weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Head, less the mortise | About 45 in³ | Sugar maple, 0.63 | About 18 oz |
| Handle | About 17.5 in³ | White ash, 0.60 | About 7 oz |
| Whole mallet | — | — | About 25 oz |
Density = specific gravity × (1 + 0.12) × the density of water. A real board can differ widely from the average; the wood weight calculator works the same sum for other woods.
For comparison, Blue Spruce makes joiner's mallets in 14–16 oz and 22–24 oz sizes; a lighter wood, or a smaller head, makes a lighter mallet. Woodworking mallets explains what weight changes, and the wood weight calculator estimates other woods.
Building it
Handle, head and fitting
Make the handle first
Plane the handle blank to 1 in thick. Mark the top 3-1/2 in tapering from 1-1/2 in wide at the end to 1-3/8 in, and the rest 1-5/16 in wide; saw and plane to the lines. Round the grip below the head.
Make the middle blocks
Cut two blocks from the 1 in maple, 3-1/2 in high, each 2 in long at the top and 1-3/4 in at the bottom, with their inner edges leaning so the gap between them tapers from 1-1/2 to 1-3/8 in.
Glue the head
Wrap the handle's top in packing tape so glue cannot stick to it. Glue the two blocks to one outer layer with the taped handle between them as a spacer, then glue the second outer layer on and clamp. When the glue has set, tap the handle out.
Angle the faces
Mark each end of the head 5° from square, so the head is 5-1/2 in long at the top and 4-7/8 in at the bottom, and saw and plane to the lines. Chamfer every edge of the head.
Fit the handle
Slide the handle's grip end down through the head from the top until the taper seats. Trim the handle's top flush or leave it slightly proud, and finish as you like.
Safety— A mallet is a struck tool
OSHA's tool booklet names loose or splintered handles as a hazard: seat the handle before use; if the head loosens, hold the head and tap the handle's top end down through it, which moves the head onto the wider part of the taper; replace the handle if it cracks. Use the mallet on chisels made to be struck. See woodworking safety rules.
Before the first blow
- Head glue fully set
- Faces at the same angle, 5-1/2 in at the top
- Handle seated tight on its taper
- Edges chamfered, no splinters
- Handle sound, with no cracks
Chisels and how to strike them are in using a chisel; the mallet belongs to the shop projects family.
Sources
A BenchRoot design; the 5° faces, the 1/8 in handle taper and every size are design choices. The weight is an estimate from the Wood Handbook's average specific gravities at 12% moisture content; a real board differs, sometimes widely. The mallet was drawn and checked but not built or tested for this page.
- 1.
Christopher Schwarz. Blue Spruce Joiner’s Mallets. Popular Woodworking.
Used for: Striking faces angled so the full face meets the tool and the work.
- 2.
Rectangular Mallet. Blue Spruce Toolworks.
Used for: One maker's joiner's mallets at 14–16 oz and 22–24 oz, with uses for each size.
- 3.
Chapter 5: Mechanical Properties of Wood. USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory — Wood Handbook, FPL-GTR-282, 2021.
Used for: Specific gravity at 12% moisture content, based on volume at that moisture content: 0.63 for sugar maple and 0.60 for white ash (Table 5-3a).
- 4.
Chapter 4: Moisture Relations and Physical Properties of Wood. USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory — Wood Handbook, FPL-GTR-282, 2021.
Used for: Density at a moisture content found from specific gravity at that moisture content and the weight of water it holds.
- 5.
Hand and Power Tools (OSHA 3080). Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 2002.
Used for: Loose or splintered handles and mushroomed heads on struck tools as hazards; tools kept in good condition.
About this project
Written by BenchRoot Editorial. How BenchRoot sources, checks and corrects its pages is set out in the Editorial Policy. If something here is wrong or unclear, the contact page explains how to tell us.