I have a short piece of tropical hardwood slab, very heavy & dense, given to me by an elderly widow client. Decided to try making a carving mallet but realized I don’t know if there is a “proper” shape to a mallet head. i.e. taper angle, length-diameter ratio, apple shaped(I’ve seen ’em), or …… My stock will give me about 3″ dia. x 5″ long. Any suggestions??
Paul
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This site has some pictures and dimensions. A Google search for "carving mallet" will probably turn up others.
http://www.emir.co.uk/docs/Pages/HndTool2.htm
The thickness is about right for a mallet head, but not long enough for a handle which should have enough length -- maybe 10 inches -- to allow various hand positions according to the amount of impact needed and to permit the user to vary his grip. I prefer a round mallet for carving, although I don't do a lot of it, because I needn't consider the orientation of the mallet head. You could use your piece as a head only and add a handle to it, but I don't think you have enough material for a head and handle. I'd suggest looking at some woodworking catalogs or going to a shop to see what Crown and others offer in commercially made mallets. My own carving mallet -- head and handle -- is turned from a single piece of grapefruit wood which has very tight, hard grain.
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