One of my favorite English tools is the traditional infill joiner’s mallet. It has a brass head that is “infilled” with a dense wood and equipped with a nice chamfered handle.
These mallets were made in a variety of sizes and use for everything from driving chisels and carving tools to heavy-duty assembly chores. They have all the punch of a deadblow mallet without looking like a plastic clown hammer.
The bad news is that these joiner’s mallets are difficult to find in North America – I bought mine from English tool dealers. And when you do find them, they are pricey – too pricey for a working tool.
But now Glen D. Huey of the WoodworkersEdge.com has resurrected this awesome tool after years of making and testing prototypes. I’ve been testing one of those prototypes for more than a month now, and I can report that it is fantastic.
The head is 16 oz. of brass that is milled out of a solid billet (by a U.S. company, by the way). It’s a complex shape with some important details. The brass shell has a coffin shape, and this curve lets you drive tools with some delicacy. See Glen’s video that shows this in action here.
The ends of the mallet head are properly angled to match the angles on the striking surface. These angles ensure your mallet blows will be properly directed straight down when you hit the head of a tool.
The infilled wood on these mallets is quartersawn white oak, a tough wood and a very American touch. The corners of the infill are chamfered to prevent the infill from splintering when you strike a glancing blow.
The 11-3/4”-long handle on the Woodworkers Edge mallet is actually nicer than the ones on the originals. Huey gave the handle a nice silhouette and added stop-chamfers so the corners don’t bite into your hand. The handle is available in maple, cherry, walnut or a custom wood for a slight upcharge.
In other words, he got all the details right.
Though Glen is known mainly as a custom furniture-maker, author and teacher, he has long been interested in making tools such as this mallet and (I hope someday) a nice folding rule.
In the interests of full disclosure: I’ve known Glen for a long time and worked with him for many years at Popular Woodworking Magazine. I also think the world of his work, and I know you will too once you see this mallet and put it to use. Glen loaned me this prototype to test, but he ain’t getting it back. Instead, I’m sending him a check.
The mallets are available for $185 for one of the stock woods from Glen’s store. Click here to check them out. Highly, highly recommended.
— Christopher Schwarz
Looks cool. But what abut the obvious grain run-out on the handle? Handles on striking tools should have continuous grain from end to end. Just a little thing, but it will be a big thing when the handle snaps.
Robert,
I should have mentioned that my handle isn’t a production piece. It’s a shade longer and has a little grain run-out at the tip. My bad.
The mallets shown on Glen’s site are straight-grained. As someone who has built a lot of Shaker tripod tables, Glen is intimately aware of the problems of short grain.
So don’t let the photo of my mallet concern anyone.
Chris:
You are correct. Those handles on his site look really good. Maybe he gave you that one because he’s got it in for you?
Maybe I’m not seeing the handle properly, but it looks like the grain is continuous to me. I do see curly maple figure down the handle which makes it look like there’s cross grain. The second picture makes the continuous grain more apparent, along with the curly figure, although it doesn’t show the whole handle to confirm the matter. Just an observation.
I’m holding a (lovely) walnut-handled GDHuey mallet in my hand…well, I was, until I started to type. Dead-straight grain on mine.
And that, folks, is a drive-by gloat disguised as a “public service announcement.”
Ya know, the problem with having known you lo these many years is that you’re on to all my tricks.
How does it compare to the LV version of the cabinet makers hammer
– the one with round inserts?
Michael,
Both are good mallets and work on the same principles. The difference is aesthetics and the scale of manufacturing.
Chris
It’s on the list, I just bought a nice plane, so after much Raman and plain rice, I may be able to pony up.
I’ve fallen in love with this mallet: http://www.blumtool.com/pages/mallets.htm
look at the handle right under the head. It is _very_ comfortable to hold at the head for light controlled taps. Of course it packs a wallop when used full force, too. I’ve grown accustomed to having only one mallet on the bench while working.
From all the hard angles in the pics, I’m thinking this guy might be a tad uncomfortable to hold near the head.
As I live I learn.
Ehy, it is really cheap for a hammer redy to use out of the box!