Detail Mallet

I had previously made two mallets with longer handles but decided to make a smaller mallet for more precise chiseling that has better control. I took inspiration from BlackTail Studio's and Proton Woodworking's small woodworking mallets that both had copper accents.

This mallet is made from White Oak and Wenge. I used White Oak for the handle and inner layer of the head, and Wenge for the outer pieces. The high density of both wood species provided a nice weight for the head and durable surface to hammer with. I created a CAD drawing of the handle and laser cut a template from 1/8" pressboard. I used this template to route the handle to final dimensions after rough cutting. I then traced the handle onto the piece of White Oak I was using for the head and again used a bandsaw and chisel to clear out material. Using a table router, I added a 5/16" round over.

For the accents, I cut pieces of an old copper pipe I inlaid into the head and the handle.

The copper pipe in the handle also reinforces a mounting hole to hang the mallet or to attach a lanyard in the future. On the head, I cut Wenge plugs for the copper pipe and tried to match the grain direction as much as possible. The copper pipe and plugs were epoxied in place and filed smooth. They serve no functional purpose and are purely for aesthetic reasons. I also added a 45° bevel on all edges of the mallet head. The mallet was sanded to 120 grit and the copper pipe to 320 grit. It was finished with one coat of Tried and True.