What are the best mallets for driving a mortising chisel?
The wooden ones that I make don't last.

Thane

I made my own hardwood head mallet some 8 or 9 years ago. And it's still going strong, though I don't use it every day. But I have used it every job since I made it....

I have just a 4"x4"x5" piece of red oak and a 1" dowel for a handle..because nine years ago, I didn't want to spend $46 for a carvers mallet at the tool store....you know the one with the round plastic head.....

What are you using that isn't lasting long?

Jim Rogers

The absolute best mallet is a #3 Garland split head hammer with rawhide faces. Indestructable. and if your dog chews the faces, they are replaceable.

http://www.garlandmfg.com/mallets/split.html

I'll second Gabel's rawhide mallet. They are a lot easier on chisel handles as well.

kfhines

We sure love these Urethane Mallets

Clark, have you tried a garland?

Garland is a fine old Maine company, still in the same family as the founders. They make all sorts of bizarre striking instruments from a variety of space age and Flintstone-era materials.

Get a shop tour if you can - in the room where they soak the bundles of water-buffalo hides to make those mallet faces timbeframers favor there is a giant waterbuffalo head on the wall, overseeing the operation, and wearing a New England Patriots cap.

Yes, we have one around here, in the box of miscellaneous mallets we bring out for classes. It's probably the best choice amongst the "hammer-shaped" mallets. One minor concern with those is that you have one more piece of metal laying around on top of the timber to accidentally nick your chisel on. I suppose a lot of it comes down to what you've gotten used to. I tell my students that it's really not that important - as long as it feels comfortable in their hands. CB.

[img][IMG]http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r177/Edgeworks/Mallets.jpg[/img][/img]
I make my wood mallets from Dogwood. It's sometimes hard to find a large enough piece to be free of heart so use a root or crotch if you can,Dogwood has interlocking grain so even with the checks it holds up well. It also turns very nice on the lathe. The large mallet held up better for peg driving than my Garland (thats why it has new faces on it). I use the Urethane mallet the most because my wrist feels better at the end of the day. If I really have to move a lot of wood, nothing beats the Garland.

I use a blocky Japanese mallet. I have a Garland around here somewhere, but haven't tried it yet. The Japanese mallet is lighter than the Garland. Heavier might be a little better.