Carver’s mallet

[Philip Davies]

Can anybody tell me what this is? I thought that it might be a follower, for regulating the size of tubes, lead probably, but perhaps
it’s an organ-builder’s. The diameter is 2 & 1/2” . There are 3 steel pin, which if they protruded could be used, perhaps, for crotcheting.

As it’s so heavy, I believe it to be lignum vitae. There are 11 rings. The pins seem to go through, I found out when I tapped one down That will make a good mallet, I thought.


The handle is the spindle from a rustic dining chair. I don’t know what wood, I call it Bananawood ,from the Far East evidently.
The 1/2” hole through the head is too narrow to put a conventional handle through, so I bored out the handle to about 2” depth, got a bit of plumber’s bending spring, and epoxied it together with a bamboo knitting needle through the middle. So that forms the core. All salvaged stuff.

[DIYer]

Thanks Philip Davies! We've added your Carver's Mallet to our Hammers category,
as well as to your builder page: Philip Davies's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

Carver's Mallet by Philip Davies

tags: mallet

[Moby Duck]

The crisscross pattern visible on the flat end and sides of the last ring in photo 2 tells me it’s not Lignum Vitae and is more likely to be some form of composite like Paxoline or Canvas Micarta. The pattern is from the weave of the fabric which has been resin soaked and bonded under pressure. (Or it’s pixelation added by the camera and I am totally wrong ). I would expect a more consistent colour if it had been cut from one sheet, but sheet colours do vary and perhaps someone has used scrap with colour variants to build this. Wood or composite, you have made a nice little carving mallet from it.

[Philip Davies]

Thanks, I shall take a closer look.