Make a mallet with THREE simple tools 

Guys,(and Rex)...please DO NOT use your hands , palms especially, to pound things,( like a tool). You may end up like me with a complaint called Du Puytrons contracture.The damage to tendons grows a thickening which pulls hands / fingers over into a curve. I am 77 and have had corrective surgery 5 times for this problem, have not been able to "clap with flat hands" for 20 years. Use mallets and hammers. I always say , use the correct tool for the job. The body will last longer , folks. PS. This disease is common to North European heritage I'm told.

Dude, I'm from Brazil and we're having to rebuild our roof... And, well, we do it very differently than what is done in the US... So we use 2 by 4s a lot and smaller sizes to hold the ceramic tiles... Anyway, the wood got here the other day and it's ALL Garapeira... It's not the hardest Brazilian wood, but it's pretty hard... And all you need is to sand it up to 120 grit and use some steel wool and it becomes glass... It's beautiful! Anyway, lots of pieces are going to be left, so... I guess I'm going to make a new mallet! 😬

Thank you for making a series for normal people. When I see a video of someone using a $2,000 table saw, $500 planer, $700 joiner, $1,200 track saws.... its disheartening. I can't focus on the project at hand because I feel like they're showcasing their tool collections and sponsors so the project is only incidental. Seeing common tools and skill used to make a 7/10 project is ever more appealing to me than seeing a tool catalog used to make a 10/10 project. And for what it's worth, your common sense and frank atittude really make the channel worth watching.

I am 71 years old and I have my grandfathers bit brace drill and his hatchet among other tools that were handed down to me from my dad so you can imagine how old they are. I love to work in wood and you have inspired me to make my own mallet using those old tools. Thanks from a new subscriber.

You and Paul Sellers are my two favorite woodworking channels on RU-vid. Keep being awesome and I'll keep watching! Your videos are keeping me sane during the quarantine.

If the log is heavier than your axe head, once the axe got stuck in the wood, split it by rotating your axe handle so the axe will hit first and the weight of the wood falling on the sharp edge of the axe will do the splitting.

I like this tutorial because there was a time in this great land where those were probably the only tools a person would have had to make any kind of furniture. It looks great and has all of the beauty of a truly hand made piece of furniture. Power tools are great but mastering hand tools is a true art. Thanks for sharing this.

That hidden wedge is brilliant. I've been looking for an entry-level mallet. I think this is it.

Quick tip. When splitting a hunk of wood that is heavier than your axe, once you get it started flip it over so the weight of the wood is working for you.

I love the bit brace, mine is from my grandfather, and it still works great after like 60 years of hard use.

Thanks for taking an approach that isn't pretentious. I love that.

That internal wedge is brilliant. Mind. Blown. Nicely done, sir.

You've got my like from Spain

Rex, I’ve been subscribed for a couple months now and I can’t explain how thankful I am for this kind of information. Building things (dare I say woodworking) is a new hobby that stemmed from DIY around the home type stuff when we bought our house. I’ve never been handy, bless my father’s heart but he never taught me how to build or fix anything growing up, and I entered adulthood with a drill and circ saw that was handed down that I didn’t know how to really use. What I’m trying to say is, I really want to build some more stuff, but seeing these channels with their $1,000 festool tools, planers, table saws etc makes it feel unachievable for a 30 year old, married father of 2. You make it achievable. Thanks.

"Woodworking For Humans" is perfect. Thank you for not getting sponsored, it would ruin the feel of your work imo. Your videos are the best in every way please just keep going in this same grove. I am a top Patreon member now and your site is the only one. I have a very large shop. I live in a 100+ year old church building out in the country. The former sanctuary is my shop with tons of free natural lighting, we converted the lower level into our living space, it is an earth contact building facing East. I am a retired fine furniture maker as well. it's a dream come true and very humbling. You the best Rex, the others should take note.

I made one of these mallets this weekend and it came out great. I used a common 4x4 for the head and a maple branch for the handle just because it's what I had handy but I'm not too worried about the longevity because I only have a few drops of glue invested in it 😂

The wedge holding the handle in is a very good idea! I wouldn't have thought of that. I'm gonna make a mallet similar to yours, but I have a hickory, store-bought handle. I'm gonna use this technique, thank you!

I am teenager and I've always wanted to get into wood working, this video is gonna help me make my 1st real build by myself Thanks

Bricks also make very good files/rasps for woodworking. Good stuff

This is series is such a great idea! I'm just starting out woodworking and don't have many tools & not a lot of space for tools anyway so this is perfect- Thank you!

As a very new woodworker, there are so many makers to watch for learning. Most teach at a level I dont feel I can attain. Your videos are detailed enough that I learn and simple enough that I feel I can actually do. Love it. Thanks!!

I watched these when they came out, but accidentally just started the series again. I'm halfway through reading Aldren Watson's Country Furniture, and these fit really nicely with that!

Simply BRILLIANT.

You're going up the tech tree. Eventually, you'll end up making a bandsaw Matthias Wandel style.

Nice job/ nice orientation for future projects = extremely satisfying to watch

Just a little note here, when I was a kid in England and we had fireplaces in our homes, my neighbours would chop wood and when they had to split a heavy log like the one you had, they would start the axe into the top of the the log, turn the whole thing upside down and bring it down on the chopping block. The weight of the log would drive down onto the axe head and split easily. You might want to try this. I do this myself.

This video was great, thank you! I really like the idea you're going with for this series.

Woodwork For Humans!! Awesome! I started with Woodworking for Mere Mortals. I sense a theme in my video choice...

They ARE putrid smelling! LOL I enjoyed this video and the simplicity of this build.👍🏼

Yes Cleveland. My favorite city in the world

Rex Krueger + Steve Ramsey = profit

Nice mallet!

Great series keep them coming

Hmmm, I have way more than 3 tools ... guess I really need to make that mallet I keep telling myself that I need. Thanks for taking away the last of my excuses LOL Great Mallet - Elm has got to be one of the toughest woods out there, at first I didn't think that you were going to be able to split it with just a hatchet and a block of scrap wood to drive it. Kudos!

Rex, thanx for the hidden wedge idea...

Using tie-down straps to hold work in place is a good idea. I have the straps, but I never thought of using them for that.

This was AMAZING. It's a stupid mallet... but I've learned so much. That's lesson about the joint it'self was a beauty. Please do more of these. Loved it.

so you used AND the block on the floor! this makes 4 tools :)

I drilled all the way through mine and handled it like a tomahawk. My handle was a branch which is already tapered.

You look like an older brother of Jerry Rig Everything :D

for Halloween video you should grow beard, wear messy wig, and change into a rag! I'll be making (or trying to) a wood mallet soon, was going to use the middle part of the wood but your pith tip changed my mind, so I'll be splitting it in half instead. In fact, another log I used (thankfully for a failed project) was starting to crack after a couple of days. Thanks much,

The term hard and softwood refers to the cell structure of the timber and not to the hardness or softness of the wood?

Sweetness man. love the simple builds.

Thumbs-up right at the intro. I love working with wood and I'm lucky to have quite a few tools (extremely cheap ones, that is), but I find myself more and more interested into getting to the final piece using what I have instead of getting new tools. I appreciate when people show that everybody can get stuff done with little resources. It's even more rewarding!

These three-tools builds are a really nice bit of back-to-basics kind of woodworking, I could easily see benches and mallets like this having been made in pretty much the same way from as far back as medieval times.

Rex Krueger looks and sounds like Lex Luthor. I often wonder if the is Lex Luthor's wood working channel.

Bravo!

Besides 20 years of residential cobbentry I am a history nut and I always thought about the tools that were used by Jesus's Dad, and the Vikings among others. Their knowledge and skill was not in just making there products. It had to start with how they made the tools they used to create their technology. I instantly subscribed after watching your plane tuning video. I learned so much. Keeping in mind that on most crews I worked with I was the only guy who kept a sharp set of chisels and a hand plane in his tool box. I grew up in a town with 300 year old houses Which in America meant they were built by common ordinary farmers who's other responsibilities included growing enough food to keep everyone from starving to death, and not being killed by the former residents who had major objections to your arrival, And yet people are sill living in the houses they built. Your videos connect me with that

Since building this mallet, have you had any problems arise from the fact you used partially green wood for the mallet head? Any splitting?

shoulda tried to split it upside down onto the hatchet after you had it set. the weight of the wood is much more than the hatchet

everyone else is living in a rockler showroom, this man is living in minecraft

Rex, you are awesome! Great job on the project, and I really like the "accumulative" affect of building tools; start w/3, build the sandpaper stick, build the mallet, add a chisel or two, and you've got the capacity for even more detailed work. Well done!

A lesser man would have bouhgt one for 5-10 bucks

Love the hidden wedge.

Hey Rex, I love your videos. I know this is old news now, but using the same techniques, but a different orientation, I'd love to see you make a "Carver's Mallet" in pretty much the same manner. Now making it I'm sure will be a doddle, but shape choice and wood choice could be an interesting discussion. Cheers.

This series is exactly what I am looking for thanks for the info and video series Rex.

I watched your video on turning green wood and found the portion about drying very interesting.I had some pecan that I was going to make a mallet head with but it was starting to split pretty bad from sitting out too long and drying. How do I avoid my mallet head from cracking of I start with something green?

Next time try put hachet in wood and take it in air 180, hit hachet in your split stamp. Weight of your work pice is enoght to split self on axe head.

We just cut down a dead Aspen in our yard. Could I use that to make the mallet?

Now...just technically... you did use more than 3 tools to make this when you used the strap, saw, axe, glue, and sandpaper...right??? Lol just kidding; I'm totally subscribing now man, and in my opinion you should accept offers for sponsorship because you deserve it honestly. If that helps you keep making good videos regularly then go for it.

That wood is harder then woodpecker lips , nice job! Thanks

Thank you so much Rex! I've tried and failed at woodworking a few times in the past (granted I didn't do any research. just kind of winged it). Your beginner information is fantastic and the motivation I needed to give woodworking another shot!

pallets can be a good source of hardwood. they can also be complete garbage

It never clicked with me until now where the term "green" came from, when describing someone who's new to something.

Woodsmen and bushcrafters call the striking of a blade with a stick "batoning". Its very common because to start a campfire, you need dry wood, and the skin of a branch will typically have more moisture in it. Find standing deadwood, cut a section of branch, and then baton it until you have a dry section from the heart of the branch to make tinder.

In the nicest possible way, you're gonna attract archeologists to this series. You are highlighting a very basic, how and why of sticking bits of wood together. You could have called it 'wittling for big boys/girls'. Anyway, I'm fascinated, Rex, keep it coming!

Have you considered remaking your three tool bench video without the bench vise?

Very nicely done (I'd avoid epoxy on my fingers, thou - in the supermarket, you can often get a free thin plastic-glove where the pastries are located - just remember to purchaes something to fill your stomach too). ... Rex, I finally found your email-address and have sent you a file by email (please check your spam-folder, it's likely there). Look for subjects "Guessing game" and "Updated files: Chamfered edges" and you should find them. This is very relevant to this simple tool video. In its simplest form, you might be able to build it even if you have only a way of making 6 ... 10mm holes. In the most advanced form, you'll probably want for a saw, plane, drill, and two drill-bits (perhaps even a lathe if going fancy).

Elm is usually considered a fairly difficult wood to split, but that's good for a mallet. That's also why it was traditionally used for chair seats in England. Sadly it's getting rarer all the time.

Genuinely love watching Rex's videos. He has such a fantastic outlook and attitude. You can tell he is very passionate about woodworking! Love it.

I wanna make a mini one

I really like your videos. They have provided me with lots of information. Here's a tip I recently learned for when you are splitting a log with a small axe. Firmly set the axe with your "mallet". With the axe still set, invert the whole affair and swing/ drop the log and hatchet onto your block together as if you were driving a nail on the block with the flat face of the axe. The axe strikes first, stops against the block, then the weight and momentum of the log drives itself onto the axe working the split.

Subbed!!!

Thanks a lot. I burn wood for heat and now I can no longer chuck a piece of wood in the fireplace without feeling I just burned a perfectly good mallet head.😉

Firewood around here seems to all be pine wood. Where can I get a piece of hardwood big enough to make a mallet?

rex: "I'll call it "woodwork for humans"" me: wait a second, that sounds very familiar, ah yes WWFMM (woodworking for mere mortals aka Steve ramsey)

I work in a full-service mill shop. We have a lot of scrap wood for sale and laying around. If we expect to get business from someone, we'll either give it to you or charge a minimal price. To us, a lot of this stuff is trash. Find a shop around you like ours. Ask around about a mill shop; where you can get custom trim & mouldings made; where builders go when they need jambs, baseboard, and casing that ain't big-box trash. (No offense to big boxes -- I agree that Wal-Mart is the best thing to happen to poor Americans since the New Deal.) Then see what's available, and haggle a bit. Don't be a jerk about it. Civility goes a long way. (I worked for local government for a decade. I had to go to Social Security for something and mentioned the hassle I always get. The woman replied that "If they want a hard time, we give them a hard time." Don't waste their time with chit-chat, but don't be a jerk.) One time I picked up a cant that felt too heavy for its size. I jointed it on two sides. I had a 3"x3"x4' piece of teak waiting to be used. I gave it to a friend of the family. You never know what's laying around until you start exploring. I doubt you'll find any _lignum vitae,_ but beyond that, all bets are off. But please, for the love of Pete, be sure to act like they're doing you a favor -- because they are.

Just discovered your channel. Loving it!

Gonna try my best at making one of these, maybe I'm gonna make some money of crappy, even fire-, wood I Have laying around!

I live to the west the center of the North American continent, sadly we don’t have a selection of anything other than construction grade lumber and way over priced factory wrapped hardwood planks... I’m in the middle of the Great Plains Grasslands, aka, the prairie. But I appreciate your videos none the less, and will be building your jointers bench soon!

should make 3 total with each one getting 1/3 smaller

@Rex Krueger, you mention in this video that the tennon + wedge will absorb water from the wet mallet head. You indicate this is a good thing, as the handle will set even tighter as the wood dries. What should I expect if both my handle and my billet are dry from the start? I don’t have any wet wood and I don’t want the head of my mallet to go flying during use. That would be VERY bad! Your thoughts?

Not bad bud. Similar to what my momma said. “He ain’t gotta be pretty. He’s gotta work and not get broke.”

What I hate is hidden twists in the grain so when you’ve got your project half hacked out with all that work, THEN you realize it! I was trying to make Medieval pattens out of oak. I think I will try a softwood next time.

13:01 is the most metal thing I've ever seen. Dude chops off half of your body, turns it into a mallet, then turns around and uses it finish hacking you up.

I ❤ this rustic tool, I have been thinking about making one of these, but can’t find the wood, I will try my local county park, thanks for inspiring me brother 🌞

This is perfect for me. I'm really keen to get into woodworking and turning, but right now I don't have the room to set up a workshop. Also equipping a workshop and obtaining tools is expensive (I love the videos on how to start finding tools cheap too!). This is a great video that will let me pick up a few pieces of wood and a few specific tools, and start creating.

My mallet head is still drying apparently, and cracks are developing across the striking surfaces. Should I be concerned, or is there something I can do?

Wow what a great video. Genius idea with the wedge!

Three simple tools: a cup of coffee, a couch and a MalletMatic-300 (patent pending) :D

Awesome video! I live in an old town with older trees falling down all the time in my neighbors yards. They cut up the fallen trees and leave the remnants by the curb for any takers. I agree with one of the previous comments...to split the wood that's larger that the wood piece start the split and turn wood and ax upside down together and let the weigh do the rest.

At last, a beginner's woodworking channel where you're not expected to have a lathe, drill press, 15,000 clamps and a mitre saw in your non-existent custom-made shop! Right, enough of this RU-vid malarkey, I'm off to my shed to build that bench.

Man i wish i had access to hardwood. The only hardwoods here in washington are white oak, (which i cant find any except some lining some neighborhood roads lol) some fruitwoods, and bigleaf maple.

It's probably obvious, and maybe you mentioned it and I missed it: The faces of the mallet should be slightly angled compared to the axis of the handle. When you hit e.g. a chisel with the mallet, the head travels in an arc, the goal is to have the face of the mallet's head hit the chisel flat. The correct angle depends on the point you grip the handle at. For a heavy-duty chisel with a longer handle, the angle will be very shallow, while a light duty chisel you might hold close to the head, the angle will be more pronounced.

I do the same thing with my firewood. There is specie of tree where I'm from that they cut into 5' lengths and they split it for fence posts. It also burns hot and for a long time. But it's getting harder and harder to get. To many dam people moving here. They move here to forget there problems but they bring them with. I guess it's just human nature.

That detail at the top of the handle might not be intentional. If you rotate a square/rectangular piece of wood against a drum sander at a 45 degree angle, that half moon detail is the result of I suspect it’s a beneficial relic of the manufacturing process than a planned detail. I recently made a mallet from mahogany scraps from my deck and rounding the handle on the round end of my belt sander had the same result. But it is a convenient detail to have.

Splitting the log in the beginning? Get the hatchet to stick in, flip the lot, and tap it against the floor or your bashing block. the weight of your wood block will force itself down the hatchet super easy.

Awesome series! I like the near-neanderthal approach!

Pre-Mjölnir. A gentler, softer, more easy going hammer, for the mortal who like to put a piece of wood in its place😎. No flight capabilities🤔.

my mum's husband has a friend your age, exact same face, exact same mimics, same eye color, different job