[Alice in Wonderland]

Just plain "WOHHH
Mark

[slather]

Mark , that is absolutely amazing work , thanks for taking the time to post pics. and detail all your work for us ,. It is greatly apprecaited. I too am interested in details of you mallet when you get time.
Thanks again ,Al

[mark yundt]

O.K.,,I'm a knucklehead,,didn't answer the question from the beginning did I? Thanks for reminding me Al.
I'm sure I put WAAAAYYY too much time into thinking about this stuff,,as well as explaining why I do stuff,,especially such a seemingly trivial thing as a mallet,,but you asked ,,so here goes!!!

I've had a bunch of typical mallets,,made a bunch of them myself as well. Could never get one to " feel" just right.Balance,,weight ,grip,,etc.They got heavy ,,tiring,,clumsy after a short time,tired forearm,,sore wrist. Like I said,,seems trivial,,but try it for a full day swinging one.

To make up for weight I went for speed,,and limited wrist movement.I did this by pivoting the mallet between my thumb and index finger ( knuckles really) What gives the mallet "snap" to drive it is my other three fingers.Sort of how a baby will wave "bye,bye",,you can do this all day long,,instead of rocking my wrist to drive it. Notice in the picture using just a stick ( go ahead,,try it yourself) where the pivot is,,how it's driven (not using my wrist) as opposed to the conventional grab it and swing of a typical mallet.Of course these are slightly exaggerated for clarity.But notice the range of movement and movement of wrist in 2+3,,pivot,,vs,the same range with needed wrist movement in 4+5.

More pics and explaination next post

[Mottles]

Mark, wonderful, wonderful work, a truely unique work of wooden art. I was looking at your latest update with you working in the center of the piece. Really helps one to visualize the scope of this work. Truely lovely!
Kathy

[mark yundt]

So here is what I made,,and for me ,it works. I made it sqare,( easy,,no lathe) out of one block of Maple.Curved the face in one arc. Made the handle squarish so it would always index straight in line with my arm/hand like a regular hammer does ( if it were round,,I wouldn't know where the face was) and being square I can lay it down and pick it up without it rolling around on me,,or having to stand it on end,,it's always the same.And I put a slight arc to the back of the handle where it fits my palm.

I basically hold it between my thumb and index finger with very little effort,,even if I hold it horizontal because of the indents I put directly under the head. These also serve as the pivot point,,you don't hold it in the web at the base of your thumb like a traditional mallet,,it swings from further out. Again,,get a stick and try it like in the previous post and see what I mean.

and yes,,a couple of more pics in the next post

[mark yundt]

And finally ( you bored yet???) some pics showing the same range of motion yet not having to use my wrist,between a conventional mallet,,and mine.
Now granted,,there are many ways to hold one of these buggers,,I was using one just today to really see the difference.And yes,,my shoulder and forearm got tired faster,,BUT it did have more heft if I really wanted to wail on something.But for the majority of the time it's tap,tap tap,,not WHAM WHAM WHAM.For more power,,a quicker snap does it just fine,,even on this cherry I'm doing.A quicker snap,,just close your hand faster,,Or move your entire arm back a bit ,,and as it comes down finish with a quick snap..believe me,,drives a chisel just fine with no effort and great control..and being flat I have fewer glancing blows off the chisel.Maybe my aim isn't so great,,but it works for me,,,just by closing my hand.

Note the angles of the mallet in photo 1 and 3,,,then in 2 and 4,,same angles,,but notice how much or little wrist movement is needed to accomplish both...

And if all else fails,,..use the one in the final pic...all your troubles will just dissappear...

See,,, I told you it was silly....

[slather]

Thanks Mark,and please don't take this following comment as anything but a compliment. You do not leave anything to our imagination. I'm sure you have just saved countless numbers of us a lot of sore acheing muscles , not to mention a few blisters, well done lad.
AL

[chuckt]

Wow! You turn your back on the board for a couple days and all of a sudden you're way behind. This piece is amazing Mark. I hope I get to see it in person soon. (I'll be PM'ing you about coming by for a visit.) The person who is getting this in their kitchen is in for a real treat. I'm with Doris - no way I could think about cooking with that in my kitchen. I'd be WAY too busy studying it. <grin>

Very interesting about the mallet. Is it not possible to do the same type of stroke with a traditional mallet? I've not done much mallet work yet, but hope to soon. Thanks for sharing these thoughts.

!
ChuckT

[doris]

:-) ah, thanks mark, now i see what you meant with pivot. and, i like idea with custom carve handle to fit own hand properly. will give it a try...carving a mallet :-) yes, square one should go .... yippie, thanks for so many clear pictures ! need get a decent wood now...

[mark yundt]

Well ,,don't know about aching muscles and all,,but it works for me.A regular mallet does work just fine,,and has for hundreds of years.I'm sure you could modify a regular handle to function this way,,or try to hold a regular one in this manner,,but the shape of the handles into the head doesn't really allow that to happen because of it being round and the way it flares there.The "squarish" handle,,but especially those little recesses just beneath the head really make a significant difference.

This is really a tactile thing. I'm sure it seems rather odd fussing about a basic mallet but some questioned my using a square one. If you could simply feel how this one relaxes in your hand vs. the others I have used it would make more sense to you.This feels so light you wouldn't think it would work.It doesn't have any weight to "swing".The closest analogy I can think of is grab a regular hammer.The handle isn't round like a mallet,,but it's shape indexes your hand to it,,now hold it near the end of the handle.Now try holding it and using it like I do my mallet,,you really can't.The weight ,balance and pivot isn't working together.Those little indents really work,,seems silly but they do.
Anyway ,,none of this is going to make or break a carving,,and is no big deal,,but I do wish you could try it and see how neat it works.