Wooden mallets are well suited to shop work such as driving chisels or larger carving tools. Although they tend to be bulky, the wooden striking faces are much kinder to tool handles than steel-face hammers.

Inspired by a vintage tool in Lee Valley's collection, this mallet has the best features of both wood and metal and is a direct substitute for a carpenter's mallet. The cast brass head has the mass and small size typical of a metal hammer. The 38mm diameter hardwood inserts provide wooden striking faces so you can strike chisels without mushrooming the handles. Since a cabinetmaker's mallet is used primarily with wrist action, the flat faces are in planes that intersect the handle tip, so the face is 90° to the arc of swing to prevent glancing blows. You can also choke up on the handle for work requiring greater finesse such as fine carving.

With two striking faces you can keep one smooth and clean for general work. The other face can be used for more aggressive tasks such as driving out bolts, pins, etc., without peening the ends.

The 512g head is fitted with a 279mm long hardwood handle.