Wooden hammer question

[Sergio Escudero]

I want to make some kind of hammer so I can stop using the rubber mallet I have and work with a more traditional tool. The only large material I have is some 9x9cm blocks of red oak. With that in mind, what kind of hammer would you recommend? What advantages or disadvantages do you see in each type? My two main concerns are the lack of density in this wood, especially in the pore rings, and how comfortable it is to strike the chisel handle with a rounded surface. Won't it slip? I really like the look of these rounded pieces.

[drzaius]

I have the kind with a flat face and really like it. My coordination is so bad that I am concerned that the round one might not work as well.

[Von]

I'm in a similar place and am planning to make something akin the square mallet in your first photo.

I'm an "iteratist" about such things, meaning I believe there is no right or wrong answer, it's rather personal and one has to try something and see how it works and doesn't work for you. 

[Tom King]

I've had the square ones but like the round ones better.  I don't find an issue with hitting a round one off center, but more of an issue finding the sweet spot with the squarish ones.  When you hit the square one off center you feel it in your wrist.  The handle on those never seems to be the right length to me and harder to do light taps with.

I've worn out some of both and finally switched to the Wood is Good urethane ones.  No issue with elbow of wear and tear on chisel handles.  I even use the 12 oz. one quite often with the old Marples Boxwood handles and you can not tell that one has ever been hit with a mallet.  

Working on a 18th Century house sill replacement over two days I figured I had 15 hours straight over those two days with a 2" timber framing chisel and a 30 oz. Wood is Good mallet.  No damage to elbow or chisel handle.  You can't even tell that the big timber framing chisel has ever been hit with a mallet.

[wtnhighlander]

I believe the different designs are really meant for different types of work. The square face "hammer" style is referred to as a joiner's mallet, and is probably better for things like chiseling out a mortise. The turned round type is referred to as a carver's maul, and mostly used where finer control is needed, and brute force is less important, as in relief carvings.

[Ron Swanson Jr.]

On 2/11/2026 at 5:28 PM, wtnhighlander said:

I believe the different designs are really meant for different types of work. The square face "hammer" style is referred to as a joiner's mallet, and is probably better for things like chiseling out a mortise. The turned round type is referred to as a carver's maul, and mostly used where finer control is needed, and brute force is less important, as in relief carvings.

Was about to say this exact same thing and you beat me to it. 

I use carvers mallet for pretty much everything. Last summer when chopping a lot of mortises, i used the slightly heavier joiner's mallet. 

I can't say that either one has ever been responsible for any mistakes made by a glancing blow. All mistakes are solely made by the guy holding it. 

[Mark J]

If you have a lathe, the carver's mallet/maul is a lot easier to make. 

If you have enough material, you could make both.

[Sergio Escudero]

On 2/12/2026 at 2:35 PM, Mark J said:

If you have a lathe, the carver's mallet/maul is a lot easier to make. 

If you have enough material, you could make both.

I don't have a lathe, but I think I can do it without one. My idea is to make a cylinder by hand planining and try to make the handle on the table saw. I did this a while ago. This one is a bit more complicated, but I think I can do it well. Won't the porosity of the red oak be a problem? Not because of the pores themselves, but because in those areas it's not very dense and dents easily.

 

[wtnhighlander]

The only issue I see with using red oak (american red oak, at least) is that it splits easily, so striking with the 'wrong' orientation might turn your mallet into two. But that's not likely, unless you start with a hairline crack in the stock.

[Sergio Escudero]

On 2/13/2026 at 12:26 AM, wtnhighlander said:

The only issue I see with using red oak (american red oak, at least) is that it splits easily, so striking with the 'wrong' orientation might turn your mallet into two. But that's not likely, unless you start with a hairline crack in the stock.

Hmm, I wasn't aware it splits easily. Perhaps I could do it with beech; I have a 7cm thick plank, and I even have some leftover for the head. I could insert the handle, made from another piece. Is it a problem doing it this way compared to something monolithic?

[drzaius]

1 hour ago, Sergio Escudero said:

Hmm, I wasn't aware it splits easily. Perhaps I could do it with beech; I have a 7cm thick plank, and I even have some leftover for the head. I could insert the handle, made from another piece. Is it a problem doing it this way compared to something monolithic?

Beech is a great choice and inserting a handle won't be a problem. My mallet is beech and I've beat the heck out of it and it just endures.

[fcschoenthal]

I have a lot of different hammers, primarily because it's therapeutic to hit things that aren't going together right. I have both round and square, and both big and small. Each have their own values. Make several different ones and figure out what works for you. We are woodworkers afterall.

As far as the material, I wouldn't worry about it. It's going to get beaten up, that's what it's for. While you decide what shape and size work for you, decide what material works as well. There is no right or wrong answer, just what you like.

[roughsawn]

I've made 3 out of red oak, with no problems at all.

[Tom King]

I found one mallet behind a knee wall in the top floor of a very early 19th Century house I was working on.  It hadn't been accessible back in there since they had closed it up when the house was built.  I don't remember what wood it was, but some hardwood.  The worker had sawn out a length of a limb, cut around the bottom of the head with a saw and hewn the handle with a hatchet.  It was tossed and left where it would be out of bother, or from anyone on the job seeing it, because he had overlooked a knot in the handle right below the head.  The handle had broken where the knot was and folded over the remaining wood fibers so it was still in one piece but with the deformed handle.

I have pictures somewhere and the owners of that house have it sitting on the mantle in their main room in the house where they live.  I'll try to find or take a picture the next chance I get.