This article is about the hand tools known as mallets. For the implements used in playing percussion instruments, see drum stick.
A mallet is a type of hammer. Mallets are used in sports such as croquet and polo, as a type of drumstick, and as tools in other fields as well. Mallets for each of these purposes are very different in design. Despite their similarities, a mallet and a sledgehammer are different tools.
Mallets used as tools are hammers with heads made of softer materials than the steel normally used in hammerheads, so as to avoid damaging a delicate surface. Some common mallet materials include:
- Rubber
- Rubber mallets are generally used on sheet metal, plasterboard, upholstery, and a variety of other general purposes. It is the most commonly used mallet.
- Wood
- Wooden mallets are usually used in carpentry to knock wooden pieces together, drive dowels , or drive chisels.
- Copper
- Copper mallets are usually used on machinery to apply force to parts with a reduced risk of damaging them and to avoid sparks.
Less common mallets include:
- Rawhide
- Rawhide mallets have a rawhide covering over a steel head, and are used for leatherwork, jewellery, electric motors and delicate machinery.
- Plastic
- Plastic mallets are usually nylon, and are especially used for leatherwork and jewellery.
- Split head
- split head mallets have removeable faces, so the face can be changed to an appropriate material for the job.
- Dead blow
- Dead blow mallets have an internal cavity filled with steel shot, to even out the time-impulse curve of the impact, enabling a more powerful blow to be delivered without risk of marring the target.
