How to build a wooden mallet in one piece from a block of wood. End purpose of this tool: Coffee-puck smashing. This mallet is built to look 'natural', which means the measurements and the wood work are mostly done by eye. Although sanded and waxed, the mallet will retain a rough look. I like it that way, because it will get damaged anyway when smashing coffee pucks.
As a coffee lover, I've got coffee hardware to match. 27 kilograms of chrome coated coffee extraction goodness on the kitchen sink, baby. We're not talking drip coffee. No, no. This coffee gets made a 10 atmosphere. Es-press-o. The coffee grinds remaing in puck, after having created a tasty cup of coffee, usually need a fair amount of convincing (smashing, hitting, whacking) to drop out of the portafilter. Some people have a so-called knock-box for that. Not the docter Seus type, but a shiny metal box, sometimes placed under the espresso machine, with a rubber-coated bar in it, on which to whack the portafilter until the coffee grinds drop out.
As I have fairly limited space in the kitchen, I prefer not to have yet another big kitchen utensil for coffee making in there. So for removing coffee grinds from espresso portafilters, I have been using a wooden mallet. My so called coffee-puck smasher. This small walk through shows you the steps I made to create a replacement mallet for my old and smashed-to-pieces coffee-puck smasher.
The size of the mallet described here: 5.5 x 10 x 17 cm.
Required:
- jigsaw with wood blades
- electric sanding machine
- dremel with cylindrical wood sander
- pencil
- eraser
- small ruler
- a hair dryer (or anything able to blow hot air)
- bees' wax / sno seal / mineral oil
- a block of strong wood big enough to make a mallet from (10 x 6 x 15 cm. or bigger)
As a coffee lover, I've got coffee hardware to match. 27 kilograms of chrome coated coffee extraction goodness on the kitchen sink, baby. We're not talking drip coffee. No, no. This coffee gets made a 10 atmosphere. Es-press-o. The coffee grinds remaing in puck, after having created a tasty cup of coffee, usually need a fair amount of convincing (smashing, hitting, whacking) to drop out of the portafilter. Some people have a so-called knock-box for that. Not the docter Seus type, but a shiny metal box, sometimes placed under the espresso machine, with a rubber-coated bar in it, on which to whack the portafilter until the coffee grinds drop out.
As I have fairly limited space in the kitchen, I prefer not to have yet another big kitchen utensil for coffee making in there. So for removing coffee grinds from espresso portafilters, I have been using a wooden mallet. My so called coffee-puck smasher. This small walk through shows you the steps I made to create a replacement mallet for my old and smashed-to-pieces coffee-puck smasher.
The size of the mallet described here: 5.5 x 10 x 17 cm.
Required:
- jigsaw with wood blades
- electric sanding machine
- dremel with cylindrical wood sander
- pencil
- eraser
- small ruler
- a hair dryer (or anything able to blow hot air)
- bees' wax / sno seal / mineral oil
- a block of strong wood big enough to make a mallet from (10 x 6 x 15 cm. or bigger)
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Signing UpStep 1: Preparations; Find wood
To make the mallet, you need wood. First decide how big you want the mallet to be and then find some wood big enough. The block I used was about 10 x 5.5 x 25 cm for a mallet of about 10x 5.5 10 x 17 cm. I used an old support beam from my neighbours house, which was removed during the renovation of his house. It was going to be fire wood, but it does equally well as a mallet.
What size must the mallet be? Just make a mallet big enough so that it has enough mass to do the smashing you want it to do.
What size must the mallet be? Just make a mallet big enough so that it has enough mass to do the smashing you want it to do.
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From my side, just a couple of thoughts:
Cutting your mallet form a single piece of wood yields a head with cross grain, which makes it more prone to breaking. In your old mallet it is clearly seen that is has split along the grain (i.e, across the head of the mallet) in one of the sides. Making it in two pieces, as it is traditionally made, would expose the end grain in the hitting surface of the mallet, making it more resistant and durable.
Other hint: your mallet seems to be made of pine, which is an easily available and easy to work wood, but on the other side is light and soft. Making it in a harder wood, such as oak, maple or beech would make it heavier (that is, more "convicing" for the puck of coffee) and durable. For ultimate resistance and waterproofness, make it in boxwood (buxus sempervirens: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buxus_sempervirens).
http://villagecarpenter.blogspot.com/2008/12/small-wood-mallet.html
or [pdf link]
http://www.craftsmanspace.com/Free%20projects/Wooden%20Mallet.pdf
So AFTER you get the mallet made, carved, etc., you put this Hiking Shoe Water Proofer on it to keep the wood from drying out & cracking??
And you can re-apply this as needed?
am I understanding this correctly?
TY for sharing Sir!!
If you were to use a piece of a fence post, (not treated) you would avoid the cross grain situation as noted.
Wrap the result in rawhide as suggested and you would get a nice coffee hammer with no corners to damage the coffee filter.
Merry Christmas & Happy Coffee Making.
Cheers
I'll throw in my two cents, just in case it helps someone.
In my experience, food-grade mineral oil does not absorb as well as olive oil. Food grade paraffin was does not absorb as well as bee's wax. None of these finishing techniques are very water-proof, but they are pretty good, and you can reapply them easily.
The best way I have found to make a food-safe non-glossy finish is with 1 part bee's wax 9 parts olive oil. Melt this in a frying pan, then cast it into pucks in a silicone cupcake pan. You have the right mixture when it is solid at room temp, but will melt in your fingers when you rub the puck. You can smear this stuff all over wooden things, then melt it over a hot gas stove, or with a hair dryer (I suppose you can leave it in the sun.) I even used this recipe as a bullet lubricant for my muzzleloader. In that application, the lube went rancid, so I switched to 1 part paraffin to 9 parts mineral oil. But other than that, the bee's wax seemed best.
Easiest way is to get a large rawhide chew toy from the local dollar store or equivalent. Soak in hot water until soft and pliable and then stretch it tight over the head of the mallet, tack in place just to hold it until dries. Let dry and then smite away.