Mallet Handle From a Board of Pallet Oak

I've been getting into recycling plastic lately and wanted some contrast for the recycled plastic material (see link to youtube). My roots are in woodworking so this is how to fabricate mallet handles out of a piece of pallet oak.

From one ~12" x 3 1/4" wide x 1" thick piece of pallet oak , I'm able to get at lest one handle. It's a simple way to construct a handle especially with a lathe.

Supplies

Tools:

1. Drill press or hand drill - Cut wood disc and the center holes for the cross cut handle
2. (Optional but Recommended )Lathe - You can carve the wood with hand tools but it might take a few hours.
3. Forstener bits - Used to recessed holes for hardware and prepare the mallet head.
4. Holesaw bits - Cut out the wood disc for the initial shape
5. 9/16" Drill bit - Center hole drill so the 1/2" stainless steel hardware can be used as the "bone" of the handle.
6. Mechanics toolset
7. Parallels clamps to hold stuff in place

Materials:

1. ~12" x 3 1/4" wide x 1" thick piece of pallet oak flattened on a planer
2. 1/2" stainless steel through bolt
3. 1/2" stainless steel hardware
4. Wood Glue
5. Recycled Plastic Mallet head
6. Polyurethane
7. Paste wax

Step 1: Prep the Mallet Head

• Look at the your hardware and see what you need to make mallet handle
• The mallet needed drill a 3/4" hole recess for the head of the through bolt.
• I like ~1 1/4" diameter hand so I went with a 1 1/4" recess to receive the handle.
• The mallet head needs a 9/16" diameter hole from the handle inlet to the bolt head recess. Drill both sides on the drill press, and you'll get a pretty decent center hole.

Step 2: Holesaw Out the Wood Disc

After the mallet head was figured out, I could figure out how long and wide I wanted to make my circles:

• (Qty: 5) 1 1/4" holes
• (Qty: 3) 2 " holes to receive the stainless hardware

Using the drill press and hole saw bits, I made some disc.

Using a 9/16" drill bit, and parallel clamps, I drilled out the center hole for the 1/2" through bolt.

Step 3: Glue Together the Wood Disc

Using the 1/2" through bolt, stack and glue the disc on the through bolt, add a lock washer, washer, and nut to clamp all the wood disc together.

Let the wood glue dry for 24 hours.

Step 4: Carve Out on the Lathe

After wood glue dried, I did my best to center the piece on the lathe and start carving.

After carving, I added a recessed hole to receive the lock nut and washer using a forstener bit and the drill press again. Make sure the handle is steady on the drill press.

Turning on the lathe is more fun to me so I avoid following a rigid plan for the shape. I just place my hand on the lathe and get a feel for something I like, sand, and then finish the handle with Polyurethane and wax.

Other options would be to carve this out using hand tools or a bandsaw (I might try this with more rectangular stock).

You can also choose to stain or decorate your handle. Customize and make it your own!

Step 5: Assemble the Handle

This should be a breeze if you got all the alignments right but here is the sequence:

• Put the through bolt through the mallet head followed by the handle
• add a lock washer and nut to the bottom of the handle
• Tighten the nut down to the lock washer
• Start enjoying hitting something into place with it or smash stuff

I hope this helps and please leave any questions in the comments