Carvers mallet

["Damon Ayer" <damonayer@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

thomas

a mallet is not necessarily better than a hammer. it depends what you are
doing and the stone you are using. harder stone, like granite and marble,
needs a hammer. softer stone, like limestone can ofter more easily be worked
with a mallet. the hammer will tranfer all the blow into the stone, while
the nylon or wood of a mallet will give some rebound. there is also the
matter of weight. swinging a heavy hammer all day is exhausting.

some of the preference is about feel as mallets come in all sorts of sizes
and weights for different purposes. smaller ones for carveing and larger for
masonry. the weith to use is dependant on personal choice and stone. harder
limestone befefits from heavier mallets.

some of the idea is to let the mallet weight drop onto the chisel, so the
force of the blow is from lots of gravity and less muscle action like with a
hammer.

i would say, if you have any mallet headed chisels, try working with a
mallet and see what you think.

good luck and take care
damon ayer