Hammer Time

A mallet is needed to drive in anchor stakes for pioneering projects.  The Pioneering MB pamphlet gives instructions for making one from a 4" diameter hard wood log cut to 11" for the head and a 24" x 1" wood handle.  I didn't have any 4" diameter hardwood logs laying around and I didn't want to cut down a whole tree just to make a mallet.  So I used what I had. 



The head is a piece of pressure treated 4" square post, cut to 11".  The handle is a 24" long piece of 3/4" EMT electrical conduit pipe.  This pipe is $5.55 at my local Lowe's for a 10 foot piece. 

3/4" must be inner diameter, because the pipe is about 15/16 outer diameter.  I cut the handle hole through the mallet head with a 7/8" spade bit, which was a little to small.  1" was too big and I don't have a 15/16" bit, so I used the 7/8 and then used a Dremel with a sanding drum to enlarge it a bit.  Before I put the handle on, I beveled the edges with my table saw, but this step is not necessary.  I used a wood block and a hammer to drive the handle in. 

With the handle in place, I drilled a hole in the side, 1" down from the top and centered.  I used a 2" deck screw to hold the handle so the head won't fly off. 

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