I decided to use up some shorter scraps from my scrap wood pile to make a mallet. Comprised of five layers (walnut in the center, then oak, then an unidentified hardwood), I mounted the glued up blank on the lathe.

In short order I regretted choosing such hard and difficult woods! Despite the difficulty, eventually a mallet emerged.

I’d figured I’d want a mallet with substance, and while that is true, having one so tall makes it unnecessarily difficult to use. In the end, I shortened the head by about half, drilled a 1-1/2 inch hole in the top, filled it with lead shot and sealed it in with resin. This gives the mallet all the heft I could need while keeping its rotational moment down.