A mallet is a type of hammer, and is manufactured in different designs according to their intended use. These uses include manufacturing and construction, sports such as croquet and polo, and as a type of drumstick.

Tools

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Tool mallets are hammers with heads made of softer materials than the steel normally used in hammerheads, so as to avoid damaging a delicate surface. Some common types of mallets are:

• Rubber mallets are used when a softer blow is called for than that delivered by a metal hammer. They are typically used to form sheet metal, since they don't leave marks, as well as for forcing tight-fitting parts together, for shifting plasterboard into place, in upholstery, and a variety of other general purposes. It is the most commonly used mallet.
• Wooden mallet, usually used in carpentry to knock wooden pieces together, or to drive dowels or chisels. A wooden mallet will not deform the striking end of a metal tool, as most metal hammers would, but it also reduces the force available to drive the cutting edge of a chisel.
• Copper and leaden mallets are typically used on machinery to apply force to parts with a reduced risk of damaging them and to avoid sparks. As it is softer than steel, it is deformed rather than any steel object it is hitting.

Less common mallets include:

• Rawhide mallets, which may employ rawhide covering a steel head, or simply consist of rolled-up rawhide, are used for leatherwork, jewellery, and assembling electric motors and delicate machinery.
• Plastic mallets, made of nylon, polycarbonate, or polystyrene are used especially in leatherwork and jewellery.
• Split head mallets, which have removable faces which can be changed to an appropriate material for the job.
• Dead blow mallets, which have an internal cavity filled with steel or lead shot. This addition evens out the time-impulse curve of the impact, enabling a more powerful blow to be delivered without risk of marring the target.

Mallets of various types are some of the oldest forms of tools, and have been found in stone age gravesites.

Musical instruments

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Mallets used as drumsticks are often used to strike a timpani, marimba, xylophone, glockenspiel, metallophone, or vibraphone, collectively referred to as mallet percussion. They usually have shafts made of rattan, birch, or fiberglass. Rattan shafts are more flexible than the other materials. Heads vary in size, shape, and material. They may be made of metal, plastic, rubber, or wood, and some are wrapped with felt, cord, or yarn. Heavier heads produce louder sounds. Harder heads produce sharper and louder sounds and generate more overtones.

Sport

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• croquet mallets
• polo mallets

Hammers | Woodworking hand tools

Knüpfel | Maleo | Maillet (outil) | Dolca kapo-martelo | Nuija