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Hollow Mallet

Portable Pounding
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When you need to pound something into the ground, there's simply no substitute for a mallet. Unfortunately, mallets are, by necessity, relatively heavy. There are lightweight mallets, for camping and such, but they're naturally less effective.

If the mallet head were hollow, it could be made very lightweight. If the head also had a removable plug, you could fill it with water as necessary, providing an easy to transport yet highly effective pounding device.

ytk, Oct 04 2013

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       I've made three deadblow sledgehammers using square tube for the body and square sections of head steel from used railway rail for the strike faces. I squish a short cut of 1 1/4" pipe to receive a wooden handle, drill and tap a hole to fit a storebought allen plug, and fill it about 9/10ths full of lead shot. I only know the dry weight of my largest, which is 16 lbs loaded (my partner at the railroad called it "The Punisher") but only 7 lbs empty (including 30" handle, ~1 lb). I bet the head would weigh around 10 lbs filled with sand. [+]   

       <later edit for future reference>   

       I call them deadsledges. I'm very proud of that bit.
Alterother, Oct 04 2013
  

       Cool. An adjustable weight on the shaft would be good too.   

       The only flaw in my design, if you want to call it a flaw, is that when empty the hollow head is basically a very overbuilt box spring; this is irrelevant since the last step of construction is the filling it with shot (and a handful of dessicant crystals) and once loaded never emptied.   

       I suppose that if I _were_ to empty all the shot from my medium deadsledge ('The Solution') and give it a good whang on my anvil, somewhere in the state of Maine an oral surgeon would spontaneously ejaculate into his khakis.
Alterother, Oct 05 2013
  

       And for rock concerts there is the hollow mullet, again subject to portable pounding via head-banging sessions.
xenzag, Oct 05 2013
  

       A good idea. Sand or dirt might indeed be better (denser, less sploshy). You'd then need a removable end cap or similar, but that would let you put anything you like in there. Even water.   

       The old-school way is to carry a brace-and-bit and a saw and make a wooden maul.
spidermother, Oct 06 2013
  

       // When you need to pound something into the ground, there's simply no substitute for a mallet //   

       Yes there is. HMX.
8th of 7, Oct 06 2013
  

       //the last step of construction is the filling it with shot (and a handful of dessicant crystals) and once loaded never emptied//   

       Mmm, if you did empty the shot out, the hammer would be lighter and therefore easier to carry. You could pour the shot back in when you arrive at your destination.
pocmloc, Oct 06 2013
  

       " … and thus we submit, M'lud, that the case against [pocmloc] is proven beyond reasonable doubt, although we entirely accept the defendant's plea of Diminished Responsibility …"
8th of 7, Oct 06 2013
  

       // if you did empty the shot out, the hammer would be lighter and therefore easier to carry //   

       Yes...that is sort of the point I was making, that I have built something like this halfbake, and the theory is sound. However, if I wanted to use the lead shot in the hammer, I would have to carry it with me, so why not carry it in the hammer?
Alterother, Oct 06 2013
  

       After we take over your planet, the variable speed limits on the M25 will be abolished, and traffic flow will be encouraged by random strafing runs by a variety of classic and modern ground-attack aircraft.   

       Black cabs travelling at 43 MPH in Lane 2 will specially targeted.
8th of 7, Oct 06 2013
  

       //so why not carry it in the hammer?// Because that would make the hammer heavier and therefore, contrary to this idea, harder to carry.
pocmloc, Oct 07 2013
  

       [+] good idea. You can fill it with rocks or dirt or anything else available.
xandram, Oct 07 2013
  


 

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