It’s cliché but when you have the right tools available, you can take on just about every DIY project the right way. If you’re skilled enough, you might be able to gut your way through the job, but it won’t be easy.
Every good DIYer has a hammer of some sort in their toolbox. If you have a mallet hammer, it can make it a lot easier, too. Before you start your next DIY project, you should know the difference between the main types of mallets: wooden and rubber.
What is a Rubber Mallet?
There’s a pretty good chance that you’ve seen a rubber mallet before. It has a handle on it, generally fiber, metallic, or wooden. No matter what kind of handle it has, there is one unifying factor and that is the rubber face. There are different types of rubber, including some that have rubber padding that covers a metal head beneath.
Solid rubber mallets are the most common type that you’ll find, at least when it comes to rubber mallets. You are generally going to find rubber mallets in grey, white, and black. The latter has specific uses because it can leave scuff marks behind on a surface it wasn’t intended for.
What is a Wooden Mallet?
There is a little bit of confusion between rubber and wooden mallets because of the handle. The general misconception is that having a wooden handle makes any mallet wood. But that isn’t the case because mallets are classified by the material used to make the head.
Wooden mallets are almost the same as their rubber counterparts except the head is also made of wood. Like rubber mallets, wooden mallets can have handles that are made of different materials though the majority of wooden mallets you find will be made totally out of wood.
Pros and Cons of Using a Rubber Mallet
Rubber mallets are probably the most delicate type of hammer that you are going to find. Because of the softer rubber face, it can be used for more critical installations like tile flooring, backsplash, or shower walls. Any other type of hammer or mallet would almost certainly chip or break the tiles, costing you a lot of money and frustration in the process.
Rubber Mallets are also lightweight and easier for the average DIYer to use. Swinging a metal-face hammer or wooden mallet requires a little more force. With a lighter rubber mallet, even someone who doesn’t typically do DIY projects can handle it with confidence.
If there is one real downside it is the force applied with rubber mallets. If you need to deliver any real kind of force, a rubber mallet is probably not going to be the right option. Another thing to consider is the durability of rubber mallets. Use them on the wrong surface and you could wind up denting or gouging the face of the mallet.
Pros and Cons of Using a Wooden Mallet
Whereas rubber mallets deliver a softer blow, comparatively speaking, the wooden mallet brings a sharper blow. Think of it being somewhere in the middle between rubber mallets and a metal-face hammer that most people have in their toolboxes.
Wooden mallets are great for woodworking because they are effective at assembling joints. They are also good for hammering dowels and chisels with the force needed to be accurate and precise. The biggest disadvantage of using a wooden mallet is that it has limited uses. You can pretty much only use it for carpentry and woodworking, so you’ll need to have other hammer types for other applications.
