Timber for toolmaking

[Anonymous]

All,

I want some non-standard bossing mallets (I'm not much of a woodworker) and I have found a friendly woodturner who is willing to turn lumps of timber into mallet heads for me. Ligum vitae and beech seem to have been the timbers of choice, back before they were mostly made of plastic! I have access to a reasonable supply of good lumps of beech but oddly enough, no lignum :?

Any other timbers that might fit the bill (I guess close grained, relatively dense and hard as a woodpecker's lips!)

Mitch

 

[Bean]

Hi I'm not too sure on this but how about Jarrah?

Bean

 

[Midnight]

I've heard that apple can make a good mallet head, hornbeam too apparently..

 

[Chris Knight]

Goncalo Alves makes a good mallet head.