Tools can be expensive to purchase, so any time we find a cool way to make one we try to relay the info to our readers. The mallet in the Mitch Bergeron custom aluminum fender article on p. 20 of this issue is almost identical to the one featured here. In Johnny Chop's last tech article, he used a hammer like this one-and both builders made the mallets themselves. Making this tool is pretty self-explanatory: All it takes is a steel rod, the cap from an argon tank, and a welder to put the two together.
With an 18-inch-long piece...
With an 18-inch-long piece of 1-inch-OD steel rod and the cap from an argon gas cylinder, you too can make your own metalworking mallet.
I started by sanding off the...
I started by sanding off the paint from the surface of the gas cap with a flap disc.
Then I sanded off the flash...
Then I sanded off the flash from the "hot rolling" process on the 1-inch-OD steel bar.
The existing holes on either...
The existing holes on either side of the cap were slightly too small, but a Dremel tool and a stone bit made quick work of the inner diameter of the cap.
I slid the rod through the...
I slid the rod through the cap, tacked it in place and then finished the weld.
In less than half an hour,...
In less than half an hour, I had a metalworking tool that will last for generations, just like the ones made by Mitch Bergeron and the late Johnny Chop.