THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 257 



in striking. It is not very practicable to spread the end of a 

 small rivet with a hammer that weighs two or three pounds, 

 because a stroke with such a hammer would be so heavy as to 

 crush or double a rivet before the end could be spread. Riveting 

 hammers of almost any desirable size may be obtained at most of 

 the hardware stores. (See MOMENTUM, in the next volume.) 



THE MALLET AND BEETLE. 



"The beetle, now twin-brother of the hammer, 

 Holds equal rank in pounding and for clamor ; 

 Unlike the hammer with its flinty face, 

 The beetle, in close impact, yields an ace." EDWARDS. 



338. A mallet should be made of some very hard wood ; and 

 if it be not made of a knot, the ends of it should be banded like 

 the beetle, to keep it from splitting. That part of a tree, if it be 

 tough wood, which grows just above the surface of the ground, 

 which is called the crook, will make the very best mallets, which 

 will require no hooping. I have a mallet which was made of 

 the crook of a part of a white ash stump, which has been the only 

 mallet in use for framing all my buildings, and doing all my shop 

 work for sixteen years, and it is not half worn out as yet. A 

 mallet should be turned out true, with the ends convex or rounding, 

 not less than half an inch from edge to edge. The handle should 

 be put in true, so that the faces will be parallel with the handle, as 

 shown in the Fig. 117. Let it be well oiled to prevent its crack 

 ing. Never allow the faces of the mallet to be bruised and dented 

 on iron bolts and the like, but keep it smooth for pounding on 

 chisel handles only. A tough piece of apple-wood will make 

 about as good a mallet as almost any other kind of wood. But if 

 it is made of a round piece of wood, on account of its great liability 

 to check, it should be treated as recommended for 



BEETLES. 



339. Figure 117 represents a farmer's beetle, made in a work- 



