Funnel Stake

Funnel Stakes can be used generally for hand forming of funnels and similar conical items in Beaten Metalwork or Tinsmithing.

They are so named because of their original use in the making of Tinplate funnels or Tundish.

Creating conical forms in Beaten Metalwork (e.g. in preparation for Silver Soldering a Seamed Joint),
Planishing a conical form,
Creating conical forms in Tinplate (e.g. in preparation for joining with a Soldered Lap Joint or Grooved Seam),
Trueing bases of bowls,
Trueing up rings.

Traditional Boxwood Mallets are now largely superceded by Nylon, PVC or rubber faced hammers and mallets for general work. They are available in a range of diameters and weights.
Carpenters' Mallets with a head size of 4-5 inches (100mm - 125mm) are a suitable size for most work in Design and Technology.
Carving Mallet heads are commonly made from Beech but Lignum Vitea heads are considered better because they are heavier. They may now be hard to find. A modern alternative is to use Polyurethane for the heads (Bronze or Brass also used). A good general size head weight for light work would be approximately 450 grams or less, and for general work, 800 grams is more suitable.
Bossing Mallets are sized by head diameter (35, 50, 60, or 75mm). The smaller sizes are used for art metalwork and the larger sizes are for shaping and stretching sheet metal and soft roofing materials such as lead.