19th Century Boatwrights Caulking Mallet

A 19th century wood and wrought iron caulking mallet, used with a caulking iron for driving oakum or cotton into the seam between planks of a wooden vessel, to make the vessel watertight. Composed of oak? mallet head and walnut handle with thick, wrought iron bands on each end. Measures 16 inches wide, 32 inches long with a 3 � inch mallet diameter including band. A wonderful example of a period shipwrights tool surviving in good and obviously used condition. Weighs just shy of 7 pounds.