a little advise is needed please (did I ruin my handle?)

ICS said:
....Curt, what do you mean for the wedge to be "bottomed out"? Do you mean in the kerf? I would never bottom a wedge out due to the fact that if anything did come loose, you could not drive it in any further.
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The main reason why you never want to bottom out a wedge is that nothing should ever stop the forward progress of the wedge except for the sides of the kerf. That's the only way you can assure that the kerf is filled tightly. Pre-fit wedges into the eye of the axe to verify that they won't be held up by the ends of the eye. Cut your kerf at least 2/3 of the way through the eye of the axe.
 
quinton said:
......and chamfer the top on each side to help prevent splitting it when I drive it home.
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Good call. And drive the wedge with a wooden mallet that is flat-faced and wider than the wedge.

Also, look at the kerf with the haft fully inserted. If it's wider at one end than the other then shape your wedge accordingly. If the wedge is stopped tight in the front half of the kerf but still loose in the back back half then the the wedge will twist and you'll never get the back half as tight as it should be.

Fit the wedge to the work it needs to do.
 
ICS said:
. . . but don't be confused about the point of refusal.

. . . secondly the wedge is thick and hard enough that it closes in the kerf so tight sideways that it cannot be driven any further. . .
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You are right, I assumed he was driving the wedge to the bottom of the kerf.:o

ICS said:
. . . it closes in the kerf so tight sideways that it cannot be driven any further. Try to avoid this at all costs as you might just break the eye out. I have done this once or twice and it is a costly mistake in an $800.00 racing axe.
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:eek:

Thanks again, appreciate the replies.
 
Interestingly, in light of this discussion: I just received a new (old) axe from JBL. When I removed the wedge and the haft, lo and behold, there was a wedge that had been driven to the bottom of the kerf, and the kerf had split at the bottom. So that appears to answer that question. But here's a new question I would love your advice on: I would like to reuse this haft. With a new wedge that doesn't bottom out, can I re-use this haft without fear of it splitting? Would some wood glue (or any other glue) and a night in the vice repair this so that its usable, or is this haft a write off?
 
Curt Hal said:
Interestingly, in light of this discussion: I just received a new (old) axe from JBL. When I removed the wedge and the haft, lo and behold, there was a wedge that had been driven to the bottom of the kerf, and the kerf had split at the bottom. So that appears to answer that question. But here's a new question I would love your advice on: I would like to reuse this haft. With a new wedge that doesn't bottom out, can I re-use this haft without fear of it splitting? Would some wood glue (or any other glue) and a night in the vice repair this so that its usable, or is this haft a write off?
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I would totally reuse this haft after cleaning the kerf and injecting some glue in the crack, worst that could happen is the haft splitting lenghtwise in the direction of the cut, id wager youd have alot of time to realise what was going on and change the haft.

some people might say its unsafe but i dont think so.
 
Curt, by no means is your handle a write off. If the crack is fully enclosed within the eye of your axe and considering the forces apparent when using your axe, the handle will be unaffected. It is not necessary to glue it but it may give you some piece of mind. You can also take a handsaw and cut to the bottom of the split and drive the handle into the eye a bit further then re wedge it, there are many possibilities and you just may end up with a better result than original. Let us know what you decide.
 
ultrahesh said:
Thanks for the input and responses. This one turned out better.
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Man I feel bad to say this because your wedging and fitting is flawless but.. this has got to be the worst possible grain orientation that could happen on a handle... yikes.

again, the fitting is flawless.
 
Ultra hear, Its funny how things are perceived in relation to grain, some of the strongest most resilient handles I have seen have the grain going cross ways. I think whilst the perpendicular may be stiffer, as long as the grain is not angular, it will be ok. The only spot this may not be the case on an axe is the shoulder. Hope your handle works out fine for you.
 
ICS said:
Ultra hear, Its funny how things are perceived in relation to grain, some of the strongest most resilient handles I have seen have the grain going cross ways. I think whilst the perpendicular may be stiffer, as long as the grain is not angular, it will be ok. The only spot this may not be the case on an axe is the shoulder. Hope your handle works out fine for you.
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That grain orientation will pop a chip like no other! Most of the old timers in these parts hung axes this way.

I have a DB I personally hung with the grain like this because I was told it was the right way many years ago... the flex and strength in that old haft will make chips fly!
 
Don't worry about perpendicular grain in a straight handle or a handle with little run out. It does absorb the shock and flex the right way, I.E. in the direction of the force, rather than side to side flexing which is very irritating.
 
Third time is the charm, hopefully. I think the grain orientation is a little better on this. Also, does anyone know what kind of axe this is? There is a pic of the makers mark(I think it's the makers mark)
 
ultrahesh said:
Third time is the charm, hopefully. I think the grain orientation is a little better on this. Also, does anyone know what kind of axe this is? There is a pic of the makers mark(I think it's the makers mark)
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That's a really nice job! Great work.
 
ultrahesh said:
. . . Also, does anyone know what kind of axe this is? There is a pic of the makers mark(I think it's the makers mark)
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I'd like to find out about that mark too, I was given a bell pattern spike mall with the same mark:



N Y C R R (New York Central Railroad)?
 
ultrahesh said:
Third time is the charm, hopefully. I think the grain orientation is a little better on this. Also, does anyone know what kind of axe this is? There is a pic of the makers mark(I think it's the makers mark)
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Woodings Verona Tool Co is my guess. Large V with W in the middle and a T coming up the center.
 
Remzy said:
Man I feel bad to say this because your wedging and fitting is flawless but.. this has got to be the worst possible grain orientation that could happen on a handle... yikes.

again, the fitting is flawless.
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I feel like grain orientation is a nuance vs critical. Run-out is critical. That grain looks straight as an arrow at least as far as you can see in the pics. That dog will hunt.
 
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