broke my first handle......

D

d.weglarz13

Joined
Jun 4, 2008
Messages
1,944
Hey guys. So, after taking out my Council Boy's Axe(Forest service) the other day after a long winter, decided to chop some stumps that I should have done before the winter, and well....
I missed just slightly on one swing, to where i accidentally hit the bottom of the edge and glanced the handle some, and sure enough, got a good serious crack in the handle right where it meets the axe head.
So, i know this is a newb question, but figured I would wait till i needed to learn it. I am hoping someone can point me in the direction of learning how to replace the handle. Hopefully a link or vid would be best, but doesn't matter. I just need to see it done first before i try it.
Where can i get the wedge for the top of the handle once i hang it? Im guessing i should order handles from Council? and maybe the wedges if they have them?

thanks for any and all advice. I thought it might be in the stickies but didn't see it.

dave
 
I'm pretty sure there's a thread or several on hanging axes. Try the search feature... I wouldn't bother ordering a handle from council. Try a local hardware or feed store, or order from house handle. People seem to have had good luck asking for hand selected handles from them. There's a thread on that too. Search house handle. As for videos you can go to youtube and look up an axe to grind, the guy there gives good instruction. And grows a wicked mustache.
 
The wedges will come with the haft from almost any seller of hafts.

To get the old haft out it has to go the same way it came in, through the bottom of the eye. Cut the haft off flush with the bottom of the eye - or as close to flush as you can. Don't dull a saw blade on the metal just to get that last 1/16" - it doesn't need to be that close. Then get a drill and drill bits. Starting with larger bits drill out as much wood as you can from the eye. When there's no room for a larger bit then drill holes with a smaller bit. Drill from both ends if you need to. The more wood you can drill out the easier it will be to remove what remains.

Once you've got it drilled out then you need to knock out the remaining wood - down thru the eye. You can make a wooden punch out of a scrap of the haft you just cut off. If you have a good vise to hold the axe head this job will be easier. Otherwise support the axe head with two blocks of wood, leaving a space between the blocks for the wood you're going to drive out of the eye. Then get a hammer and whack away. If you've done a good job of drilling then it shouldn't be too difficult to drive out the remaining wood.

Regarding the purchase of a new handle - the handles that Council provides with the Velvi-cut axes are some of the finest I've seen. They have the old style full unclipped fawns foot that you used to see on vintage axes. I would suggest contacting Council to see if they'll sell you a replacement Velvi-cut handle for your boys axe. If not, don't fret it. Boy's axe handles are easy to find. Of course House Handle and Tennessee Hickory make boy's axe handles. But many of us have noticed very good boy's axe handles made by Link Handles in our local hardware store - like Ace Hardware. For some reason Link's boy's axe handles and cruiser handles seem to be better than their full size handles.

There are numerous tutorials on re-hafting on this site and others. See the video 'An Axe to Grind', made by the US Forest Service. There are a million tricks to fitting a haft to an axe. Read up on it and then just go for it. You'll get better as you hang more axes.
 
Wow, thanks for the quick replies. I am pretty happy this happened, as I was really waiting for a chance to give myself a reason to hang my first, and I'm sure I will do others soon after. Thanks again, I will post when i do it.
dave
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top