Collins Connecticut Revival. Status: Comatose.

[DarthTaco123]

I posted this a few days ago, but now that I've got it cleaned up, I need to move on with the next step: A damned crack. vinegar soak revealed a damn fine axe, besides an edge that looked to have broken rocks, rebar, and probably a boulder or two. No real severe mushrooming, and the rust was all on the surface. But alas, there's one damned blemish, a slight crack about 1" long towards the back of the eye, on the side of the axe. I could weld it, but I'm afraid there isn't enough steel there to do so.I was almost thinking of using JB weld or another adhesive but I'm not sure.
Before (ugly son of a gun ain't she?):

After a bath in Vinegar:

But wait! That P.S was there as a reminder, she's still got a crack, all the way through the wall of the eye.

 

[A Visitor]

I would weld it, your axe nothing to loose. Flatten a piece of copper pipe and wedge it inside the eye as a backer for the weld. It will save you from having to grind inside the eye as the weld wont stick to the copper. Wrap the bit in a wet rag and let the weld cool slow ( in sand or vermiculite) to prevent cracking. A total sanding will minimize the difference in the metals color. Then you can start using it and developing your own patina in the next twenty years.

 

[SC T100]

Yeah, I say weld it (or have a local guy weld it up) and clean it up and use it. It'll make it yours just that much more once it's back up and running!

 

[300Six]

A crackerjack with a MIG or TIG ought to be able to repair that old guy up for you. Most difficult part will be getting good penetration. Temper won't be a problem in around the eye either as long as the blade never gets too hot.
Good luck.

 

[DarthTaco123]

I'll probably have my Grandfather do it, he's just a bit (ok, a lot) better using a welder since he's been building racing cars since his teens.

 

[Pondoro2310]

Ask him if he recommends a "stop hole", he'll know what one is and if it is necessary.

 

[300Six]

Ask him if he recommends a "stop hole", he'll know what one is and if it is necessary.

Any number of names for a 'contraction/expansion stress relief' are out there. Folks certainly do do this on cast iron and glass before doing anything rash. The axe head is too thick for this to be of much consequence (I suspect) but uniformly heating the entire eye in advance of a weld is not a bad idea.

 

[Pondoro2310]

The stop hole is not just for thermal stresses during the welding process, even after welding there will be a sharp end of the crack, buried under the weld. That sharp edge creates a stress riser or stress concentration. The round hole blunts that.

With a stress model or tests of the exact configuration (really) you could decide scientifically if the blunt edge created by the hole offsets the material it removes. But that isn't practical, so I would just ask an old dude who has welded for years if he recommends one. He will have seen them and will have a better guess than most anyone else.

 

[Square_peg]

..... so I would just ask an old dude who has welded for years if he recommends one. He will have seen them and will have a better guess than most anyone else.

Very sensible.