Double bit geometry

trailmaker said:
That's a mean looking user.
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It's a 4 pounder. Ought to chop well.

Yesterday I was wiping the polishing compound off of the bit when I got a little careless. It cut a 1/4" oval of skin off of my thumb. Nice clean cut. I found the chunk stuck on the side of the bit. I bled.
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Dang, Pegs. That turned out beautifully! Nice job. Did you use sand paper to polish up the bits?

Side note, did you ever try adding water to that remote drive grinding wheel?
 
mattyak said:
Peg, I'm glad you asked this question. I've been holding off on reshaping more than moderately on a couple of heads that I have. Im curious as to how much reshaping an axe can handle before it is detrimental to the temper.
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I think I found a good way to answer this question, Matty. First off, a vinegar soak will show you how far back the temper goes. Then do a little filing on the top and/or bottom of the axe. The file will tell you about the temper. With this axe I found that the metal became VERY HARD right at the temper line. This gave me reassurance that I wasn't going to hurt the temper by taking it back 1/8"-3/16".
 
M3mphis said:
Dang, Pegs. That turned out beautifully! Nice job. Did you use sand paper to polish up the bits?
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Yes, I used wet-dry sandpaper from 220 to 600 grit. Then I took it to a buffing wheel with some emery on it for polishing. This stuff is hard to polish. A hunting knife I made out of 1085 (very high carbon) was easier to polish.

M3mphis said:
Side note, did you ever try adding water to that remote drive grinding wheel?
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No, not yet. But it's still on my to-do list. I think that even at low speed it might be too fast for a tub. Some kind of drip system would be better. I wonder if I could take a drip emitter from a drip sprinkler system and supply water to it from a pump sprayer. That way I'd get a constant low volume supply - enough to keep things cool without splattering everywhere.

I found a great haft for this axe at an Ace Hardware store in a neighboring town. I was surprised to find one with such a nice grain. I had to buy it. Of course it was fat as can be. I slimmed it down with a spokeshave and turned it into an octagon. Soon they will be joined.

Axe_handle_wood_grain.jpg
 
I hung that Stiletto double bit today. Then I gave it a couple coats of BBT (beeswax, boiled linseed oil and turpentine).

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I coated the inside of the eye and the tip of the wedge with construction adhesive before assembly. It fills the voids and seems to keep the hang tight longer. The adhesive splooged out everywhere so I had to clean it up with paint thinner. I'm very happy with how it turned out. It'll be a dandy chopper.

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There's a nice grain in this haft, almost perfectly parallel with the axe head.

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I like the BBT finish. It gives it a nice clean look.

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Wow. Fantastic job on that. The wedging looks real tight. A real beauty.

I've found that the best handles that O.P. Link makes (assuming this is a Link handle as its from Ace) are the Boy's axe and the double bit cruiser axe ones. Best grain alignment and wood. I've found the other larger axe handles aren't as good.
 
Yep, that is a Link. I've got another really nice Link lying here waiting for me to restore a DB cruiser.

It got dirty today. A dirty axe is a happy axe. The axe got its first taste of Doug-fir in decades. This trunk maybe become a post for a new shed.

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