First Haft and Happy Holidays Folks

CB-R · Dec 28, 2012

Sorry in advance for the pic's being out of order

Just had to try it after seeing CeaderEater's hewer and G-Pig's hafts. I'm not sure what species the wood is that I found in the corner of my wood shop, but it stings the nostrils horribly when cut. I didn't have the head on hand when I blanked out the handle on the band saw and as it turned out I had a larger head than I thought. The head I got for $2 at a second hand store in town. Gave it the standard vinegar soak and then a few bluing's.

I got the big Nicholson rasp at an antique shop with the intent of making some knives out of it. I lost interest in knife making before it found it's way to the forge. I hadn't used it before this project and I can happily say that this tool will remain intact permanently.

I did a few preliminary fittings before cleaning it up with the spoke shave and finish rasps. Then a scraper blade and some fine paper.

BLO on the white oak wedge and then teak oil on the handle. Osage Orange or maybe Jatoba I thought?

As stated above, the head it too heavy for this haft and also, the balance is pretty bad. Alignment is good. I had a great time on this project and was pleased with how quickly it came along. I feel I learned a lot in this process and will definitely be making more. . . especially as I just ordered some 8/4 Ash

Thanks for looking, and hope everyone's holiday's are coming along nicely.

bearhunter · Dec 28, 2012

Good to here from you CB

That's a helluva job you did there!
It looks fantastic, but it certainly does look a little top heavy

Oh...
And a belated Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you too

CedarEater · Dec 28, 2012

Oh my! That is one good looking haft. You could always get a smaller head for it and make a longer haft for that head. Very nice work.

CB-R · Dec 28, 2012

Thanks guy's. I forgot to mention that I'm planning on doing just that. Picked up the little head yesterday for $6. Needs a cleaning and a new profile though. It will work much better. It's almost 2.5lbs as it hangs now. Way too much head.

Square_peg · Dec 28, 2012

Great job. Looks like you're well equipped for making axe handles.

M3mphis · Dec 28, 2012

Very nice work, Sir!! That looks fantastic! Well done. Nice to see you back in the ATH. With that short handle, that would make a handy kindling splitter.

G-pig · Dec 28, 2012

My neighbor had a 2 1/4 ish plumb on a hatchet handle. His pop used it to sharpen fenceposts and stuff. when you start getting into to 20-50 axe range, you end up accumulating a lot of those kind of axes. Gotta be careful, thats a lot of head to stop in the hurry so its a hazard.

Handle looks great. The reddish tint almost makes it look like Red Maple. Certainly prettier than mine. I only cut one or two out with a band saw my neighbor had. it took too long while simultaneously going too fast. hard to explain. I went back to chopping them out with a hatchet, albeit with a more bold approach in the splitting stages. You can almost always take more off than you think when it comes to the finished product, although that may not be the most prudent approach for a handle hewer just starting (gotta know where to remove, something I definitely did NOT know 3 years ago or so).

CB-R · Dec 28, 2012

Thanks guy's, good to see all of again as well.

I think I get what you mean about the unorthodox combos, G-pig. They can't all go on racing handles after all!

Haven't handled nor seen Red Maple before, sounds like a likely possibility.

When you make yours are you using milled lumber or something straight off the tree? I'd like to make some with out the band saw, but cutting the rough shape on it, for me, seems to save a lot of time. I really like how yours have turned out. Seems like you've really considered personal ergonomic preferences.

I certainly have a lot to learn as far as where to remove material and where to leave it. I had taken some of my heftier store hafts and started to trim them down a bit to see if I could get them feeling more like some I'd seen on the forums. This is what gave me the idea that I could probably just make my own.

G-pig · Dec 28, 2012

I dont use milled stock really, except when some is given to me. Usually I am using quarters or sometimes eighths split some rounds in the 12"-18" range. With something like what you made, that is still green and appropriately split down to a good size, rough shaping with a good hatchet is probably a 10 or 15 minute job. the speed just comes from doing it over and over. the bigger you get, the more advantage the bandsaw will have with speed. like a bike vs. car for 500 yards or 50 miles. of course quantity of handles comes into play with that sort of hypothetical scenario. There is a reason they are all lathe turned, its quicker. But the handles dont have any soul, and usually they require a lot of shaping for someone picky about handle profile like me.