Grimalkins Projects Thread

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Grimalkin

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Apr 7, 2015
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So I am not sure how many projects I'll have down the road, but instead of posting all over the place, I'll keep it all in one thread. This isn't going to be a "look what I've hung" as much as a "help me out!" type thread :)

So I got this 3rd axe head ready to hang, but yet again I screwed up the eye. I have way too much room up front:

IMG_20160402_110929.jpg


I'm still thinning down the shoulder not done with this yet:
IMG_20160402_110946.jpg


And I also screwed up the very top with the rasp, i wasn't careful enough and rounded off the top
IMG_20160402_111108.jpg


So I am wondering a few things for advice:

1. Should I just take off more material and seat the head further down so the top is at a spot that isn't rounded?
2. Have you guys ever formed the wedge so that it would fill the gaps you left? I was thinking of modifying the wedge to be fatter up front to fill the gap.

Thanks!
 
If it was me, I'd move the head further down on the shoulder, you've got plenty of room to work with. I've made wedges to be fatter in some parts than others before, with mixed results.
 
Regarding the comments on the "it followed me home". Where is the wear you guys see? I still see paint on the top view, and there is still black paint evident on the face too. The reverse side even shows the outline of where a sticker used to be. Original handle was 16" that I cut off.

Just trying to learn more, thanks.
 
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Looking at your 2nd photo, the toe is shorter than the heel. That axe should have a longer toe than heel. It will function better and look better if you correct that. And it's much easier to change the shape of an axe before it's hung. No axe maker ever hung an axe before shaping/sharpening it. We should take note.
 
Square_peg said:
Looking at your 2nd photo, the toe is shorter than the heel. That axe should have a longer toe than heel. It will function better and look better if you correct that. And it's much easier to change the shape of an axe before it's hung. No axe maker ever hung an axe before shaping/sharpening it. We should take note.
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Gotcha, I thought perhaps I should hang it slightly angled down to compensate for that design. I didn't know it was a wear issue. I guess I'm still learning the ABCs :)

There is plenty of hardened bit left, so I'll see what I can do!
 
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I like that axe head! plenty of life left. I'll throw a few things out there.

The gap in the top doesn't matter so much, as long as there is good contact on the bottom side of things. just make sure your wedge goes all the way from the front to the back of the eye. In my experience, the eye should be shaving a little bit of each end of the wedge as you drive it home.

Rounding off the top doesn't really matter, as you'll probably be cutting of a portion of the top anyway after you wedge it.

This is just how I do it, but as i'm working my way down the shoulder, I don't touch the front edge of the handle (the part that fills the front of the eye). I like front of the handle to run straight up into the eye. So That just means removing material off the backside to get your front-to-back fit right.

I'd also rasp down the back end of that shoulder a bit and make a more gradual slope leading to the axe head. Then maybe take some material off on the backside of the handle just below the shoulder to slim that portion of the handle down. It's hard to say for sure without seeing that whole handle.

You're on the right track. I rarely ever work on anything without screwing things up at least once, just go slow and you'll have room to recover.
 
@JP thanks for all that. Today I was thinking to myself this might be the last axe I try to hang, I honestly think I've spent over 6 hours so far, but my rasp really sucks, so probably slow on material removal.

Hard not to get discouraged, but I'll keep on keepin on. Thank you for the tip on leaving the front, makes perfect sense, I'll do that on my next hang. I have my dad's 3 1/2 hultafors felling axe and 36" handle sitting in my project room. Just waiting for more confidence before I tackle that one.

Back shoulder I'm still thinning out, but I am nearly done, just got to sand it down now and see how it looks.

@darth I ended up cutting of a bit more from the top, glad I did, looks better.
 
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You have received very good advise here. From where you are now, I would work both the front and the back (get rid of that big hump) of the haft way down as you thin out down to the swell on what looks to me to be a much too thick handle. Leave all of whatever swell you have. Most important, dont give up hanging axes, you are almost there!
 
Regarding the regrind, is a good way to go about this finding the center point on the pole at the back, then using a string from the toe down to the heel to give me the correct arc? Like a protractor.

That handle is deceiving, the rest of it is actually very good size, just the top by the shoulder area is much overdone.
 
I just eyeball it to a gentle curve with the toe being a little longer than the heel - like 1/8"-3/8" longer.
 
after filing for a good 3 hours, and 2 blisters later, I am taking a break! Still not there, this american steel is viscous!

IMG_20160403_132530.jpg
 
You can see from the amount of effort involved to properly sharpen a neglected axe why folks of old (plus some of us old codgers) were so possessive of theirs and didn't lend them out to anyone.
 
300Six said:
You can see from the amount of effort involved to properly sharpen a neglected axe why folks of old (plus some of us old codgers) were so possessive of theirs and didn't lend them out to anyone.
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yep, I won't be lending anything to anyone! haha, not even my wife!
 
Do any of you just file the angle up to the eye, all the way to the edge? This would give a scandi type grind I suppose, but it would cut really deep. Just curious? Or do you guys mostly follow the Axe To Grind which would mean I would start increasing the angle from here on out?
 
Old Axeman said:
For sure, I ALWAYS follow An Ax to Grind !!!!
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After 4 hours total with my Mexican made nicholson file, I was relieved to find out the last little bit to the edge didn't take nearly as long as the initial work when I changed my angle a bit. I'm hoping to hang this soon, the wood is ready, just gotta sand it.

Have any of you dried out a handle in the oven? I live in pacific northwest, would love to get all the possible moisture out before I hang it.
 
300Six said:
You can see from the amount of effort involved to properly sharpen a neglected axe why folks of old (plus some of us old codgers) were so possessive of theirs and didn't lend them out to anyone.
Click to expand...

And on the flip side, you can see why some folks just tossed dull ones for a newer one. I'm doing the same to some of mine as well and the effort is real on those heads whose bevels have been steepened a good bit, even with my monster Heller Nu-Cut. It takes a while to remove that much high quality hardened vintage axe steel.
 
Grimalkin said:
After 4 hours total with my Mexican made nicholson file, I was relieved to find out the last little bit to the edge didn't take nearly as long as the initial work when I changed my angle a bit. I'm hoping to hang this soon, the wood is ready, just gotta sand it.

Have any of you dried out a handle in the oven? I live in pacific northwest, would love to get all the possible moisture out before I hang it.
Click to expand...

If it's been air dried (for about a year) then pop it in the oven just below boiling (180-200F) for a few hours (or maybe 120-150 overnight). If you think it needs more than that, go for it. What you don't want is a baked piece of wood nor one that has been through the 'now fashionable' broil cycle (ie flame tempered). I did live in Vancouver long enough in the early 1980s to know that "damp" means "soaking fu----- wet" irregardless of what the wood went through before hand. It's Arizona we're trying to emulate for fitting and when the wedge goes in.
 
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