Handle Removal; I can't believe that worked

A

Alocksly

Joined
Dec 30, 2013
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I wanted to take the handle off my recently acquired junk store Wetterling without damaging it. It has a slight warp and the bit was poorly hung but the grain is excellent and I plan to straighten it and rehang the bit after I clean it up. I let it dry out for two days behind my woodstove to shrink it a bit and I got a bit of wiggle from that. Then I got five ratchet tie down straps and a come-along and strung the thing up between two trees. I used a rubber mallet to encourage it. I believe it's a two ton come-along and I was near the threshold for putting any more tension on it. For the record there were also safety glasses, heavy gloves, and a constant awareness of possible trajectories should it pop loose. The handle came off intact with the wedge still in place and no damage to it or the bit.









 
Klok said:
creative... but I wouldn't stand near that rig if you paid me.
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I've worked with longer, heavier cables under much higher tensions. I wasn't expecting much to happen and to be honest the end was pretty anticlimactic. The handle and head each moved about two feet towards their respective tree before reaching the ground. If there had been more cable out or any elasticity in the rig I'd have pounded some posts in alongside the cable to block any whiplash.

My main expectation was that the head would stay right there on the handle and I'd have to try something else.
 
Well thats something you dont see everyday. Ive done something similar but it ended with a new fear and a large bruise on my arm. lol
 
Hmmmmm. Maybe I should clarify; I didn't crank on the come-along until it popped (which would have involved standing in the worst case trajectory of the bit). I put it under tension and then tapped at it with the rubber mallet (which also involved standing in the place that everything would be moving away from) and the head slowly wiggled it's way off the handle.
 
Drill out the wedge, then pound out the handle using a swedge. Easy enough. No need to lose a limb.
 
I'll have to remember this technique next time I feel a desire to send an axe head into orbit. ;-)
 
blasto9000 said:
I'll have to remember this technique next time I feel a desire to send an axe head into orbit. ;-)
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In that case I'd recommend replacing the two tie downs on the axe head with about six rubber tie downs or one truck innertube.

Also please film it. You know..... for.......educational purposes.
 
I like the thinking out of the box mindset. You can boost the safety factor by tossing a heavy moving blanket or two over the axe, that would catch the parts if it let go with much energy.
 
On the off chance that anyone else tries this; the reason why I wasn't too worried was that 1) both my anchor points were static and 2) the total amount of cable + cordage was minimal (< 10ft) and non-elastic. If you have a lot of cable out, say 20+ feet, and the tension is high enough, then the cable will stretch (elastic movement) and thus rebound if suddenly released resulting in a whiplash. Likewise if your anchor points have movement, such as one vehicle trying to winch out a second vehicle, they will both move upon sudden release, also resulting in a whiplash. Because this setup was essentially static, I was pretty confident that the head would either a) not let go or b) let go and fall to the ground (which it did)

To think of it another way, when you use a spring clamp (elastic) and the parts you're clamping shrink (glue spreads out or whatever) the clamp follows and shrinks it's grip with it. If you use a screw clamp (static) and the part shrinks the clamp doesn't move and it's no longer exerting any pressure. Once the axe head let go the haft there wasn't any tension left to make it go anywhere.
 
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The 'non-elastic' was the key to making that work safely. I've had a bad experience with tension on a semi-elastic rope.

We were doing some demolition of an office structure within a warehouse. We wrapped a chain around a corner post and tied that to the bumper of a big Chevy 4x4 with a 3/4" rope. When the post yanked free the chain flew, rope-attached, 40 feet across the warehouse striking my buddy squarely in the chest. I was surprised that chain flew fast enough that it didn't drop noticeably in 40 feet. Thankfully my friend was built like an oak tree suffered nothing more than bruising.
 
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