Hangng a Norlund: My First Boy's Axe!

J

John Frankl

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Oct 16, 2001
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First, let me say a big thank you to everyone on here for all the help. Particularly the advice I got on my last Hang/WIP thread was priceless. I tried to incorporate it in this latest hang.

Here is the head pretty much as I got it, with only the stamp cleaned up a bit.

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Now here is my first fit up, without any filing, grinding, etc. The House Handle boy's axe handle fit darn near perfectly.

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Here it is back off the haft for some fine tuning. By the way, at this point it's been on a grinder and worked by hand with a stone. It's shaving very nicely.

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Here is the second and final fit up with both kerf and wedge lubed with BLO, and the wedge shaped to fit the eye. I also gently used a cold chisel to open up the kerf on top a bit.

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Here is the wedge driven home. The BLO does seem to help a bunch. Thanks!

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Here it is ground flush, although I did decide to leave everything a bit proud on this one for a change.

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Here are some overall photos of the axe. The handle is great. Nice and slim with a big 3D fawn's foot on the end.

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Thanks again to everyone. The handle was a bit small, and without all the good advice on wedges I'd certainly have gaps to plug, etc.
 
that thing looks great! Go chop!
Are you going to slim the shoulders of that edge at all?
Tell us about the octoganal handle and if you'll be sanding it at all.
 
"that thing looks great! Go chop!"--Thanks.

"Are you going to slim the shoulders of that edge at all?"--Yeah, it is ground sort of like a cold chisel right now. But the overall geometry is thin already, so I'll likely chop a bit before going thinner.

"Tell us about the octoganal handle and if you'll be sanding it at all."--House does it for a buck, but it is very rough. I'll dial it in quite a bit with files and paper. Not really to get it any thinner--it's nice right now--but just to true everything up.
 
Nice job! What kind of vise is that? I've been looking for a good older vise in the 6" range.
 
Gruntmedik, Yes it's a Reed. I disassembled it, sandblasted everything, repainted, etc. to make it pretty, but it was very serviceable as I found it. The jaws are only 3.5" but it does everything I need.

The same guy who sold it to me now has a 4.5" beast of a Chas. Parker vise, swivel base and near perfect jaws and movement for $65, I believe. I almost bought it, but I really have no use for it. It was just so pretty:) Even with shipping it'd be a darn good deal and you'd wind up giving it to your kids:)
 
Thanks John. After I went back and looked, I saw it was a Reed. My brother just bought one yesterday, and just re-did a Columbian. I may be going to pick up a Wilton 9400 this evening or tomorrow.

Sorry for the hijack, now back to your regularly scheduled thread.
 
John Frankl said:
Gruntmedik, Yes it's a Reed. I disassembled it, sandblasted everything, repainted, etc. to make it pretty, but it was very serviceable as I found it. The jaws are only 3.5" but it does everything I need.

The same guy who sold it to me now has a 4.5" beast of a Chas. Parker vise, swivel base and near perfect jaws and movement for $65, I believe. I almost bought it, but I really have no use for it. It was just so pretty:) Even with shipping it'd be a darn good deal and you'd wind up giving it to your kids:)
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Whaddaya mean you ALMOST bought it?!? I swoon over my Chas Parker every time I use it. We have His and Hers vises... Hers is a "3-1/2" which she refurbed entirely and painted fire engine red with gold lettering.
 
daizee said:
Tell us about the octoganal handle and if you'll be sanding it at all.
Click to expand...

John Frankl said:
--House does it for a buck, but it is very rough. I'll dial it in quite a bit with files and paper. Not really to get it any thinner--it's nice right now--but just to true everything up.
Click to expand...

That mirrors my experience with House's octagoning. It saves you a lot of time versus doing it all yourself but it still needs some work if you want it to be symmetrical. A well tuned spoke shave can finish one up quickly. House's octagons come slimmed down already, not fat like hardware store handles. It's a good value.
 
John Frankl said:
Okay, Daizee, should I just pull the trigger and buy it? It is pretty darn nice.
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oh, depends on the price and the cost to get it to you. But you'd love it every day. It's one of the best tools in my shop.
 
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