Just hung my first (successful) axe

L

Lacedaemon

Joined
Jul 7, 2011
Messages
4
So I just finished hanging an axe for the first time. It's a Gransfors Bruks Yankee that I got on Ebay for $22.50. (The first time I tried to hang an axe it was a old Bluegrass, which, after working on it for a few hours I realized had a hairline crack, so I quit).

Anyway, I am reasonably satisfied with the outcome, but not completely and have a couple of questions.

1: I was never able to get it 100% straight on the handle. I was pretty careful to rasp the handle down evenly, and in the end even tried to compensate for the slight cant to the right with some differential rasping but even so ended up with the head off by between 1/8" and 1/4". How does one adjust this during the hanging process?

2: The bit is just a hair more open than I would like, but again, I had a lot of difficulty changing this with a rasp.

3: When I finally set the head, the slot for the wedge was almost closed. I was able to wedge the handle, but only with perhaps 1/2" to 3/4" of an inch of wedge. The head feels super tight (I haven't had a chance to swing it yet). How much wedge does this usually take? More specifically, do I need the head to be significantly looser before wedging in order to keep the slot open?

I think that all three of these questions may relate to the internal flare of the eye (it's more open on top to allow the handle to spread out and keep the head on) and having to compensate for the internal shape of the eye.

There is, of course, door number three, which is that I am too persnickety for my own good. I haven't done this enough to know for sure.

Anyway, it's a neat working tool that I intend to use for trail work and the like and I think it should be OK. I just want to do a better job next time.

Thanks!

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Pictures would help for numbers 1&2. I think on number one it's just a matter of practice, it can be tough to get the blade to line up right sometimes. You were on the right track with the differential rasping. For #2, I could use clarification on what you mean by the bit being open. As for #3, I've found that it's better if you can drive a little more of the wedge in, though it may not be absolutely necessary if the fit is really really tight at the base of the eye. This can be accomplished by more rasping, removing more material at the top so the wedge can be driven in... Like most things, practice will help. If you're using the run of the mill rasp that you find at hardware stores this can be hard to get uniform removal. If you go to a tack store (for horse gear) you can get a larger rasp designed for cleaning up their feet that's flat on both sides and makes material removal a little easier. The first side is a real aggressive rasp and the second side leaves a smoother finish but still takes off a good bit of material.
 
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Hmm. Had trouble posting photos, but I'm sure I just got the code wrong.

By too open I mean that I think the bit is tilted up just a little bit.

It's tight enough at the bottom of the eye that it caused excess wood to peel away most of the way around the head as I set it. (Could this be a source of the un-evenness?)
 
Sighting it up from the butt of the handle to the bit, the bottom of the right hand side of the eye wood needs to be rasped down. You could probably knock the head off and re-set the handle pretty easily. It will need to slide down a wee bit further in order to correct the angle. It also doesn't look too open to me, that is usually only an issue if its very extreme.

Edit: if it makes it easier to understand, in the photo your thumb is sitting right where to need to rasp down.
 
OK. That makes sense. I could knock the head off and re-wedge easily enough.

That's the area where I was rasping a lot, and got worried about taking too much off - I'm a little paranoid about it since you can take wood off but you can't put it back.

Good to know that the open/closed isn't too sensitive. All of my axe work has been with axes other people have hung (obviously, since this is my first hanging) so I have never given it a second thought.

On a related note, do folks ever use things like Dremels for the shaping, or is it best to leave this as a purely hand tool project?
 
I have a dremel and have never used it for this work. A rasp, spoke shave and drawknife are all I use. It looks like in order to correct the hang of your axe, you will have to drop the head down maybe 1/2 inch or so, maybe a little less. Just rasp off the shoulder. If you just rasp on the part the axe is already going to cover it won't correct, you have you drop it further down the handle. Good luck!
 
I second the idea of the farrier's rasp. They work great for this. If you know any farrier or just horse owners, you may be able to pick up one or more for free or almost free. Farriers tend to throw them out while they are still in pretty good condition, but they like them super sharp. Brand new they are only like 20 bucks.

It doesn't seem like dremel would lend itself well to the task. I have also used the 6" disk on my grinder.

Matt
 
I have used body sanders and 4 1/2 inch grinders with sanding wheels. Take It Easy, like you said, can't put it back on. Rasps and files work good too. Also, I have a 1" by 42" belt sander. use what you got at the time, including wits and skills.
 
I recently had my first re-handling adventure. I ran into the same situation with the closed up slot for the wedge. In the end I just tapped the wedge in and I think the liberal amount of wood glue I used acted as a lubricant, allowing the wedge into the slot. I've done quite a bit of limbing with the axe and it seems solid.

I too ended up with the head ever so slightly out of line but it's passable. I imagine the whole process will become smoother and more precise with more experience.
 
Operator1975 said:
Is the axe head on upside down?
Click to expand...

I think that's a good question! It's hard to tell in the pic. If it is upside down, that could definitely explain why you didn't have much space for your wedge, as a well shaped eye flares out toward the top. If it's on upside down, you be pushing the slot closed tighter and tighter as you push the head on.

Matt
 
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