Need advice on fitting a wedge please.

D

doodledogdad

Joined
May 2, 2018
Messages
23
Putting a new handle on this beautiful 4 and 3/4 pound double bit and can't find a way to fit a wedge and the time. This is only the second head that I have re handled and the first one was much easier and the wedge fit right in. Thank you in advance.
 
Not sure if you can post some pics but perhaps you need to clean a little material off the haft to fit slightly loose in the eye than you have it now.
Perhaps sanding or shaving material off your wedge will help as well.

Sometimes all you may need is to thin your wedge a bit, expose your kerf slightly with a chisel or straight screw driver and once the wedge bites, drive it home.

Hard tellin' without pictures but some of that may help.

Welcome to the forum:thumbsup:
 
+1 to what Miller '72 said. Sounds like either your wedge is too large or you have too much tongue. Either the kerf is too small or, more probable, there's too much wood on the outside of the tongue.
Does your wedge keep popping out or is the kerf so tight you can't get your wedge started?
 
Miller '72 said:
Not sure if you can post some pics but perhaps you need to clean a little material off the haft to fit slightly loose in the eye than you have it now.
Perhaps sanding or shaving material off your wedge will help as well.

Sometimes all you may need is to thin your wedge a bit, expose your kerf slightly with a chisel or straight screw driver and once the wedge bites, drive it home.

Hard tellin' without pictures but some of that may help.

Welcome to the forum:thumbsup:
Click to expand...
Couldn't upload pics from my phone! Adding now!
 
Nice axe man! It looks to me like you should both run a handsaw down the kerf(unless it's just pinched closed due to being in the eye) and also remove some wood from the top 1-1/2" of the outside of the tongue. But only on the sides not the length. You want a little room up there so you can drive a lot of wedge in there.
And welcome by the way! This is a really great site!
 
Alright. I'm going to back the head off and hacksaw halfway down. Should I put any boiled linseed oil or glue on the wedge?
 
Linsed oil will help stabilize the wood. But we've had a few reports here of oiled wedges wanting to push out before the oil drys. So keep an eye on it if you use oil.

I used to glue with construction adhesive but I stopped using it for axes. It eliminates the option of pulling the handle. Now I use my generic equivalent to Swel Lock, DPG:water 80:20.
 
Square_peg said:
Linsed oil will help stabilize the wood. But we've had a few reports here of oiled wedges wanting to push out before the oil drys. So keep an eye on it if you use oil.

I used to glue with construction adhesive but I stopped using it for axes. It eliminates the option of pulling the handle. Now I use my generic equivalent to Swel Lock, DPG:water 80:20.
Click to expand...
Thanks. I have swell lock. Should I use that?
 
I have a small handsaw that I use to widen the kerf cut. I also cut the wedge on a length-wise taper so that it gets very tight in the length of the eye when driving it home. I round the corners to better fit the oval end of the eyes. I use gorilla glue on the center wedge. Its slides in easily and will expand to fill the voids. With the center wedge tight from end to end and glued to the haft it helps to keep the haft from moving in the eye from impacts. Also you can use an axe poll to drive the center wedge so it strikes evenly along the whole length and does not split it.
 
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