New Cut Projects

Q

quinton

Joined
Nov 4, 2006
Messages
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I don't do a lot on a regular basis these days, but I thought I would put up a thread to share photos and random ramblings when I do. Projects will be mostly axes and hatchets, but could involve anything that will rust, and should be sharp, or anything pertaining to the above.
 
I was looking through my staves for no particular reason the other day and came across one that just inspired me. It inspired me mainly because it was ugly, and I wanted to use it to get rid of it. It had some wavey grain, a slight bow, and a little strip of brash wood near the heartwood side of the stave. I decided to hew the bow off it to see if I thought I could get a double bit handle out of it before I cut it in half for hatchet handles. Here's how the project went.

A 3 1/2 lb. Collins era, Sager DB head I picked up a few years ago. The stave is BARELY wide enough to even think about hanging this head.

I'm thinking maybe at this point.

It's gonna work, but the shoulder is going to be a little narrower than I like on a DB.

It's shaping up after a few minutes of hewing.

Making the tongue, and fitting it to the eye. Also starting to cut some facets with the rasp to ensure I keep the handle straight, and inline with the tongue and shoulder.

Working on the shelf, and facets.

This picture is a little confusing. I'm holding the tongue in my hand while sighting down the haft for straightness.

Final facet tweaking with the rasp for geometric uniformity along the full length of the haft. This works for curvey handles as well

Finally, the tongue is through the eye and ready to be hung.

Kerf was cut, and the head was hung with a sassafras wedge. It doesn't show in the picture, but I even cod locked the wedge by driving it deeper after trimming the tongue. Thanks guys, that was a nice tip I learned here on the forum!

The thickness of the haft is 13/16ths along the length.

The swell.

A little file work on the bits, once through the oxidation layer, that old Ward's Master Quality file made pretty quick work of this part! After the bits were profiled, I hit them with a carborundum stone and then 180 paper.

I took her to the woods this afternoon to work on maple windfall. The axe feels good and smooth to me and seems really accurate. For those that speak of flexy handles, there's some pretty good examples of this in this short video.
 
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Right on laddy! Show forum watchers that making handles from scratch is imminently doable via rudimentary tools. This ought to motivate a few more of us, that are otherwise hesitant, to have a go at something like this.
 
300Six said:
Right on laddy! Show forum watchers that making handles from scratch is imminently doable via rudimentary tools. This ought to motivate a few more of us, that are otherwise hesitant, to have a go at something like this.
Click to expand...
Very doable with hand tools. Although.. I did use a 12" planer, and a radial arm saw to speed the process a little.
 
quinton said:
Very doable with hand tools. Although.. I did use a 12" planer, and a radial arm saw to speed the process a little.
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I hear you. A band saw is 'handier than a pocket in a shirt' too when yer contemplating roughing out curved handles but nobody else has to know that!
 
the only power tools i use is a sander. and i regret it very much, because i work slow, it takes me all day to make a handle, and then the head, it doesnt even sit straight. ahyep its doable, it just sucks.
 
phantomknives said:
the only power tools i use is a sander. and i regret it very much, because i work slow, it takes me all day to make a handle, and then the head, it doesnt even sit straight. ahyep its doable, it just sucks.
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Go slower, take two days maybe? Keeping the head straight is really important.
 
phantomknives said:
the only power tools i use is a sander. and i regret it very much, because i work slow, it takes me all day to make a handle, and then the head, it doesnt even sit straight. ahyep its doable, it just sucks.
Click to expand...

It takes me several days to do up a handle properly. Of course I could do it faster but I have working axes that get used in the mean time.

The only powertool I use regularly is a little mouse/lion detail sander at the end unless cutting from quarter sawn wood then the jigsaw comes out.

Certainly don't have any issues with powertools or think less of those who use them. If your axe is sharp, straight, and swings true then it's all just a means to an end I would think.
 
Whether you use hand tools or power tools the hardest part is understanding how to do layouts so the end product is straight. You've got to be a real crackerjack to be able to do operations such as this only by feel and by eye.
 
300Six said:
Whether you use hand tools or power tools the hardest part is understanding how to do layouts so the end product is straight. You've got to be a real crackerjack to be able to do operations such as this only by feel and by eye.
Click to expand...
I learned years ago a good eye, and the octagonal facets are the only way to get a geometrically perfect handle by hand. A full size axe handle don't feel right, or work correctly if it has thick and thin areas along the length.
 
:thumbsup: Nice work quinton, you can't hand pick a factory made handle that straight with such perfect grain orientation :)
 
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