Plumb Restoration and Hanging 2

J

John Frankl

Joined
Oct 16, 2001
Messages
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I had so much fun with that first one I thought I'd do another. This time I deliberately started with a pretty ugly Plumb (but beauty is only skin deep and I could see the real beauty under all the crud) :)

It started homely and at 3 lbs. 8.3 oz.

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I was curious to see how much lighter I would have to make it to clean it up fully. I thought I might wind up with a boy's axe. Turns out I lost only 6 oz. It is now 3 lbs. 2.3 oz.

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Overall she cleaned up pretty nice. At the bottom you'll see my first attempt at rehanging.

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Just dumb luck that the handle fits pretty well right off the bat. Still, the handles come super rough and uneven so a lot of handwork to come.

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Looks good. How does the octagon handle feel compared to the round ones? One more quick thing, how do you like that mini grip. sitting on the table in the last picture?
 
Great looking restoration. She's good as new. Refinishing the top, bottom and poll of the axe was a nice touch.

John Frankl said:
Just dumb luck that the handle fits pretty well right off the bat. Still, the handles come super rough and uneven so a lot of handwork to come.
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Not just dumb luck. That looks like a House Handle. The ones I've ordered from House fit like yours did, almost perfectly right from the factory. Their octagoning is a little rough but not too bad.

Is that a 36"?
 
I like the octagon for "indexing." But there are no sharp corners, just nice flats and soft angles. Make your hand the shape you think it would be if you were holding an axe or knife handle. Now look at the hole made by your thumb and index finger. Wow. Looks kind of like an octagon :)

The Mini Grip I carry just about every day. Not a great carver, but perfect size and shape for just about everything else.

I like refinishing the top, bottom, and poll both to get the exact profile I want, and because they were all pretty beat up. My first photos don't really show it, but this thing was mushroomed in all three directions. Someone had done some serious pounding on this one. I did some pretty heavy grinding, along with a bit of re-forging around the eye to get it where I wanted it.

Yes, a House Handle. The first one didn't fit at all well. Maybe my axe was a bit off. Yeah, the octagoning has more like 10 sides, but it can be cleaned up pretty easily. And the grain is just about perfect. I believe this one is 32", maybe 34.
 
Okay, I went ahead and mounted this one up. Didn't take much filing. In fact, getting the head off after that first fit up was a bear.

Here it is with the wedge driven home, nice and deep.

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Cut it off and file it down. Two things I don't like here. The sap wood shows a bit top and bottom. And the grain is straight at the bottom of the handle but twists so that it is pretty far off at the top.

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Here is is mounted and with the tools.

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And, finally, next to its big brother :)

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Good job. That little bit of heart wood isn't gonna hurt a thing. The Forest Service tests showed that it's just as strong as the sap wood.

John Frankl said:
....In fact, getting the head off after that first fit up was a bear.
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I use a plastic resin hammer for knocking them back off during the fitting process. The resin hammer face is much harder than a rubber mallet but still won't mar the metal. Your bench/shop is so clean. You're welcome to come clean mine anytime you like.
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Any recommendation for brand and weight on the resin hammer?

Thats just a little table I through together a few days ago with the scrap left over from my bench build. I'll get it banged up soon enough ;)
 
John Frankl said:
Any recommendation for brand and weight on the resin hammer?

Thats just a little table I through together a few days ago with the scrap left over from my bench build. I'll get it banged up soon enough ;)
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Estwing makes some nice ones. I don't own one, but I've been thinking about getting one for quite sometime now.
 
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