Square_peg
Gold Member
- Joined
- Feb 1, 2012
- Messages
- 13,823
A few weeks back in another thread I posted a photo of an old railroad brush axe I have. It's stamped 'CMSTP&PRR' for Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Rail Road. It was missing its handle along with the strap and the nut & bolt.
I also have an old True Temper Kelly Works brush axe which still had it's original handle and hardware. I stole the handle off of the TT Kelly brush axe and refinished it. It was in really bad shape, super dried out and sun-bleached. I purchased it in Eastern Washington. If you're familiar with how wood gets weathered and sun-bleached in desert E. WA that you have a good idea what was wrong with this axe handle. It was worse than it appears in this photo. I should have documented its condition better.
I rasped off a little of the surface wood and then gave it many coats of oil. I started with boiled linseed oil. The old dry wood drank it up like a college boy at a kegger party. I would brush on a heavy coat and it would just disappear into the wood. I probably gave it 4 or 5 coats of BLO. I've found that BLO really gets into the wood and restores/revives its strength.
I followed the BLO with 4 or 5 coats of tung oil. Tung oil penetrates and also builds up a varnish-like finish on wood. It also helps fill cracks and pores in the wood. I sanded it in between coats and worked the sandings into the cracks. Then I coated again. Many of the cracks were filled and bonded back together.
The axe head itself also needed a bunch of work. It was missing its strap along with the nut & bolt. I bent a new strap with a torch and stole the old square nut & bolt off the TT-Kelly. I removed the rust with a brass wire cup brush on an angle grinder.
The eye had been beaten on and was mis-shapen. The top was rolled over and one side of the eye was partially collapsed. I filed off the rolls. The collapsed eye was a little tougher. What I did was heat the damaged side of the eye with the torch and then open it up with a drift. The opposite side of the eye which wasn't heated as much held it's shape. I clamped a wet rag to the bit to protect the temper during this work.
I'm pleased that I was able to restore the railroad brush axe with a period handle and that it was a brush axe handle not an axe handle. A brush axe handle has no kerf as it isn't wedged, relying instead on the strap to keep it from flying off.
I rubbed the head down with a mixture of beeswax, boiled linseed oil and turpentine to protect it from rust.
The old handle has the large swell that was common on old axes but is less common today.
This tool is ready to go back to work now. I wouldn't necessarily go to this much effort to restore any old tool. But I collect Milwaukee Road tools because the old rail lines passed nearby my home. The old RR right of way has become one of my favorite regional trails.
I also have an old True Temper Kelly Works brush axe which still had it's original handle and hardware. I stole the handle off of the TT Kelly brush axe and refinished it. It was in really bad shape, super dried out and sun-bleached. I purchased it in Eastern Washington. If you're familiar with how wood gets weathered and sun-bleached in desert E. WA that you have a good idea what was wrong with this axe handle. It was worse than it appears in this photo. I should have documented its condition better.
I rasped off a little of the surface wood and then gave it many coats of oil. I started with boiled linseed oil. The old dry wood drank it up like a college boy at a kegger party. I would brush on a heavy coat and it would just disappear into the wood. I probably gave it 4 or 5 coats of BLO. I've found that BLO really gets into the wood and restores/revives its strength.
I followed the BLO with 4 or 5 coats of tung oil. Tung oil penetrates and also builds up a varnish-like finish on wood. It also helps fill cracks and pores in the wood. I sanded it in between coats and worked the sandings into the cracks. Then I coated again. Many of the cracks were filled and bonded back together.
The axe head itself also needed a bunch of work. It was missing its strap along with the nut & bolt. I bent a new strap with a torch and stole the old square nut & bolt off the TT-Kelly. I removed the rust with a brass wire cup brush on an angle grinder.
The eye had been beaten on and was mis-shapen. The top was rolled over and one side of the eye was partially collapsed. I filed off the rolls. The collapsed eye was a little tougher. What I did was heat the damaged side of the eye with the torch and then open it up with a drift. The opposite side of the eye which wasn't heated as much held it's shape. I clamped a wet rag to the bit to protect the temper during this work.
I'm pleased that I was able to restore the railroad brush axe with a period handle and that it was a brush axe handle not an axe handle. A brush axe handle has no kerf as it isn't wedged, relying instead on the strap to keep it from flying off.
I rubbed the head down with a mixture of beeswax, boiled linseed oil and turpentine to protect it from rust.
The old handle has the large swell that was common on old axes but is less common today.
This tool is ready to go back to work now. I wouldn't necessarily go to this much effort to restore any old tool. But I collect Milwaukee Road tools because the old rail lines passed nearby my home. The old RR right of way has become one of my favorite regional trails.
