Recycled $3 Collins Legitimus

[CedarEater]

I saved this Collins Legitimus from the metal recycler for a whole $3.00 and this is what it looked like.





It had some mild mushrooming.




The haft is not original nor do I like the swell but it is a good length for this head and was serviceable so I decided to keep it. The haft was reshaped a little and thinned, then it soaked up multiple coats of BLO. I made an attempt to keep the Master Mechanics sticker on the haft.





I reseated the head closer to the shoulder of the haft. Reused the aluminum wedge for fun and something different.




Filed, sharpened and peened.







Overall I am quite happy with how it looks and feels right now. At 33.5" overall this is a nice single bit to add to my axe quiver.










And that is that.

 

[Liberatus1]

When you say peened what exactly do you mean? Also what did you do to get that finish on the head?

 

[CedarEater]

When I say "peened" I mean I use a peening hammer to pound the mushrooming flat. The technique I used was to wrap a cold, wet towel around the bit and heat up the pole with a propane torch. Then I layed it on a section of railroad track that I bolted to a stump as a makeshift anvil. I would use a ball peen hammer but mine is too small for this application so I used a 6# railroad spike hammer that has no handle as my peening hammer and proceeded to pound out the mushrooming. Heat, soak rag and wrap bit, pound, heat, soak rag and wrap bit, pound and repeat over and over. I took my time and kept the bit cool and probably really annoyed the neighbors.




I got the finish on the head simply by using the cupbrush in my power drill to take the red rust off the surface of the head while leaving that nice looking black rust patina.

 

[Liberatus1]

Thanks! I never thought of doing this so I really appreciate your explanation. I really like how the patina on the head came out, did you use any vinegar or light oil like wd-40 on the head before or when you were running the cupbrush over it, the black just looks great. I have a piece of RR track like that now I just need to get my stump.

 

[Sparky415]

That looks great now CE

 

[aaronc]

Nice find and a great save. Love to see restorations.

-Aaron

 

[300Six]

Nicely done! Patience is a virtue! Not sure how much effect heating the poll with just a propane torch would have to ease peening back of the mushroom but I like the idea. I've never liked the concept of grinding (unless it's merely a user) because that only serves to detract from the authenticity.

 

[lmalterna]

Well done! I have not tried peening yet. Have just been filing and stoning enough to smooth the burs out. Have everything need to try, so no excuse ut time.


Bill

 

[Liberatus1]

It seems like the thinness of the mushroomed portion should get red hot and be able to be worked right? I'm just putting this out there because I suspect it could but don't know. I'll try it later on this week with a head I have on hand and check in about it too.

Nicely done! Patience is a virtue! Not sure how much effect heating the poll with just a propane torch would have to ease peening back of the mushroom but I like the idea. I've never liked the concept of grinding (unless it's merely a user) because that only serves to detract from the authenticity.

 

[CedarEater]

Thanks! I never thought of doing this so I really appreciate your explanation. I really like how the patina on the head came out, did you use any vinegar or light oil like wd-40 on the head before or when you were running the cupbrush over it, the black just looks great. I have a piece of RR track like that now I just need to get my stump.

Nope, no vinegar or WD-40. Just the cupbrush. Vinegar will take that black patina off which I will do if the head warrants it (i.e. its really beat up and needs a lot of file work to clean up a lotof mushrooming, not necessarily just on the poll).


Peening without the mushroomed area red hot might not be ideal? I figured heating the area up till its too hot to touch would l make it a little easier to peen. Normally I would just file the mushrooming off but I wanted to play a little and am open to suggestions. Plus, I didn't want to file away anymore of whats left of the Collins portion of that stamp.

Thanks for the questions and feedback.

 

[300Six]

It seems like the thinness of the mushroomed portion should get red hot and be able to be worked right? I'm just putting this out there because I suspect it could but don't know. I'll try it later on this week with a head I have on hand and check in about it too.

Heating, for sure, is "the" way to go but I have a professional welder/automotive-repair buddy that makes anything I pretend to heat up (with a mere propane torch) look like complete foolishness. Warm/hot/melt-hot are entirely different critters when working with axe-thick steel. You, me and every other backyard hobbyist do not have the wherewithal (220V+ and commercial equipment) to casually turn steel into "plasticine" for the purpose of properly changing the shape of it.
Nevertheless, heating a working surface before 'going to town' with a ball-peen hammer is to be considered positive. Steel (and even more so alloys) vehicle rims routinely shatter in Iqaluit (formerly Frobisher Bay NWT) when mildly contacting a curb at -40F, so the reverse situation must also hold true.

 

[Square_peg]

That's a great restoration. Textbook, IMO.

I appreciate the care you took in saving the mushroomed metal. I hate seeing axe metal end up on the shop floor under the grinder. I've used this technique, too. We sometimes forget how a mushroomed poll got that way. The poll mushroomed out like that while it was cold. Some of it will surely hammer back in at mild heat. And any mass saved in the restoration retains axe balance.

At forging temperature (bright red to orange) the metal will move back easily. But not all of us have a forge and you have to be really careful not to temper the bit when you're forging the poll. If you're lucky enough to have an induction forge then you can heat the poll while holding the bit in your hand. No chance of losing temper with that method.

Plus, I didn't want to file away anymore of whats left of the Collins portion of that stamp.

Best reason of all not to grind the poll.

 

[Twoinch]

i agree with 300six that a propane torch isnt really doing anything on a 1" thick hunk of steel when it comes to peening it back into shape. it obviously wont hurt it, as long as you arent heating the bit itself. heating the poll with a propane torch im sure COULDNT transfer enough heat to the bit to draw the temper.

you would either, like mentioned, need a forge, or real torch(oxy/fuel) with the proper welding heads to get the steel hot enough to form it. you would be lucky to get the steel to more than a few hundred degrees with it being that thick and the heat being concentrated on such a small area.

maybe using an air hammer would help in cold forming mushrooming? might be worth a shot next time i have one to do. a couple thousand blows a minute sounds better than swinging a 2 or 3 lb ball peen for an hour.

 

[300Six]

The whole concept of peening axe heads back into shape is an excellent one and well worth exploring on here. Many of my old heads were obviously dimpled and dented at each end from when former owners used big hammers to remove and set heads on new handles. Done 3-4 times and an axe really starts to look 'beat'. Be nice to straighten-out or lessen wounds like that too.

 

[Bridger]

I got some ceramic wool from a local supplier for 3$ a pound. With a little insulation I can easily get a poll up to forging temps with a MAPP torch. I'm re heat-treating the head though so I have no idea if you could keep the bit cool in some water and save the temper. With the thin-ness of the eye I think you could pull it off though since it won't conduct the heat as well from the poll to the bit. I'm confident you could at least soften the poll and hammer back the damage cold without affecting the temper.

 

[El Quachito]

Do you guys have a preferred tool for tapping out an old handle? I have seen the forest service video where the ranger has special tools to match the eye and he can cleanly tap out handles, but those are probably rarer than hens teeth?

I'll use whatever is handy like an old bolt or anything that will fit. Most all my axe work has been hanging new handles on old heads without handles.

 

[Double Ott]

My punches...Several grade 8 bolts and two chunks of scrap metal. Works for me.

Tom

 

[lmalterna]

I have used bolts and also chunks of old handle that was rasped down to pass through eyes. Eyes do differ in dimension and sometimes it helps to split the wood in the eye and punch out in sections.

Bill

 

[Twoinch]

The whole concept of peening axe heads back into shape is an excellent one and well worth exploring on here. Many of my old heads were obviously dimpled and dented at each end from when former owners used big hammers to remove and set heads on new handles. Done 3-4 times and an axe really starts to look 'beat'. Be nice to straighten-out or lessen wounds like that too.

most of mine get peened back into shape. but i dont worry about getting them back to original shape, i just get them smoothed out close, so there is no lip to snag up.

on very mushroomed polls, i will grind off some of it, and peen the rest into a better shape. peening after grinding also makes the grinding much less obvious, doesnt look so much like a reworked poll.

 

[Twoinch]

I got some ceramic wool from a local supplier for 3$ a pound. With a little insulation I can easily get a poll up to forging temps with a MAPP torch. I'm re heat-treating the head though so I have no idea if you could keep the bit cool in some water and save the temper. With the thin-ness of the eye I think you could pull it off though since it won't conduct the heat as well from the poll to the bit. I'm confident you could at least soften the poll and hammer back the damage cold without affecting the temper.

MAPP gas is impossible to find. it has not been produced or available for the last seven or eight years or so. unless you have a stock pile from quite a long time ago, you are using Map-Pro

Map-Pro(propane/propylene mix) gas burns about 150 degrees F. hotter than propane. real MAPP(methylacetylene) gas was a great fuel, burned pretty hot. the very small increase in performance with propylene over propane is not worth(IMO) the 3-4x increase in price.

the torch tip has more to do with the heat imparted into your workpiece than the fuel.