Securing hawk head with silicone

[upnorth]

Im thinking of securing the head of my hawk (cs) with the set screw then squirting a blast of clear silicone from a squeeze tube in the gaps between handle and head. This is just some stuff that I have for repairing rubber boots etc. Anyone do this before..... I think that it should be fine for removal later if I bust the handle, although ill only be chopping with it, not throwing.

 

[TLM]

Silicone is fine for bathroom glazed tile caulking, breasts etc. but do not use it for trying to fasten anything unless you really know what you are doing. I would recommend a one-component polyurethane building sealant, if you want something that can be removed.

TLM

 

[upnorth]

Hmmmm. Well the purpose of this post was to get opinions and possibly alternate methodologies, so I thank you for your comments. I dont really care what I use to fill the head void as long as its easily removable, and I am open to suggestions. I tossed out the silicone rubber because I saw a tube sitting in one of my junk boxes and it occured to me that it should be A. easy to apply. B. easy to remove. C. probably shock absorbing in regard to chopping. The taper of the hawk handle is what will be securing the head, not the silicone. I just want to have a solid hawk with little to no slop after chopping. I have tried duct tape on the handle , head joint and it worked fairly well, but I want better. I am in my third staining of the hawk handle and Im almost done stripping the paint off the head. I have my Birchwood Casey Perma Blue sitting here waiting for head restaining. Im also giving the hawk some simple embellishment of tacks, not sure of final pattern, but I like simplicity in a working tool. I chopped a bunch of Ptarmagan legs off when I was up north and they are still drying. I may or may not use one or two as a tassle decoration, well see. The feet are about 3 inches long, whitish and they have large claws.......... Anyway, Im not too worried if this thing doesnt come out as the best hawk in the world for 07 as it is my first time messing with one. Im going to use this hawk, so utility is prioritized over decoration.

 

[FoxholeAtheist]

Putting silicone on something makes it very difficult for anything else to stick to/ soak into it in the future. It might work for what you're wanting, but it doesn't really work all that well as an adhesive; it might just squeeze out of the void when you start chopping.

Similarly, I wouldn't use a polyurethane because they are TOO adhesive, and might make it a royal pain in the arse to remove the handle if you should break it and want to re-handle the head. (When I say royal pain, I mean it... I was reading an article by Nigel Calder about renovating his old 38 foot sailboat and he described removing the 4" wide teak toerail, which was bedded with 3M Marine Sealant 5200. Apparently, he had to use a crowbar and it came up in 2" long shards, all 80 linear feet of it.)

What I would try instead might be a polysulfide sealant. It's a medium adhesive, comes in black and white, and is relatively easy to remove. They use it on modern boats to seal the seams between teak deck boards. Here's an article with a mention of it... http://www.boatus.com/boattech/casey/35.htm

 

[TLM]

Similarly, I wouldn't use a polyurethane because they are TOO adhesive, and might make it a royal pain in the arse to remove the handle if you should break it and want to re-handle the head.

When using PU you don't need anything else, true. To get it off and soften it just heat a bit.

TLM