Should I treat the wood before I rehang on vintage haft?

the-accumulator

the-accumulator

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I'm about ready to rehang my Flint Edge 3 1/2 pounder on its original haft. Should I treat the head end of the haft with any sort of chemical before I burry it inside the head? I don't want to get it all put back together and discover I left a step out! Thanks, T- A
 
I don't do anything with chemicals. Just some mineral oil on the eye wood and wedge.
 
Mineral oil? Not BLO? Does it make for a tighter joint, or does it just make it easier to get the wood into the eye? I am definitely in the learning process! Thanks, T-A
 
Mineral oil is $3 a quart at Walmart and BLO isn't.
 
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I haven't treated the haft with anything prior to hanging. I prefer to treat the haft with a BLO soak after hanging. My thought was that BLO may cause the wood to swell requiring me to take off more wood than necessary to fit the haft to the eye. If BLO makes wood swell slightly (I have heard of folks recommending that over soaking in water to temporarily fix a slightly loose head - that's where this thought comes from), I would prefer it to swell once everything is hung as that would improve the strength of the hang in my mind. Once the soak is done and cleaned up, I usually rub everything down with a few coats of beeswax mixed with mineral oil. I haven't had anything go bad on the three I have done this year and they have all been used pretty hard.
 
Substitute mineral oil for BLO and he nailed the entire process I follow as well. In the past I used to put WD-40 on the eye wood after hanging. Maybe it was just a coincidence but the one axe I had to remove the handle from that had the WD-40 treatment was possibly the tightest hang I've encountered. Ps. A neighbor suggested soaking tools with loose hafts in antifreeze as it will swell like water without evaporating or leaving the wood. Anyone have a loosening handle they want to try it on? I would but all my hangs are perfect.:p I actually have a WV on the original (loose) haft to use as a test dummy for that. We shall see how it goes....
 
I like to coat the kerf and wedge with Swel-lock or equivalent just before final assembly. You can make your own swel-lock-like substance by combining 80% DPG with 20% water. DPG, dipropylene glycol is available at very reasonable prices on the internet. It is often used as a base in perfumes. Dipropylene glycol is colorless, odorless and non-toxic and is different than propylene glycol (anti-freeze).

Sealing the top and bottom of the eye with a beeswax mixture is also a good idea.
 
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After considering everybody's recommendations, I ordered a bottle of swel- lock. As I'm awaiting its arrival, I'm considering how I should fashion a wooden wedge to hang this axe. Are there any secrets to the geometry of a wedge that I should consider? Would a hardwood or a softwood wedge be more appropriate for this application? Thanks for all the input, so far. T-A
 
You probably already know this stuff but the usual recommendation is soft wood. Poplar is very common. I tried rock maple and white ash as well. There are certain times when I'll use ash but more often than not soft wood works best. I believe it's because not only does it fill odd shaped gaps at the ends of the eye but it compresses instead of hard wood which shaves off as you are driving it in. I know some use fatwood which i haven't tried yet.
 
I thought I ordered a bottle of Swel-lock, but, when it didn't arrive in a few days, I searched and found no trace of having ordered it!!? Gremlins in my computer?? Anyway, I should have some here in three or four days. That gives me time to design my wedge. I know that I don't want to bottom out the wedge when I drive it into the kerf, so I will carefully measure and mark the wedge to tell me how far in I dare drive it. I know that the leading edge of the wedge should be similar in thickness so as to match the thickness of the kerf at the bottom. As for the thickness of the wedge at the top of the eye, I plan to gently push a tapered piece of steel, like a cold chisel, temporarily into the kerf, once I the haft has been full seated into the eye. Using the cold chisel to force the wood apart until it meets the steel on either side of the eye, I can measure the gap that I need to fill with the wooden wedge. Then I can taper the wedge to fill that gap once it has been driven into the kerf. What I don't know is whether to add some thickness to the wedge to create some pressure laterally, and, if so, how much thickness should I add? The harder the wood from which the wedge is made, the less thickness i should add, I suppose. Do some types of wooden wedges retain some springiness once they are installed better than other types of wood? The more I think about this, the more unanswered questions I have!? T-A
 
the-accumulator said:
I thought I ordered a bottle of Swel-lock, but, when it didn't arrive in a few days, I searched and found no trace of having ordered it!!? Gremlins in my computer?? Anyway, I should have some here in three or four days. That gives me time to design my wedge. I know that I don't want to bottom out the wedge when I drive it into the kerf, so I will carefully measure and mark the wedge to tell me how far in I dare drive it. I know that the leading edge of the wedge should be similar in thickness so as to match the thickness of the kerf at the bottom. As for the thickness of the wedge at the top of the eye, I plan to gently push a tapered piece of steel, like a cold chisel, temporarily into the kerf, once I the haft has been full seated into the eye. Using the cold chisel to force the wood apart until it meets the steel on either side of the eye, I can measure the gap that I need to fill with the wooden wedge. Then I can taper the wedge to fill that gap once it has been driven into the kerf. What I don't know is whether to add some thickness to the wedge to create some pressure laterally, and, if so, how much thickness should I add? The harder the wood from which the wedge is made, the less thickness i should add, I suppose. Do some types of wooden wedges retain some springiness once they are installed better than other types of wood? The more I think about this, the more unanswered questions I have!? T-A
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Maybe other folks really plan it out that much but i don't usually. Unless i have a unique circumstance or something with a particular hang. All your measurements would probably come to naught anyhow because you can't know how much your wedge will compress or how the eye wood will react and squish either. I've had excellent results from just an ordinary wedge. 2-1/2" x 2-1/2". 3/8" at the thick end to a point. I just make my kerf 2-1/2" deep unless i know my wedge is going to bottom out and in that case I'll make a thicker wedge. 9 times out of 10 a standard wedge has worked for me. 80+ hangs now if i count my hatchets. It sounded like you might be over thinking it. So i thought I'd chime in with what I've learned so far. Good luck!!
 
the-accumulator said:
I thought I ordered a bottle of Swel-lock, but, when it didn't arrive in a few days, I searched and found no trace of having ordered it!!? Gremlins in my computer?? Anyway, I should have some here in three or four days. That gives me time to design my wedge. I know that I don't want to bottom out the wedge when I drive it into the kerf, so I will carefully measure and mark the wedge to tell me how far in I dare drive it. I know that the leading edge of the wedge should be similar in thickness so as to match the thickness of the kerf at the bottom. As for the thickness of the wedge at the top of the eye, I plan to gently push a tapered piece of steel, like a cold chisel, temporarily into the kerf, once I the haft has been full seated into the eye. Using the cold chisel to force the wood apart until it meets the steel on either side of the eye, I can measure the gap that I need to fill with the wooden wedge. Then I can taper the wedge to fill that gap once it has been driven into the kerf. What I don't know is whether to add some thickness to the wedge to create some pressure laterally, and, if so, how much thickness should I add? The harder the wood from which the wedge is made, the less thickness i should add, I suppose. Do some types of wooden wedges retain some springiness once they are installed better than other types of wood? The more I think about this, the more unanswered questions I have!? T-A
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You are way overthinking this! I have used just about any type of wood that's local and some that aren't and its never mattered. Maple, walnut, ipe, pine, poplar, oak, especially fatwood. Many thanks to M muleman77 for that tip. Only Ipe was hard enough to be spat out regularly. Just about anything will work. As for wedge taper, if there is a large eye gap, I cut a little or a lot off the end of the wedge and give it a secondary bevel to drive the kerf open. I make most of mine so I custom fit it. If its too thick, my hatchets a few feet away. I've never, ever, ever had a wedge not work due to its design. I've never had a wedge bottom out prematurely. If the haft has to be fitted to the head the gap should be minimal. Maybe tomorrow I'll document hanging a head from start to finish and photograph what I'm saying. Don't over think or over stress it.
P.s. If the eye wall gap is uneven the wedge will split as one section stops moving down and it will allow you to drive the rest of wedge in deeper to compensate.
 
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the-accumulator said:
I thought I ordered a bottle of Swel-lock, but, when it didn't arrive in a few days, I searched and found no trace of having ordered it!!? Gremlins in my computer?? Anyway, I should have some here in three or four days. That gives me time to design my wedge. I know that I don't want to bottom out the wedge when I drive it into the kerf, so I will carefully measure and mark the wedge to tell me how far in I dare drive it. I know that the leading edge of the wedge should be similar in thickness so as to match the thickness of the kerf at the bottom. As for the thickness of the wedge at the top of the eye, I plan to gently push a tapered piece of steel, like a cold chisel, temporarily into the kerf, once I the haft has been full seated into the eye. Using the cold chisel to force the wood apart until it meets the steel on either side of the eye, I can measure the gap that I need to fill with the wooden wedge. Then I can taper the wedge to fill that gap once it has been driven into the kerf. What I don't know is whether to add some thickness to the wedge to create some pressure laterally, and, if so, how much thickness should I add? The harder the wood from which the wedge is made, the less thickness i should add, I suppose. Do some types of wooden wedges retain some springiness once they are installed better than other types of wood? The more I think about this, the more unanswered questions I have!? T-A
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Well, your way will work. May be overcomplicating the matter though.
Make it thick enough, and long enough to get it as tight as you can just before it bottoms out. Then trim the excess.

I just use a hatchet, eyeball it and spend a couple minutes to carve one.
 
A17 said:
P.s. If the eye wall gap is uneven the wedge will split as one section stops moving down and it will allow you to drive the rest of wedge in deeper to compensate.
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You can also carve your wedge uneven match the eye gap. Or you can use a belt sander to shape it.

Lastly, you can 'dry-fit' you wedge to the eye without the haft in there just to make sure is clears the hourglass shape in the center of the eye. This also give you a chance to shape the ends of the wedge to the ends of the eye.
 
Would it be bad to just leave the whole tongue alone? It seems like if the wood is old you could get away from the shrinking problem (mostly) altogether using wood that already shrank. Why reintroduce moisture in old wood?
 
One more thought (I might have mentioned this somewhere before, but without any detail), a lot of times I taper cut the kerf if it needs to be opened up a little. I don't like a fat wedge. I would rather have a narrow wedge and leave more haft wood in the eye. After you have the haft all fit, kerfed, and ready to go, put just the very top of the haft in the vise and squeeze just the top inch or so of the kerf together so it is closed tight. Using the same saw you used to cut the kerf, cut it again. When the saw gets past the squeezed part it will just go to the bottom of your first kerf without making it any wider. This only takes a minuet and will give you a nice tapered kerf.
 
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