We lost some of our axes in a house fire..

W

WVHILLS

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It just depends on how much they heated up. That's a real bummer about the house. The heads could be fine. I they could be destroyed, you'll just have to evaluate them as you find them. :(
 
From the article, the fire was hot- response was hindered by the blaze and discharging ammunition. Maybe a member who welds, forges, or knows the temperature of a house fire might chime in.

The home and family pictures alone are irreplaceable.

It would be interesting to find out about the axe heads but I'm sure there is more going on there right now that takes precedent- It was the sheriff's house?

Sorry for your loss.
 
You should be good. It takes a lot of direct heat and a quick pounding manipulate steel. Just be happy this is the only worry you have after all that...glad everyones ok
 
Thanks everyone for the condolences. @Agent yes, my dad is the Sheriff. I'm very thankful that the fire occurred while they weren't home rather than 4am while everyone was sleeping. Right now we have just starting the clean up process. I'll post up some photos ofthe axe heads as I find them.
 
If they survived, you might need to get them hardened and tempered if you want to use them. If they are display pieces, it won't matter.
 
Sorry for your family's loss.

It's hit and miss in that situation. House fires surely have enough heat to soften an axe. That only takes about 600°F to begin. But if the axe was laying on a heat sink like a garage floor then it might still be OK. Test them with a file. That will tell the story. If they're important to you and your father you could have a blacksmith fix the heat treat.
 
Sorry to hear about this.
Finding the axes is the first order of business! If the wood is still on them (albeit charred somewhat) I would hope you're still good but if they're objects that have to be raked out of the ashes that's a whole different story. Flash-over (I think that's the term just as the fire takes off) is hot enough to twist and sag metal beams.
There is a lot to be said about recommending that ammunition be stored in such a way as not to hinder fire departments. I can imagine the 4th of July scene of 1000 rounds of hardball ammo 'cooking off' and well-intentioned rescuers abandoning their posts in order to seek cover.
Some of the serious shooters around here have cinder block or concrete storage rooms with steel doors in their basements for that very reason.
 
if a file easily bites the bit edge, they're annealed and need re-hardened. the majority of the head is almost that soft anyhow, so test out close to the edge. also, see if it rings like one from the garage that was unburned of a similar shape...

sorry about the house.. thats terrible.

ETA:
also, cooking off ammo in a fire sounds more dangerous than it is. there is no bbl around the cartridge to hold the explosion in and force a bullet anywhere.. the bullets usually hop a little if @ all, because the cases rupture from the side. and i watched someones reloading shed burn once, with shelf of powder in it.. no explosions.. the powder just burned where it was.. big and hot all of a sudden for a few mins, but then it was just a regular fire again.
 
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AndreLinoge said:
ETA:
also, cooking off ammo in a fire sounds more dangerous than it is. there is no bbl around the cartridge to hold the explosion in and force a bullet anywhere.. the bullets usually hop a little if @ all, because the cases rupture from the side. and i watched someones reloading shed burn once, with shelf of powder in it.. no explosions.. the powder just burned where it was.. big and hot all of a sudden for a few mins, but then it was just a regular fire again.
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It is true that smokeless powder is a 'propellent' whereas black powder is 'explosive' and that loose cartridges don't pose anywhere near the same risk as a chambered round but any 'bang' still indicates that something moved, and violently. When I was a pellet/BB gun kid I figured on learning marksmanship by striking the primer of loose military rounds. First one I hit had a primer come back on me about 30 feet and through clothing to leave a considerable welt on my chest. I never toyed with stuff like that again.
 
The fire chief who was injured took a 7.62X39 round in the neck, thankfully the injury wasn't life threatening. I'll be going up there later today to help sift through the ashes and will report back here when I find the axe heads. Thanks again for the condolences and information.
 
300Six said:
It is true that smokeless powder is a 'propellent' whereas black powder is 'explosive' and that loose cartridges don't pose anywhere near the same risk as a chambered round but any 'bang' still indicates that something moved, and violently. When I was a pellet/BB gun kid I figured on learning marksmanship by striking the primer of loose military rounds. First one I hit had a primer come back on me about 30 feet and through clothing to leave a considerable welt on my chest. I never toyed with stuff like that again.
Click to expand...

I used to do dumb stuff like that when I was a kid. Went through a "pipe bomb" making phase. We tried all kinds of stuff as the explosive. We'd pack up plastic pill bottles because we weren't crazy enough to want to mess with shrapnel. We took apart bullets and the smokeless powder wasn't much fun. It really doesn't explode like you see on TV.

Really sorry to hear about the fire. Your lives are more important than your stuff though thank goodness everyone will come out ok.
 
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Liberatus1 said:
I used to do dumb stuff like that when I was a kid. Went through a "pipe bomb" making phase. We tried all kinds of stuff as the explosive. We'd pack up plastic pill bottles because we weren't crazy enough to want to mess with shrapnel. We took apart bullets and the smokeless powder wasn't much fun. It really doesn't explode like you see on TV.

Really sorry to hear about the fire. Your lives are more important than your stuff though thank goodness everyone will come out ok.
Click to expand...

Everybody gets to be enthusiastically youthful stupid once, Surviving such an episode (or not) does teach you something. You are correct in that toying with smokeless powders is not much of a surprise or rush. If you want consistent `fun` then Fg or FFg is definitely the way to go. And yes TV and movie explosions are not even remotely like the real thing.
 
Yes, house fires can get how enough to melt steel. My cousins home burned the just before Christmas one year. The fire was how enough that firearms actually melted, and changed shape.

Super bummer for your family. Hopefully he was insured, and most importantly, thankfully no one was hurt!
 
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