Wedging question for the experts!!!

B

Brian Rust

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Nov 14, 2017
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I did not have any large wedges in my bin so I used a walnut and maple wedge and fit them to size. Has anyone (on the forum) ever done this before? If so, how did it work out? Any problems? Any complaints?

If you never have bug have an opinion please tell me what you think. I have stopped in the past and taken the time to make another wedge. But I have always thought a two tone wedge would “look cool” if you will. Then I thought if I used two different woods would the hardness/density difference in the two woods cause problems? Or if one wedge was a little bit wider would it cause the head to set funny on the haft?? This time I just went for it.

I will say though, the time it took me to make sure the wedges were (using tight tolerances) the same size (length, width, angle, of the entire wedge), I could have made 3 large wedges! But it was a fun time! I will update this once I get a chance to take this thing out and test it!

Thank you for your comments and thoughts!!!
 
Not sure why the top of the handle looks uneven in that first picture because it is not... bad photography, my apologies.
 
Nice contrast, Brian. Have you thought about a harder central wedge and two smaller ones either side? Would that allay any fears about the head dislodging under use? Would probably look pretty schmick, as well.
 
Walnut is softer than Maple but overall shouldn't make much difference.
 
I don't see anything inherently wrong with the idea. I'd just keep an eye on them for a while. One wood might compress easier than the other leading to a loose wedge.

After a few days see if you can drive the wedges deeper with a wide flat punch. You can use a scrap of leaf spring or even the edge of a flat prybar. If the wedges can be driven another 1/6" or 1/8" than the protruding haft will swell over their tops locking them in for good.
 
Beach, yes but they are the same species of wood. That was my question.

Oldbin, that is a great idea! I like the thought process also!!

300six, I need to brush up on my ”woodology” lol. I knew one was harder but was not sure which or by how much.

Peg, I have read this on this forum many times but there was never a good explanation. I assumed it was just to get the wedge deep and cut off that 1/8 or 1/16. Thank you for clearing that up. Question though: would it be good to drive a wedge in just under a 1/8 or 1/16 of an inch before the bottom of the kerf. BLO the crap out of it then drive it the rest of the way? Or is it drive it all the way in, blo it, then try to drive it in and actually compress the wedge? I’m guessing the second one but I’m curious.

Sorry all, I consider myself to be a novice at the axe game still so I try to absorb all knowledge I can from people that have much more experience than me! Thank you all!!
 
Beachlogger said:
Lots of whole wedges split in two by the time there driven home
Click to expand...

I have a couple of axes on which the wedges split and some portions of them drove deeper than the others. No problems, in fact I think the portions that went deeper were destined to do exactly that but were held up by the wedge being one piece if that makes sense.

The wedges were all the same wood. Old handles and old heads sometimes aren't perfect anymore anyway. That is one of the reasons I like them.

You can do what what Square_peg suggested or at some point rewedge them. One thing that I do, whether it mattters, is round the ends of the wedges to match the handle material side to side. If the handle material isn't even then round them to match the shape of the eye. It might be aesthetics but when they are cleaned up I feel like they look good and maybe pick up less moisture being filed/sanded out.

Here is more or less an example.
The rear is matched to the handle material, the front is shaped to the eye where the material doesn't exactly match on either side.

B3QugBT.jpg
 
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Beachlogger said:
Lots of whole wedges split in two by the time there driven home
Click to expand...
Square_peg said:
I don't see anything inherently wrong with the idea. I'd just keep an eye on them for a while. One wood might compress easier than the other leading to a loose wedge.
Click to expand...
Two good observations. Typically when working to close tolerances with wood (furniture and cabinet makers, usually, but hey a 'good hang' strives to be precise), users choose same type of wood and same grain orientation so as not to invoke even more unknowns.
 
This was more less a little experiment and I was wondering people’s thoughts. I feel like I received a lot of good input and received some knowledge! Thanks guys!
 
Main thing about this exercise is that the tool gives long/good service and the head doesn't fly off unexpectedly. I very much doubt that's ever going to happen here.
 
Handle material to wedge material, grain, seating methods, the tools involved, prep of the tongue, and finishing.
 
Brian Rust said:
Peg, I have read this on this forum many times but there was never a good explanation. I assumed it was just to get the wedge deep and cut off that 1/8 or 1/16. Thank you for clearing that up. Question though: would it be good to drive a wedge in just under a 1/8 or 1/16 of an inch before the bottom of the kerf. BLO the crap out of it then drive it the rest of the way? Or is it drive it all the way in, blo it, then try to drive it in and actually compress the wedge? I’m guessing the second one but I’m curious
Click to expand...

Your kerf should deep enough that bottoming out is never even in the picture. 2/3 the depth of the eye should be sufficient - less on a Connie or Jersey. The wedge should fill the kerf tightly by the time it reaches 2/3 the depth of the kerf. The wedge should be pre-fit to the eye prior to final setting of the haft and wedging. I like to fit the wedge to the eye to the depth of the kerf before I set the head on the haft. If a wedge catches on the ends of the eye before the kerf stops it then wedge will never be truly tight.

Ideally you drive the wedge about 1/16" short of where the kerf will solidly stop it. Then let the axe sit overnight. The next day trim the wedge flush with the haft and then use your wide flat punch to drive the wedge that last 1/16" - 1/8" below the end of the haft. Then give it another shot of DPG, Swel-lock or BLO. The haft will swell over the wedge locking it in place permanently.
 
Just to play devils advocate and stimulate some conversation. Is there any need for the wedge to go past half way? And could it hinder a tight wedge in a tapered eye?

And have any of you regular users given the fat wood wedges a try? Thoughts on them?
 
I do not feel I have enough experience to comment on your questions but I’m loving the conversation points! It may seem like I have posted a lot of threads lately but I love the info in these conversations!
 
garry3 said:
Is there any need for the wedge to go past half way? And could it hinder a tight wedge in a tapered eye?
Click to expand...

Shouldn't be any need for it. In my post above I suggested a kerf 2/3 the eye and a max wedge depth of 2/3 the kerf. 2/3 x 2/3 = 4/9 or a little less than half the depth of the eye for the wedge. The kerf is deeper just to be sure the wedge never bottoms out and to allow the kerf wood to move. Only way a wedge would go deeper is if you grossly undersized the haft in the eye and left too much space to fill.

I'm not sure what you're asking in your second question.
 
Think he is talking about lighter pine for a wedge.Not sure if it's because it's sticky or doesn't rot,gonna try it this spring.
 
garry3 said:
Just to play devils advocate and stimulate some conversation. Is there any need for the wedge to go past half way? And could it hinder a tight wedge in a tapered eye?

And have any of you regular users given the fat wood wedges a try? Thoughts on them?
Click to expand...
You'd think axe eyes would be tapered but many of them are not (or at least not by much). A wedge (under those circumstances) then secures the haft via friction and the outward 'seeking to decompress' action of the wedge. 'Fat wood' is resin-filled softwood. If it remains springy after being pounded in it ought to work great! But you'll have to revise the sizes/thickness of these compared to hardwood wedges in order to get the same effect. Yellow Poplar has been, and still is, the long-time industry standard for wedges (and is not a true Poplar) but is a 'soft' hardwood more aligned with the properties of 'fatwood' than are oak/maple/beech/elm/ironwood.
 
300Six said:
You'd think axe eyes would be tapered but many of them are not (or at least not by much). A wedge (under those circumstances) then secures the haft via friction and the outward 'seeking to decompress' action of the wedge. 'Fat wood' is resin-filled softwood. If it remains springy after being pounded in it ought to work great! But you'll have to revise the sizes/thickness of these compared to hardwood wedges in order to get the same effect. Yellow Poplar has been, and still is, the long-time industry standard for wedges (and is not a true Poplar) but is a 'soft' hardwood more aligned with the properties of 'fatwood' than are oak/maple/beech/elm/ironwood.
Click to expand...
Can't any tree produce fat wood? I don't know.
All I know is it burns hot and is quick to catch. It's been discussed before and I did have some concerns about the sap running in hot weather. But maybe they are unfounded.
I did come across this Youtube video so maybe Pindavin will weigh in on his experience with it.
 
Square_peg said:
I don't see anything inherently wrong with the idea. I'd just keep an eye on them for a while. One wood might compress easier than the other leading to a loose wedge.

After a few days see if you can drive the wedges deeper with a wide flat punch. You can use a scrap of leaf spring or even the edge of a flat prybar. If the wedges can be driven another 1/6" or 1/8" than the protruding haft will swell over their tops locking them in for good.
Click to expand...

Can you show me a picture of an axe you have with this?
 
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