What am I doing wrong

GWashington1732

GWashington1732

Joined
Jun 20, 2009
Messages
13,240
I'm trying to rehang my favorite axe, every time I do it, I think I've got it perfect, on there tight as you could possibly want it. I take it out to start cutting and it has no play and works fine for a few hours, then all the sudden the wedge breaks into about twenty pieces and comes flying out. The handle's fine but the wedge is just obliterated and the axe is now useless and I have to stop what I'm doing to go fix it. I'm this close (imagine me making a tiny space between my thumb and index finger) to doing it the way my grandfather used to and just banging a bunch of nails into it, I did that to one of my other ones like 12 years ago and it hasn't moved even a little since then, it's fugly, but at least I don't have to stop what I'm doing to fix it all the time.
 
How deep is the kerf cut compared to the depth of the head?
Is the head sitting on a tiny "ledge" at the shoulders?
Does the wedge break into pieces as you are driving it in or during use?
If you get a chance, a picture of from the top down with the head mounted on the handle (Tongue fit at the top of the eye) and one of the handle's tongue with the head off (to show where it is seated).

That is a pain for sure.
 
I don't know what's going on here for that to happen to you. Can you try installing a wedge with less taper and of a more durable (walnut/cherry/ash etc) material (presuming you've been using store-bought Poplar wedges) ? If there's the slightest slack or movement in the head a steep-angled wedge will want to squeeze out 'like a bar of soap in a wet hand'. Another option is to put glue in the kerf and on the wedge before you set it. It'll make it slipperier and go in easier/further, and it will not come back out!
 
Ugh it took a chunk out of the handle near the front of the eye this time. It's probably shot, I'm gonna try to squeeze a bit more life out of it. I made a thinner wedge out of mahogany.

It's just a old no name axe but it holds a nice edge and cuts well.

Fronts all mashed up near the top, we'll see what happens.
20180331_125750.jpg
 
quinton said:
It looks like the handle has perfect grain....:)
Click to expand...
...providing the handle isn't curved. quinton you knew I'd take the bait dangling on that line! But you're right; if that's specifically what you're looking for it's as good as it gets.
 
It’s hard with the picture but I wonder if the tongue is left a little too proud, causing it and your handle to get chowed up when it hits wood? It looks like the handle material is being struck along with the wedge.

Leaving the tongue proud looks good and allows it to swell over the eye to better lock it on.

You can attempt to drive your wedge deeper to recess it more as some guys do - might solve it right there.

Your wedge looks pretty thick. It has to be to fill the space. The handle on either side of it is on the thinner side.

You might just need to pull the head, trim the tongue a touch shorter (so it isn’t eaten during use), drop your kerf a little, and rewedge it.

I’ve left the tongue a little to long. Try not to consider the wedge length above the eye as part of your “target depth”. Meaning shoot for the depth you would if it were cut flush.
 
I took it and beat the crap out of some logs with it, it seems to be holding. I purposefully got it stuck a couple of times because that when it seemed to fall apart last two times. Maybe it will last a bit.

If not, I'll try to find a few more robertson screws. :D
 
If you decide on the foreign body remedy, I’ve found that automotive glass takes the most effort to remove...

All those keys in the junk drawer want their time in the sun as well ;)
 
Agent_H said:
If you decide on the foreign body remedy, I’ve found that automotive glass takes the most effort to remove...

All those keys in the junk drawer want their time in the sun as well ;)
Click to expand...
Inside joke Agent_H but then again the posted picture is no different from what started this. Mower blade shims, key blanks, staples, nails, screws what-have-you (even Yuppie-expensed Euro-conical wedges) are fair game. None of these however allow anyone to readily start over. Having to smack a wood wedge back in, now and again, is a far cry from having to resort to sawing off the handle and fitting a new one in order to deal with a minefield of GD junk.
 
Two things stand out to me as possibly contributing to the problem. You mentioned looking through many handles before funding one that fit. If you mean that it fit in the eye without much if any "fitting" needing to be done, it may in fact be not have sufficient contact between the wood and the steel. This may allow small movements that add up over time. Also, I have found mahogany to be a terrible wedge material. I used it a few time a couple of years ago and found that it tended to split much more than and other wood that I have played with. Notably, it would much more easily split into sections during installation. It would wedge down tight and look good because it was all squeezed and compressed together, but I always felt that it wasn't as sound and who knows what use and time does to further degrade it's integrity. I never use it now.
 
jblyttle said:
Two things stand out to me as possibly contributing to the problem. You mentioned looking through many handles before funding one that fit. If you mean that it fit in the eye without much if any "fitting" needing to be done, it may in fact be not have sufficient contact between the wood and the steel. This may allow small movements that add up over time. Also, I have found mahogany to be a terrible wedge material. I used it a few time a couple of years ago and found that it tended to split much more than and other wood that I have played with. Notably, it would much more easily split into sections during installation. It would wedge down tight and look good because it was all squeezed and compressed together, but I always felt that it wasn't as sound and who knows what use and time does to further degrade it's integrity. I never use it now.
Click to expand...

I was looking for one that was a bit too big. Most of what they had were those crappy true temper handles that are too small for their intended axe.
 
Yes, I've run into that with my Hults Burks. It has a larger eye than most handles at ACE. We have a dry climate and I install my wedges
with epoxy. DM
 
I used to use gorilla glue because it expands, probably why I never had this problem before but it's a mess when you need to replace the handle. New wedge seems to be holding, I cut on log for a couple hours yesterday and no movement so far.
 
Nothing against the OP, PLEASE believe me when I say this because I am NOT, a hanger of axe heads. But just because you go out zzz nd buy some art brushes, paint and canvas, this does not make you an artist. I found this out with drywall finishing tools.
I am just learning myself. I think like anything else, it takes practice and lots of it. Just like a knifemaker. I'll bet they can show you a box full of rejects before they made one worth selling.
I take my hat off to you tellers and I'm still lurking,,,BTW!
 
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