What did you rehang today?

[rjdankert]

. . . I suspect that you don't see Apple in use for tool handles because suitable lengths of straight grain material with no knots is nearly impossible to get your hands on. . .

I agree. The only exception I can think of are saw handles. AFAIK apple was fairly common on the older saws.

Bob

 

[Canadian Mojo]

Canadian Mojo, The picture is deceptive. There is not a top and two bottom dowels (three total) as it appears. There are actually only two dowels (total) at right angles to each other - like a cross. However, it has nothing to do with my suggestion of a single dowel parallel to the head through the glued up pickaroon handle. My thinking is that a single dowel would tie together the laminations of the glued up handle.

If anyone is wondering about why I added the second cross dowel to my handle, I don't have anything to say other than it seemed like the thing to do at the time.

And then the question did it work? Well, it held up long enough for me to find out that I don't like that hatchet. Still solid, but . . .

Bob

Well, that explains it.

I agree with you that a single dowel going through the laminations would help tie everything together if done properly.

 

[serotina]

No, if I thought that, I'd call you naughty names and put an evil spell on you. I won't say what that spell would do, but let's just say Halloween would be coming a few days early at your house this year.


Bob

Nope, you said what you meant in the other post, it is clear enough even if you didn't mean it to be. You don't like to share your sandbox.

No point in wrestling a sow. Adios.

 

[Jlemay18]

http://imgur.com/a/qSC0i
Haven't been very good the past week about taking pictures of my recent hangs, but these are what I've been working on lately. First is a True Temper Kelly Red Warrior jersey pattern, just finished hanging and sanding today still gotta get some BLO on it. Second is a Marshall Wells Zenith, I posted a thread about this one earlier, it appears that the makers mark was printed upside down, I tried hanging it right side up first but it definitely wasn't right. Third is a big ol' Gransfors Bruks double bit. Next is a Collins Carpenters hatchet, the head is pretty cool and so does the handle but it seems a little long so I might cut it down a bit. Next is a Keen Kutter hatchet with a nail puller in really good condition. And last but not least a Plumb claw hammer on a hickory handle with a black walnut wedge, either keeping this for myself or giving it to my dad not sure yet.

 

[RICKOFF]

Plenty of nice looking work there, good job!

 

[300Six]

That's an especially good-looking piece of cherry.
300six - I agree, apple would surely be more common if it were commonly available.
Cherry will do fine for something short, I've used it for a few hatchets without problems yet, but apple is definitely better if available.

Whenever an orchard is being re-newed for new varieties or over to commercial dwarf trees, or because a housing development is going in, the large branches and main trunk of the old trees are slabbed (mostly 1 inch thick) and offered up for sale. My local wood supplier regularly stocks this stuff. But good luck finding a blemish-free piece that is straight for 20-36 inches. I haven't found any!

 

[Slim278]

So, my recent hang on the 5 lb Flint Edge is not holding up.

As you can see the head is starting to come off.

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And the wedge is working out.

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As you can see from this piece, the wedge was in pretty far.

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I have removed the head and plan on trying again. I am going to get it set a little further on the shaft leaving a little more shaft protruding the eye.
Any advice that can be given will be appreciated. I read somewhere that drilling through the ears and haft then installing a rod through may help. Has anyone done this, I am reluctant to get that aggressive.

 

[Park Swan]

No need to drill though the ears!! Give it another shot, more haft protruding, more wedge, and a lot of folks soak the whole head in oil so the wood will absorb and expand inside the eye.

 

[Jlemay18]

So, my recent hang on the 5 lb Flint Edge is not holding up.

As you can see the head is starting to come off.

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And the wedge is working out.

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As you can see from this piece, the wedge was in pretty far.

[/URL][/IMG]

I have removed the head and plan on trying again. I am going to get it set a little further on the shaft leaving a little more shaft protruding the eye.
Any advice that can be given will be appreciated. I read somewhere that drilling through the ears and haft then installing a rod through may help. Has anyone done this, I am reluctant to get that aggressive.

I know there are mixed feeling about it but I've had good luck with wood glue, even the first few I did where I didn't fill the entire top of the eye cause I was inexperienced have held up just from enough wedge and wood glue, I never use metal wedges either. It's tougher to remove a wedge that you used wood glue on but as long as it's done right it'll be your kids or grandkids worrying about it, not you.

 

[Able_walker]

I agree. The only exception I can think of are saw handles. AFAIK apple was fairly common on the older saws.

Bob

"Carved and polished Apple handle"......They certainly took pride in their product back then... A 2nd hand store I go to has a whole bin full of old hand saws...never gave them more than a glance before.Now I will check out the brand and the handles because they are cheap cheap.

 

[halfaxe]

"Carved and polished Apple handle"......They certainly took pride in their product back then... A 2nd hand store I go to has a whole bin full of old hand saws...never gave them more than a glance before.Now I will check out the brand and the handles because they are cheap cheap.

I used to pick up user Disstons for $5 and they were everywhere. Now they have dried up here and I see just "Warranted Superior" marked saws which were most companies second quality saws.

 

[Remzy]

I know there are mixed feeling about it but I've had good luck with wood glue, even the first few I did where I didn't fill the entire top of the eye cause I was inexperienced have held up just from enough wedge and wood glue, I never use metal wedges either. It's tougher to remove a wedge that you used wood glue on but as long as it's done right it'll be your kids or grandkids worrying about it, not you.

I like to use wood glue with no metal wedges also.

 

[Square_peg]

So, my recent hang on the 5 lb Flint Edge is not holding up.

As you can see the head is starting to come off.

And the wedge is working out.

I have removed the head and plan on trying again. I am going to get it set a little further on the shaft leaving a little more shaft protruding the eye.
Any advice that can be given will be appreciated. I read somewhere that drilling through the ears and haft then installing a rod through may help. Has anyone done this, I am reluctant to get that aggressive.

I have a few suggestions. Not wood glue but Swel-lock or generically, DPG - dipropylene glycol - readily available on the internet and used as a safe odorless base in many perfumes. It works.

Also, stop driving the wedge about 1/8" before it's going to stop on its own. It takes some experience to know when this is. At this point cut the wedge off and drive it the last 1/8" into the haft (which should be protruding 1/4" above the eye). Use a punch shaped like the top of the wedge to drive it (hard wood or maybe a scrap of flat bar or leaf spring). Then hit it all with DPG again. The haft will swell over the top wedge locking in place.

The haft and wedge not being flush with each other will bother some. It's not as attractive to look at. But it stays together. Save pretty for wall hangers.

 

[Jlemay18]

I have a few suggestions. Not wood glue but Swel-lock or generically, DPG - dipropylene glycol - readily available on the internet and used as a safe odorless base in many perfumes. It works.

Also, stop driving the wedge about 1/8" before it's going to stop on its own. It takes some experience to know when this is. At this point cut the wedge off and drive it the last 1/8" into the haft (which should be protruding 1/4" above the eye). Use a punch shaped like the top of the wedge to drive it (hard wood or maybe a scrap of flat bar or leaf spring). Then hit it all with DPG again. The haft will swell over the top wedge locking in place.

The haft and wedge not being flush with each other will bother some. It's not as attractive to look at. But it stays together. Save pretty for wall hangers.

Never used or heard of DPG but you can do the same with Boiled Linseed Oil. Soak the wedge and the end of the haft and it will cause it to swell, making a tighter fit. Some people claim they do this with water which will initially cause it to swell but then it dries out and will be loose so do not do this. Obviously water will cause rust as well if you soak the head in it, but soaking it in BLO won't affect the metal it's actually good to treat the head with BLO. Not sure how DPG will affect the metal but BLO is a good choice as well.

 

[Hacked]

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Judging by this last picture your wedge bottomed out. Note how it looks squished at the bottom? I think you are on the right track dropping the head down a bit. Definitely leave a bit of the handle proud of the eye. Cut your kerf a bit deeper, but no more than 3/4 of the length of the eye. Use a thicker wedge making sure that it's not too steep.

 

[Square_peg]

Not sure how DPG will affect the metal but BLO is a good choice as well.

It won't effect the metal in any way. People have been using Swel-lock on wedges for decades.

 

[Square_peg]

Judging by this last picture your wedge bottomed out. Note how it looks squished at the bottom? I think you are on the right track dropping the head down a bit. Definitely leave a bit of the handle proud of the eye. Cut your kerf a bit deeper, but no more than 3/4 of the length of the eye. Use a thicker wedge making sure that it's not too steep.

Good observation and advice. That wedge never got tight to begin with.

 

[300Six]

So, my recent hang on the 5 lb Flint Edge is not holding up.

As you can see the head is starting to come off.
And the wedge is working out.

[/URL][/IMG]

I have removed the head and plan on trying again. I am going to get it set a little further on the shaft leaving a little more shaft protruding the eye.
Any advice that can be given will be appreciated. I read somewhere that drilling through the ears and haft then installing a rod through may help. Has anyone done this, I am reluctant to get that aggressive.

What a revelation to be able to re-hang/re-wedge an axe without having to go to a lot of trouble, time and effort, and without ruining the handle! Unless the wedge squeezed out like a slippery bar of soap (not likely) I figure your new wedge should merely be slightly oversize (and slightly shorter) of the previous one. Notice how the wedge sides that contact the steel worked their way out more so than the main body of the wedge. An ever so slight wobble of the head (from not being on tight enough) slowly caused the wedge to back out. Had that wedge been glued-in the head would still have become increasingly loose but you'd have never easily been able to correct the problem (without resorting to steel wedges) such as you are able to now.

Far as I'm concerned you did everything right except maybe not anticipating enough that the wood would dry out some more (shrink!) and/or perhaps that the wedge wasn't thick enough to begin with. That wedge tip did crumple somewhat when it bottomed out and that also may have acted as a bit of a spring once the head began to move.

By the way, contemplation of pinning the head to the haft via a 'through pin' or some such only prevents the head from accidentally flying off, it does nothing else.

 

[phantomknives]

No dont pin that axe use a step wedge

 

[nzedge]

I hung my first axe last night. Its a Kelly True Temper Flint Edge Jersey with a head weight a bit over 4lb.
I got the head shipped all the way down to NZ

I think it went OK for my first hanging. The bottom could have been a little better (took be a while to figure out how to approach the ears/lugs) but other then that it went ok. Seems solid. I did use a little epoxy on the wedge because it just made me feel better (i use that stuff on everything lol) if this dosent work ill just scrap the whole handle and start again. Would do a couple things differently next time anyway mostly regarding the ears/lugs and I would thin the wedge more before hammering it in.
People in the hardware shop must have thought I was weird "checking grain orientation" etc on all the handles. No doubt about it found the best one in the shop though!

I left it drying overnight, then ill cut the top off the wedge tonight and give it a swing after a bit more sharpening. Had a couple dings in the bit which have taken a fair bit of filing to get rid of. Almost there though.

Am planning on going down the road at lunchtime to pick up some boiled linseed oil to treat the handle after a bit of sanding..ill update again when finished So far, i like its style. Makes some of my other axes look like girls axes =D