Axe handle making, modifications, repair and more

[Yankee Josh]

So on the what did you rehang today thread I posted some pictures of a small competition axe a few days ago and mentioned that I wanted to work on the foot of it with some glue and scrap wood like Josh did a while back. Earlier in the spring I visited a friend who had a Walters axe with the original handle, which unlike most fawn's foot handles is more of a rounded knob. I liked that, tried to do a similar thing with the aforementioned competition axe using some small scraps of cherry I had. I'm super pleased with the results, both visually and the way it feels. It's not perfect (turns out it's tricky doing that much work on a belt sander turned upside down with the throttle lock on) but I'll definitely be doing this kind of thing again.

Wow that came out great! Really nice man! I like the wood choice.

 

[Square_peg]

My procrastination means I have some pretty deep checking. But I can work around I think. I've since roughed out both 31" blanks. Some photos of the first one.

I used my chainsaw to cut that in half this time. It's been seasoning for a year and I wanted it perfectly in half.

I flattened both sides.

And traced out the haft;

And got to work on it!

I knocked the thickness down next;

Then used my large wood rasp.

I then (the horror) switched to my belt sander to smooth it up.

It's still pretty thick and needs a bunch more work. The other one I shaped with just a little more curve but isn't this far along. Anyway been awhile since anyone posted to this thread!

I love it! Great process, great handle and I like all the pics.

Is that oak?

No shame in using a belt sander or anyother power tool. Just get at the piece of wood you want.

As for the checking, I tend to cut my staves at least 4" longer than the final handle. 6" longer is nice if you have the material available. Most any wood will check some while drying, even when it's been coated and seasoned slowly in a cool shaded place.

 

[Square_peg]

So is anybody done the 'lightning strike' handle or inlays that are electrically charged so it appears the wood was struck by lightning? Cool af i thought

Those do look cool but only for a wall hanger. First you wouldn't want to mess up the art. But also I'm sure it does something to the integrity of the wood. Even burning the surface as a decorative finish weakens the wood.

 

[Yankee Josh]

I love it! Great process, great handle and I like all the pics.

Is that oak?

No shame in using a belt sander or anyother power tool. Just get at the piece of wood you want.

As for the checking, I tend to cut my staves at least 4" longer than the final handle. 6" longer is nice if you have the material available. Most any wood will check some while drying, even when it's been coated and seasoned slowly in a cool shaded place.

Thank you! Yes it's red oak.
I really need to make a shave horse. My bench is very light and not attached well so using a draw knife is a pain. It chatters really badly and makes it difficult. If I had that set up properly I would only use an orbital as I'm hanging the axe. But for now 30 grit on the belt sander is the easiest way for me.
You probably don't remember but I took a 21" oak with an axe and posted to "let's use these axes for what they were meant for" thread about a year and a half ago.
In the long run it was the wrong choice but I was determined to get to roughing them out quickly and wanted to "waste" as little firewood as possible. I should've known better. Lol.
So I ended up cutting them to 31". I'll get some good 30"s out of them. But yes I'm aware that you should add 2" or 3" to either end. Next time I definitely will!

That's a beautiful handle! Do you have a head lined up for it? I'm laughing at how similar our handle making processes are, right down to the hewing hatchet. I'll have to post the progress pics of one I just finished. They're eerily like yours (although mostly inside with bad lighting).

Haha thank you! No head lined up yet!
It makes sense that our process is similar. Unless I'm mistaken that is the old way of doing it!
I'm very interested in seeing your similar hewing hatchet!! Tons of fun this hobby.

 

[Meek1]

So on the what did you rehang today thread I posted some pictures of a small competition axe a few days ago and mentioned that I wanted to work on the foot of it with some glue and scrap wood like Josh did a while back. Earlier in the spring I visited a friend who had a Walters axe with the original handle, which unlike most fawn's foot handles is more of a rounded knob. I liked that, tried to do a similar thing with the aforementioned competition axe using some small scraps of cherry I had. I'm super pleased with the results, both visually and the way it feels. It's not perfect (turns out it's tricky doing that much work on a belt sander turned upside down with the throttle lock on) but I'll definitely be doing this kind of thing again.

Heck yeah, great job!

 

[Maine20]

finally got around to making a handle for my warren cruiser. Made from an ash stave I cut and split almost 2 years ago. Didn’t get many pictures, This is it roughed out with a band saw. Used a draw knife, spoke shave and rasp to finish it from here. I will post the finished product in what did you rehang today.

 

[Yankee Josh]

Somebody used a steel cross wedge. (As if that isn't obvious)

So I clamped it down low, spread it and glued it.


Then shaped a filler to fill the cross wedge space. This cannot spread it at all, but must totally fill the gap.


I never cross wedge or even use step wedges anymore for this very reason. That and it just isn't neccessary.
But man it sure looks pretty! I may do more like this one where it's just decorative. That won't hurt a thing and I really think it looks nice.



I used southern poplar for this wedge. It's lighter in color than yellow birch is and since I never do these I wanted to accentuate the wedge. I'm pleased with it!
This is a great Hartwell Bros haft. 35" now.

 

[BigKidBrother]

My first attempt at making a handle: