Replacing handles and other tips.

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by Hellmanns

I've never had dealings with OSHA, but my GAWD the stories I've heard over the years!

It is really too bad it was supposed to protect us but now it is a tool for employers to punish us.

Just like the EPA FDA USDA DEA TSA The Harper Valley PTA.

Worth

[bower]

My best hatchet looks like your Plumb. Love that axe.
It's an old one I got from my Dad. The new axes, the blades are garbage, chip like hell and the design is not as good either - narrower and fatter stock is nice for a splitter but the same design writ smaller doesn't work as well in a hand axe, not to mention the blade metal is no good and are quickly dulled and chipped.
Also the new axes are the first to come off their handles.
Putting a new handle on isn't something I have done, so Hellmans, I am looking forward to your pix of the process!!! Besides axes, I have some garden tools that need handles as well.

I have another bigger axe also from my Dad, which is one that does need a handle. The blade shape again is very slender and broad like your Plumbs, and the metal in it is incredible. We used this axe to chop big roots out of the ground when we cleared the land here. You could ding a lot of rocks and never chip or dull it... very impressive. The crap they sell for an axe today will chip on wood!
I feel sorry for the fools who put these treasures up on EBay. They are irreplaceable today. I wouldn't part with them.

[Worth1]

They had a guy on You Tube do an axe review on one of the brand new $230 axes he was using the handle became loose.
One thing I noticed about this so called woodsman, he couldn't use an axe worth a hoot.
I was better than him in the 3rd grade.

[Hellmanns]

Originally Posted by bower

My best hatchet looks like your Plumb. Love that axe.
It's an old one I got from my Dad. The new axes, the blades are garbage, chip like hell and the design is not as good either - narrower and fatter stock is nice for a splitter but the same design writ smaller doesn't work as well in a hand axe, not to mention the blade metal is no good and are quickly dulled and chipped.
Also the new axes are the first to come off their handles.
Putting a new handle on isn't something I have done, so Hellmans, I am looking forward to your pix of the process!!! Besides axes, I have some garden tools that need handles as well.

I have another bigger axe also from my Dad, which is one that does need a handle. The blade shape again is very slender and broad like your Plumbs, and the metal in it is incredible. We used this axe to chop big roots out of the ground when we cleared the land here. You could ding a lot of rocks and never chip or dull it... very impressive. The crap they sell for an axe today will chip on wood!
I feel sorry for the fools who put these treasures up on EBay. They are irreplaceable today. I wouldn't part with them.

Here is the little Plumb hatchet re-handled step by step from a seasoned hickory stave. Thanks for your interest, bower!

[Worth1]

What are you using for tools to shape the handle I know the other hatchet was involved but what else.
It can be done several ways.
That old adze looks over 100 years old and forged.
Worth

[Hellmanns]

Originally Posted by Worth1

What are you using for tools to shape the handle I know the other hatchet was involved but what else.
It can be done several ways.
That old adze looks over 100 years old and forged.
Worth

An old USA, Nicholson Black Diamond farrier's rasp is by far my most used tool. The new Nicholson files and rasps are not much good..

[Hellmanns]

The old froe was my grandfather's. He used it to rive shingles and tobacco sticks.

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by Hellmanns

The old froe was my grandfather's. He used it to rive shingles and tobacco sticks.

That's what it is called and used for I couldn't remember to save my life.
I can tell from the pictuer it looks it is was forge welded

Thanks

[Hellmanns]

Originally Posted by Worth1

That's what it is called and used for I couldn't remember to save my life.
I can tell from the pictuer it looks it is was forge welded

Thanks

It's definitely forge welded, I think I heard that my grandfather made it from an old leaf spring.

[bower]

OMG Hellmans you are skilled in making handles! from scratch. Wow. And that's a dandy Plumb!
I'd love to watch the video of you shaping the hickory if you ever make one.
I also don't know about the steps in between, where you put the axe onto the handle and then cut it back. Is the fit just right then and it won't slip off, is there glue or any other treatment that helps? Do you have to soak it?

I have a few tools that need the handle made (or bought) and a couple of axes are just loose - the wood from the handle shrunk and they fly off the handle which is still intact. I doubt they can ever be secured, maybe new handle is only thing. I know when working to get the job done, Dad drove a nail in the top of one to force it tighter, but a temporary fix at best.

[Worth1]

Hellmanns may disagree with me but there are a couple of stages in making these things.
At least the way we did it.
You can but dont have to work a lot of it green and the ends can be sealed up with tar to help stop checking or splitting on the ends.
One important thing is to have the wood completely dry before you do the finale fitting.
I have been known to put things in the oven to do this.
Or at least bring them in the house.
Then when the handle is fitted humidity can set in and make it swell up and it will be as tight as the devil.
The split in the end is for hard wood wedges you drive in.

This is the reason you cant get a good hardwood floor installed hardly any more.
The HOA's have rules that state a house has to be finish in a certain amount of time.
This is just about the amount of time it takes the flooring to acclimate.
But you cant have that wood sitting in the house while they are putting up dry wall and taping and floating.
Some of this depends greatly on the type of wood too.

Wood is a living thing that swells and shrinks once you understand this it is one heck of a lot easier to work with and make a good product.

Worth.

[bower]

I hear you on the green vs dry wood.
Obviously those axes that flew off were put on handles not so dry.
If I buy a handle I suppose I have to trust that it's made to the right size and won't shrink.
I'm sure the type of wood makes a big difference too.
We don't have native hardwoods good for handles here like hickory and ash. I planted american ash here some many years ago they are still no more than eight feet tall. Wouldn't make a handle if you took the whole tree, but the nice thing is so far animals don't eat them.

We had an old wood lathe going here for awhile, turned stuff from the forest both green and seasoned wood, so I've seen how the different woods will crack and shrink etc.
Also the common practice to seal the ends and let the wood dry slowly to minimize checking. I could see a wee toasting in the oven once it's completely 'completely' dry. It's pretty damp here overall.
Spruce is a softwood but for the local woods it is the best to resist splitting, way better than even maple or cherry. It grew so slowly, the rings are very close together...you could turn it pretty green and never check. Roots are like that too, very dense. I bet I could find a handle sized piece in a pinch.

[Hellmanns]

Originally Posted by bower

OMG Hellmans you are skilled in making handles! from scratch. Wow. And that's a dandy Plumb!
I'd love to watch the video of you shaping the hickory if you ever make one.
I also don't know about the steps in between, where you put the axe onto the handle and then cut it back. Is the fit just right then and it won't slip off, is there glue or any other treatment that helps? Do you have to soak it?

I have a few tools that need the handle made (or bought) and a couple of axes are just loose - the wood from the handle shrunk and they fly off the handle which is still intact. I doubt they can ever be secured, maybe new handle is only thing. I know when working to get the job done, Dad drove a nail in the top of one to force it tighter, but a temporary fix at best.

Thanks! Here is a video that will help you understand the process of "hanging an axe". It sounds like your axes just need to be reset and a new wedge driven in.
https://youtu.be/I55QyJXHk2E

Here is a source for virtually any handle you would ever need, though I hear shipping is outlandish for orders going outside the USA.
https://www.househandle.com/

[bower]

Thanks Hellmans, that looks like a great video!
The handles look great too, but you're right, shipping has gotten ridiculous and our dollar is only worth pocket change US these days... Nice to look at though!

[Hellmanns]

Originally Posted by Worth1

Hellmanns may disagree with me but there are a couple of stages in making these things.
At least the way we did it.
You can but dont have to work a lot of it green and the ends can be sealed up with tar to help stop checking or splitting on the ends.
One important thing is to have the wood completely dry before you do the finale fitting.
I have been known to put things in the oven to do this.
Or at least bring them in the house.
Then when the handle is fitted humidity can set in and make it swell up and it will be as tight as the devil.
The split in the end is for hard wood wedges you drive in.

This is the reason you cant get a good hardwood floor installed hardly any more.
The HOA's have rules that state a house has to be finish in a certain amount of time.
This is just about the amount of time it takes the flooring to acclimate.
But you cant have that wood sitting in the house while they are putting up dry wall and taping and floating.
Some of this depends greatly on the type of wood too.

Wood is a living thing that swells and shrinks once you understand this it is one heck of a lot easier to work with and make a good product.

Worth.

A lot of the old timers used to work the handles green, wood is easier to work that way. I agree on the flooring acclimation too, a whole lot of moisture in a new house when finishing drywall.