Spent most of last night working on cleaning up my office in preparation of renovating the living room. Will be setting up the TV in the office along with my recliner so that I won't miss any of my few TV shows that I still watch.
Friend from work is helping me nice all the big furniture out of the living room so that I can start working removing the paneling on the walls and installing insulation and update the electrical. We will be doing the same wall treatment as we did with my bedroom, paneling up to the chair rail and drywall the rest of the way.
Was planning on staying this next week but moved it up due to us losing two people at work and causing the rest of us to go back up on hours. My deadline to have everything done is the weekend before Christmas. This is including having all the furniture moved back in and decorating.
Thursday, October 30, 2014
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Morris the cat
I currently live on ten acres of land with a huge front yard and surrounded by mostly pine trees. Last year while I was still moving in I had a suspicion that something was watching me. I never seen anything but my dad mentioned one day he saw something yellow bounding across the yard towards the crawl space under one of the storage buildings.
Weeks pass without another sighting so we thought it must have been just passing through. Months later Dad told me he had a furry face stare at him while he was cleaning up one of the sheds to make room for a project of his. He put out some food and then left for the day. We were unsure what ate the food the next day since I knew I had raccoons running around.
Eventually the cat grew accustomed to my dad and began to wait for his daily meal. Dad will talk to him and pet him while he eats. We moved the food bowl away from the dusty area of the shed to the carport. Dad named the cat Morris since he began to appear from under the old MGA.
Morris now waits for me to get home from work every morning for his breakfast and then waits for Dad in the afternoon for lunch and snacks. Morris is usually found in the middle of the driveway sunning himself while he waits.
Morris loves to come into the shop with me and watch me work on whatever project I have for the day. He will follow Dad around and will supervise any task dad is doing. He will also protest if he feels he isn't getting enough attention. Morris is a happy cat and has decided being a pet again isn't so bad.
Weeks pass without another sighting so we thought it must have been just passing through. Months later Dad told me he had a furry face stare at him while he was cleaning up one of the sheds to make room for a project of his. He put out some food and then left for the day. We were unsure what ate the food the next day since I knew I had raccoons running around.
Eventually the cat grew accustomed to my dad and began to wait for his daily meal. Dad will talk to him and pet him while he eats. We moved the food bowl away from the dusty area of the shed to the carport. Dad named the cat Morris since he began to appear from under the old MGA.
Morris now waits for me to get home from work every morning for his breakfast and then waits for Dad in the afternoon for lunch and snacks. Morris is usually found in the middle of the driveway sunning himself while he waits.
Morris loves to come into the shop with me and watch me work on whatever project I have for the day. He will follow Dad around and will supervise any task dad is doing. He will also protest if he feels he isn't getting enough attention. Morris is a happy cat and has decided being a pet again isn't so bad.
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Problems with store bought handles
Very disappointed with the selection of axe and tool handles available now a days. I have been through five hardware stores and only walked away with three handles for projects at hand or for the possible future hafting jobs. I have ordered online and received decent handles but there was still flaws.
One of the biggest complaints is the grain orientation. The grain should be in line with the axe head to give the most strength and prevent cracking. The grain also shouldn't run out on the sides of the handle. 80% of the handles I have looked at, the grain was 45 degrees or worse.
The second problem I have is the thickness of handles, I have purchased handles simply because they had great grain orientation but the handles were more useful as a baseball bat. These handles require work to thin them down, I have used a Dremel with a rasp bit, a four in hand rasp, spoke shave, and several sheets of rough sandpaper to work the handle down to fit comfortably in my hands.
My only theory for the thick handles is at the factory when they are changing cutters they are not aligning the cutter head back up properly. I have seen in the same stack of handles some will be thinner than the overly thick ones. Too bad most thin handles have poor grain orientation.
My future plans are to further equipment myself with the tools and skills necessary to produce my own handles. Will only then need a decent source to rough cut hickory timber or even some hickory trees that need to be removed. I believe with the amount of time I waste fixing a handle I could carved out my own.
One of the biggest complaints is the grain orientation. The grain should be in line with the axe head to give the most strength and prevent cracking. The grain also shouldn't run out on the sides of the handle. 80% of the handles I have looked at, the grain was 45 degrees or worse.
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| Proper grain on left, poor orientation on right. |
The second problem I have is the thickness of handles, I have purchased handles simply because they had great grain orientation but the handles were more useful as a baseball bat. These handles require work to thin them down, I have used a Dremel with a rasp bit, a four in hand rasp, spoke shave, and several sheets of rough sandpaper to work the handle down to fit comfortably in my hands.
My only theory for the thick handles is at the factory when they are changing cutters they are not aligning the cutter head back up properly. I have seen in the same stack of handles some will be thinner than the overly thick ones. Too bad most thin handles have poor grain orientation.
My future plans are to further equipment myself with the tools and skills necessary to produce my own handles. Will only then need a decent source to rough cut hickory timber or even some hickory trees that need to be removed. I believe with the amount of time I waste fixing a handle I could carved out my own.
True Temper Flint Edge restoration
My small collection of axes has been slowing growing. I wanted to get a boy's axe to fill in the size gap between the hatchets and camp axes to the full size felling axes. I lucked out and won a True Temper Flint Edge 2 1/4lb boys axe head on eBay. The head also had BSA marked on the opposite face making this axe have just a bit more history. It looked as if someone took a angle grinder to the faces trying to remove the rust. There was grind marks all over both sides.
I had to remove the grind marks from the axe head, wished to been able to leave the patina alone but the grinding ruined that. I started with a hammer and a file to remove the small amount of mushrooming on the poll. Once that was worked down I started with 100 grit sandpaper to work the grind marks out. I worked all the way through 320 grit paper, using WD40 to help float the dust away. The head has a nice worn look to it and I finished it off with Johnson's paste wax to prevent rusting.
I had a 28" boy's axe handle floating around in the shop for awhile, I always pick up handles whenever I'm in a hardware store and find one worth getting. It's easier to pick them up as you find good ones than to go and hunt one down when you need it. Handle was fitted to the head and before mounting I gave the whole handle a good sanding with 80 grit paper. I wetted the handle down and went back over with 150 grit. Was real happy with finish sanding that I took two other axe handles and roughed them back down to repeat the same process. Smooth but not slick, I have the problem with over doing it. After mounting I gave all three handles a coat of stain. The next day they received their first coat of boiled linseed oil.
My dad really enjoyed this axe restoration, he was a boy scout when he was a young boy. He mentioned he is going to look for his hatchet he had when he was in the boy scouts which will be real treat for me. It is a real hot to breathe new life into a old tool, it's a disgrace to allow a tool to be abused and destroyed, but it's a even worse to clean one up to simple be a wall decoration. This axe will be put back to use when it is needed to complete a task.
Sunday, October 19, 2014
House renovation, pantry
The kitchen was very simple, three very large shelves that spanned the whole width and depth of the three and a half foot by two foot closet pantry. This was also the access to the attic. The closet was dark and hard to see much of anything further back on the shelves.
Wanting more shelf space and a cleaner area for the area that will store my food we painted the walls a very light blue to cover the rough and dirty plywood that was used. We cut a total of eight a shelves that would wrap the three walls of the pantry made brackets to support the shelves. Everything was painted the same color as the walls to match. It took awhile to get everything to line up and level for each shelf but was happy with results. The ceiling was closed off to the attic and the access was moved to the hallway.
Wanting more shelf space and a cleaner area for the area that will store my food we painted the walls a very light blue to cover the rough and dirty plywood that was used. We cut a total of eight a shelves that would wrap the three walls of the pantry made brackets to support the shelves. Everything was painted the same color as the walls to match. It took awhile to get everything to line up and level for each shelf but was happy with results. The ceiling was closed off to the attic and the access was moved to the hallway.
Saturday, October 18, 2014
Investigating the Gurdon light
There are a few stories of how the Gurdon light came to be. Many trace the Gurdon Light legend to a murder that took place near the railroad tracks in December 1931. William McClain, a foreman with the Missouri-Pacific railroad, was involved in an argument with one of his employees, Louis McBride, regarding how many days McBride was being allowed to work. During the Depression, the company did not have the option of giving McBride more hours on the job. McBride became very angry, hit McClain on the head with a shovel, and beat him to death with a railroad spike maul or a spike hammer. The Gurdon Light was first sighted shortly after this murder, and many have come to believe that the light is actually McClain’s ghostly lantern glowing.
Late last year I was informed that the railroad company had came in and removed the rail line after it had been left abandoned for so many years. This made me interested in returning to the location to determine if the light will still show since one of the more popular explanations is that the rails themselves are giving off static electric discharge. We didn't know what to expect to be left behind from the removal of the track and didn't know if we would still be able to reach the location where we seen the light before.
When we arrived we confirmed that the rails had been removed leaving only the gravel rail bed that had been leveled off to form a small road. The five trestles that we needed to cross were left behind making it easy to cross the now filled creek beds that were dry the last two times we were there.
When we finally reached our normal location past the fifth trestle we stopped for a moment to wait to see if the light would show. A few people that came along were not prepared to be out in the woods, complaints of insect bites were frequent. There were also those that were too inpatient, expecting the light would show immediately and wanted to left when they were told we may have to wait awhile.
While leaving the area I kept looking over my shoulder hoping to see something and get everyone to stop. Once I thought I did but I only had half the group with me and by the time we all stopped to look it was gone. The rest of the group moved a bit quicker and was already halfway back to the vehicles.
Sunday, October 12, 2014
Hold on
Usually when we buy a new tool like a axe or hammer the handle is coated with varnish, a finish that is said to cause blisters. Most of us have gotten into the habit to remove the factory finish by scraping and or sanding. Personal preference I go up to 220 grit paper for most everything. Handle is wiped down with boiled linseed oil and left to dry. Many people and few friends tell me this is too slippery you will wear your hands out trying to hold onto the handle.
My mind wanders off thinking of the age when made a living swinging a axe. How from constant use the grit and oils from these men hands worn the handles of their axes smooth. My Gransfors Bruks small forest axe came with the handle waxed giving it a nice grip but I know a couple hours use will wear this off. A tool handle can be made as rough as someone wants it to be but it will eventually be worked smooth unless that person only has the tool for decoration.
Maybe
So I wonder how much of this advice is pure nonsense that has been past on as useful knowledge and how much was actually put to daily use by the older timers that swung the axe most their lives. As for me and my tools, well I will continue doing the same process until I find something that's needs to be changed through actual use of the tool.
Edit:
I have finally quit sanding the handles to 220 grit and making them to slick to hold onto. 80 grit paper is used to even everything out and remove any rough spots. Handle is wetted down with water to force the grain to rise, once dry 150 grit paper is used to remove the raised grain.
My mind wanders off thinking of the age when made a living swinging a axe. How from constant use the grit and oils from these men hands worn the handles of their axes smooth. My Gransfors Bruks small forest axe came with the handle waxed giving it a nice grip but I know a couple hours use will wear this off. A tool handle can be made as rough as someone wants it to be but it will eventually be worked smooth unless that person only has the tool for decoration.
Maybe
So I wonder how much of this advice is pure nonsense that has been past on as useful knowledge and how much was actually put to daily use by the older timers that swung the axe most their lives. As for me and my tools, well I will continue doing the same process until I find something that's needs to be changed through actual use of the tool.
Edit:
I have finally quit sanding the handles to 220 grit and making them to slick to hold onto. 80 grit paper is used to even everything out and remove any rough spots. Handle is wetted down with water to force the grain to rise, once dry 150 grit paper is used to remove the raised grain.
Saturday, October 11, 2014
House renovation, kitchen
I haven't done much in the kitchen yet, other than the pantry closet, putting up new ceiling tiles, and adding a whole house water filtration system. New outlets replaced the old grime covered outdated outlets that lacked a ground. There was a single light bulb lighting the entire 12'x20', I don't see how Mimi could see to cook. We moved and added a light fixture over the dining area and another over the kitchen area, these Will be replaced soon with a nicer three bulb fixture and a ceiling fan.
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| Where the washer use to be. |
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| First for sediment, second is a carbon for removing taste. |
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| Pot rack has produced several knots on my head, slack has been taken up until I can barely past underneath without touching. |
House renovation, bathroom
The bathroom required the most work due to it being out dated and very simple. My cousin had already removed the old vanity, replaced the toilet, and put down new flooring. The walls were made up of various pieces of wood paneling so they got covered and painted. I put up shower walls to the bathtub walls. New vanity went in along with a medicine cabinet and vanity lighting.
The biggest change was putting in the plumbing, electrical, and duct work for the washer and dryer. The house never had a dryer, there was a washer in the kitchen for my grandmother to wash and took clothes outside to dry. Later years my grandfather put a gas dryer in the carport. I put up wear strips along the wall so the washer and dryer wouldn't rub the paint off the walls, it was a pretty tight snug fit.
We added a facing to the rough opening to the closet, added more shelves. Trim work was made from the left over wood paneling from my bedroom. The bathtub was stained with decades of grime and high iron levels in the water, couple soaks of CLR removed most but notice the enamel was worn thin in places showing the color of the cast iron.
The biggest change was putting in the plumbing, electrical, and duct work for the washer and dryer. The house never had a dryer, there was a washer in the kitchen for my grandmother to wash and took clothes outside to dry. Later years my grandfather put a gas dryer in the carport. I put up wear strips along the wall so the washer and dryer wouldn't rub the paint off the walls, it was a pretty tight snug fit.
We added a facing to the rough opening to the closet, added more shelves. Trim work was made from the left over wood paneling from my bedroom. The bathtub was stained with decades of grime and high iron levels in the water, couple soaks of CLR removed most but notice the enamel was worn thin in places showing the color of the cast iron.
Still not Christmas yet
With picking up the backpack and Doctor Who Yard is Christmas ornaments I was still searching for a few more to pick up for the year. I thought about making a ball ornament out of Lego after seeing a few websites showing ideas for Lego themed Christmas decorations. One website lead me to see that Hallmark teamed up with Lego in the mid 90's to create some very unique ornaments.
In 1994 Hallmark created Santa's Lego sleigh. This little blue, yellow, and white sleigh looks like it was built out of Lego bricks that have been shrunk, everything is almost half the size as a normal Lego brick. The sleigh feels solid but it really looks like it was built with individual pieces. There is even a mini minifigure Santa sitting in the sleigh holding a candy cane and lantern.
In 1995 Hallmark released another Lego ornament, the Fireplace with Santa. Just like the previous year the ornament has the look and feel of being built from miniature Lego bricks. The mini minifigure of Santa is back and he is having his cookies and milk that was left by the minifigure children.
I ended up getting both ornaments and wish to discover more like these. Found several listings for each on eBay, most are reasonably priced. I think I'd the two the fireplace ornament is my favorite, it just seems more thought out.
In 1995 Hallmark released another Lego ornament, the Fireplace with Santa. Just like the previous year the ornament has the look and feel of being built from miniature Lego bricks. The mini minifigure of Santa is back and he is having his cookies and milk that was left by the minifigure children.
I ended up getting both ornaments and wish to discover more like these. Found several listings for each on eBay, most are reasonably priced. I think I'd the two the fireplace ornament is my favorite, it just seems more thought out.
Friday, October 10, 2014
Sanding tip
I have been sanding several handles lately getting the ready for axe or hammer heads and reconditioning old handles on equipment like my set of loppers that had varnish on them from the factory and have now lost most of the finish leaving the wood weathered and dry.
I usually scrape the handles with a old knife that I rolled the edge to turn it into a scraper. This removes the varnish finish and anything else stuck on the handle faster than trying to sand through it. After scraping I progress through various grits of sandpaper up to 220 which I feel is smooth enough but still provides some traction.
Sanding by hand fatigues my hands quickly, caused by trying to hold even pressure. I found that using a scrap piece of leather as a backer to the paper relieves some of the fatigue. I also don't worry about getting splinters anymore since my hand is protected by a 8oz thick piece of leather.
I usually scrape the handles with a old knife that I rolled the edge to turn it into a scraper. This removes the varnish finish and anything else stuck on the handle faster than trying to sand through it. After scraping I progress through various grits of sandpaper up to 220 which I feel is smooth enough but still provides some traction.
Sanding by hand fatigues my hands quickly, caused by trying to hold even pressure. I found that using a scrap piece of leather as a backer to the paper relieves some of the fatigue. I also don't worry about getting splinters anymore since my hand is protected by a 8oz thick piece of leather.
Thursday, October 9, 2014
Disposable tools
We live in age where the salesman rather sale you a new drill instead of ordering a new battery pack, because "we are having a great sale of the drills". My dad's Craftsman 18 volt cordless drill's battery gave out and wouldn't hold a charge. Nothing is wrong with the drill so my dad went to the local Sears to pickup a replacement. The salesman wouldn't even consider ordering my dad a new battery, kept trying to con my dad into buying another drill just because the battery gave out. My dad left ended up going to another Sears while he was out of town.
It is sad that we have become society that cares so little about quality anymore. This is one of the reasons I enjoy restoring antique tools; the quality of the steel, fit and finish of the far exceeds anything produced today. My friends dad is a barber, when the blades in the set of clippers he uses needs replacing he just orders a new set of blades, because new clippers are only x amount of dollars more. I needed a new handle on a shovel last year, the price difference between the handle and a new shovel was less than $5 and yes I bought just the handle. Why waste a perfectly good shovel head and the extra money when you only need a handle that requires only a little work to mount.
It is sad that we have become society that cares so little about quality anymore. This is one of the reasons I enjoy restoring antique tools; the quality of the steel, fit and finish of the far exceeds anything produced today. My friends dad is a barber, when the blades in the set of clippers he uses needs replacing he just orders a new set of blades, because new clippers are only x amount of dollars more. I needed a new handle on a shovel last year, the price difference between the handle and a new shovel was less than $5 and yes I bought just the handle. Why waste a perfectly good shovel head and the extra money when you only need a handle that requires only a little work to mount.
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
My humble axe collection
I only have a small collection of axes and hatchets, a few still in the corner waiting to be restored to their former selves. I have two double bit axes in the corner along with a third double bit cruiser axe that needs a handle. I have a Max Ax that needs the fiberglass handle replaced with one made of wood, I also need to find the bag of implements. I never cared for the fiberglass handles, just doesn't beat the feel of a wooden handle.
Last year I purchased a Gransfors Bruks small forest axe off of a online store. This was my first real axe, something that I could call my own. It was also the most I ever spent on a axe. About the same time I found a no name boys axe at my grandfather's property, the handle needed to be replaced but the head was in good shape. I purchased a couple handles off eBay and even found a Plumb hatchet head. The Plumb was roughly the same size as the small forest axe. These two axes were restored about the same time.
My last hatchet I bought was one from Harbor Freight, reading some reviews it seemed like a decent project hatchet, for what I have in my collection this was assigned to cutting roots in the dirt preventing the task to be done with a better quality axe.
Of course the latest addition to my collection was the Keen Kutter hewing hatchet my friend gifted to me. I really enjoy the size of this hatchet and hope to put it to use soon on a future project.
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| Small family |
Last year I purchased a Gransfors Bruks small forest axe off of a online store. This was my first real axe, something that I could call my own. It was also the most I ever spent on a axe. About the same time I found a no name boys axe at my grandfather's property, the handle needed to be replaced but the head was in good shape. I purchased a couple handles off eBay and even found a Plumb hatchet head. The Plumb was roughly the same size as the small forest axe. These two axes were restored about the same time.
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| No name top and Plumb below. |
My last hatchet I bought was one from Harbor Freight, reading some reviews it seemed like a decent project hatchet, for what I have in my collection this was assigned to cutting roots in the dirt preventing the task to be done with a better quality axe.
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| Keen Kutter, Gransfors Bruks, and Harbor Freight. |
House renovation, my bedroom
I didn't have this blog when I first started renovation of my grandparents house. When my grandfather past away he left the house and land to my uncle. My uncle contacted me asking if I would like to more in and pretty much take care of the place. The house needed a lot of work to make it livable and up think I spent eight months working on various things while still living at my previous resistance.
We started with my bedroom, it was the most obvious choice besides the gutted bathroom. We needed to insulated the walls, run new electrical wire. The walls were covered with 1"x8" center cut pine panels that were tongue and groove from floor to ceiling. Removing these required starting at one point in the room pulling each board off the wall and work our way around the room to where we wanted to stop.
Problem with pulling the boards down was many of them cracked as we worked the boards loose from their nails. We couldn't put these cracked boards back up and finding boards to match was impossible, they still make these boards color would be way off from the ones that are 50 years old.
Our solution to this was take the boards that were still good cut them down to fill the bottom part of the wall, we decided to wainscot on the three walls we had to remove. Leaving the one wall with the closet solid. For the top portion we did drywall, never have done drywall both me and my dad learned quickly what to do and not to do.
Paint, ceiling tiles, and trim work was completed. Furniture was moved in and we moved on to the bathroom. The floor was left bare for now will be doing carpet in the two bedrooms but I am waiting until I finish the floor in the hallway, sanding and refinishing the living room hallway and office. I don't want to lay down carpet and have to deal with the seam at the doorway and dust in the new carpet.
We started with my bedroom, it was the most obvious choice besides the gutted bathroom. We needed to insulated the walls, run new electrical wire. The walls were covered with 1"x8" center cut pine panels that were tongue and groove from floor to ceiling. Removing these required starting at one point in the room pulling each board off the wall and work our way around the room to where we wanted to stop.
Problem with pulling the boards down was many of them cracked as we worked the boards loose from their nails. We couldn't put these cracked boards back up and finding boards to match was impossible, they still make these boards color would be way off from the ones that are 50 years old.
Our solution to this was take the boards that were still good cut them down to fill the bottom part of the wall, we decided to wainscot on the three walls we had to remove. Leaving the one wall with the closet solid. For the top portion we did drywall, never have done drywall both me and my dad learned quickly what to do and not to do.
Paint, ceiling tiles, and trim work was completed. Furniture was moved in and we moved on to the bathroom. The floor was left bare for now will be doing carpet in the two bedrooms but I am waiting until I finish the floor in the hallway, sanding and refinishing the living room hallway and office. I don't want to lay down carpet and have to deal with the seam at the doorway and dust in the new carpet.
Monday, October 6, 2014
Keen Kutter hewing hatchet
Compared to a friend of mine I have a very small collection of axes and hatchets. For the past few years my friend has been haunting flea markets, estate sales, auctions, and even the local scrap metal recycling yards for old tools. His storage room contains piles of old rusty treasures waiting to be cleaned and restored. One day he showed me several of his newest finds; a couple double bit axes, a splitting mail, and about three chewing hatchets of varying condition.
My friend notice I took interest into one of the hewing hatchets, it was rusty but no pitting. I could barely make out the words "Keen Kutter" and knew he had a nice little gem. Few months later my friend asked me if I was still looking for a hewing hatchet and I told him I was still looking not being able to find one in decent shape he presented me with the Keen Kutter hatchet now cleaned up and handled, the handle was a cheap one that used to learn how to hang such a odd head shape.
My first task was to remove the handle he used. The grain was oriented wrong and it was just a overall piece of garbage. I worked the steel wedge out, chiseling around it to work it free. Chiseled the wood wedge out and had the head free from the now piece of firewood, might hold onto it in case I need to make something small.
For the handle I went to three different hardware stores to find one that was decent grain and shape. This reminds me to pick up decent handles as I find them even if I don't need them at that moment.
Now comes the labor intensive task of shaping the handle to fit the eye of the hatchet head. I started with the end rasping it down to just inside the eye. With that done I slowly worked the handle down until it was all the way through the head. I shaped the shoulder of the handle to match the profile of the lower ears. I seated the head on the handle and prepped the wedge, it was the one that came with the handle and I'm debating about removing it and replacing it with a longer taper wedge. Wedge was coated with boiled linseed oil and started into the handle. I worked the wedge down with a block of wood and a mallet until it stopped.
The handle is about 3/4" above the actual eye only surrounded by the upper ears. I checked and there is roughly a inch of wedge inside the head, it has not bottomed out in the saw kerf. I stopped pounding the wedge in because it was bulging the handle out around the ears and even cracked one side of the handle. I haven't put a metal wedge in yet since I haven't decided on removing the wood wedge or leaving it alone.
The handle sanded to remove machining rough marks and raised grain and was stained to match my other axe handles and allowed to dry over night. Couple days later I checked on it and the stain had dried. I wiped the handle down boiled linseed oil. I learned the next day that I should have wiped all the excess oil off because the handle was now a sticky mess. Using mineral spirits I wiped the handle down softening the excess buildup and removed it by wiping it with a clean towel.
My friend notice I took interest into one of the hewing hatchets, it was rusty but no pitting. I could barely make out the words "Keen Kutter" and knew he had a nice little gem. Few months later my friend asked me if I was still looking for a hewing hatchet and I told him I was still looking not being able to find one in decent shape he presented me with the Keen Kutter hatchet now cleaned up and handled, the handle was a cheap one that used to learn how to hang such a odd head shape.
My first task was to remove the handle he used. The grain was oriented wrong and it was just a overall piece of garbage. I worked the steel wedge out, chiseling around it to work it free. Chiseled the wood wedge out and had the head free from the now piece of firewood, might hold onto it in case I need to make something small.
For the handle I went to three different hardware stores to find one that was decent grain and shape. This reminds me to pick up decent handles as I find them even if I don't need them at that moment.
Now comes the labor intensive task of shaping the handle to fit the eye of the hatchet head. I started with the end rasping it down to just inside the eye. With that done I slowly worked the handle down until it was all the way through the head. I shaped the shoulder of the handle to match the profile of the lower ears. I seated the head on the handle and prepped the wedge, it was the one that came with the handle and I'm debating about removing it and replacing it with a longer taper wedge. Wedge was coated with boiled linseed oil and started into the handle. I worked the wedge down with a block of wood and a mallet until it stopped.
The handle is about 3/4" above the actual eye only surrounded by the upper ears. I checked and there is roughly a inch of wedge inside the head, it has not bottomed out in the saw kerf. I stopped pounding the wedge in because it was bulging the handle out around the ears and even cracked one side of the handle. I haven't put a metal wedge in yet since I haven't decided on removing the wood wedge or leaving it alone.
The handle sanded to remove machining rough marks and raised grain and was stained to match my other axe handles and allowed to dry over night. Couple days later I checked on it and the stain had dried. I wiped the handle down boiled linseed oil. I learned the next day that I should have wiped all the excess oil off because the handle was now a sticky mess. Using mineral spirits I wiped the handle down softening the excess buildup and removed it by wiping it with a clean towel.
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