My 2nd Made up hatchet

[CBJ]

Hey folks ,

This is what I have been up to for the past few days.

I have a few axe and hatchets now and some of them need work done on them.

you can see here the comparison. The head of the one i made is from exactly the same type of hatchet as the bottom one. (also a clipper for scale)

The one here is a powerfix 800g hatchet that had completly snapped off of the shaft. I made the handle a longer because I found having that extra bit of length make a hell of a difference.

So after the battle of removing what wood was left in the head , I made a new a new shaft from a piece of hardwood that was in the wood stockpile ( Havent a clue what type of wood it is).

I then cleaned all the old paint and rust of with a belt sander and got rid of most of the dinks around the edges.

Next was to join the head to the shaft. I shaped the end so that it would be a tight fit. I cut the wedge slot in first before attaching. I then got a bit of steel bar and made the wedge using a belt sander to get the shape.

After attaching I rebated the top just a bit to allow me to give it a covering of epoxy resin (Not many people do this I know but I personally like to do it this way).

After more sanding getting it to exactly how I wanted it I stained the wood.

The trickiest part of all was getting the grip onto the handle.
I like to put extra grip on my hatchets and this time I went for something new (Bike inner tube). It took a lot of time and many curses to get that bloody tubing over the end of the handle I even had to make a frame to strectch it in 4 directions to get enough room to slip the handle through.

I was glad I decided to use the inner tube as it really helps and feels a lot better.

Last thing to do on the handle was give it a coated coating of boiled linseed.

I had to sharpen the blighter now and thanks to British Reds guide It has a great edge on it now. ( Thanks Red)

so here is the results, I am pretty pleased with it seeing as this is only the second one I have made a new handle for. All I have left to do is polish the head up a bit more

 

[TomBartlett]

Wow, looks like you put a lot of effort into that project. Is there any danger in using any old piece of wood for the handle?

 

[CBJ]

Thanks,

The bit of wood I used was checked very carefully for any cracks etc. The reason I used it was because it is well seasoned and I have made a spade handle from another bit so I know it has the strength.I am no expert but I would say to be carefull of what wood you use as some cant cope with the stresses put on it and will just snap/splinter etc also it has to be well seasoned.

atb

craig

 

[flexo]

nice work! pretty hatchet!

 

[CBJ]

Thanks flexo

atb

Craig

 

[KneeOh]

Are the wee powerfix hatchets alright?
ive got one of them as of present, used to be my mates, and he had it for a good few years, just found it in the cupboard the other week, sharpened up the edge and was going to start using it again.

think it will do for the now, or is it worth investing in another axe?

 

[Richie'66]

Your mod is alot better and certainly looks more purposeful than the standard version , if it was a toss up between the two I'd chose your modded one for sure.

 

[Barn Owl]

That's a really nice piece you've made.

 

[Richie'66]

I've stolen your inner tube idea.....today