Changing Axe / Maul Handles ............. How To ???

[Ductape]

Looking for tips from you folks that are good at it. Seems every time I change out a broken handle, I can never get the head to stay tight like they do when you buy them new. Only old timer trick I picked up from my FIL was to soak the head in a bucket of water for days to make the wood swell...... but have only had marginal results with that. Shirley there are other tricks to get the head to stay tight for the life of the handle ????
:msp_confused: :msp_confused:

 

[lone wolf]

Looking for tips from you folks that are good at it. Seems every time I change out a broken handle, I can never get the head to stay tight like they do when you buy them new. Only old timer trick I picked up from my FIL was to soak the head in a bucket of water for days to make the wood swell...... but have only had marginal results with that. Shirley there are other tricks to get the head to stay tight for the life of the handle ????
:msp_confused: :msp_confused:

Weld a metal bar on and make a rubber vibe buffer for your hands.

 

[Chris-PA]

As I've posted before, I put a coating of gorilla glue on them before I assemble. Fit it and wedge it tight, just like if there were no glue - it's not supposed to be the main thing holding it together. You have to trim off the excess after it sets up. Some didn't like the idea, but I've never had one loosen up on me. There are other adhesives you could try - you want something that remains a bit pliable, otherwise it will just crack.

Try it on a junk axe and see if you like it.

 

[Fifelaker]

Sometimes you need bigger and more of the metal wedges that you hammer in the end. Most hardware stores sell them.Some of my axes have the wood wedge and 2-3 metal ones. My mauls wear fiberglass.

 

[Eric Modell]

If you are using a wood handle let it dry by the stove before you set it.

Use a wood wedge in the center and a couple of metal one on either end.

Store the tool in a cool shed where the handle will not dry out.

 

[cantoo]

Eric is right, you want the wood handle to be drier when installing it than it will normally be. Set it by the sove, after you install it and wedge it, it will go back to normal moisture and it will stay tight. Are you sure your friend didn't soak it in water once in awhile to keep the handle tight?

 

[Sagetown]

Eric is right, you want the wood handle to be drier when installing it than it will normally be. Set it by the sove, after you install it and wedge it, it will go back to normal moisture and it will stay tight. Are you sure your friend didn't soak it in water once in awhile to keep the handle tight?

:msp_thumbsup:
And don't sand off too much wood when fitting the axe head. When setting the metal wedges, drive the 1st one in about 1/3rd distance from the wide end, centered crosswise over the wooden wedge. The 2nd goes in the same way near the narrow end where it fits comfortably in the wood.

 

[ray benson]

Nice ax manual, 68 pages.
http://www.pcta.org/pdf/an_ax_to_grind.pdf

 

[OH_Varmntr]

Shirley there are other tricks to get the head to stay tight for the life of the handle ????
:msp_confused: :msp_confused:

...and don't call me Shirley. Sorry, I had to

 

[Chris-PA]

Nice ax manual, 68 pages.
http://www.pcta.org/pdf/an_ax_to_grind.pdf

Thank you for that link, it's a keeper. I'll be printing that out at work on Monday!

 

[Sagetown]

...and don't call me Shirley. Sorry, I had to

:hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange:

 

[turnkey4099]

I haven't tried the glue but nothing else I have tried has kept a handle tight for its life.

Soaking in water is the worst way. It will be tight when you take it out and use it a couple times but when it dries again it will be looser than before (wood fibers will have crushed a bit).

Best method for fitting I found is the old, old way. Broken pieces of window glass.
1. Drive new handle on as far as it will go.
2. Drive head back off. Use glass to shave off the markes left in step 1.
3. Repeat until the head is all the way on the handle. Drive wedges as posted and cut off any excess ticking out of the head.

The shaving is a slow but satifying occupation for sitting in the shade with a drink at hand. There is no way you can get a better fit, you just _can't_ take off too much or in the wrong place like you can sanding or grinding.

Next time I do one, it will be as mentioned, dry it by the fire first. I had never heard that and it sounds most reasonable. Oddly I just put in a new maul handle. It is the only one in 35 years that went on all the way at step 1.

Harry K

 

[Ductape]

...and don't call me Shirley. Sorry, I had to

Glad someone gets my sense of humor !

 

[trailmaker]

I like to leave 1/8 to 1/4 inch of handle sticking out above the eye. This way when I pound in the wood wedge, this protruding wood expands to be wider than the eye making it really secure.

 

[Dalmatian90]

Nice ax manual, 68 pages.
http://www.pcta.org/pdf/an_ax_to_grind.pdf

"Nice" ...I think that's the Arboristsite understatement of the decade...wow. What a great book.

My dad said my grandfather could get knives sharp enough to shave with. I'm wanting to do that now having read that manual!

 

[REJ2]

Never ever had one come loose, hammer, axe, maul. They dont go on easy, but they dont come off either. Always a struggle to get on, thats the key.

 

[Chris-PA]

It's worth keeping in mind that using an axe for splitting is quite a bit different than using it for cutting. He touches on that in the article Ray Benson linked to, but only briefly. The angles needed are different, the edge sharpness is not as important, and the abuse the handle takes is much greater. If you try to split with a sharp, narrow taper axe like is described, you'll spend all your time trying to get the stuck axe out of the wood.

I've tried cutting down small trees with my lighter, sharper axes and it works well, but there's no way my most effective splitting axe would work properly. The two things are just different and require a different tool.