Joe A Faulkner
12-16-2018, 10:27 PM
A few years ago while on vacation in Western Maryland, I came across an old, rusty 13" hewing axe head at an antique store. It made the trip home, and has been sitting in my shop until recently. A few months ago, my youngest son asked if we could restore an old handsaw, so we gave it a shot. After that project he asked if I had any rusty axe heads, and I remembered the hewing axe.
We soaked the axe head in white vinegar. I made the handle out of a piece of 5/4 white oak I had laying around the shop. This project prompted me to tune up an old 51 Stanley Spoke Shave. The axe handle was my first project using a spoke shave. Traced the handle of a chopping axe, made a couple of control buts on the bandsaw, and then hacked out the handle with a framing axe, then finished the rest of the shaping with chisels, rasps, spoke shave and some work with the the jack plane. I'm now contemplating a shaving horse build. I really enjoyed shapping the axe handle. The project also promted me to buy some leather working tools. I want to try my hand at an sheath for the axe. That little project is a work in progress. Might post some pics of it after the holidays, assuming I get it done.
I have a few down logs around the property, so I plan on putting the hewing axe to work in the weeks ahead. Did a little sharpening of the blade, and managed to cut myself twice, so it should shave some wood. Finished the handle with some walnut stain, followed by a few coats of BLO thinned with mineral spirits.
398998
We soaked the axe head in white vinegar. I made the handle out of a piece of 5/4 white oak I had laying around the shop. This project prompted me to tune up an old 51 Stanley Spoke Shave. The axe handle was my first project using a spoke shave. Traced the handle of a chopping axe, made a couple of control buts on the bandsaw, and then hacked out the handle with a framing axe, then finished the rest of the shaping with chisels, rasps, spoke shave and some work with the the jack plane. I'm now contemplating a shaving horse build. I really enjoyed shapping the axe handle. The project also promted me to buy some leather working tools. I want to try my hand at an sheath for the axe. That little project is a work in progress. Might post some pics of it after the holidays, assuming I get it done.
I have a few down logs around the property, so I plan on putting the hewing axe to work in the weeks ahead. Did a little sharpening of the blade, and managed to cut myself twice, so it should shave some wood. Finished the handle with some walnut stain, followed by a few coats of BLO thinned with mineral spirits.
398998