an American pattern felling axe?

[Matt Bower]

I've gotten it into my head that I'd like to make a real for-sure felling axe in the 3.5-4 pound range -- not a hawk, not a hatchet or a camp axe. American pattern, maybe Michigan or Jersey. (I know it'd be cheaper and quicker to buy an old head on eBay, but where's the fun in that?) To my understanding this requires welding, and shaping the eye around a mandrel. My main problem is that I don't have a proper mandrel for shaping an axe eye, and I don't especially want to make one since this'll likely be a one-off project. Can anyone here think of a workable, expedient, one-time solution to the problem? I'd prefer to be able to use commercial axe handles if possible, or at least to be able to quickly modify commercial handles to work (e.g., with a rasp).

 

On a related note, what's the easiest way to get the thick poll on an American pattern axe? Start with thick stock and work it down for the eye and bit? Start with thin stock and bump it up in the middle? (That's the one I've seen.) Or start with two pieces of middlin' stock and weld them fore and aft of the eye to make the bit and poll?

Edited February 9, 2009 by Matt Bower

[Dan P.]

Matt- A mandrel for an axe eye (or a drift as I would call it), is not a hard thing to make. Just judge the shape of eye you want, and forge the drift out of a piece of mild. If you're are only using it once you won't need to use steel or case harden it. An important lesson I've had to learn, and am learning still, is that if a job requires tooling, no amount of ingenious side-stepping is going to change that fact, even if it's for some small, one off thing.

As to how to make the poll, the methods are as varied as the different types of axe.

Best of luck with your project.

-Dan

[Ty Murch]

..

Edited February 10, 2009 by Ty Murch

[Ty Murch]

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Edited February 10, 2009 by Ty Murch

[Alan Longmire]

Ty's method #2 (on the right) is the one I've seen on old axes. The books all show starting with a thick bar and drawing down what will become the side of the eye, and that's what I do with my little belt axes, but unless you've got a big hammer (power or treadle) or a good top fuller and a stout sledge-wielding helper I'd go with the built-up method on a big axe.

 

You're still going to have to draw out the eye sides thin before you weld 'em to the poll block, unless you also weld a wedge-shaped block in the front of the eye, though. I've wanted to do this for a while, but just never had the notion and the stock at the same time.

[Matt Bower]

Thanks, Alan, I thought you might have something to say about this.

 

I had the impression that for this sort of axe a mandrel (not quite the same as a drift, in my mind) was used to sort of pre-shape the eye prior to and during welding, not so much to drift it afterward (although of course you're going to need to do some final shaping of the eye after welding, especially to get an hourglass shape). I see from an old tutorial that Ty does it the latter way. What's your procedure?

[Alan Longmire]

Just what you were planning. I use a mandrel, aka bottom swedge, stuck in the hardy hole to get the eye started. For the little belt axes it's just a chunk of 3/8 x 1 mild steel long enough to lay flat on the anvil after bending it over in the hardy hole and chamfering the edges a bit. I hammer each side of the eye over this before folding 'em up and welding the poll end. After it's all welded I have a drift (just a piece of 3/8" x 1.5" mild steel, tapered and rounded) I use to straighten things out and get the hourglass shape.

 

For a full-sized axe, I'd use 1/2" x 2.5 or 3 for the mandrel, and something similar but a bit thicker for the drift.

 

I'd post pics, but I'm at work. Remind me later!

[KPeacock]

Matt,

 

You've got me considering this as well. I have no specific need for another axe, but I generally fell a few oaks per months and I always have an axe with me. I use chainsaws for most of the work, but even having a spare doesn't eliminate the possibility of a problem. The axe has never failed me.

 

A few months ago when I was digging through the scrap bin a the Caterpillar repair facility (a lot of oddball steels, but lots of large pieces) I snagged a 4' section of dozer blade edge. I'm not sure what type of steel this is, but if holds and "edge" while pushing around rock and dirt all day, I'll bet it'd work out well for an axe.

[Matt Bower]

I was thinking of torch cutting my blanks out of the center portion of an old RR tie plate -- or two, depending on how the pattern fits. I'm not sure of the carbon content of the ones I have (I know some tie plates contain a very respectable amount of carbon, but others are basically mild steel). I'll have to test a piece to find out if I need to add a high carbon bit.

[Matt Bower]

All right, Alan: I forgot to remind you last night, but I'm doing it now. I'll try to remember to mention it again this afternoon.

[Alan Longmire]

D'oh! I forgot about it too. And once again I'm in my office with no pics on my thumb drive. We're supposed to be getting severe thunderstorms about quitting time today, so I may or may not be posting pics before tomorrow.

[Matt Bower]

No sweat. It's not like it's the only item on my list of incomplete projects. It can wait a day or two.

[Alan Longmire]

Well, here's what I've got.

 

This pic shows the bottom swedge/mandrel for a little axe, plus the bar that will become the axehead, showing the dents forged in to make the eye after cutting and folding.

 

 

And here's the drift driven in, with me making sure the head isn't crooked. Pay no attention to the fact that the top line of the head isn't straight, I had a migraine that morning...

 

 

Here's how it looks when cut, folded, bit inserted, and welded.

 

 

Here's one of what happens when you forget that wrought will break if cut half through and bent... The upper "ear" of the eye can be removed with a hot cut or by grinding.

 

 

After finishing by filing and patination, it will look like this:

 

 

If I were to scale it up to make a full-sized axe, and didn't want to weld in a separate poll, I'd use 1/2 x 3 mild steel or wrought for the body, and a similar-sized mandrel and drift.

[Matt Bower]

Many thanks, Alan. That's a tremendous help -- and a very nice little axe, too! I'm planning to weld in a separate poll, probably a piece of rail anchor. Imagine that the embryonic poll in the photo of your broken half-axe is gone, and the preform of the eye has expanded to fill that space. (This'll require a larger mandrel, and some extra forging or grinding/cutting to get the right shape for the head.) The piece of anchor then gets welded in to form the poll. Does this sound reasonable?

 

Here's hoping the tornadoes stay clear of your part of Tennessee!

[Antoine]

Thank you very much Alan, this is great!

 

Antoine

[Alan Longmire]

Glad it helped, Matt, and my part of TN (the mountainous upper right-hand corner) usually doesn't get tornadoes. 60-80mph winds, downbursts, and microbursts, yes, but the ridges tend to break up massive rotation and weaken tornadic storms. Fingers crossed....When I lived in Kentucky wall clouds and funnels were a weekly occurrance in the summer. One of the main reasons I'm glad to not be there anymore, actually, the weather was nasty.

 

Back to axes: Yeah, that sounds reasonable, and is in fact one way it used to be done. Good luck with it!