joshua.M Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 i have been trying to make some axes and was looking around on here for pictures of the tools i need, i cant find any.... also this section dose not have "stickeys" like knife making so, lets start them... what tools do you ude? (pics please) Thanks Josh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jake pogrebinsky Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 Joshua,don't take this wrong,but:The tools for axe-making range from nothing(a rock to hit with),to a CNC mill and a closed die(shaped just like an axe,on the inside). So:What you got in mind to make,and,no less important,why? As in,for example:"I want to make a tomahawk,and i don't care about either historical accuracy or any physics of whatever people use one for,i just want to make it to be Cool" Or,"I'd like to make a hewing axe of a type used in Germany,in an N-th region/historic time-period,to weigh 758 grams,with the angle of grind of an X degrees,et c.,et c." There's not a "Axe-making Tool Kit"(that i know of).As an axe is a Highly specialised,very complex tool,that comes in more'n 32 flavors.... Hope that you won'y mind my sarcasm,it may be mean of me,but it's,alas,true. All the best,Jake Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basher Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 I use the following to make axes . hand slitter , handled slitter, hammer punches in about 3variations, drifts in about about 10 variations by now ( 3 hammer eye shaped, 3 or 4 narrow axe shaped a couple of hawk drifts a big D shape and bunch of rounds) and tooling for the press in 4 variations, slitter punch slot punch and expander (drift). I have anvil tools , vertical cone , horizontal cone and a couple of long hand held cone mandrels.......my leg vise had 40mm rounds welded to the side of 2 jaws , very usefull. I often use a swage block . under the power hammer I use a small fuller and various hacks and half round tools for defining shape and pulling beards. I find the left hand corner of my flat die which I radius to be extremely useful. axes demand of me quite a few hammers and are one of the tasks that need a 3lb or 4lb hammer (I ache after making axes) , I refine the flats of the blade with a cutlers hammer and have a hoard of rounded hammers for doing the body . I have ended up with quite a few specialist tools for axes but they are a specialist thing to make! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basher Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 or one single hammer punch a hammer and an anvil (and of course a forge) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshua.M Posted November 6, 2011 Author Share Posted November 6, 2011 Joshua,don't take this wrong,but:The tools for axe-making range from nothing(a rock to hit with),to a CNC mill and a closed die(shaped just like an axe,on the inside). So:What you got in mind to make,and,no less important,why? As in,for example:"I want to make a tomahawk,and i don't care about either historical accuracy or any physics of whatever people use one for,i just want to make it to be Cool" Or,"I'd like to make a hewing axe of a type used in Germany,in an N-th region/historic time-period,to weigh 758 grams,with the angle of grind of an X degrees,et c.,et c." There's not a "Axe-making Tool Kit"(that i know of).As an axe is a Highly specialised,very complex tool,that comes in more'n 32 flavors.... Hope that you won'y mind my sarcasm,it may be mean of me,but it's,alas,true. All the best,Jake i completely understand (and did before) that they are very specialized, i an mostly interested in hawks because of their versatility and how big of a part they played in the fur trade, i like slit and drift hawks with either a hammer poll or a spike, i would like it to be light enough to throw (one of my hobbys) and do some small kinling splitting for my forge i will most likley make multiple differand types of axes and hawks. So what i am asking is, to get started, what will i need to make a slit and drift hammer poll tomahawk of the canadian fur trade time period weighing between 1.5-2lbs Josh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshua.M Posted November 6, 2011 Author Share Posted November 6, 2011 I use the following to make axes . hand slitter , handled slitter, hammer punches in about 3variations, drifts in about about 10 variations by now ( 3 hammer eye shaped, 3 or 4 narrow axe shaped a couple of hawk drifts a big D shape and bunch of rounds) and tooling for the press in 4 variations, slitter punch slot punch and expander (drift). I have anvil tools , vertical cone , horizontal cone and a couple of long hand held cone mandrels.......my leg vise had 40mm rounds welded to the side of 2 jaws , very usefull. I often use a swage block . under the power hammer I use a small fuller and various hacks and half round tools for defining shape and pulling beards. I find the left hand corner of my flat die which I radius to be extremely useful. axes demand of me quite a few hammers and are one of the tasks that need a 3lb or 4lb hammer (I ache after making axes) , I refine the flats of the blade with a cutlers hammer and have a hoard of rounded hammers for doing the body . I have ended up with quite a few specialist tools for axes but they are a specialist thing to make! do you have pictures of some of these tools? thanks Josh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KYBOY Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 Im right about where Basher is...Lots of drifts, several hammers,several swages,swage block, a hardy mounted holding tool for holding the axe bosy when slitting for a HC bit..Then a drifting post for drifting handle sockets,several sizes of hot cuts,etc..Ill try tp post a few pics.. Some of the drifts for hawks and axes.. Power hammer spring swage used for drawing down ears and such.. Holding jig for holding bodies while they are split and a handled hot cut.. Anvil hold down and hand held slitter..with resulting eye.. This guillotine tool used to swage in nothces in wrap&weld heads like in the pic.. This drifting post for drifitng eyes..With different face plates for different size eyes.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KYBOY Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 Heres a couple of pics that may or may not help..Just some basic stuff...Ive taught Lisa all this stuff and Im more than willing to share because I had to learn it all the hard way.. Heres a 1" x1" square x 6" long block of 1045 ready to be hot slit..The eye has been carefully measured..It only takesa few minutes but i drew the measurements on for teaching aids..The slit is marked cold with a chisel, that wy you know exactly where to start hot..**ON BOTH SIDES, MEET IN THE MIDDLE** This is where a standard "wrap&weld" starts..Cleaned strap for body and cleaned wedge for the bit.. This is what it looks like ready to forge after welding..There should be no visible seams after grinding..No matter what material you use..MIld,high carbon or wrought..That goes for in front of the eye as well..That takes some practice though..The weld in on a wrap&weld head can be tricky for folks who have never done it..No telling how many bad heads are in the creek in front of my shop from when I was learning Hope some of these may have helped.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marksnagel Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 Kyboy, It is always nice to see someone go the extra mile to explain how they do things. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. Mark <>< Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KYBOY Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 Your welcome, im happy to share what little I know..If anyone has any questions just shoot..Ill do my best.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshua.M Posted November 6, 2011 Author Share Posted November 6, 2011 KYBOY that helped a TON! i now need to find time to make these tools between school and my weekend job. thank you for taking the time to explain it, time for me to start filling the river with steel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KYBOY Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 Your welcome..Most of this stuff posted is for camp axe/ tomahawk style stuff...It gets a little different when you start making felling axes and such.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshua.M Posted November 7, 2011 Author Share Posted November 7, 2011 Your welcome, im happy to share what little I know..If anyone has any questions just shoot..Ill do my best.. is 1018 and L-6 a good material to start with? or should i start with somthing more simple like wroght and 5160? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshua.M Posted November 7, 2011 Author Share Posted November 7, 2011 Your welcome..Most of this stuff posted is for camp axe/ tomahawk style stuff...It gets a little different when you start making felling axes and such.. i am more interested in the type of stuff that you have posted, felling axes look like a LOT of work (i have no power hammer) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KYBOY Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 is 1018 and L-6 a good material to start with? or should i start with somthing more simple like wroght and 5160?It works well..Just happens to be what we had there..Ive used about every combo going at one time or another..1018 and any of the 10xx series steels works well...Whats more important is making sure you have good clean surfaces to weld and making sure you bring it up to the correct temp to weld..Takes more heat to properly weld 1018 than it does the high carbon steels like 1075,1080,1095 etc.BUT you ned to be mindful of over heating that HC bit too...The whole work piece needs to be at a welding heat..Not just the "blade" section..Thats where a lot of folks have problems and the seam in frot of the eye dosnt weld.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KYBOY Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 i am more interested in the type of stuff that you have posted, felling axes look like a LOT of work (i have no power hammer) I didnt have a power hammer either..Lisa bought ours when she started selling...You pound out a big axe, all by hand, on your own and you have done something..Not something I ever want to do again.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshua.M Posted November 7, 2011 Author Share Posted November 7, 2011 I didnt have a power hammer either..Lisa bought ours when she started selling...You pound out a big axe, all by hand, on your own and you have done something..Not something I ever want to do again.. i have a big plan to make a trip hammer, but the $$$ is a problem lol, i have become good freinds with the owner of our steel dealer (he saves me the good cut offs) and i have given him a list of steel i will need, he gives me odd jobs to pay it off and i have a shop class where i can weld it all up... a conversation over coffe and a box of doughnuts once a month goes a LONG way to getting steel Josh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KYBOY Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 Well good luck to ya'...Your lucky to have a good steel supplier...Our local steel suppliers carry nothing but 1018, rebar and dozer teeth..Anything else we have to order... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshua.M Posted November 7, 2011 Author Share Posted November 7, 2011 OUr local supplyer stock alot of stuff and will cut to whatever length you need Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basher Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 great info, I am off to a show this weekend but will post some of my stuff when I return. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironclad Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 great info, thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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