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I Forge Iron

Axe making, you can do it!


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Axe making is very rewarding and I think anyone can turn out one without a bunch of tools if you do a wrapped eye.   All you need is a bar around a half inch thick at least an inch and a half wide 8 or 9 inches long. Using your anvil corners to start the eye and the poll you will easily see what to do next.  This is the easiest forge weld, especially if you can tack weld the bit in place.  I say it’s easy because it’s thick and once the bit and the rest of the axe are the same color white for a minuite it will stick!  thought I’d share a few pictures of preforms to shoot for.  If you want a Viking style with pointed langettes top and bottom they appear as you thin the area between the eye and poll.  If you only want them on one side like in the photo below you have to continually push the top side down.  Forge your languettes instead of grinding them it’s not hard.  Every axe shouldn’t have the radius of a 2 by 72 grinding wheel but most do (including mine) Try a poll with fullers an inch and a quarter to and inch and a half apart and the eye one 3 inches or so apart.  Try it and show us what you make!  

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31 minutes ago, Momatt said:

 Every axe shouldn’t have the radius of a 2 by 72 grinding wheel but most do (including mine)

this makes no sense,  2x72 is a belt size, and has nothing to do with any radius of a finished product, I have attachments from 5/8 to a 34 inch diameter radius for my 2x72 and I could have gotten a 48 inch as well

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Inelegantly worded I guess. I intended to reference that most of us use one of the wheels on our 2 by 72 grinders to fair the curves of things like axe langettes and encourage forging vs grinding 

just trying to generate some conversation on a forum that doesn’t see the traffic it did in the past. 

Also the attachment most used in my grinder and probably yours is the flat platen and that little 2 or 3 inch wheel on top gets a lot of use

Edited by Mod30
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Are you going for a triangle shaped eye? For a more general drop shaped axe eye I have set downs spaced about 2 cm aparts. Your poll looks very big compared to the "langettes". You have a picture of the finished axe?

Furthermore, I recommend keeping your fuller square or stock on the anvil square to the edge to have the shoulder come out straighter.

~Jobtiel

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Jobtiel, once it’s wrapped I will forge the poll thinner, I like it 3/4 inch or so thick on the poll of the axe. This is just a preform I forged yesterday I need to cut a piece of spring steel off an old car sway bar for the bit which was under snow yesterday I couldn’t find it.  As to the eye they come out an elongated d or a triangle but I will drift it with a teardrop drift.  

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Next steps:  I took a piece of a sway bar from and old car and forged it into the bit it’s spring steel I like a meaty bit then fire welded it in.  I ground the top quick and poured hot vinegar over it to see the weld.  I have a nice bit in there with the outer mild steel nice and even   Tomorrow I will finish forging and hang it  

 

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1forguer he hasn’t gotten it yet, next weekend! 

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