just a quick question for anyone who knows about wood

[rimmer]

hi all i just got the neatest little axe from the local market for pennies but it needs a new handel it would make a wonderfull poket axe but im totaly rubish at seasoning timber god only knows what im doing wrong anyway i was hopping one of you rearly nice people would be kind enougth to point me in the direction of company that sells ready seasoned ash or beach as i realy want to do the job myself im not an expert in carving but have made handles in the past without to meany probloms and although perchasing timber is a bit of a cheat i think its the best comprmise thankyou very much for any help recived

<<Edit>>The problom is i cant get timber to season it always craks and splits so im looking for somewhere to purchess a peice of timber that fits the bill and was hopping one of you nice fellows could point me in the right direction of a company that deals in beach or ash. which i know is a bit of a cheat but i dont want to harvist the perfict pice just to watch it split and becom useless i know i could just perchass a handle made to order but i want to do the job myself thankyou to everyone that reads this post and for any advice your able to give<<End edit>>

 

[spandit]

Don't use beech...

You can buy axe handles online - hickory normally

 

[santaman2000]

As spandit said use hickory (or ash might be more available there) If you really want to carve one yourself, there should be seasoned wood at your local lumber shop or DIY store.

 

[Bucephalas]

Just about to replace mine with some Hornbeam I picked up from the moot. I'm guessing it'll be strong enough.

 

[hobbes]

Who says it's a cheat?! It's your axe: do what you like! It wants to be well seasoned anyway, or you'll soon find the axe-head coming loose.

You can just go to a local timber merchant (Yellow Pages). They, or even joinery firms, often have offcut bins; sometimes you pay a small amount, sometimes it's free. And if they don't do offcuts, they should still sell you a small piece of anything you want - I often do this for small projects. Ash no problem (good choice; agree beech not optimal for this). Hickory might be more difficult to get as timber - if you want this you might have to buy an axe handle at a tool shop or country store: you still have to fit the head yourself, and you could mod the handle and do your own finishing on it. Visiting a timber merchant will also enable you to request, or preferably eyeball, a piece with good straight grain.

If you need to mail order, there are plenty of places online that sell to hobby craftsmen - bowl turners for example. Google soemthing like 'mail order timber'. Just as an example, it took about 30 seconds to find this: http://www.interestingtimbers.co.uk/default.asp?categoryID=5

Good luck, and show us the handle when you're done!

 

[rimmer]

hi all just got a new axe for pennies at the local market it would be ideal for a poket axe but needs a new handle the problom is i cant get timber to season it always craks and splits so im looking for somewhere to purchess a peice of timber that fits the bill and was hopping one of you nice fellows could point me in the right direction of a company that deals in beach or ash. which i know is a bit of a cheat but i dont want to harvist the perfict pice just to watch it split and becom useless i know i could just perchass a handle made to order but i want to do the job myself thankyou to everyone that reads this post and for any advice your able to give

 

[Kepis]

Where abouts in East Sussex are you?, could drop a piece of Ash off if you are not too far away

 

[Cyclingrelf]

Hi Rimmer, I noticed you'd posted twice, so have merged the threads for you. I've left it in DIY and traditional crafts, as you already had several responses in here.

 

[hobbes]

i cant get timber to season it always craks and splits ...

In practice, it pretty much always will - to varying extents. The internal structure of wood makes this happen almost by definition. It's more about understanding and working around the splitting and cracking. This isn't the topic of this thread I guess, but it's worth knowing that anyone can learn how.

 

[dancan]

If you decide to work with green wood make them oversize so you can trim or reshape when seasoned .
To speed up the seasoning process I used the microwave (Use at your own risk) on the small ax handle with no cracking issues , the larger one went in the oven while the wife was baking (Use at your own risk) and had 2 small cracks at the bottom end of the handle that do not affect the handle .
Kepis's offer on a piece of ash is a great offer as ash works very well for handles .
The first handle I made ended up being too small but the second and third did the job .