Firewood cleaver: making a wooden handle with your own hands. Do-it-yourself taiga ax: drawing, design features

The ax is considered to be an equally important device in household, during a simple hike or hunting, like a knife. It is not always possible to take it if people are going on a hike light, but for such an occasion there is different types this device. How to craft axes different types, can be found below.

Battle ax

The combat product is distinguished by the presence of a small butt and a small, simple blade. This is a fairly light standard hatchet with dimensions of up to 0.8 kg on a long handle (0.5 m and more). The product can be of different types.

In order to craft this ax, you need to work with a standard carpenter's blade. The top part will have to be cut off to create a straight line. The edge at the bottom of the chopping head is removed with a hook, and the simple blade is rounded at the bottom.

Further, the surface of the fixture is cleaned to a shine and burned with a fire flame. The attachment of this product should be such that the edge at the bottom of the blade and the tip of the ax are connected with a certain line, which will help to avoid additional loads on the handle.

The best material for creating a hatchet would be butt of plain birch... On the hatchet, where the head loop will end, it is necessary to make a hole obliquely, and then create a slot under the wedge near the hole created. Then the head must be planted on the hatchet, and a wedge, greased with glue, must be driven into the slot.

Wood product

A wooden hatchet cannot compare with the work of an iron, but sometimes you really need it. Due to its light weight, it is easy to take on a hike for cutting simple branches, and it can also be used as a weapon for training or at home.

How to create this product? The hatchet and head can be made separately or as a whole structure. The material is selected strong, dry, without fibers. It is worth taking oak or maple.

To create a blade and a hatchet in a separate process, you will need 2 chocks, sawn in half, on which a template is placed. Then they just stick together and connect completely. The blade of the device must be sharpened and burned with a flame or covered with a steel plate made in accordance with its bend.

Hunting ax

The hunting tool must have perfect grip balance to execute the correct punches. It is best to use an all-metal device, because the likelihood that the hatchet will fall apart when cutting a carcass or chopping up the bones of an animal will decrease. If there is no chance to forge such a product, you can make it yourself from a blade and an ax made of wood.

Before creating an ax designed for hunting or fishing trips, you need to make a thin wedge-shaped blade. The blade is processed with a disc with a small abrasive, you need to try to give it a round shape (but not like a semicircle) and not overdo it with sharpness.

Then you need to temper the iron... To create a hatchet, a special birch, mountain ash or elm tree is used. To find out the correct length of the ax handle, you need to take it by one end, while the particle with the attachment for the product should touch the ankle. When pushing the blade onto a part, its end must be wedged for better fixation. After that, the cut is made obliquely and the wedge is placed.

It's great if the wedge is created from the same material as the hatchet. It can be put on glue, and if the inner part of the butt is loosened, the problem will be quickly solved if the device is soaked in water. Do not use a metal wedge, because it will rust and spoil the wood.

For hunting birds and small game, the handle is lightweight, weighing up to a thousand grams, up to sixty centimeters long. To hunt a large animal, its length must be at least 65 centimeters, and its weight must be one thousand grams. You also need to look at the height and weight of the person who is hunting.

Do-it-yourself hatchet

Drawings are primarily required to create this product. This is a very important device and not difficult to make. In order to make it, you will need:

Wood blank.
Knife.
Joiner's and locksmith tools.
Cutting device.
Pencil.
File.
Hammer.

The creation process itself will be performed in a specific order:

A template is created on paper. The hatchet of the finished device is placed on the cardboard and outlined with a simple pencil. Cut out.
A bar is made from dried wood. The particle of the workpiece on which the ax part will be placed must exceed the dimensions of the metal eye by two or three mm.
The contours of the template are transferred to a wood blank. The front should leave a margin of ten mm, and in the back - ninety mm.
Cuts are made transversely along the upper and lower parts of a bar made of wood, the depth of which does not reach the selected contours of the hatchet by a couple of mm.
The fitting attachment of a metal part is performed by hitting a mallet. If all goes well, do a cleaning.
An almost finished base is grinded everywhere with a blade. They try to smooth out the corners and transitions with a file. At the end, all are sanded with sandpaper.
Using a small hammer, knife and chisel, the workpiece is finished to the required shape. A knife is put in place of the saw cut and slowly knocked out with a hammer. That's all, the hatchet is done.

It is not easy to choose a new wooden hatchet for the cleaver, the configuration of which is largely determined by individual preferences.

A truly comfortable handle will be made "for yourself", made using an affordable technology that does not require special skills.

Wood processing is handy for carpentry workbench or on a replacement desktop. The list itself the necessary tool as follows:

Hacksaw for wood;
Carpenter's Ax;
Plane;
Hammer;
Chisel;
Roulette;
Sandpaper.

Using a power tool ( grinder, circular saw or an electric plane), will greatly facilitate the process of making a handle for a cleaver, but you can do without them.

Wood for the ax

The type of wood and drying of the workpiece determine the durability of the cleaver's ax. Freshly cut chocks are not suitable for the handle: when dry, the wood becomes much thinner, cracks and warps. At home, a natural drying method is used, which allows you to prepare the workpiece in a dry shed for two years and in one year if you keep the piece of wood in a heated room. The harvested wood is sawn off 15–20 cm longer than the future ax for the cleaver, in order to subsequently remove the ends covered with cracks.

Among the available tree species best properties possesses ash: the handle comes out of it strong, elastic and little drying out over time. Suitable birch chock it is easier to find, but it should be dried longer, and it rots faster. The maple hatchet loosens less, which is slightly inferior to the birch one in terms of impact strength, but is more durable and easily processed.

The shape and size of the ax

A firewood cleaver should have a slightly curved handle, 50–70 cm long for medium logs and 80–100 cm for large stumps. The hatchet is made of an oval cross-section, consisting of two semicircles, connected by straight sections. Such a handle provides a confident grip and tactile control over the trajectory of the cleaver ax. Only the seating part of the cleaver's ax has an ovoid shape, corresponding to the hole in the metal tip. In the tail part of the handle, a bend is made in order to better hold the cleaver, which tends to slip out of the hand with strong blows. In addition, the downward-directed end twists the hand less at the final moment of the strike.

Making a handle with your own hands

From the dried lumps, a block is first made with a thickness of 3-5 mm exceeding the width of the landing hole. The stock will allow you to adjust the harvest later in the event of an erroneous removal of excess wood somewhere. If it is necessary to remove a thick layer, use an ax or circular saw, then the surfaces are rounded off with a plane, while leveling the planes.

On the resulting workpiece, the outline of the hatchet is marked with the same margin of several millimeters.

For convenience, a piece of wood is clamped and transverse cuts are made with a hacksaw with a step of 35–40 mm, not reaching the marking line by 2–4 mm.

Then, with an ax or a chisel, chunks of wood are knocked down in small pieces, following the direction of the chip and not allowing deepening below the drawn contour.

The shank is filed perpendicular to the axis of the handle to reduce the likelihood of chipping a wooden product.

After completing rough handling, mark the dimensions of the bore.

Why find the center at the end of the workpiece and align the tip along it.

The final shape is given to the workpiece by rounding off the convex surfaces with a plane, and the sunken parts are selected with a sharp knife.

Working carefully, remove thin chips and periodically turn the part to change the direction of the cut. As a result, they get an almost finished hatchet.

Now, at the upper end of the handle, the chamfer is removed for the approach.

They try to slightly insert the handle into the eyelet, after which prints will remain on the wood, showing how much material needs to be removed.

Focusing on these marks, they continue to adjust the handle. Then another test nozzle is made to identify the chipping sites.

The subsequent finishing of the handle is performed with an emery cloth, smoothing out all irregularities and bringing the surface to a smooth state.

The tip is finally placed on the finished hatchet, controlling the even fit. A saw cut off the protruding end of the piece of wood.

Set the cleaver vertically and drive a wedge, the length of which should not exceed the size of the butt in order to avoid cracking. In case of incomplete deepening of the wedge in the wood, the excess is cut off with a hacksaw for metal.

The handle of the wood splitter is impregnated with a protective and decorative compound that leaves the surface rough. Do not use varnishes and oil paints forming a glossy finish.

Making miss protection

To protect the ax from accidental slips, a lining is made of a steel plate 2-3 mm thick. The metal is bent with a hammer, holding the part in a vice together with a suitable iron blank.

The overlay is "brought" directly onto the handle instrument light pinpoint hammer blows.

The protection is fixed to the handle with screws through the pre-drilled holes.

A cleaver, well repaired with your own hands, will be a good helper in the preparation of firewood.

Check status wooden handle follows before each chopping of logs. You should not risk your health by working with a tool with a shriveled and dangling hatchet in the nest.

The ax is one of the most famous and affordable tools in the arsenal of most summer residents and professional craftsmen. If used correctly, it can simplify many of your workflows, resulting in great results. An ax can not only be bought ready-made in a specialized store, but also made at home. It will not take much time, effort and Money... Today we will take a closer look at how to correctly make an ax with our own hands.

How to select and prepare wood?

Many works are impracticable without a well-sharpened and strong ax. This tool is often needed both in everyday life and in larger-scale works. In retail outlets, you can find many different models there are quite a few such tools, because there are quite a few types of axes themselves. Pick up perfect option possible according to any requirement.

But there are also cases when the consumer could not find a suitable tool for himself. Many people in such situations find an easy way out for themselves - they make an ax on their own. For a tool to be of high quality, reliable and durable, it must consist of good elements. So, to create a hatchet, it is very important to choose the right suitable material.

Not every kind of wood is suitable for creating this part of the ax. It is believed that a true master will go around the entire forest before finding the very tree from which it will be possible to make an ax. In most cases, the specified element of the ax is built from the root section of a birch, and even better, if we use the growths that are present on its trunk. These parts are characterized by a very dense and curled structure.

Birch - not single tree, from which a good hatchet can be obtained. Instead, it is permissible to refer to trees such as oak, maple, acacia, ash and others. deciduous trees related to hard rocks. According to experienced craftsmen, beech, oak, larch, walnut and elm produce the most reliable, comfortable and durable handles. High Quality... But it is not enough to find the ideal material for making a hatchet. It is also necessary to competently prepare him for the upcoming work.

The workpieces must be dried well. This is done only in natural conditions, and it often takes a lot of time - on average 3-4 years, or even longer (5 years will be quite enough). The wood should be dried exclusively in a dark and dry place where there is good ventilation. Precipitation, moisture and water should not penetrate into the space where natural material will be prepared. Otherwise, there will be no sense in such drying, and good ax it will not work.

How to make a template?

If you have already prepared and dried to the required degree of material, then you should proceed to the next stage of creating a handle for an ax. Next, you need to competently make a convenient template, which will be an excellent assistant in further work.

It is important to take into account the fact that there are quite strict rules governing the shape of the ax based on the main type of device. So, light tools, the weight of which usually ranges from 0.8 to 1 kg, are usually made with a handle having a length of 0.4-0.6 m. As for more "serious" heavy axes, there is a length of 0.55-0.65 m.It must also be borne in mind that all existing species axes are divided according to their main functionality.

So, the following types of these tools are distinguished:

carpenter's;
lumberjack;
delimbing;
cleaver;
butcher's.

Before embarking on the independent design of such a tool, it is recommended that you familiarize yourself with the detailed drawings of different handle models.

When making a template, you should take into account a number of important features.

So that in the process of work the ax does not slip out and does not jump out of the hands at the moment of the swing, its "tail" must be made a little wider than the place of capture.
When making a hatchet for a cleaver, it is necessary to make a part with a length of 0.75-0.95 m. Carpentry tools are made short. Their handle generally reaches the 0.5 m mark.
To the parameter of the length of the handle, the will of the butt, it is necessary to add another 8-10 cm for the allowance. It will be possible to cut it off after installing the butt. It is very important to make sure that the tree does not start to split at this moment.

Template with it the correct form and all sizes will need to be applied to paper or a cardboard sheet.

Step-by-step manufacturing instructions

It is not difficult to prepare an ax with your own hands. To do this, you must adhere to a not very complex technology of work. Let's get acquainted with it:

mark the workpiece using a template;
after that, it can be carefully cut out with a jigsaw or other similar tool;
further, the prepared part will need to be turned on a special machine and polished.

There are a number important rules which must be adhered to in the course of work.

The processing of the attachment place of the hatchet must be carried out as carefully and accurately as possible so as not to accidentally remove the excess part of the tree. Otherwise, the butt simply cannot be firmly fixed in place. It is better to periodically try on the handle to the eyelet, so that in the end you get a small margin (no more than 2 cm).
Do not use the file in the process of finishing the part. This will lead to the inevitable loosening of the wood. Because of this, it will be more difficult to work with him further. It is better to use fine abrasive sandpaper with a grinder instead of a file. You will need to move the tool along the wood fibers.
Give a final, correct and beautiful shape the fixing place of the handle is necessary, taking into account the angle of the butt nozzle. As for the cleaver - for him the specified angle should be approximately 85 degrees. For a standard ax, 75 degrees.

At self-production axes need to be done very carefully. There is no need to rush. If you wish, you can decorate the handle of the tool with patterns and carved decorations (for example, you can wrap it with a jute cord - it will also hold the blade more securely). When the hatchet is ready, it will be necessary to correctly install the cutting part on it.

Let's consider how to do this.

Match the top of the part to the eyelet of the blade. Remove the excess wood with a knife. Be careful.
On the handle, exposed horizontally, put the cutting part on top. Then you need to put a mark on the handle with a pencil, to which it will be driven in. Divide the line and make another mark.
Lock the handle in an upright position using a vise. The wide piece should be at the top. Prepare a hacksaw for metal. Cut exactly to the second wedge mark.

In a specialized point of sale pick a wedge out of metal or make it yourself out of wood.
Place the board on a separate countertop. Expose the blade to it. Lay it upside down. Throw the prepared hatchet over this part, tapping it on the board. Now turn the fixture over and knock on the board with the handle. At the same time, the part will continue to fit. These steps should be repeated many times. As a result, it will turn out to drive the ax into the eyelet well.
Then set the part upright. Install a wedge in the cut. Hammer him in with a mallet. Saw off excess protruding parts

How to protect against decay?

The wood from which the ax is made, like other similar materials, is subject to decay. Such problems always arise over time or in improper storage conditions of the tool. It is important to take care of a homemade ax in advance, protecting it from decay. It is strongly discouraged to use compounds such as varnishes or paints to protect wooden handles. The ban on the use of such compositions is due to the fact that their presence on the handle can lead to it slipping out of the hands during certain work. The reason for this is the glossy smooth texture.

The optimal solution to protect the ax from decay, other suitable impregnations will become. Can cover the handle linseed oil or good old drying oil. There are other highly effective antiseptics that will prolong the life natural wood... But we must take into account that they will need to be applied periodically. Don't forget about this procedure.

Some masters add to antiseptic protective equipment red pigment. They don't turn to this trick to make the instrument more interesting. appearance... After this coating, the ax will be much easier to find in the grass, because its color will become more vivid.

Please note that the handle should be made so that its section has a characteristic oval shape. Only by observing this condition, it will be possible to hold it successfully, without straining the hand too much. In this case, blows with an ax will be more accurate and light. It is recommended to make wood blanks for creating a hatchet in late autumn. It is during this period that the movement of sap is reduced to a minimum (practically stops), which means that the tree becomes, as it were, dehydrated.

Many inexperienced craftsmen neglect to dry wood for the construction of an ax. As a result, it ends with the handle changing in size, and the metal part with the butt on it holds very poorly. It is permissible to refer to undried material only in special situations when the handle needs to be built urgently, and this spare part is done as a temporary one.

When making a new hatchet yourself, you need to draw up a detailed drawing / template of the future tool. If you have a very handy old ax in your arsenal, then you can remove all parameters from it. It will be much easier and more convenient. Take your time to turn the cutting edge of the tool. First you need to make sure that the metal is sufficiently hard. If it turns out to be too soft, then it will need to be additionally hardened under the influence of high temperatures.

It is permissible to start sharpening the ax blade only after installing it on the ax.

It is very important to use a ready-made ax (both homemade and purchased in a store) correctly. Experienced craftsmen it is strongly not recommended to try to cut various metal parts with such a device. Even if you plan to chop wood, it is best to make sure there are no hard particles inside that could harm the tool.

It is strongly discouraged to throw the finished tool on hard surfaces, especially from a great height. It is not recommended to leave the ax outdoors. Precipitation or aggressive sunlight can negatively affect quality wooden parts... Keep such a tool in a dark and dry place. Only under this condition will the ax serve you for many years.

"It's not a man's fur coat that heats up, but an ax" - reads folk wisdom. Irreplaceable assistant on the farm, " right hand»Any carpenter is all about a completely unpretentious tool called an ax.

Whether it is an ax for a summer residence or for professional use, the demand for this tool will never disappear.

A conscientious attitude towards operation, the ability to properly prepare the tool for work, will not only help to avoid troubles, but will also serve as a guarantee of the successful completion of the planned work.

Experienced craftsmen know how to make an ax. Understanding technology and learning practical advice, making an ax with your own hands will not be difficult for a layman.

Stabbing ax attachment

When choosing a piercing metal part for a future ax, special attention deserves the quality of the material. Parts made in accordance with GOST are what you need.

It is worth avoiding the MRTU, OST or TU markings on the nozzle, because these designations allow a change in technology in the process of pouring the part (the addition of third-party substances that affect the quality of the material is possible).

When the blade hits the other, there should be no serifs on both. Curvature of the material, the presence of any kind of dents, the curved axis of the blade are completely excluded.

The significance of the handle

Pick up optimal length hatchets can be based on the parameters of the growth of the master and the force of the blow. The strength, in turn, directly depends on the length, so when working with a large ax, it will be easier to chop logs of firewood.

Before making a choice, it is worth deciding on the desired result:

heavy version of the tool ( total weight 1kg-1.4kg., Handle length from 55 to 65 cm.);
lightweight version (weight 0.8kg-1kg., with a length of 40 to 60 cm.).

The quality of the wood from which the hatchet will be made is of great importance. Not every wood species is suitable for manufacturing. Often, birch is used for this purpose (parts located near the roots or stem growths).

There are also handles made of oak, acacia, maple and other hardwoods. All selected workpieces require long-term drying.

After the piece of wood has dried well, the contours of the handle are drawn on it, according to a pre-made template. In order to avoid slipping of the hand during work and to increase the indicators of the convenience of the ax, a thickening must be provided at the end of the handle.

A knife, chisel, electric jigsaw will help to cut the contour.

After trying on the ax head and not finding any signs of a loose fit of the parts, you can safely continue improving the ax. The glass will help you loop the instrument while sandpaper useful for grinding.

Placement of the piercing nozzle on the handle

Correct execution of the tip instructions will lead to excellent results:

The eye of the piercing part must be adjusted to the upper part of the ax handle, the excess wood can be easily removed with a knife.

Make a mark on the hatchet where the piercing part will end. To do this, you need to place the handle lying down, in order to avoid the assumption of inaccuracies. Divide the resulting segment in half and mark it accordingly.

Holding the ax while standing, it is necessary to cut to the second mark. This is done with a hacksaw for metal and used for a wedge.

Cut out a wooden wedge similar to the previously purchased metal one. The width is equal to the size of the eyelet, the thickness of the product is from 5 to 10 mm, and the length is equal to the cutting depth.

Having put the board on the table, it is necessary to put the piercing part on it, located upside down. Next, you should put this part on the handle and slowly start tapping it on the board.

Periodically, you need to change the method of tapping from the stabbing part to tapping with an ax.

As soon as the piercing part enters the eyelet, it is necessary to place the ax upright and insert a wooden wedge. A hacksaw for metal will help to cut off all necessary materials, which as a result of the nozzle will be on top.

At the end, oil is applied to the handle and the product is thoroughly dried. The correctness of the execution can be compared with the photo of an ax to the country, posted below.

Sharpening the blade

In order to avoid the hassle arising at the time of work, it is necessary to take a responsible approach to sharpening the blade. Standard indicators of compliance with GOST:

sharpening angle for construction works equal to 20-30 °;
for carpentry 35 °.

Compliance with the requirements for the amount of sharpening is very important. The inconsistency of the degree leads to the fact that when chopping with an ax, the blade gets stuck in the wood.

During the initial sharpening, minor damages, cracks and dents are eliminated. After that, a secondary sharpening is carried out. The end of the process is the grinding process carried out with a fine-grained bar.

A tool made with your own hand according to the instructions is always the best ax that can be in the country.

Photos of the best options for an ax for a summer residence

A do-it-yourself ax will satisfy all the wishes of the master. Without such important tool like an ax, a carpenter and a lumberjack cannot do without, and any owner who has own house... The ax will help in the construction or repair of buildings, felling trees, preparing firewood.

The ax is an important assistant in the construction or repair of buildings, felling trees, preparing firewood.

What kind of ax to make?

According to the purpose, shape and degree of versatility, there are many types of axes that differ significantly from each other. The main types of this important tool can be distinguished.

A carpenter's ax is used for woodworking, joinery and carpentry work. It is characterized by its light weight (so that it can be held in one hand) and the convenience of an ax. Its blade has a straight cut and a sharpening angle of 35º. The most convenient length of the ax is considered to be 44-45 cm. The weight usually does not exceed 1.5 kg, and in lightweight versions - 0.9 kg.

For felling trees or chopping firewood, other axes are used - lumberjacks. They have a rounded blade and a longer handle. The cleavers, designed for working with large logs, stand out. They have wedge-shaped, thickened narrow blades and long powerful axes.

Enough high demand has a taiga ax. Such an ax can be used for rough work with wood (felling trees, chopping firewood, chopping off branches), primary processing of wood (log cabins, splitting logs), making hunting gear and accessories, building temporary dwellings (huts, flooring) and many other works.

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Preparing the ax head

The question of how to make an ax is decided primarily at the stage of preparing the tool head. The head is a metal chopping part of the ax and consists of such sections as the blade (pointed part), blade (wedge-shaped part), butt (back of the head) and eye (attachment area on the ax). The shape of the blade and blade determines what the ax does in the future.

In the process of creating, the head is first attached desired shape blade and sharpened. For carpentry tools, the blade has a straight cut and a sharpening angle of 35 °.

A taiga ax must have a rounded blade, so its convex shape is selected or the corners are grinded and the cut is rounded. The blade is sharpened with an emery bar with grains average size. Final tweaking carried out with a grinding bar.

The blade of a carpenter's ax (like most others) has a fairly regular trapezoidal shape. To make a taiga ax with your own hands, you need to align the upper cut of the blade with the cut of the eyelet and butt along one line. Typically, the top edge of the blade is simply sheared off to the level of the eyelet.

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Hatchet making

Second critical stage The solution to the problem of how to make an ax is to make an ax. This element is made of wood. Birch is most commonly used. The taiga ax is characterized by operation at high humidity... Therefore, it is recommended to use wood with less moisture decay. Maple has proven itself quite well in these conditions. Ash is the most optimal.

The first step is to select or make a wooden chock with a diameter of about 15 cm and a length that exceeds the length of the hatchet by 15 cm. Such a chock is split exactly in half and cleaned from the bark. Then it needs to be dried well at a temperature of 20-25ºC and a humidity of no more than 10%. A diagram is applied on the flat part of the workpiece. The longitudinal axis of the element must coincide with the direction of the grain of the wood.

The primary processing of the chock is done with a small hatchet. Further shaping of the workpiece body is carried out using a chisel and a knife.

V cross section the workpiece should have an oval appearance (the correct round shape will tire the hand). The lower end of the element must be bent and widened to prevent the hand from slipping when chopping. The top end should be tucked into the hole in the head lug.

After the head is completely settled on the hatchet, the overhang of the wooden part above the eyelet cut should be about 10 mm.

The surface of the workpiece is carefully sanded with an emery cloth.