# axe?



## Husky372 (Jul 8, 2004)

i need a new axe for driving wedges any suggestions. cracked my plastic handle on the one i have now. what do you guys like better plastic or wood handles?


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## John Ellison (Jul 8, 2004)

For splitting firewood I like those new plastic handles, they take a lot of abuse.
On a falling axe, I like a wood handle. Madsens sells almost any length rafting handle (straight ) from 20 to 36'' so you can personalize it. Soak them for a day or so in boiled linseed oil and or kerosene or what have you, keep it out of hot sun and they last forever(almost)

John


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## Husky372 (Jul 8, 2004)

thanks john i also have a nice splitting mual with plastic handle but the axe i use (also with plastic handle) cracked on me yesterday right up by the head. never thought it was possible but it did i would like to get a 3.5# one for driving wedges the cracked one is 2.5/3.0# not sure.


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## Ryan Willock (Jul 8, 2004)

I use the 5lbs falling axe from baily's.


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## Husky372 (Jul 8, 2004)

5 pounder heck if i wanted to carry something that heavy i'd carry my mual you must get one he!! of a workout carrying it huh. but then i quess when the wedges sees it comming they drive themself thanks just the same


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## John Ellison (Jul 9, 2004)

I keep an axe with my gas and oil but usually can do my wedge pounding with another wedge or saw a nice limb for a pounder.
You guys in the hardwood probably have nice pounders laying all over 
Always get my axe or maul for the serious beatings though.

John


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## Husky372 (Jul 9, 2004)

i tap them in with anoter wedge and have used an improvised pounder but i find they vibrate something awefull.


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## Ryan Willock (Jul 9, 2004)

Given the fact that I mostly log hardwoods and they are almost all select cuts I have to have some thing that heavy to drive the wedges as most trees here in the mountains have leans that seem to always be in the wrong direction.


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## Husky372 (Jul 9, 2004)

aint they allways must have arms like arnold swartzneger buy now huh


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## wiley_p (Jul 10, 2004)

It's cool the amount of favor you can go against with wedges, but to really pound a tree over you need a good axe, min. 3# with a 26" handle. wood is better, don't know how one goes about getting the head hung properly with the plastic setups.


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## Husky372 (Jul 10, 2004)

bought a collins with a hand made head 3.5# 36" handle nice axe. as for the plastic/fiberglass there nice enough but when something happens to handle you cant just put a new one on


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## BigSawMan (Jul 25, 2004)

I do belive that they are fiberglass, not plastic, though. 

I have a 32" axe with a fiberglass handle on it, dunno what it weighs though. They say that even thought the back of the axe looks like a hammer shaped side, dont use it do pound stuff with, you can weaken the head and it may come off, that is if you dont pound too hard, and you arnt using metal wedges.


I have dropped about 5 trees with it, most of them standing dead stuff, around 6-10", and about 7 or more 2-3" saplings. Its really handy for clearing trails and such, I can drop a 4" tree with about 5 chops. Still working on my technique though 

How do you get a madsens catolog? If they have one.


Fiberglass - reduced vibrations, if you over hit something, it wont break the handel, at least not on our maul we got. Cant be replaced unless its a wooden handle.

Wooden - Easier to replace, costs less, weighs more, and will whip your hands, and doesnt last forever.


Thats why I bought fiberglass.


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## Husky372 (Jul 25, 2004)

bs most every manifacture says dont do something with there tools but i like using an axe to drive wedges. bought a nice one $20 last weekend at the westport fair (went to see logging show) i think its a 4-4.5# head wide in back works awsome to. made in portugal. the other one is a better limber.


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## John Ellison (Jul 25, 2004)

I like axes. If I need to cut a few small limbs I'll grab the axe over a saw every time. 

John


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## BigSawMan (Jul 26, 2004)

Husky - Its not what the axe company says, its a known fact, especially with wooden handled axes, the heads will become weak after a while. Im looking for a good hudson bay style axe with a 36" handle on it, those are beastily axes, 1 or 2 bit, it doesnt really matter.


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## Husky372 (Jul 26, 2004)

bs axe heads come loose no matter what you are doing if is the wood hanled kind. but the problm with plastic handle ones is you cant replace handle like with the wood ones.


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## BigSawMan (Jul 27, 2004)

Well at my local hardware store, the good handles are $12, and the axe with a wooden handle that they sell is $12, the fiberglass handle ones are $17.


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## Husky372 (Jul 27, 2004)

wood handles here are just $7. $25 for the axe. except the one i bought at the fair $20 bucks. nice axe too works great.


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## Madsaw (Jul 31, 2004)

Well from what I was always told never pound a hard object( steel) witht he flat of a axe head do to the hardness of the head. A plastic wedge or a home made wood one will not be not problem for them or even theold soft metal wedges designed not to ruin your chain if you hit it with the saw. 
So it just like the story goes of pounding 2 hammer faces together. They will shatter like glass.
Most of the fiberglass handles are plastic covered due to the fact teh fiberglass will spilnter in time. Believe me I farm and use the little fiber post for electric fences. Besure to keep duct tape around when working with them little posts to pull out the no seem splinters.
Hey BS instead of useing the axle what happened to that big ole husky you all bought. It would be much faster and more fun.
Later
Bob


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## BigSawMan (Jul 31, 2004)

*Too young, and it wasnt my saw*

My brother bought it, the story is over in the chainsaw thread, im his bro posting for him on here, I use the axe in the woods, Im too young to use a chainsaw, at least that big one.

I like the feel of the axe, the prestige of using one, and soon, me and my friend down the street, is going to be using a two-man handsaw, sounds like fun to me. 


The only problem I have, is that Im clearing out these trails for my brothers skidding truck, and I cut down all of these 3" trees, but I dont know how to get rid of all of the stumps, chians wont bite into them, splitting mauls wont split them, and the chainsaw is too big for them. oh what to do what to do. Gettign a stump grinder is too expensive, maybe a handsaw can cut them low enough for the truck to be able to go over them without hurting the 34" $200+ a peice tires on it. Stumps will damadge tires pretty bad, and can scuff up sidewalls pretty bad as well. 


Any suggestions eh'?


Neil, your logger in training.


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## Madsaw (Aug 1, 2004)

Skiding truck? What kind of work does your bro do? 
Get yourself a grub hoe, sharpen the baby up nice and sharp. A couple of good licks with that and should shear the stump off below ground level. Its lots of work but if it has to be done. Has he tryed just driveing around these little trees and letting them grow to replenish the woods?
Oh a would of caution on the way a grub hoe is used becareful not to hit your feet. Because she will make a nice ole cut in them.
Bob


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## BigSawMan (Aug 2, 2004)

Yes, Skidding truck:








My brother works at a car dealership in the parts department, and also works in our race shop, and is the driver for our race car. We use this truck to haul out logs, load brush in the back, and go mudding with. All for firewood. 


Grub hoe eh? Never heard of one, you got a link or a picture?


We built a bumper for the back of the truck, 5" x 1/4"steel pipe, as wide as the back of the truck, welded to angle iron thats through bolted to the fram via 4 1/2" bolts. Its going to have a hook welded on it, Ill post some pictures of the bumper with all of the stuff on it, we pulled out a 8'x 20-24" dead log with it, pretty much idled its way out of the woods. 


Neil


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## Stumper (Aug 2, 2004)

Too small for the chainsaw? Your brother should not have bought that big saw with a ridiculously long bar on it. A small saw (The 026 maybe) with a short bar (to make chain sharpening easy when it gets dulled-it will at some point) is just dandy for cutting small stumps low enough to drive over.


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## BigSawMan (Aug 2, 2004)

We have the big 385 fir felling and bucking, and maybe large stump cuts, and the 026 for the small work. It will eventually be my saw to use when I get older.


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