Probably not my best idea ever!!!

[aandabooks]

Well the handle on my maul was starting to crack and yesterday I happened to be a Menards and picked up a replacement. Today I cut the handle off and thought about how to get the handle out of the head so I could put the new handle on. Well I've never done it before but here is the result of my thinking. Like I said, probably not my best idea ever:

<a href="http://s249.photobucket.com/albums/gg238/aandabooks/?action=view&current=100_1010.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg238/aandabooks/100_1010.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

<a href="http://s249.photobucket.com/albums/gg238/aandabooks/?action=view&current=100_1011.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg238/aandabooks/100_1011.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

<a href="http://s249.photobucket.com/albums/gg238/aandabooks/?action=view&current=100_1012.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg238/aandabooks/100_1012.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

After I got it out of the stove and took the picture with it on the floor, I put it in a bucket of cold water. Figured it would temper the metal and make it harder.

Anybody want to tell me the proper way to remove an old handle so you can put a new one on?

 

[Biker Dude]

I don't know about proper, but you did it the same way I do it. I like to cool the maul head in a bucket of sand because the slower the cooling, the less brittle the metal becomes. An old knife maker told me that tempering knives requires cooling in a bucket of drain oil but structural stuff requires sand or air cooling. I don't use wood handles as replacements either, I weld the head onto a steel pipe and then wrap the handle area with hockey tape to deaden vibrations FWIW.

 

[BaldSawRunner]

Get a drill bit and drill out the wood around the edge of the eye, get a punch or something to tap out the rest of the wood.

 

[dutch]

had to change one at our hunting camp one day , we shot it out with high power rifle, worked quite well , but not recomended in most peoples backyard.

 

[mimilkman1]

I put mine in the stove to burn out the center too. It doesn't seem to affect the quality of the steel, it seems strong as ever.

Kyle

 

[Rookie1]

Get a drill bit and drill out the wood around the edge of the eye, get a punch or something to tap out the rest of the wood.

:agree2: Thats what I do at work. We seem to break alot of sledge and axe handles. I like the fire method makes you feel like an oldtime blacksmith.

 

[Slvrmple72]

Little boys to grown men we like to "play" with fire! I am outside unloading the truck, wifes in the kitchen and our 4 yr old has the poker cherry red in the fireplace. At least he didn't take it out and chase the dogs with it!

 

[banjobart]

Drill out the broken stub. I did one last week and it only took a few minutes.

You have now destroyed the temper in your old maul head. It will be too hard and brittle.

Heat it up again but not close to red hot. Let it cool at room temperature. This tempers the steel, leaving the hardness between soft and brittle.

 

[Paso One]

had to change one at our hunting camp one day , we shot it out with high power rifle, worked quite well , but not recomended in most peoples backyard.

Hey Dutch did you take this from a western red neck trick???

You must be a good shot also.

 

[cityevader]

It will only be tempered and brittle/hard if it was rapidly quenched.

No maul I have ever used seemed to be tempered. A hammer is tempered...definitely different.

I've used the firebox technique for a tamper...one of those 10-inch square plates on a wodden handle for packing down sand/dirt/gravel. No idea how they mounted the thing without any through-hole. Managed to get a sledge handle to go in with a metal wedgie thingy blind in the hole.

 

[BaldSawRunner]

:agree2: Thats what I do at work. We seem to break alot of sledge and axe handles. I like the fire method makes you feel like an oldtime blacksmith.

I remember my Grandfather had a big old anvil from his dad's blacksmith shop. I think one of my uncles has it now Love to get one for myself.

On a different note, my brother and I were cleaning out my mom's metal shed today, and I found the old splitting maul head I used when I started splitting firewood with my dad. Only problem is, I don't think they make handles for them with that eye in it anymore. As soon as my camera batteries charge, I will start another topic and post some pics of it.

I also found my great grandfather's old double bit axe I bought at his estate auction for $8. Needs a new handle in it too. The eye on it has little grooves to hold the handle in better I guess.

 

[willsaw4beer]

Being 'quenched' like it was definately will make it very hard and brittle- and likely to shatter easily. I would heat it to 350 degrees for a few hours to let it draw, let it cool, heat it to 350 again for 12 hours, and it ought to be good. This ought to stress relieve it a bit so it's not so brittle.

 

[brisawyer]

Quenched in water it should be pretty hard. try filing it if a file wont cut it its too hard it may chip if you hit a wedge with the hammer side. I would put it in the oven at 450-500 for an hour then quench. Another way is polish from the cutting edge back about an inch till its shiny. Heat the hammer part, colors will appear in the polished section as the heat reaches the area. When the edge turns dark straw or purple quickly quench again.

 

[boostnut]

A&A, it may be in your best interest to junk that head (for safetys sake), return the new handle and spend the money on a new maul. I know a young man that did the same thing you're in the process of doing and he ended up in the local E.R. with a chunk of the maul head in his leg. Evidently it got a little brittle and came apart shooting a piece of steel into his calf. FYI, I burned one out a couple years ago but cut it off flush with the head then used a handheld propane torch to finish it off. Never got the head very hot.

 

[aandabooks]

So what would have been the result of not putting it in the pail of water but instead just letting it cool normally at room temp? I couldn't believe how quick it got up to glowing. Was probably in the woodburner for no more than 30 minutes and the stack temp was only running around 350F.

 

[brisawyer]

slow cool=soft heat it red again and bury it in a bucket of ashes.

 

[Metals406]

So what would have been the result of not putting it in the pail of water but instead just letting it cool normally at room temp? I couldn't believe how quick it got up to glowing. Was probably in the woodburner for no more than 30 minutes and the stack temp was only running around 350F.

Yes, but your stack temp, and the temp in the middle of those coals are two different things.

Maul heads are usually drop forged, hardened, and tempered. From your pictures, I don't believe you brought it past non-magnetic... Which if it was, and quenched at that temperature, would have been extremely hard and brittle. Either way, your maul head needs to be retreated... And without knowing the type of steel--it's a shot in the dark.

Being a striking tool, I'm not sure I wouldn't use it for a paperweight now. The steel they used may have been an oil quench, an oil quench + air quench, a brine quench? You can water quench a lot of different steels, but it tends to shock the steel causing micro cracking and a lot of residual stresses. There is a smith out there that likes to water quench, but he has developed a system of lower temperatures for the hardening quench.

As I stated above... You may have caused irreversible damage to the head, and won't see it with the naked eye... Even after you try and draw a new temper.

This is all speculation on my part, as I wasn't there to see exactly what was done. Use your best judgment on using that head.

 

[AIM]

I'm thinkin that maybe this entire scenario has been over thought. Burn it out and stick a new handle in. Sure the math involved shows a brittle head but human strength won't show it off. If you can shatter a head you are one STRONG SOB!!!
We have steel beating wood??? Temper doesn't really come into play with a maul.

 

[cityevader]

I agree, we're pounding wood for crying out loud!

I refuse to believe it could shatter or crack or anything of the sort.

Now, IF indeed it was "tempered", which it was not, the only thing that could happen in terms of pieces flying off is if you're pounding on a stuck maul head with a sledge hammer, to the point that it mushrooms and then a piece could fly off.

 

[turnkey4099]

Seems to have gotten sidetracked.

Others have posted the correct way to do it: Dill it out. I use the largest bit that will fit my 3/8" drill and put 2-3 holes through it. Remander can then be either picked out or driving out with a punch, bolt, chunk of rod, whatever. Only takes a minute or two.

I wonder now about my old man's sledge hammer that I inherited. I retired it a few years ago when a crack began from the face extending down into the head at least an inch. I wonder if he, at some time, had also doen the 'burn out'.

Harry K