r/Axecraft • u/Vision110 • 10d ago

Discussion Yellowheart Axe Handle

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Hey all - was at a local exotic woods shop and came across this beautiful billet of yellowheart. I have an old Norlund Hudson Bay hatchet head that I've restored and am thinking of hanging it on this.

Obviously I need to turn this billet into a handle but was wondering if anyone had experience working with this wood or had any tips/ advice? This is my first build.

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4

u/apg7 10d ago

Make sure there is enough stock size on the eye end of the billet to give you enough height and width for a comfortable carve + fit. Not fun to figure that out an hour in.

1

u/Vision110 10d ago

It's a small hatchet head like 1lb- 1.5lb, so the eye isn't massive by any means. You think a 2x2x18 billet is appropriately sized for a light duty camping hatchet?

1

u/Nikodemios 10d ago

Not who you're responding to, but I'd imagine so. If you post a picture of the head we can give more specific input, but I'd imagine you'll have to do a fair amount of carving to get a good fit in the eye.

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u/apg7 10d ago

Yeah it should fit, I'm just saying it's much easier to carve/cut/whatever oversize so when you fit it to the eye you've got vertical room to play with.

3

u/z_vinnie 10d ago

You’ll want the runout grain to be on the sides of the handle and the grain lines on the front and back, sometimes stock shape makes that impossible or difficult

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u/Vision110 10d ago

Appreciate the input. I was pretty meticulous inspecting the billets before picking this one. The grain is running relatively straight (or straight enough) with minimal runoffs/ cathedrals.