Just Finished a Wood Maul Handle

[Gerowen 1,090]

One of the things I pride myself in is trying to be as self sufficient as possible. I recently moved back to Kentucky. I needed a wood maul and found the rusted head of one in my dad's tool building, so instead of spending $30-$50 for a whole new tool, I took the old rusted head from his building, brought it home, put an edge on it, cut me a hickory limb and barked it and let it dry out, and made my own handle.

For those curious, my primary tools were a "Buck" pocket knife, a small camping hatchet, a hammer, and one rather thick zip tie. After I got all the soft outer layers off, I laid the limb off to the side in my living room for a couple of days to let it dry out before continuing, because if you start working it as soon as you cut it, it will end up being loose or too small because the wood will shrink a little bit as it dries up. I placed the head of the wood maul over the large end then with a permanent marker I reached in and drew an outline around the edge of the hole through it. I then held the head next to the handle and made a mark slightly greater than the total height of the head, as measured from the end of the handle, then attached a zip tie at that point. Then I just took my hatchet and hammer and began splitting the end of the handle I had previously marked and breaking the bits of wood off until I got to the mark I had made earlier from inside the hole in the head. The zip tie stops the wood from splitting all the way down the handle when I peel it off. Once I got it shaved down just barely small enough to go all the way through, I took some small wood shims, drove them in with a hammer and then broke off any excess sticking up, and then I took a nail and drove into the top end of the handle to spread it out against the inside of the wood maul head to prevent it from coming off.

Anyway, I'm kind of proud, I've made a couple of tool handles for myself, and it seems like every one I make looks a little better, and thought I'd share for anybody interested in these kinds of crafts.