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[Shadowdragon00]

I started a new world with custom dwarf set up but I forgot to give my wood chopper a ax would a normal ax work I'm not sure if have any though. Any creative or dwarfy ideas to get wood by other means?
 

[Purdurabo]

Dismantling the cart can give you a few planks worth.

Or just wait for the first caravan.

[PatrikLundell]

Any axe except wooden training axes can be used to chop trees (training axes used to work, but that "feature" has been corrected).
- As Purdurabo said, you'll get 3 logs from dismantling the wagon.
- If you've got a pick you can potentially find ore and use the wagon wood as fuel for the ore smelting + axe forging jobs (and you can use magma workshops to do without fuel at all).
- If you've got migrant labors turned you may get a wood cutter who then brings an axe.
- The caravan, as mentioned, probably carries axes (and if you're desperate you can steal one).
- Building a tavern can attract visitors, and one of them might bring an axe you can steal (with or without murdering the victim).

[Fearless Son]

My bet would be to build everything you can out of things other than wood (the only things you "need" to build out of wood are beds.)  Your dwarves can go without beds for a while, especially when the fortress is still small.  Make rock crafts, rock mechanisms, prepared meals, etc., anything with simple requirements and an obvious trade value.  Trade them to the first caravan that comes along.  Hopefully they have an ax (any non-training ax will do, material is irrelevant, copper is cheap and will cut wood just fine.)  Use that to chop wood.  If the caravan does not have an ax (which is unlikely) then trade for all the wood they can bring you and wait for another caravan. 

That is probably the most reliable way to do it.

[Sanctume]

So hopefully you brought an anvil and a pick. 
Dig to find an ore (native copper, malachite, tetrahedrite, native silver, silver horn, hematite, limonite, or magnetite).
Wagon scuttled = 3 wood logs.
2 wood = 2 charcoal. 
1 charcoal + 1 ore = 2 bars 
1 charcoal + 1 bar = 1 battle axe.

Since you have 1 extra wood, you can use cassiterite ore + any copper ore to make bronze bars.

[TheImmortalRyukan]

If you're lazy, just kill the hippies that come in spring and steal their wooden items and logs, I believe they tend to have a few XD

[Fleeting Frames]

1 charcoal + 1 ore = 2 bars 

Four bars if 100% smelt rate for ore. It's as efficient as block making from ore in that case.

[Sanctume]

1 charcoal + 1 ore = 2 bars 

Four bars if 100% smelt rate for ore. It's as efficient as block making from ore in that case.

Oh yeah 4 bars, I dunno why I'm thinking 2.

A better deal is 1 charcoal + 1 cassiterite (tin) + 1 copper ore = 8 bronze bars.  Copper ore is either native copper, or malachite.  I'm not sure if tetrahedrite may work.

[NESgamer190]

1 charcoal + 1 ore = 2 bars 

Four bars if 100% smelt rate for ore. It's as efficient as block making from ore in that case.

Oh yeah 4 bars, I dunno why I'm thinking 2.

A better deal is 1 charcoal + 1 cassiterite (tin) + 1 copper ore = 8 bronze bars.  Copper ore is either native copper, or malachite.  I'm not sure if tetrahedrite may work.

In regards to Tetrahedrite, I do believe that will work, actually, but keep in mind that it's more economical to smelt Tetrahedrite into bars first, as it has silver in it, and by using Tetrahedrite in the ore reaction, you're forfeiting the silver.  In short, it can be done with tetrahedrite if you can care less about silver, but if you're going for the most bang for your dwarfbuck, it'd be best to use malachite or native copper.

[Aranador]

If you are really concerned with maximizing value, smelt your tetrahedrite into billon.

[Garrie]

Dig deeper. You'll find stuff. Once you find stuff, sell some. Use it to buy whatever you can't grow, dig, or make.

[Skorpion]

Surface trees are a rarity for my forts. Buy it off the caravans, share the wagon-wood beds, use what you brought with you on embark (you DID load up on raw materials, right?), and find it in the caverns.
For your situation, share the beds you can make, and buy it off the first caravan.

Barrels and bins can be made out of metal with no problem. No need to waste wood on them, just use all that worthless gold, silver, electrum, etc. to make them. Basically anything that isn't weapons-grade. Dwarves don't get lead poisoning from drinking out of lead booze barrels.

(And it looks like I'm quoted in somebody's sig. Yay!)

[Quarque]

it can be done with tetrahedrite if you can care less about silver, but if you're going for the most bang for your dwarfbuck, it'd be best to use malachite or native copper.

All true, but we're talking about an emergency here where the OP just needs a single axe ASAP. A potential waste of a single metal bar doesn't really matter right now.

So yeah, just go for any metal that you can find or buy one from the caravan. A few cooked meals are probably enough trade value.

[Fleeting Frames]

@Skorpion: It's preferable that barrels and bins would be reasonably light. Silver, Electrum and Gold are some of the heavies options possible, to the point of being desirable blunt weapon materials - silver barrel weights 209,8 Urists, more than the rock boulders of lighter rocks.

Dwarves start to slow down at about tenth that carrying weight, so should instead make rock pots instead. A granite rock pot is going to weight 13 Urists, which is much more acceptable, if not completely insignificant.

Still going to need a barrel or two to build some workshops, but shouldn't use them for mass storage industry.

[Skorpion]

If you have enough dorfs and use stockpiles properly, you don't need to worry about haulage speed. Have stuff moved ahead of need, and keep it close to where you're gonna need it.

Rocks are precious because I use block fortifications extensively, but all that metal is just sitting there in bars otherwise. If I have 5000 bars of copper lying around, i'll train someone up making copper bins for a while.