Oh, hey a thread about making things!
so I didnt make this per se, as much as I just fixed it up and gave it a good makeover.
And unfortunately, I'm really bad with before/after pics, so enjoy the after and just imagine the before.
So I found an old hatchet at a flea market. the axe head was painted red, the wedge to keep the axe head in place was actually about 10 nails, the handle was badly warped (see pic) BUUT, it was only 1$ so i said why the hell not.
After much cursing and even more drilling, I managed to free the axe head from the handle and then let the axe head soak in apple cider vinegar for about 3 days to loosen the paint, dirt, and rust.
After the vinegar bath i took the axe head to a bench grinder to clean up some really bad nicks and give the blade an actual edge.
Once finished with the belt grinder, i took sandpaper to it to remove the scratches and marks left behind by the bench grinder, using progessively finer sandpaper until i was using 2000 grit.
The handle i salvaged from another tool that I had. It was simply a wooden rod, however, so I took a wood file and gave it a small grip, and cut the bottom off to be angled, if only for looks.
I put a few metal wedges in the top so the head wouldnt fling off when I use it.
All in all, it probably took about 10 hours of work, about 2 hours a day. probably a little bit less. the most tedious part was whittling the top to fit in the axe head.