Recently, my father passed away, and as I was cleaning out his garage, I found my older brothers Boy Scout axe. The Boy Scout stamp was not nearly as deep as the one on your axe, but I managed to save it and give it an original paint job. The handle was steel, and the grip was rubber. The rubber was so degraded that I used fine sandpaper on it to remove old paint and grime. The restoration came out beautifully! I went to give it to my brother, and he said “what am I supposed to do with this? Why would I want this?”. My brother is an asshole. Always has been always will be.
I never had an official Boy Scout axe, but when I was in cub scouts, my grandfather helped me put a new handle on an old hatchet with a rotting handle that I found in an old wood pile in my backyard. I can’t remember what it was for, maybe a merit badge or something because I think I had to explain to one of the leaders how we did it. It was a memorable experience and I still have that hatchet, with the same handle on it, probably 35+ years later.
Great video 👍 Those vintage electrical devices ⚡️are pretty cool to see. That 30amp GE in line fuse holder was made about 36 miles from me . I go to that city all the time 🛣🌆. I like seeing those vintage despard switches. It is pretty cool how those straps secure the switching device or receptacle device with just a twist of a 🪛 screwdriver. That is a pretty cool strobe light 💡. Great idea to use a little mineral oil on those plastic threads 👍. That Bridgeport scout Axe 🪓 turned out fantastic 👍. I think the polished look and red lettering looks awesome. That 50-50 really rejuvenated the handle of the axe 🪓, looks like brand new. “ Don’t be stingy with the 50-50”😂😂👍👍. Now you will have to find one of those sheath for it . Another great shot of Old Glory 🇺🇸 flying in the breeze with that beautiful sky. Well again great video and can’t wait to see what you do on Wednesday. Have a great evening.😄👍👍
Great episode, I do have those discard switches in our kitchen, but of course my house was built in 1897. The ax came out wonderful,thanks again and see you next time!
The strobe lights up your new haircut. Nice box of electrical goodies and the axe is fine like it is. I have a Marbles with the blade edge guard. Happy week and God Bless
This was neat, electrical components and a tool restoration restoration. I like the ax as I think you have just enough color in it to make it look good. Thanks to you and Bernie for this tutorial.
The axe looks terrific. I was expecting the steel part of the handle to be all ScoutCrafter red, but just the lettering being red looks good. I did not know about the Despard switches. You flashed a picture of a NuTone 3 switch assembly. I have two of these. I had not appreciated the special bracket. I just removed the plate and confirm they are Despard and have the special plate. Thanks, I learned something. Dave.
Hi John, just getting caught up as I’ve been traveling for business to Danbury, CT. Going up to Middleburgh, NY to visit my son. Loved that BS hatchet. You did a nice restoration. Yes, it needs a scabbard. I’ve never seen those switches before. Very unique. Great video. Best Regards, John
Beautiful job on the axe and a sheath would set it off. I found the same one but the handle is split in half and will take some effort to look like it’s healed. Interesting electrical hardware in those despard switches. That black plastic GE fuse holder was used in their line of mobile radios. All of our company trucks at International Paper in NC were equipped with high wattage FM band radios and that fuse holder was mounted in the firewall. The first thing we were told is if you have to jump start the vehicle that fuse must be pulled or the radio would be harmed and need repair. Lynchburg VA was the manufacturing facility.
My house was built by an electrician in 1952. Guy was a B17 ground crew mechanic in Great Britain during WWII. I have 9 of those Despard switches. A 3 gang setup in the kitchen by the door to the basement. 1 switch for the overhead light (a three way set up to the other entrance) 1 switch to the light above the sink, and 1 switch to the light outside the side door. Then there is a group of 6 in the family room by the back door. These are vertical. 1 for the light outside the door, 2 for flood lights to the back yard, and 3 for outlets in the family room. Why he switched the outlets I’ll never know. Another interesting electrical thing is in the basement there is a rotary switch of 10 positions with an on/off switch next to it. It’s a low voltage (24 VAC) that controls the 10 lights. You can select individually or hold the switch to on and just rotate the dial to light up every light. I had to fix this switch last year. Couldn’t find a replacement so I took it apart and cleaned all the contacts and replaced all the pigtail s to the main low voltage controller. Love the look of the ax. Just enough color. I’m sure you’ll be making a nice leather cover for it..😊
We shall have 🍷NO Whine before its time. 😅 Of course your gonna "deal"with it! And you did quite well! Nice haircut 💇. Electrical segment was "very interesting ". Put pipe insulation with zip ties on hatchet. Easy on the arm & the hip. I believe you will find that much more comfy.
Very nice clean up on the axe, found the electrical segment interesting, learned a couple of things, always something interesting on your channel, makes it fun to watch, thanks for the video sir.
This was a very informative video. I have never seen Despard switches before--really interesting. Also, as usual, a really nice job on the Scout Axe/Hatchet. I like the understated highlights. 👍
Always interesting. I have a TrueTemper Boy Scout hatchet, it's heavy. I worked yesterday on an Old Timer Sharpfinger that was heavily pitted. I tried various light duty methods and finally just used a worn flap disk with a bucket of water at hand. Better looking now. I think it is an under rated knife which I would put up against any bird and trout. I have two flashing beacons a small one from nite ize that is for land and really for pets and an acr firefly 1916 that is like yours but also has a flashlight. They are still available. I will be attaching it to my life vest when I use my motorised canoe.
Woke up this morning and there was nothing I needed. Now I don't know how I'm going to get by without a coast guard beacon lamp. Show of hands, who else has already been to ebay to find one?
I have one of the Bridgeport Scout Axes. I agree that they are too heavy and hard on the wrist. My favorite is a smaller hand axe with a unique handle that just fits my hand very well. Another nice video. Good Luck, Rick
I'll bet someone out there can cut a bunch of those dispar switch plates with the new laser cutters... I never heard of them. I wish they had taken off!
I have 2 of those strobes from a railroad. You put them in the cab window to signify help or hang from a blue flag outside the cab or a blue flag between the tracks to signify a flag is there. I was told they were taken away because they caused people prone to seizures to seize and freak out. Can you imagine flying by a dead locomotive with a strobe and the engineer of the speeding loco starts flopping on the floor as the conductor jumps up to stop the train.
My cousin Bill, who was about 7 years older than me had the type of Boy Scout axe like the one you just renewed. When I was involved in scouting, the only hatchet the Scout store sold was a Plumb brand with a mahogany red wooden handle. I could never afford one and I had to be satisfied with an Estwing from the Green Stamp store.
When I was little I remember some old apartments had those wall light switch that had 2 round buttons. You pressed one button in and the other one would pop out if I remember correctly🤔
nice scout. kindred spirits I think. went down the basement 0600 this morning to get a t20 bit for my truck. next thing I know it’s 1325 and the wife is screaming what the hell are you going down there. got involved in stupid stuff and lost track of the clock. kind of nice to be retired, no ? all the best scout. N2SCO. 73’s.
Wow, great video. I have an Estwing ax I need to recondition, very helpful tips here. Sorry I missed you this weekend, had other commitments, see you at the spring show.
Thanks to Bernie for sending in the Electricals, it was interesting to hear about those and also the strobe light ! The Axe came out great, did I miss it, how did you get on with the "crack" below the lettering did you manage to get under most of it ?
The ax is beautiful, but I thought you would fill the Bridgeport letters and Scout logo in Scoutcrafter red. What you did looks great. The strobe is very cool. It would be a good safety item in the car.
I like seeing the electrical stuff. I never heard of the Despard switches so that was pretty cool. The Axe looks great too. I appreciate you mentioning the two grits of the flap discs you used. What was the grit of the belt you used on the rails? I don't have a lot of experience with restoring tools and I am always curious to exactly what is being used. I have a list of things you have mentioned in the past (like the Clover Silicon Carbide Grease) and also what other creators use especially 357magdad. Do you use those Red Label belts?
Love the axe the way it is fabulous you could just grab it and go Will you make a sheath for it that would be great for us to see Great job scout god bless take care 🇺🇸🗽🇳🇿🦅🪖45
Leather is not good for sheaths, it has and holds moisture. Even though we have been using leather for centuries in many cases it has done more harm than good. A better sheath would be vinyl! 😃👍
