Thread: Mining Pick gets a new handle

Several years ago after my MIL passed away and cleaning out the old family home we came across an unusual pick.
The old handle attached to it was from an old axe (clearly not original) and one of the tynes had been cut off. A figure stamped on the side of the pick said 2.2 lbs but it only weighed about 1.7 lbs.
Apparently cutting a tyne off made it easier to use in narrower underground tunnels which makes sense.

We're pretty certain the pick belonged to SWMBO's father who operated a one man underground gold mine at place called Bamboo Creek about 75km NE of Marble Bar. Gramps worked the mine as a 50-60 year old right up until the start of WWII but had to walk off the lease at the start of the war due to ill health and lack of manpower to enable the mine to be sunk further underground.

We also found a bunch of other mining stuff occluding 3 acetylene mining lamps which I did up in 2019.

My Carving mate recently bought around his dad's Adze and wanted some wood for a replacement handle so while I was sawing him off a bit of spotted gum I cut up a blank for the old pick.

I'd like to say I used draw knives and spoke shaves but I had already loaned these to my mate and he had taken them home. Instead I refined the general shape with a bandsaw and then used a belt sander with a 60 grit belt to rough shape they handle (gramps would not be impressed). Then went to 80g and 120 g and finally hand sanded to 240. Coat is traditional BLO with a few drops of shellac on them cloth. Head is treated with multiple coats of Tannic acid. The handle fit is not like most picks that fit in from the underside but like an axe ie fits from the top - hence the need couple ofwedges.

It's going to my son who also has one of his great gramps mining lamps.

Pick1.jpg Head.jpg