I have a wooden ice axe that I am trying to do up to turn into something ornamental.
I stripped the old paint and varnish off & attacked the small amounts of rust with some wire wool and got it looking like this:
http://www.spectral3d.co.uk/misc/axe_sanded.jpg
I am planning to get the metalwork plated with something shiny that will take a high polish.
The metal finishing firm I contacted are concerned that it may damage the wood as the process involves dipping it in a hot electrolyte for several hours, so ideally I want to get the head and spike off without damaging the shaft.
The rivets shouldn't be hard to drill out, and will be easy to replace if I don't need it to be load bearing.
What concerns me is that there is some sort of glue underneath the tangs, and presumably under the ferrule as well. I'm not convinced I can cut that away without damaging things.
Any suggestions?
Plan B is to varnish the wood, as they tell me it will offer some protection. They are going to do what they can to mask it as well.