In this part of the tutorial we work on the head of the axe and add detail work.

Let's take a look at the axe head now that the spackling has dried.

It looks pretty rough but that doesn't matter. We are going to sand it nice and smooth. And the sanding is very very easy. It is not like sanding wood.

Note that multiple coats of spackling is a good thing. Once it dries you can sand it then apply another coat of spackling to problem areas, let that dry and sand again. Doing this will give you an excellent look.

We are going to just move forward with this. One coat of spackling is enough for my project.

Just about any sandpaper will work quite well. I recommend 60 or 80 grit to do the rough sanding. Then using a 220 grit for detail work.

It ends up looking really good. And while sanding try to establish nice crisp and sharp edges on the axe head.

Let's take a look. The major sanding is done. And you can see at some of the corners it would benefit from another layer of spackling and another sanding to get it really good looking. I will repair some of this. But let's move on.

Before painting it let's add the ornamental work.

In the template are two ornamental pieces. Do not cut these pieces out. They are too small and delicate to trace. We will use another technique to transfer the patterns to foamboard.

Place those two sheets on foamboard and tape them down so they don't move. Then trace over the pattern with a blunted pencil - pressing down firmly. This causes an indent in the foamboard that you can see. Use a straight-edge or ruler if you want to keep those lines nice and straight.

Note: Make sure you make two of each of these pieces. You need a total of four pieces.

Now when you remove the template you can see the indented lines in the foamboard. Draw them out with pencil.

Go ahead and cut those pieces out then glue them onto the axe head as you see here. Use white glue. Do not use hot glue gun. It doesn't stick to spackling.

Notice at the far right that the axe head changes angle as it goes out to the edge of the blade. At this juncture you can cut the bottom of the ornament so it bends nicely and conforms to the shape of the axehead.

Let's assemble the head and handle together