I was splitting some oak logs and laying in some firewood yesterday when an
odd thing happened. Thought I would post it here.

Bascially the maul head loosened up from the handle and came off. I
originally had a wood handle adn when that failed (cracked I think) last
year, I decided to try out a fiberglass handle. So I picked one up from Home
Depot and followed the instructions on how to install the handle. The handle
has a metal strip attached to the part that is inside the head. In the
install kit, you get a strip of putty, and a two part epoxy. Following the
instructions, I put the head on the handle, then used the putty to fil in
any gaps in the handle below the head. Then you mix the epoxy and pour it in
from the top. Allow it to set up for 24 hours and you are good to go.

I did this last Jan or Feb I think. I kept it inside while it cured for the
24 hours. It looked good and it wound up back in the barn, tossed around and
used a few time between then and now. No big deal, I never gave it another
thought. Until I was using it this week. And the epoxy started to break
down. Over a period of about an hour of use, it turned into gooey pieces and
started falling out of the head. That's why the head eventually came off. I
couldn't figure out why it was okay for six months and then failed.

I took it back to HD and they replaced it with a new one for me. It was a
failure that they were not familiar with - they thought that maybe the heat
of the day soaked up by the steel head and the force of using it contributed
to the epoxy melting. They said they would ask the manufacturers rep (True
Temper) the next time he was in.

So, now I have to clean the goop out of the head and file/sand down the
steel to make sure it is clean before installing the new handle.Anyway, jsut
wanted to pass along that story in case anyone else ever has the same
experience.