update photos. Found a hammer handle at another sale this weekend. Now I am into this for 75 cents. The handle was a little thick so I sanded out some of the girth away. Gonna swing it some during the week to make sure no hot spots i need to fine tune.
I have seen the trick of putting wood in a tire or bungee cord to keep bundled and from falling off chopping base. The twisting action looks pretty tough on the wrists.