Library: general construction process

There's a lot of groups / people selling these, but nothing to really explain the process behind making them yourself. This is only about wood. For metal, ovens and molds and other tools are required, so it's unrealistic unless you want to spend much too long. Prefabricated metal items, such as chains, barbed wire, or stakes are often usable. A historical note: Most such devices weren't originally intended for martial use. Some have important double functions. Nunchuka are used for cooking, Sai, Tonfa, and sickles for gardening. Chains and ropes are used in boating and construction. This is important because actually carrying a weapon at all times, on your person may become inconvient. As you're reading this, take a minute or so to look around and locate some everyday items that could be properly used as items. For instance, if you're using a commen human computer with a mouse, notice it could be used as a simple weapon. You can hold it by the end of the cord, and swing the handheld "mouse" part around like a ball-and-chain. Or you can wrap the cord around people and strangle them. That's the same way those who first used these devices thought. Maybe it's a tad unrelaistic (those mouse cords are rather weak) but you get the general idea. Staff (Jo / Bo) - They are quite elementary to make. You can probably find large dowels -- 3/4ths inch diameter or 1 inch diameter at any hardware store. At first, these are just fine to use. It maybe cause problems later, but they're good for getting started. You can make an okay staff by just picking the appropiate diameter dowel. Make sure it's thick enough so it doesn't bend. You shouldn't have to use over one inch thick. Start sanding with 100 grit, then 150. Using a damp cloth, wet the surface of the wood and let it dry. Sand again with 150. Wet, let it dry, and sand with 150 again. Apply two coats of sanding sealer, sanding between each with 150 or 220 grit sandpaper. Then, use water-based polyurethane finish, three coats. It's easy to apply, inexpensive, and is a decent finish. When the polyurethane is drying, take the staff inside, don't leave it outside in the sun. The bad thing about polyurethane (water or oil based) is that it turns yellow and can degrade in heavy sunlight. But unless this is something constantly left outside, it's not such a big deal. Now if you whack a few things (or people) with it, you'll notice a few problems. It's mostly from the fact that the dowels you can get off the shelf aren't designed to be used for such things, they're made for support and "standard dowel things". If you want a quality staff, you have to get your own non-rounded wood and shape it yourself. For a simple staff, durability is somewhat imporant, but most important is the strength (sheer and bend) of the wood. So be sure to pick the right type of wood. For short, light "speed" staves, Poplar is usable. For larger or heavier ones, see if you can find Rosewood or Cocobolo. These are very strong and durable. If not, Maple or White Oak are commen and acceptable, but not recommended. You probably won't be able to find pre-rounded wood, I just get boards. Saw off a strip, square cross-section. You will need a machine saw of some type for doing this. Next, round the edges. If you have a power hand-saw, just saw off the corners making the cross-section octagonal. Next, it's best to use a power-sander to make a round cross-section. Once you have it rounded off, you're ready. Everything else, same as before. You might want to look into better finishes. Supposedly, Tung Oil or Linsead Oil don't make the wood sticky like Varnish or other oil-based finish. I can't stand the smell of oil, I only use the water-based finishes. Selecting Wood - The quality of the wood is important. Find a good piece. It should have a closed, tight grain. Check the ends to make sure there's no splitting. It should be straight (not warped) and be evenly cut. It shouldn't have any cracks. If there's a lot of difference in the color of the wood, get the darkest piece you can find. Avoid sapwood -- softer, lighter-colored wood that comes from the innermost(?) part of the tree. Nunchuka - Not too hard. Make a staff, between 20 to 24 inches long. Use the densest rosewood (or slightly lighter cocobolo) you can find. Should be 3/4ths of an inch diameter. Saw in half, drill 3/8ths inch shallow holes in each end. Mix up some epoxy cement and use it to join the two by a chain. The chain should be between 8 and 14 inches. Find a circle whole-link chain, don't get one of those decorative furniture chains. Coat the shallow hole with the epoxy and insert the chain, hold in place for a few minutes. Let it dry overnight. Finish same as before. Be sure to practice a lot with nunchuka, at least till your comfortable. There's a lot more tecnique to using them -- practice and try not to hurt yourself too badly. If they're well-made, it should be an effective flailing weapon (off your own body) in addition to being used to strangle people (wrap chain around neck, cross, pull). Large Hammer - A large hammer is a pounding type weapon like a blunt pick. It resembles a lopsided cross / crucifix. Use poplar. You can use something heavier for the impact points, but it's not necessary. Get a 1 1/2 inch by 3/4th inch by 4 feet piece of poplar. Using a file, make a point by running the file across the grain in a stair-step fashion. Do this so it forms a diamond which gets incrementally smaller and smaller until it's less than 1/2 an inch wide, and 1/3 an inch tall at the end. Go down about 2 to 2 1/2 feet, and saw off the piece. Next, saw off a piece about 6 inches long. Use the file to make a simple daimond in it again (just one, no stairstep thing like before). The diamond should be inscribed in the square formed by the cross-section of the wood, and only about 1/3rd or 1/4th of an inch deep. Next, make the back end of the hammer, it should only be about 4 inches. Glue the pieces together to form a lopsided cross. The far end is the handle, round it off by sanding it. Finish, same as before, with the staff. The end is pointy so you can use it like a hammer or a spear. Small Bladed - Finally, small bladed weapons. Cherry (wood) is great for these, even though it's not very strong structurally, it can be made very sharp. Walnut is stronger, great for things like spearheads, but doesn't have as fine a grain as cherry. These aren't too hard to make, but require careful work and thought beforehand. Get thin wood, 1/4th of an inch thick. Cut to form the shape you want -- a blade no longer than 1 foot, a handle less than 5-6 inches. Use 50 to 80 grit sandpaper to sharpen the edge to a point, and round off the handle. Then use 150 grit, wet the wood (as before), and repeat 2 or 3 times. Apply sanding sealer. Sharpen again, with 220 grit, apply sealer again and sharpen again. For finish, you can use water-based polyurethane, as before. If you want something really sharp, mix up a lot of epoxy, and spread a thin layer over the whole blade. Don't stick anything else onto the blade, just let the epoxy dry overnight. Then sand it to a point, and repeat until no longer necessary. You can make really sharp edges and points this way. But it's only recommended for smaller weapons. Bokken - Finally, something like a sword. I like these, they can be very painful. Maple (hard) is the most economical. Other woods you can use are Hickory (problems with stability, otherwise good), White Ash (light but limited durability), Purpleheart (nice colour and heavy, but mediocre durability), Cocobolo (superior if you can find a straight-grained piece), Rosewood (same as Cocobolo), and Lignum Vitae (hardest wood known, but expensive and problematic). For a simple sword, the easiest thing to do is to try to find some maple corners. I think they're called "moulding". Make sure you pick out good moulding. Most of the time these pre-cut things are decorative and woods like red oak (not recommended) pine (not recommended).

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Library: general construction process