wood working question
Posted: Sat Oct 29, 2022 1:48 pm
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I think I have shared, that I am now fight in a sport called Buhurt. Or Medieval Armored Combat.
We put on a close proximity of period correct armor and use close to period correct weapons to fight. Think MMA with armor and blades.
Anyway. I am a bit old to be truly competitive, but it is tons of fun / gives me something to do in my down time and gives me a reason to work out and stay in shape.
Seeing as I am a bit old to be competitive and I am very business driven, I have found an opportunity that I am attempting to make money with. When we fight with axes (specifically) two handed axes, the hafts (handles) break with regularity. As in sometimes in a 3 round (1 minute each) fight, 2-3-4 axes may be needed as the hafts gets broken several times.
The vast majority of people are using hickory, oak or ash hafts cut from solid wood. They just don't hold up as they break along the grain.
I have been testing laminating strips of wood. Taking Oak / Hickory / whatever hard wood, resawing it to 3/16" using titebond 3 and reassembling it with grain patterns reversed.
Up until now I have not been able to get wood longer than 44". two handed hafts run from about 40" to about 80". In group fights, some guys have hafts up to 120". I have the length issue fixed with scraps from a local lumber yard.
On the hafts longer than 36" even my laminated hafts break fairly routinely.
The solid longer wood will help past 44" but is there a magic thickness of the wood slats to maximize strength?
Are more 1/8" thick slats bonded together better than less 1/4" thick pieces?
I am clamping with wood clamps about every 4 inches directly to the slats. Is it better to cut some melamine coated plywood and place the glued slats between two melamines and clamp the melamine down, thus getting a more uniform pressure?
If I am resawing using a bandsaw, or tablesaw that is leaving a fine finish, do I need to sand both sides with 220 grit to make it smoother for a stronger bond?
I am toying with the idea of getting some of the ballistic fiberglass (1/4" thick) and using that as the center slat. But a 4'x8' sheet is $500. I don't want to spend the coin if that is not gonna help much.
Thoughts and thanks in advance.
I think I have shared, that I am now fight in a sport called Buhurt. Or Medieval Armored Combat.
We put on a close proximity of period correct armor and use close to period correct weapons to fight. Think MMA with armor and blades.
Anyway. I am a bit old to be truly competitive, but it is tons of fun / gives me something to do in my down time and gives me a reason to work out and stay in shape.
Seeing as I am a bit old to be competitive and I am very business driven, I have found an opportunity that I am attempting to make money with. When we fight with axes (specifically) two handed axes, the hafts (handles) break with regularity. As in sometimes in a 3 round (1 minute each) fight, 2-3-4 axes may be needed as the hafts gets broken several times.
The vast majority of people are using hickory, oak or ash hafts cut from solid wood. They just don't hold up as they break along the grain.
I have been testing laminating strips of wood. Taking Oak / Hickory / whatever hard wood, resawing it to 3/16" using titebond 3 and reassembling it with grain patterns reversed.
Up until now I have not been able to get wood longer than 44". two handed hafts run from about 40" to about 80". In group fights, some guys have hafts up to 120". I have the length issue fixed with scraps from a local lumber yard.
On the hafts longer than 36" even my laminated hafts break fairly routinely.
The solid longer wood will help past 44" but is there a magic thickness of the wood slats to maximize strength?
Are more 1/8" thick slats bonded together better than less 1/4" thick pieces?
I am clamping with wood clamps about every 4 inches directly to the slats. Is it better to cut some melamine coated plywood and place the glued slats between two melamines and clamp the melamine down, thus getting a more uniform pressure?
If I am resawing using a bandsaw, or tablesaw that is leaving a fine finish, do I need to sand both sides with 220 grit to make it smoother for a stronger bond?
I am toying with the idea of getting some of the ballistic fiberglass (1/4" thick) and using that as the center slat. But a 4'x8' sheet is $500. I don't want to spend the coin if that is not gonna help much.
Thoughts and thanks in advance.