Making Some Clubs

J85909266 · Jun 30, 2009

I've always wished makers would make more club-type objects.

I've been fooling around in my back yard, trying to make some cool cudgels.

Here are some picture of my first effort:

I got such positive feedback, and even offers to buy my efforts, that I decided to make a second.

Here is my progress:

Warning, this thread will be long, multiple posts, and include many pictures.

So, I've been hard at work on this all evening. I decided it needs to be way better than my first club. I'm glad I have better tools this time.

I will be making this weapon using a log, an axe, a hatchet, a pocket knife, wood stain, polyurethane sealant, electrical tape, sand paper, a power drill, a ratchet and some heavy duty screws. I used cheap, but tasty liquor to keep momentum.Shannon helped to photograph this occasion.

I started by selecting and chopping out the finest piece of wood in my pile:

The piece was a bit too long, so I set out to shortening it and stripping off all the bark and bad wood:

J85909266 · Jun 30, 2009

Here is some scenery:

After some time, I cleaned the log, and I was ready to start carving with my hatchet:

The progress is slow from here, and took hours because I had to be careful not to damage the wood with the hatchet while shaping it. It became a nice club one wood chip at a time:

Here are some progress pictures from the long carving process:

J85909266 · Jun 30, 2009

I had to recharge on alcohol at this point, but was low on dough, so I picked up this childhood classic to get me through:

At this point, the carving got more precise, so I had to use my pocket knife:

So, after the carving, I started sanding it. This also took at least an hour:

The stain on the hatchet carved pattern looks nice.

I'll seal it tomorrow after the stain sets, and then start on adding the steel.

Gunfucius · Jun 30, 2009

That thing is beautiful so far! You've inspired me to try something like this in the future.

Roger999 · Jun 30, 2009

Very cool project, but is this in the wrong section?

J85909266 · Jun 30, 2009

I thought it might be, but it's not a knife, so I thought this might be the best place for it. Gallery, maybe? Sorry, if I got it wrong.

Dog of War · Jul 1, 2009

ROFL! Let this serve as a reminder to us all, especially with the way threads here sometimes get so serious: hobbies should be fun! :thumbup::thumbup:

Gotta ask ... in your first post, the pic where you're starting to work on the "finest piece of wood in my pile" ... is that a dead bird on top of the cooler?

Keep on clubbin', bro.

Scott Free · Jul 1, 2009

This has got to be one of the best bladeforums posts ever! :thumbup:

So-Lo · Jul 1, 2009

Scott Free said:
This has got to be one of the best bladeforums posts ever! :thumbup:

Heck YES!!!!

Skimo · Jul 1, 2009

Sweet lookin club!

Joben · Jul 1, 2009

Cool club.
It would make any orc proud.:thumbup:

J85909266 · Jul 1, 2009

Dog of War said:
ROFL! Let this serve as a reminder to us all, especially with the way threads here sometimes get so serious: hobbies should be fun! :thumbup::thumbup:

Gotta ask ... in your first post, the pic where you're starting to work on the "finest piece of wood in my pile" ... is that a dead bird on top of the cooler?

Keep on clubbin', bro.

lol, yeah it's just me being goofy and passing time, but people seemed to like it, so I figured I'd share.

You're close about the dead animal. It's actually a huge, semi-mummified rat corpse we found while cleaning out an old shed, which is why the yard is a mess with weird stuff. I'll try to get a picture of it tonight. It's as big as my dog.

Dog of War · Jul 1, 2009

J85909266 said:
lol, yeah it's just me being goofy and passing time, but people seemed to like it, so I figured I'd share.

You're close about the dead animal. It's actually a huge, semi-mummified rat corpse we found while cleaning out an old shed, which is why the yard is a mess with weird stuff. I'll try to get a picture of it tonight. It's as big as my dog.

Awright ... maybe the rat died of fright, knowing he might get clubbed to death!

Finding your post this morning really started my day out right. The time and effort is much appreciated.

Scott Free · Jul 1, 2009

I think this thread should get moved to Gadgets & Gear. Not enough people will see it here.

orca8589 · Jul 2, 2009

Cool. Next thing you know, Customs will try to ban the import of lag screws next.

Better stock up now . . .

Very interesting idea. I might have to try this one out myself.

thx - cpr

harkamus · Jul 2, 2009

Very cool thread, but I can't be the only one that's reminded of Bam Bam from the Flintstones.

J85909266 · Jul 2, 2009

I used a drill bit slightly smaller than the screws to make sure they have to thread themselves in the wood, and put a bit of epoxy into each hole before ratcheting in the screw.

Here's my set up:

Putting in the first screw:

Hole for the second:

Here you can see the screw before I put it in. They are sunk in at least an inch and a half, and I can't imagine them ever going anywhere with the epoxy and all:

A progress shot:

Here's me sanding the finish rough for the polyurethane:

And a couple of Shannon modeling the club for me:

It's drying at the moment. I just have to re-coat it a time or two, and put some tape on the handle.

Supmonkeyface · Jul 2, 2009

Wow those are cool! How much are you asking for one of these?

J85909266 · Jul 2, 2009

I'm not sure. I made this one at the request of a guy on a different forum who said he would pay me, but i don't really have a price, yet.

What do you think is fair? I spent about $20 on materials, not including the wood, and it took about ten hours of work, over a period of two days.

harkamus · Jul 2, 2009

40 - 50 bucks would not be unheard of. That's 20 - 30 bucks for the 10 hours of work you did. It's fair IMO.