Hello everybody, Bonkanon here. Today we'll be making a morning star from exotic African hardwoods.Most of the materials are in picrel. Wenge for the head and shaft (hehe), a piece of black-and-white ebony for the handle, and some African Blackwood for handle accents & pommel.
I'm experimenting with some new methods of decoration with veneer in the head and the pommel. The wenge block for the head is cut and several layers of veneer glued inside. I'm using alternating red and orange veneer to make it stand out more once it's finished.
>bonkanon postGodspeed
Glued up with marine epoxy
Once the epoxy is set I cut the block again and repeated the process...
Glued again.
I need to do this cut-and-veneer thing two more times but at this point I need to make diagonal cuts and that would place my fingers too close to the saw blade, so I hot-glued the block to a piece of scrap 2x4 so I had a way to hold it safely.
same idea: cut the block, glue in the veneer, clamp it up while the epoxy sets. Only now it's a hassle to clamp because of the angle.
After clamping. I have to trim off the excess veneer after each of these steps so it's not in the way for the next cut.
After the last cut and veneer is glued in I ended up with this. Eventually I will be turning this into a ball shape, and the veneer will make lines that will resemble the equator and longitude lines on a globe.
Now onto the pommel. I'm using a similar method of cutting-and-veneering, but trying a different geometry scheme. this time the cuts will be angled in two directions. The piece of blackwood that will become the pommel is on the left. The thing on the right is a jig I made form scrap wood so I could hold it safely while sawing, and easily be able to rotate it 120 degrees to make each subsequent cut. I used a piece of toothpick to make sure the parts stayed aligned while they were glued together.
Ready for cutting.
First cut made at 30 degrees.
I think you probably get the idea. Glue in the veneer, rotate 120 degrees, cut, repeat.
>>64711808After all 3 cuts & glues were done I beveled the corners to get ready for turning.
Rough turning into a cylinder shape
Handle materials. The pommel is on the top left, and the top right is the rest of the blackwood I want to use to decorate the top of the handle. Originally I was going to use the streaky ebony for the handle but I decided not to. I picked something different for the handle but did cut two slices of the ebony for decoration.
The blackwood handle piece needed to be drilled out. I made a simple jig out of a scrap 2x4 to hold it while doing that.
There also needs to be a hole in this piece of ebony, but I thought that would be tricky to drill without risking it splitting. So instead I glued it to the blackwood and used a flush trim router bit to cut out the hole.Adhesive is marine epoxy thickened with silica and tinted to match the blackwood.
Here's the new piece of wood I picked for the handle. Tambootie. This piece has awesome looking figure, and it's also long enough that I can make a 1.5 hand grip.
Laying out handle parts before assembling them & determining what length to make the Tambootie portion of the handle.
drilling the handle. This is a deep, stepped hole to give as much area as possible for a solid joint.
Wenge for the shaft cut to length & beveled to make it easier to turn.
Finally, all the sub-components ready for assembly.The pommel and the piece of ebony next to it are secured to the handle with a dowel. The rest of the parts fit together as shown.
All glued up.
Starting to shape things on the lathe...
Head end
I wish this piece of Tambootie had been a little bit larger in size so I could have exaggerated the curved shape of the handle but it's still really nice as-is.
Lathe work done, time to cut off the ends.
Sanded smooth
Now on to the spikes. These are Zebrawood. I cut the long board (bottom in the OP pic) into 3 strips on the table saw, and then made this jig to hold the strips while I beveled the corners with a router.
Chamfering corners in preparation for turning....
I experimented with several ways of making dowels in this and my previous project, and I couldn't find anything that beat simply turning them on the lathe.
Cut to length.It turns out this was a mistake, and I should have kept them longer as that would have made them easier to sharpen in the next step, but it did end up working OK.
I sanded the spikes to shape freehand on a stationary belt sander. This would have been easier to do holding a long dowel an cutting them off one-by-one as they were done, but I made do. Here I've hot-glued some bolts to the dowels so I can spin them with my drill while I do the final sanding.
Spikes done. The three on the left are rejects, I'll be using the 12 best on the right. It's easy to snap the bolt off after sanding.
First coat of lacquer
2nd coat of lacquer.
I also sprayed the handle part with lacquer prior to drilling for the spikes. Two reasons for this. First, Wenge has very long grain and can splinter, and I felt the lacquer soaking into the surface would minimize any splintering when I drilled. Second, I need to be able to wipe off glue squeezeout without it soaking into the wood so the parts needed to be lacquered prior to gluing the spikes in.I didn't photograph it, but I went back and sanded the base of every spike with 60 grit so the rough surface would be available for the epoxy.
Spikes going in. I did these three at a time.
The last 3 spikes being glued in place.
more pics later
This is fucking great! Wood working, home building and a fucking weapon.Very nice anon you've made my day.
>>64711722Hi Bonkanon, hope you're doing well buddy. Was in original thread years ago, nice morning star! You should do a gunstock club or ball head club next.
Most based thread on /k/. Murder some fruit/purple drank with it.
You are a very cool guy, bonkanon. Thank you for sharing. Happy New Year!
>>64711722Checked. Based as fuck morning star. Time to smash some shit.
How effective would a shillelagh with a grip similar to pic related be as a home defense weapon?My Dad owned one and was using it as a walking stick, but he passed away recently, so I guess I inherited it. I'm wondering if it I could actually use it as a weapon, or if I need to learn a specific way to wield it, or if I should just stick to using it as a walking stick.
Bonkanon can you share your machinery setup? my dad and i are using a table saw, joiner, band saw, and planer all from easily the 80s or older and theyre really showing their age now with cuts never perfectly lining upwhat all would you recommend?
fun thread
>>64711722Best thread on /k/ for a while. Bonk on, bro.
>>64713242Ball head club is on my longer term project list, I have an idea in mind, I'm keeping my eyes peeled for a good piece of wood for it. I hadn't thought about doing a gunstock war club but that's a damn good idea. The woodwork is simple so I can concentrate on carving or inlay which I need to practice on. Thanks for the suggestion, that will be going on my list.
>>64713385I have a Grizzly G5959 table saw, Dewalt DWS779 miter saw, Dewalt cordless power plane, various Lie-Nielsen and Veritas hand planes. I just bought a Jet JSG-6DC combination sander; these spikes were the very first project I used it on. I don't have a jointer or a stationary planer. I am planning on buying a jointer later this year, probably a Grizzly G0495X. I have two drill presses, one is a tiny piece of junk Craftsman desktop model which is very weak. The other is a massive 1950's vintage Carlton radial drill--the metalworking kind, which weighs about 4 tons. I don't use it all that often even thought it's an amazing tool because it's 10 horsepower 3-phase and requires starting up a phase converter to run it and I can really see the impact on my power bill. I just purchased a router table (Jessem) but I haven't used it on any projects yet.I'm not sure what tools you have, but just because they're old doesn't necessarily mean they are bad. If they're old industrial machines they're likely better than anything you can get today and just need to be tuned up, maybe some new bearings. If they're old homeowner stuff then do consider upgrading. One thing I'd suggest before you buy new machines though: make sure what you have is adjusted correctly: tables square and level, fences square & parallel, etc. A lot of the time setup is the real problem, not the machine itself. Second thing is not to skimp on your blades. Run something like a Forrest Woodworker II in your table saw, it is worth every penny.
Hey bonkanon, could you post a pic of each of your previous completed weapon projects? I'm sure I've missed a couple, and newfags should know who you are too
Bedtime bump for bonk bro
>bonkanon
Nice morning star!
>>64713339You need to learn how the Irish use them for fighting. You don't just club people with the heavy end, you can also hold both hands near the middle and do quick strikes with both ends, as a close-up technique.Shillelaghs are literally weapons, so they perform when you wield them correctly.>>64713605Second this, they can never truly take our wooden weapons from us as long as we have the knowledge.
>>64713605>>64714954Can do.First project was this hammer.
>>64715677other side
Nut Mace
>>64715683Detail of pommel
Chopper
Macuahuitl & tepoztopilli
>>64715698
big spiked club from pau santo, ironwood, and snakewood.
>>64715707
>>64715677>>64715707Your spikes are so kino>>64715698You should do more spears or polearms. I feel like people think they're simpler and so they get less attention from modern smiths. But correct me if I'm wrong, it's not that they're simpler, but simply didn't need as much metal per soldier as other weapons?
Very nice, best thread ive seen in ages.Im not a fan of how the laminate turned out on the head, but the pommel is sexy.Call it "Deadly Doorknob"
>>64711722Bonk a melon with it!
>>64716693I do have a couple pole/staff weapons planned in the future.>>64719238The lamination was totally experimental. I think it came out a bit too gaudy and would have looked better if the lines were thinner. However, the thickness of the veneer layer needs to be the same as the kerf of each cut to have the it look right. I wasn't willing to buy an extra-thin saw blade just for this experiment, and it just so happened that 5 layers of my veneer match the kerf of my table & miter saw blades. But afterward I figured out that if I want to do that effect again I could make the cuts using a very thin hand saw and then widen to the desired line thickness by planing the cut surfaces, or perhaps I could use my new belt sander. Those methods would be a lot more work than just a single saw cut but it would avoid needing to buy a special blade.The interesting thing about the veneer is that it looks very different depending on the light. In sunlight it almost looks like it's illuminated, it practically glows like a fiber-optic sight insert. And as you move it around either the red or the orange lines become more prominent, which I think has to do with the grain direction of the veneer layers. It's a pretty cool color-change effect. You can sort of see what I mean in >>64713236. The veneer line that's going mostly left to right has the orange lines very prominent, while the orange color is much more dull in the line going mostly vertical. If you were to rotate it around you'd see those colors appear to change as the light hits the veneer at different angles.I also think the sections of black-and-white ebony were a little too thick, or I should have used a more subtly colored wood as those clash a bit with the rest of the look. Still I'm super happy with the project as a whole.
>>64711783Really love how the laminations turned out. Thanks for sharing Bonkanon!>>64715683Theres a beautiful simplicity to the nut mace.
OP should make one with a poo shaped gead and call it a morning saar
>>64721544Ever made throwing weapons? Throwing stick, spike, boomerang type stuff?One-sided throwing spikes are absurdly easy to make, just strip bark and sharpen one end, and they hit very hard for what they are. You can refine them by lightening the handle side a little, clearcoat them etc.
>>64712048Awesome, yet again! But I rec adding an axial spike to the head for lunges.>>64715679And you never did add the trekking pole carbide tip the the apex here. I thought you affirmed that was a useful mod.
>>64724801>throwing weapons? Throwing stick>literally a stickNot even in the same league. I can suggest that catching a boomerang a la, The Road Warrior is retardedly optimistic. Justbsayin'.>t. try it
>>64713231>>64713236This is excellent. Great work and great thread
Aight that’s based
>>64724801I made throwing spikes and rope darts when I was a teenager; you're right they are simple. Once I figured out how you could use drag on the tail end and more weight in the "nose" to make sure they flew point-forward I fooled around a lot with that kind of stuff. But that was mostly playing around whittling while out camping and such, I've never tried to make anything like that but nice. Thanks for the suggestion though, I might play with that in the future. They don't require much wood which is a great thing--it means I can make them from offcuts or smaller, cheaper, pieces.>>64725663I thought about the spike on the end--that would definitely be more functional-- but decided to leave it off so that the pattern of veneer was more visible. I took a lot of care to get that pattern lined up perfectly so I wanted to show it off.I haven't added anything to the hammer yet. I do agree that would be a functional improvement, but I've been more interested in later projects rather than going back and modifying that one. I might still do it, it's just hasn't been a high priority. I've been meaning to go back and make some kind of decoration on the top end of the nut mace but I haven't done that either.Anyway, I've currently got 4 new projects lined up with most of the materials already on hand and a bunch of ideas to think about for future ones, so I've got a pretty full plate!
It is neat how maces are smaller headed than we think. When you said what your project was I was imagining in my head some big, almost axe like clubhead. But of course that's not what they are like. Yours is real cool.These would be very painful (4u) to get hit by. If you're interested in a weird mace, look up those egyptian mace-axes. Might be neat for you to try and make
>>64726321>I've been more interested in later projectsI get the "collect-the-whole-set" mentality and believe me, respect all your efforts.>rather than going backThe Navajo have a saying>be strong>move on,>be weak>go backWhen compaired to Raul Julia's line in 'Gumball Rally'>and now my friend,>the first rule of italian driving:>what is behind me is not important!Really shows us that the future is the most important part of our lives. This line as he rips off the rear view mirror and tosses it, in one of the greatest motor head movies of the '70s. Ever. But in the case of the Navajo, pretty sure it's about going back to an abusive, alcoholic relationship vs woodworking. Ymmv.https://youtu.be/hPbF555Msdo?si=SaBO8S16w1d-rzvG
very nicely made bonker anon
>>64721544Idk dick about shit when it comes to woodworking, but maybe a planer to thin the veneer? One of the bigger ones, like you might use on a cutting board or some shit.Still good for fucking around and finding out. Clever to use the intersecting laminate to mark out your spike holes
>>64711722cool, bump
>>64711722Based bonker and great thread
>>64715694Would look great with a curved blade, like a bearded axe or those long bladed ones farmers used to behead chickens etc
>>64715700These are utility knife blades, yes? How easily are they replaced?
>>64728840They are Zirconina ceramic utility knife blades. They are glued in with a mixture of shellac and dammar resin, it's reversible with heat or alcohol so changing the blades would be no problem.>>64727796The easiest thing would be to just use fewer layers of veneer. Three or four instead of five. I used five because that matched my saw blade thickness and thus saved me some effort. I could have used three or four instead, but would have had to take more time to make the angled cuts. It is possible to thin veneer, I've done small pieces with a card scraper before but it's a hassle. I think the most convenient tool for doing that would be a wide-format stationary belt sander--basically like a planer but with sandpaper on the drum instead of knives--but that's a very expensive and specialized machine that I don't have.
>>64729221>Zirconina ceramic utility knife blades >shellac and dammar resinYou keep me impressed. Beat knapping obsidian.
>>64729221You could do it with a conventional stationary belt, i think. Like one of those little ones from harbor freight, depending on your size. Youd have to use calipers or something to check your thickness, and it would still be a pain in the ass.I figured out whats throwing the look off for me: its the nub on the head, where it plugs into the haft.If you did another one like that, maybe a fatter haft piece counter bored, or a sleeve to cover it? Make it snazzy, decorative like.Doing the veneer on a sword would look good too, on the pommel and cross guard.
>>64729993>You could do it with a conventional stationary belt,I have a pretty nice one now, but I'd be worried about how keeping the thickness consistent. Guess I need to try it and find out.>>64729993>I figured out whats throwing the look off for me: its the nub on the head, where it plugs into the haft.Heh, that was a mistake on my part. I made the block for the head oversize with the intention of cutting it down after I had done all the veneer work. But I forgot to do that before I glued the shaft in, and it would have looked really dumb if I made the head oval-shaped instead of spherical. I've been thinking about covering it up that little bit of veneer below the ball, perhaps with a little cord wrapping, but I can't really decide if I like it the way it is or if it would have been better as originally intended? Such a wrapping would be easy to remove so I'll probably try it out to see how it looks.
Very nice anon I'm impressed
>>64715698My favourite of this thread, great stuff bonkanon
