wooden waster's

[JeffGentry]

Was wondering if anyone has made there own wooden waster's? I am a cheap skate and don't like paying 40-65 dollar's for a waster, am the type that can break anvil, so want to make my own if it is cheaper was wondering if someone could tell me type of wood what tool's they used am working on one now out of oak is a hard wood to work with because of the density, but just wondered if anyone had done it and maybe had some diffrent method's or tool's they used. Thank's guy's and gal's <img src="/forum/images/icons/grin.gif" alt="" />

[Shane Smith]

I have made alot of wasters out of straight-grained red oak. They hold up pretty darn well although straight-grained hickory is to be preferred for it's superior toughness.(* Be certain that both the length of the blade blank and the length of the crossguard run parallel with the grain and not contrary)

I start with a 3/4" x4"x 6' piece of lumber.The grain must be nearly arrow-straight or you will have a broken and cracked waster in short order.Any Lowes or Home Depot has this.

I lay the wood out so that I will be able to get two good waster blanks out of each along with two cross-guard blocks.My wasters are about 50 inches long with 39" blades(so are my real weapons).

I incorporate a wedge-shaped pommel that is integral with the one-piece blade/handle blank. You may also glue fillets to the sides of this to make your pommel three dimensional if you wish.

I cut the blanks and the cross blocks out with my skilsaw and follow up the detail work in the corners at the blade shoulder/cross with a jigsaw.

I then run a router with a round-over bit along the edges of the blade and handle.Be sure to leave the last 3/4" of the blade shoulder where the crossguard will sit square.

I make the one-piece cross guard about 7-8" long and about 1 3/4" wide. I mortise through the 3/4" thickness of the guard by laying out the blank opening and drilling two of the corners through to allow the jigsaw to start.I finish the mortise with the jigsaw.The one-piece design seems more durable than the more common two-piece by the way.
*Note that the blade shoulder actually runs through the cross-guard full-depth for strength, ie. if the blade is 2" wide at the shoulder,the mortise in the cross will be 2"x 3/4".The handle and it's smaller width starts at the base of the crossguard.

Once the mortise fits tightly at the blade/hilt shoulder and these components are glued(I slip the cross over the blanks tip which is about 1 inch wide, and slide it down to the top of the hilt), I drill through both sides of the cross and the blank in one operation with a 5/16" drill bit and then drive a glued 5/16" hardwood dowel through all to fasten(Be sure to back your work on the off-side so you don't splinter the cross when the bit exits).

I sand the remaining sharp edges on the cross with a palm sander and fill any gaps at the cross/blank juncture with wood glue.I likewise sand any protrusion from the dowel flush.The sanding dust will get in the glue and makes a nice looking "gap filler".

Let the waster sit overnight for the glue to dry and then give it a thorough coating with boiled linseed oil. Let dry overnight.

You're done! Cost,10 dollars.Time, 2 1/2 hours hands-on. <img src="/forum/images/icons/grin.gif" alt="" />

Specs' (*Note these are rough guidelines only, many of which are based on my own personal preference.Your needs may differ and your replica's may necessitate a longer/shorter blade or hilt for your own wasters)

Cross guard~ 8" long x 1 3/4" wide x 3/4" thick.
Blade shoulder~ 2" wide
Point of blade blank~ 1" wide to be radiused.(My blanks are a straight 2" to 1" taper from shoulder to tip).
Length of blade including shoulder~ 39 3/4"
Length of grip from base of cross to start of pommel~ 8 1/4"
Width of grip at cross~1 1/4"
Width of grip at pommel~1"
Pommel~ 2" long by 2" wide at end.Tapered straight from 1" at grip(The router will ease the sharp edge of this two-dimensional scent stopper pommel)

[Craig Peters]

Thanks Shane. I cut and pasted what you wrote and saved it in my ARMA folder for future reference. <img src="/forum/images/icons/smile.gif" alt="" />

[Ryan Ricks]

i follow a method pretty similar to shane's except i use a power planer/joiner to taper the blades. if you want to make a tapered bastard sword, you can plane the width of the blade down to a point. or if you want a more cutting type sword, you can plane the thickness down such that its' thinner near the point.

this gives them a really sweet balance if you do it correctly.

instead of a skill saw, i use a band saw to cut all the stuff out, and used a drill press to cut out the hole in the guards such that you can slide it over the blade.

be sure when you're making the guards, that they fit as tightly as possible over the blade. i generally hose the blade down with wd-40, and tap, tap, tap the guard down into position.

then i'll put some nails through the guard to hold it in place. for my single hand wasters, i covered the grip with fake leather.

i'll try and post some pictures soon

ryan

[JeffGentry]

Well guy's that is pretty much what i did, was just a little concerned about it cracking along the grain, but i'll try it on a tree first see if it does, thank's.lol

[Ryan Ricks]

i put a crack in mine, but you can always re-inforce it with some duct tape, provided the crack's not too bad

[David_Knight]

I made two longsword wasters and a one-hander from $20 worth of 3/4" ash about a year ago, and they've held up pretty well through two seminars and weekly training with intent.



The one on the left was my first attempt. It has a good heft to it, but the edges have chipped along the grain during sparring, and the hilt needs work. The one on the right has a very comfortable hilt and much more symmetrical crossguard, but I accidentally sanded too much off the blade so it's lighter than it should be. The third one (not pictured) started off as a one-handed sword with tapered blade, but it cracked along the grain halfway up the blade during training, so I'm going to convert it into a dagger.



To make them, I used a tablesaw to cut a rough outline, a bandsaw for more precise turns, and a belt sander to round everything off. The crossguard is two identical pieces held together with sunken bolts and a section cut out for the tang. To make the slots, I just lowered the tablesaw blade to 3/8" and cut from side to side. The waster on the left was coated with linseed oil for color and conditioning, but I let the grain get a little too dry before I did it, and I think that's why it's chipping (ash is supposed to be a premium material, so I can offer no other explanation)...

I've also made bucklers out of 3/4" pine plywood, using a $.99 aluminum mixing bowl from Walmart for the boss.

However, let it be said that at this point in my ARMA studies I need to either spend some time making a high-quality new waster, or just buying one of WoodenWeapons.com's fine products. Whatever I do, these will work well as loaners.

[Jeffrey Hull]

Yeah, that pretty much describes how my friend made my first waster. Except he had to rasp the edges, which took more time and labour. I slapped on some toy-wheels made of birch to dimensionalise the pommel. I still have it and despite lack of distal taper and the fact it is made of red-oak, I must say that in some ways I prefer it. He did a fine job with what we had at the time.

As a tangential note: It seems that the commercial waster-guys simply do not get it when it comes to making something that accurately resembles (inasmuch as wood could) the basic OT-XIIIa longsword, at a reasonable price, with reasonable delivery time, and of high-quality. I could relate multiple aggravations, though here it is not warranted.

Hence, I would not blame anyone for making one just as SS described.

Good luck,

JH