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Old 22nd June 2009, 10:15 PM   #1
Queequeg
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Default Beech War Club

Still inspired by all of the shillelagh and war club talk we've had here, especially the ash club that Katana made, I made this out of a beech sapling which a farmer let me harvest, since it was "in his way".

I never worked with beech before; it's really heavy and fairly dense: the perfect material for a good root-ball war club. After stripping the bark, sanding, staining, and drying it, I soaked it for a full week in the linseed oil tank. I also found a new way to get a good, realistic looking patina going.

Full Shot:


With a 30" ruler:


From the top:


From the handle:


I love the head on this thing. While stripping and cleaning it, I found that it had a natural "hole" from the way a smaller root grew and connected with the rest of the head:


The roots had really deep fissures between them, making for some nice potential impact points. This is a shot directly overhead to illustrate further:


Finally, up against the tree in the yard:


Thanks for looking.
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Old 22nd June 2009, 10:36 PM   #2
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Hi Queequeg,
good job , I love the 'organic' head. Did you notice any 'weight gain' after the club was soaked in Linseed oil ?

Regards David
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Old 22nd June 2009, 10:40 PM   #3
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Fantastic! I love the look, its like a clerics mace! Top marks mate. Great work!!
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Old 22nd June 2009, 10:40 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by katana
Did you notice any 'weight gain' after the club was soaked in Linseed oil ?
Yes! Actually, I did notice a weight gain, so I would say that the soak tank did its job successfully. One thing I did to the head, for which you gave me an idea, was to fire harden it.

So, I put it in my propane forge and started to heat up the head until it browned. I then immediately put it into the linseed tank ("quenched" it, I guess, for lack of a better term), figuring that, in addition to hardening, the wood grain would have expanded and soaked up more linseed oil.

Some test whacks proved my theory.
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Old 22nd June 2009, 10:42 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Atlantia
Fantastic! I love the look, its like a clerics mace! Top marks mate. Great work!!
Thank you very much.
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Old 23rd June 2009, 01:22 AM   #6
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VERY NICE WORK I NOTICED THERE IS A NATURAL OPENING IN THE CLUB HEAD, NOW ALL YOU NEED IS TO FASTEN A NICE SCALP LOCK THERE.
I AM ALWAYS GLAD TO SEE A NICE PIECE OF WOOD PUT TO GOOD USE.
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Old 23rd June 2009, 02:57 AM   #7
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Nice job.
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Old 23rd June 2009, 04:09 AM   #8
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Very nice
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Old 23rd June 2009, 07:03 AM   #9
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Nice
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Old 23rd June 2009, 04:37 PM   #10
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Sweet job! I wonder if you can get the wind to whistle through that hole if you swing it just the right way?

F
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Old 23rd June 2009, 07:23 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fearn
Sweet job! I wonder if you can get the wind to whistle through that hole if you swing it just the right way?

F
Great idea! lol
Perhaps a mournful cry or even a wailing?
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Old 23rd June 2009, 10:26 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by VANDOO
VERY NICE WORK I NOTICED THERE IS A NATURAL OPENING IN THE CLUB HEAD, NOW ALL YOU NEED IS TO FASTEN A NICE SCALP LOCK THERE.
I AM ALWAYS GLAD TO SEE A NICE PIECE OF WOOD PUT TO GOOD USE.
Now that's a good idea! I have to work on finding a suitable candidate...
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Old 23rd June 2009, 10:32 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Atlantia
Great idea! lol
Perhaps a mournful cry or even a wailing?
You guys got me curious enough to (ahem) take this outside in the back yard and swing it around in the wind. Unfortunately, I couldn't get a whistling sound, and my neighbors now think I'm a bit more... eccentric than before.
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Old 24th June 2009, 12:37 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Queequeg
You guys got me curious enough to (ahem) take this outside in the back yard and swing it around in the wind. Unfortunately, I couldn't get a whistling sound, and my neighbors now think I'm a bit more... eccentric than before.
LMAO!!
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