Wood for spear shafts!

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

Hello folks, where is a good supplier of wooden tool handles suitable for using for spear shafts...?

All the obvious choices seem to be going for tools with plastic tips on them, and charge a fortune for them as they insist you buy them wit ha head or not at all.....?

Any ideas?

[M. Demetrius]

In the USA, there are some available at McMaster-Carr. But some come varnished, so you would need to sand them first. Try a supplier that sells things for making things. That sounds dumb. But I don't know what's over across the water. I have bought some of the above listed shafts, they're six feet long, unvarnished, and one end is threaded for brooms, etc.

Try in a hardware store, back where they sell rakes and shovels.

Best I got for you, bro.

[richsc]

A look at the Legio XX Suppliers List
shows Peavy Mfg for custom dowels, Matt says of any type of wood. I haven't tried them but worth a look.

[jkaler48]

Rusty and I have been working hard on this problem and should hear back from one supplier in a few days.
We asked about three different items in ash wood unvarnished.
A Hasta shaft 1" diameter 72" length
A javalin shaft .75" diameter 60" Length

A pila shaft partly completed. 2" by 54" overall piece of wood, first 48 inches rounded to 1.5" shaft, the last 2 inches "tapered to 3/4" with a 6 inch unrounded (re: square) end opposite of the taper.

[M. Demetrius]

Definitely keep us posted on those shafts, guys! What size javelins? That kind of thing. You'd think they'd be cheaper unvarnished, but sometimes they are not. They seem to warp less when they're varnished, so I guess that's their rationale. And there's more demand for slickness than natural wood, too, in the work place etc.

[Tiberius Clodius Corvinus]

don't they really have plain wood rake handles, curtain poles, etc. in your do-it-yourself stores? can't believe that :o ) ?

[M. Demetrius]

Sometimes they do, but rarely long enough to work as a spear Most are 5 ft, which is a bit short. We'd prefer 6 ft (1.8m). Sometimes you can find those...they use them on those heavy mops that they use to mop tar around on roofs. And those are almost throwaway tools, so they don't bother to varnish them.

Honestly, I searched quite a while before finding McMaster's 7255T3 that just fits the bill. Of course I'd prefer it to be tapered, not threaded, but that end works ok when you taper it down. A little threading inside the spear socket or butt spike isn't a problem. They're 1 1/8 (approx 28mm) and probably ash wood. I like them. I last ordered them a year ago, and they were around 3 USD each, when ordered by the dozen. If ever I need any more, I'll reorder, unless someone else comes up with a better solution.

[sulla felix]

Hello folks, where is a good supplier of wooden tool handles suitable for using for spear shafts...?

All the obvious choices seem to be going for tools with plastic tips on them, and charge a fortune for them as they insist you buy them wit ha head or not at all.....?

Any ideas?

Maybe Peronis could help? Nice ash shafts on the Hasta that he has on his site, might be able to get some blanks for you?

[caiusbeerquitius]

Byron, you can get ash "shafts" from companies that build wooden stairs.

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

Well, you know i went to a garden center, thinking...used to buy rakes and allsorts of things wit hwooden handles. got there and the yhad one small shaft just the right length for a light pilum, if a little thick......last one they had, and they no longer get them in......

The big supply stores, DIY etc. have all the shafts with plastic fittings to attach to the brush etc that they insist you buy with the handle.....so much for environmentally friendlt shit! :x
Money grubbing b£%$%rds the lot......

Yet we get them offshore........so I will have to try the oil supply companies I guess. I had avoided them til now because as soon as someone gets into oil supply.....they add two '0's onto every thing.

A 40p bolt now costs £4 sort of issue.....(see expleteive above) :roll: :oops:

[brennivs - tony drake]

http://sitebuilder.yell.com/sb/show.do? ... 0673000050
http://www.jeanburhouse.com/
http://www.ashs.co.uk/index.php?option= ... 3&Itemid=8
http://www.ajscott.co.uk/default.asp
Here is a few mills thay might help near you D cry:
Regards Brennivs

[Primvs Pavlvs]

Can you find a board with the proper thickness, and then rip it into the proper dimensions, and then use a drawknife to round it? I done this when I could not find a 6 foot handle for a axe project I was working on.

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

Cheers guys. That will be the next thing I guess.
Yes Tony, thanks for that offer, it was just a little too crooked and heavy for purpose. But would certainly be a good piece for a doladra handle or shovel!

Paulus, that would be a pretty desperate last resort i think mate....
kudos for doing it though.... hock:

[Marcus Mummius]

Can you find a board with the proper thickness, and then rip it into the proper dimensions, and then use a drawknife to round it?

I made the shafts of my spears the same way!

[Matthew Amt]

Torrington Brush Works,

http://www.torringtonbrushes.com/

Window Brush Handle, 1"x72":

http://www.torringtonbrushes.com/index. ... tegory=260

I got 3 very nice ones, ash or some hardwood. But someone else got one good one and one bad (pine or something?). So maybe call and specify. And every month or so you'll get this nice catalog of brushes in the mail...

Mind you, these are only 6 feet long, but with a head and a good long buttspike, the total length can be well over 7 feet.

Matthew