Foamsmithing and Plywood

[WarlordOfMaltise]

Hey, me again
Just a quick question:
Can plywood be used in crafting weapons; specifically a polearm?

[Dangus]

Hey, me again
Just a quick question:
Can plywood be used in crafting weapons; specifically a polearm?

Theoretically, yes it can. But I would suggest avoiding wood as it either breaks easily or hits like a truck, or both (depends on the wood). If you're having a hard time sourcing cores, maybe search online for 1/2" fiberglass rods, the same kind they use for building fences.

[WarlordOfMaltise]

Theoretically, yes it can. But I would suggest avoiding wood as it either breaks easily or hits like a truck, or both (depends on the wood). If you're having a hard time sourcing cores, maybe search online for 1/2" fiberglass rods, the same kind they use for building fences.

Not the core problem I just had an idea today that I wanted to test out soon.

[Sir Thurat]

Plywood does not the have the strength to be ripped into a long piece and built on. The weight of the foam alone would probably snap the thing. The only wood suitable for polearms would be industrial strength bamboo. In that case, it is then only suitable for spears, as bamboo is not sturdy enough for swung great weapons in most cases (there is the rare stand of bamboo that doesn't care about physics and does what it wants).

[Dangus]

, it is then only suitable for spears, as bamboo.

...and if you want to get technical about it, bamboo isn't even a wood. It's a woody grass.



Just avoid the wood, man.

[WarlordOfMaltise]

I understand avoidance to wood
I think I'm going to make a few prototypes to see if it works
There will be core reinforcement in the staff (a PVC pipe), some of which comes from the plywood.
If it works, great. If it doesn't, whatever. I wanted to check the legality of the plywood in a weapon.

It's mainly to stylise a weapon, like a battleaxe. Instead of joints, which will break down, I want to have a solid piece to build on.

[Kyrian]

I understand avoidance to wood
I think I'm going to make a few prototypes to see if it works
There will be core reinforcement in the staff (a PVC pipe), some of which comes from the plywood.
If it works, great. If it doesn't, whatever. I wanted to check the legality of the plywood in a weapon.

It's mainly to stylise a weapon, like a battleaxe. Instead of joints, which will break down, I want to have a solid piece to build on.

You may want to look into some of the denser foams such as 4# EVA instead. Its stiffness makes it a good foundation foam (and why it's often used today as the first layer box around a core) and it doesn't have the weight or lack of give issues of wood.

[WarlordOfMaltise]

You may want to look into some of the denser foams such as 4# EVA instead. Its stiffness makes it a good foundation foam (and why it's often used today as the first layer box around a core) and it doesn't have the weight or lack of give issues of wood.

I need something insanely firm though. It's essentially a sword blade put through a handle if that makes sense. There's a blade at the end, but it also is core to the weapon.

[Caleidah]

Can we get a picture of what you are trying to build?

[WarlordOfMaltise]

Can we get a picture of what you are trying to build?

It has not been started or designed, and I don't necessarily want to try, fail, and look stupid with this project.
If the 4 foot long one works in combat, I'll upload an image. But at the moment, I haven't even selected the PVC.
I've already consulted a friend with moderate experience and he thinks it may work and will help me with it, but I don't know when it will be fully complete.
I also don't wish to show and tell because I don't wish to have a black mark on my record for attempting what may not be able to be done what with the consistent destruction of weapons in Belegarth and contact fighting like this in general.
This is essentially a halberd with a larger blade. It'll top at about 5 feet. May make a 6 foot of a different weapon if this concept works.

[Sir Thurat]

So, are you saying that you intend to build a plywood box around a piece of PVC pipe?

[WarlordOfMaltise]

So, are you saying that you intend to build a plywood box around a piece of PVC pipe?

Not at all. I plan on cutting a 5 ply piece of plywood into a desired shape so that there is a blade and a core. The core would run into the pipe and be bolted in to secure it, also making replacement and repair much easier if it breaks.
I suppose it would be like making a smaller weapon and attaching it to a larger one. That's the best way I can explain it really.

[Celtic Christ]

Essentially, as far as design goes, we're talking about something akin to a survival spear where you lash your knife to the end of a staff right? Technically it would be legal, so long as the wood is taped up. You may run into marshals who declare it unsafe though. And like everyone else has said, look at other options for the core. Plywood has a different sort of rigidity. I think it would start to separate and want to break at the stress point.

[WarlordOfMaltise]

Essentially, as far as design goes, we're talking about something akin to a survival spear where you lash your knife to the end of a staff right? Technically it would be legal, so long as the wood is taped up. You may run into marshals who declare it unsafe though. And like everyone else has said, look at other options for the core. Plywood has a different sort of rigidity. I think it would start to separate and want to break at the stress point.

Essentially, yeah. Except not taped in. And about the breakage point, I think that cutting a notch into the end of the PVC to slip the plywood into and bolting that end may lessen the stress on the plywood.
As for core options, this is really the only option I've found that would work, unless there's another type of material I can cut.

[Tails]

He meant that the wood has to have a tape over it for it to be part of the core. Thems da rules. Bandshope pole works the best when it comes to spear and glaive cores. I'd look into that if I were you. PVC is just superior to Bandshop in only one catagory, price.

Those things being said, you sound like you are new to building weapons, and I'd strongly reccomend making the standard equipment with the standard builds first. This gives you a better feel for how the materials come together so that you know what to expect when working with experimental weapons such as this.

[zimboptoo]

The short version: Plywood is technically a legal construction material, but it's a terrible choice for weapons. Further, your proposed design sounds both dangerous and fragile. It's best to keep it simple for your first few weapons, so you can learn the basics and not waste time and materials. But if you want to construct a halberd, make the head entirely out of foam.

--

Long version: It sounds like you're planning on sticking an axe-shaped piece of plywood on the end of a pvc core (halberds essentially being a spear with an axe head stuck on near the end), and then presumably covering the plywood with foam to create the striking surface of the axe head.

This is bad idea, for a number of reasons.

While plywood is technically a legal material (because it's wood), it is almost exclusively used in shields. (And even this seems less common now that coreless punch shields are becoming more popular.) Putting a solid core inside any sort of large-headed mass weapon (axes, hammers, maces, etc.) is almost certainly going to lead to the weapon getting failed for hitting too hard. Any plywood thick enough to withstand the stresses it would undergo at the end of a polearm would be so heavy that no amount of foam could make it safe for a hard hit. Even polearms whose heads are constructed out of 4# foam are sometimes failed for hitting too hard, and yours will be at least twice as heavy and much less flexible. Finally, the thin edge of the plywood would pretty quickly cut through the foam on the striking surface, much like the tip of the core on a stabbing weapon, only it would be very difficult to sufficiently "cap" the plywood to prevent this.

Besides which, no matter how you attach the plywood to the PVC, one or both will be weakened at the joint. PVC polearm cores snap pretty regularly without slots and holes cut in them and large weights attached at the end.

You are, of course, free to construct whatever you want. And your realm-mates are free to let you hit them with it, if they're into that sort of thing. (You should definitely tell them how it was constructed before you swing it at them, though. Informed consent, and all that.) But it will almost certainly be failed at an event, if it doesn't break on the first swing.

But there is good news. Large-headed weapons are constructed all the time, out of nothing but foam (and glue) and they are plenty durable. You can easily make an axe head out of of several layers of blue camp pad (2# foam) or strengthen it with a slab or two of 4# (puzzle mat) foam as a "core." It can be worked with the same tools (I use a bandsaw to shape the foam for most of my weapons) and serves the same purpose as a plywood core, but without the weight and hard edge. The belegarth wiki tutorials are a good place to start: http://geddon.org/Constructing_an_Axe

I certainly understand the desire to build interesting new weapons. Polearms are fun! And a solid core would theoretically allow you to build a slimmer, more realistic-looking axe head. But the first rule of Belegarth is safety, and mass weapons with solid cores in the head are not safe.