Wooden swords - pictures

[Warbird]

I made some toy wooden swords as Christmas gifts for my nephews and a family friend.  I know it isn't much as far as "projects" go, especially compared to the level of work most of you guys do but I consider them my first real project done just for enjoyment.  Well, I did make some window sills earlier this year, too but that was for the house project.  All my other woodworking skills, if you can call it that, up to this point have just been cutting up 2x4's and plywood for the major house renovations.

The small swords are traced off of "Sting", the sword replica I have from the Lord of The Rings movies.  The big sword is traced off of "Glamdring".  Again, nothing much and I got them done real quick but it sure was fun!  I am eager to try something a little more challenging now.

Here I am tracing out Glamdring:




Chopping down to length:



My bandsaw skills need some work.  As Al Bundy stated: "There ain't no mix up a sander can't fix up!"  And yes, I know the guard should have been lower:




Here is Sting, ready to be rounded and then finished:



Using the new tabletop oscillating sander.  I love this thing.  You can change out the belt attachment for various sized spindles:



Finishing work:



The final product.  I burned their first initial into each, just to make it more special for them:




For my nephews, we did a little "knighting ceremony" and laid out the rules for proper sword fighting and being a good guy.  It was the cutest thing!  The youngest one kept running around yelling, "On guard!" to get his brother to fence with him.  You couldn't detach him from that sword for the rest of the day. 

[Tom]

I love it when family introduces children to the philosophy of entertaining themselves.  When I was little, sticks and ropes made the best toys.  Our society, as well as our unthinking educational and legal systems have robbed children of the ability to live in make-believe worlds of their own design.  

Good for you!

You did a fine job on the swords too.  8)

[WildDog]

Good job on the swords, they should still be around when the plastic shop bought ones have broken and bent. When my 3yr old comes up to the shed he has a rough sword I made with a tomahawk, it keeps him occupied killing weeds and such so I can get some work done, when the sword wears off I start some nails in a piece of wood and give him a hammer.

[D Hagens]

Very cool A set of those stained and finished with urethane hanging on the wall would look cool Nice job.

[SwampDonkey]

As a kid I used to make stuff like that from wood to. I made a long spear once out of rock maple. It was heavy until it dried good. My brother got mad once and thought he could break my spear. I laughed, he just bounced off it with every attempt. Couldn't break that spear. ;D

Your nephews have some nice Christmas presents. ;)

[fishpharmer]

Warbird, nice job on the swords.  When I was a young fella, maybe 7 or 8, I received a similar sword (but more basic) from my best friends dad.  He was a carpenter and had a shop.  My friend had one and i told him how much I liked it.  So his dad made one right before my eyes.  He had a similar technique, bandsaw and sander.  I treasured that sword.  Also, that was my first glimpse of woodworking.  I was hooked. 

Keep up the good work.  I bet those swords were probably the most favored gifts they received. 8)

[WDH]

WB,

I bet those swords will become treasured keepsakes.  Thanks for sharing!

[Ernie]

It sure is great to have toys that aren't made in China and don;t need batteries.  Nice job young fella.

[Warbird]

Thank you for all the nice comments, guys.  I agree with you about using the imagination.  It was a good feeling to see something I'd made be appreciated so much, even though they were very simple.

It turns out that my nephew's parents (my brother and his wife) were also impressed with the swords.  They've recruited me to help one of the nephews with carving his pinewood derby car (for cub scouts?).  I've never done this before but they are coming over tomorrow, so we'll have to come up with something!

[ljmathias]

I think the derby cars come in "kits" that are pretty standardized- they did when my boys build them: eliminates the unfair advantage some kid might get from a machinist or wood working relative; probably a good idea- let them compete on a level playing field while they're young; real life hits them soon enough nowadays...

Lj

[Warbird]

Yeah, there is a box with all the parts inside and some rules on what you are and are not allowed to do.  I haven't even seen it yet but I doubt it is too involved.  The nephew isn't that old.

[Warbird]

Doh.  Just talked to the sister-in-law.  Sounds like the nephew may have broken a toe.  They are down at the clinic and it looks like he may not be coming over.  :(  Hope the little guy is all right.  I was really looking forward to showing him how to do a bit of wood working and use some of the tools.

I tell ya guys, it sure is nice to have family living in the same town.  We didn't have that for many years and it has been such a blessing to us these past couple of years.  And I am developing this reputation as being the computer/technological/mechanic/wood working guy who is always there to help.  It makes me feel good.  ;D

Okay, enough mushy stuff.  We'll see if the pinewood derby car still happens or not.

[edwardj_]

When I was in Cubs more than 10 years ago...  we all built Cub Cars as well.  There were quite a few creative designs out there.  We actually went to a competition and they all had to be exact weights.  We had to drill holes in the bottom to lighten them up or drill hole and glue a lead weight in them to add weight.  A couple tricks I did that were legal back then were to put graphite lube on the nails to let the wheels spin a bit better, and add a wooden match stick in the grove first befor putting the wheels on to get a bit more ground clearance.  Mine was a basic wedge shape.  Absolutely nothing fancy.  Took the block and with it on its side cut from one corner diagnal to the other.  Did pretty well but would have tried something else if I did it again.  The winner got a bit creative and actually hollowed out the middle and rounded the edges as best they could to create a tube of sorts.  not sure he used the original block for it but as the length and wheel width were right and the weight was ok it was legal.   Whatever shape they decide on let them do as much of the work as possible.  Even if its not the winning model most of the enjoyment for me came from building, painting, and tinkering.  Not the end result.  

Either way...  Have fun.  Thats what it is supposed to be about.