Hey there everyone,
Since I’m moving into my new place at the end of the month I’m going to be in the markey now for a mook jong.
If anyone can give me advice on buying one or where to get good one I’d appreciate it.
For example is it better to have the body made of a solid piece of wood or a bunch of boards glued together and then rounded on a lathe.
Anyways, any links/advice/where to stay away from would be awesome.
Thanks
J
We recently got a new jong from Carina Cirrincione of Raven Studios . It is phenomenal, and the price can hardly be beat, especially given her incredible workmanship.
We asked her to make the dummy to our specs instead of her standard (being fussy types), and she came through like a charm. She was also a joy to work with. I cannot recommend her work highly enough.
I highly recommend a laminated dummy. Provided the lamination and dummy finish is of a high quality and surface smoothed (as Carina’s are), there is no advantage to a solid dummy other than the romanticism of it. There are distinct disadvantages of a solid wooden body though - either due to cracking, cost, or both. Carina’s models are indeed laminated, and her standard material is hard/rock maple (also our preferred material).
IME. Whatever your solution, good luck with it.
Regards,
Carina’s craft-womanship is impeccable on the picking of the woods, the right strong long lasting lamination, the shaping and the fitting. She is very experienced in her work and she is a dedicated and skillful wing chun person as well. And she makes good stands- as well as other martial equipment.
And she is a professional as far as following through on agreed upon delivery time.
Thanks guys,
I was just at the site you posted.
So do either of you have the unistand?
If you do, what do you think about it? Stability wise as well as versus the give you get from the stands with the slats of wood
Thanks for the link:)
J
She builds a good unistand but the slats are my preference.
Issue of how much space you have for the dummy.
We also use slats and larger supporting frame. As Joy alluded, I too would only be interested in a uniframe if space was the limiting factor. At least the dummy would be usable, but it would not have the right kind of “play” for our work.
Regards,
Is the major advantage of having a laminated dummy so that it doesn’t crack after shipping?
Thanks,
Couch
Originally posted by couch
[B]Is the major advantage of having a laminated dummy so that it doesn’t crack after shipping?
Thanks,
Couch [/B]
Yes. The durability of quality wood lamination versus large solid pieces is exponential. Professional woodworkers will tell you the same.
“Most” though not 100% of solid body dummies will eventually crack. I know of no major advantages to a solid wooden body, though some people still hold rabidly to a sense of tradition about it.
Regards,
A dummy size chunk of wood can have differential rates of drying from the exterior to the core. Pieces used for lamination does not face the same problem.
I have seen many solid wood dummies that are cracked. Specially with the disappearnce of old good teak- some of the other pseudo teaks and other woods can cause cracking problems.
But you still have to “oil” the dummies ever so often.
I built my own dummy about 15 years ago. I think the dummies mentioned here are made in a similar fashion. I glued together boards so the trunk was in the shape of an octagon and then rounded it off with a drawknife. I didn’t have much of a budget, so I used quality pine boards rather than a hardwood. I have had no problems through the years with my dummy. I post only to point out that if Carina is using a similar construction method, is using quality hardwood, and is an experienced woodworker (which I am not!), then you should have absolutely no problems with her dummies. There are no advantages that I can see of a solid trunk dummy over one made in this fashion. The hollow trunk is still plenty heavy! Other than the cracking that has already been mentioned, another disadvantage of a solid trunk dummy is cost. There is an awful lot of expensive hardwood tied up in a solid trunk dummy. Less wood and therefore less expense is involved in a laminated/hollow trunk.
Keith
Carina’s dummy is laminated solid wood, not hollow.
Thanks guys for all of your posts 
It was another busy weekend for me so I couldn’t get back to you sooner.
You guys gave me a lot to think about.
I’m probabaly goping to have a stand with the slats as to that’s what I’m used to at my school, and I’ll stay away from solid jongs because my resources are limited plus if there’s a tendency for them to split ‘forget about it’
Thanks guys.
J
Here’s a question dummy related…
Has anyone moved a dummy across the coasts?
I live in Western Canada and think about moving a dummy to Eastern Canada…much higher humidity, etc. I’m sure if it was laminated…I mighten not have any problems…
Any ideas, experiences?
Thanks,
Couch
Couch-if its a well made dummy- moving from drier to more humid clime= should do fine- provided you dont keave it exposed to rain and snow.
Originally posted by couch
I live in Western Canada and think about moving a dummy to Eastern Canada…much higher humidity, etc.
Hey Couch,
Where abouts in Eastern Canada?
Matrix:
I’m currently going to school and hope to finish in a few years and move to Halifax/Dartmouth area.
That’s the dream!
Whereabouts are you?
In 1982 I got a Teak Dummy made in Hong Kong. It was also laminated. Unless you look carefully that isn’t obvious. So far there is not a single crack. The support beams were also made of Teak and the leg was a natural tree branch. I have mounted that in all kinds of different ways depending on whether it was put into a corner or facing a cement wall or facing a plaster wall. Each needed a different engineering idea for mounting.
Ray
If you’re not obsessed with being a traditionalist, a PVC bodied dummy is about 1/3 the cost to buy, and even less to make.
Note that I said PVC bodied. The limbs and stand and stuff should still be wood.
8" diameter PVC pipe has an outter diameter of 8.675" which is the ideal size for a wooden dummy body. It won’t chip, crack, dry, or rot, like some woods can.
Some people will tell you it’s not authentic enough, but that’s like arguing over a nylon punching bag vs. a leather one. Your body doesn’t care what it’s hitting. It’s still plenty hard.
Advantages of a PVC body:
Disadvantages of a PVC body:
Other than that tho, it’s a cylinder so it’s the same exact shape as wood. A couple companies make PVC bodied dummies with wooden limbs and stands. Great Lion comes to mind.
Or you could make your own like I did when I was practicing Wing Chun. I had a company make the limbs and then I made the body out of PVC and the stand out of wood. The total cost was around $330 for EVERYTHING. Most companies charge you that much for just the stand. Here’s a pic of the one I made: Pic. (Shinmen is my eBay name. I had to put that on there because there’s a lot of people on eBay that like to steal your stuff and try to sell it as their own). Check the link in my sig for info on my book about how to make your own.
Above all, tho, get one that you are comfortable with and that conforms to the correct proportions, including round, tapered arms (some crappy dummies have square arms… ouch), arms that are pretty much the same height (some dummies have significant differences in arm height because they didn’t offset the peg that goes through the body), etc. Shop around and do your research, and read up on my thread called How to tell if a wooden dummy is crap. 
Originally posted by couch
I’m currently going to school and hope to finish in a few years and move to Halifax/Dartmouth area.
Couch,
I’m in Ottawa.
Halifax is one of the best places to be in the East coast, IMO.
Nice Dream.
Ironfist,
Thanks for the info.
Anyone else with a PVC dummy experience?
I don’t mind cheap at all, but not at the expense of the feel of the dummy when going through the form.
If you add weights or sand or whatever to the body, wouldn’t the distribution of the weight (at the bottom) give you a different feel?
Really curious.
J
