I’m not talking about buying limbs and cutting PVC pipe.
I’m talking about tracking down a log, hauling it home, carving a leg … the whole 9 yards.
I made one a couple years ago and it almost killed me LOL!
I took me about 3 months to complete, but I know every single curve in that log!
Word of advice … attempting such a feat by hand (no lathe etc.) will probably set your training back a year. Constructing that thing made me so tense it’s not even funny!
I don’t have the time or the equipment to make one out of wood. I can’t imagine chiseling holes out of a wooden log. ****. And cutting/lathing <sp> (lathe-ing?)/polishing/finishing my own arms? Dude, I don’t think so 
I like my dummy the way it is.
My dummy could beat up your dummy
IronFist
I.F.
And cutting/lathing <sp> (lathe-ing?)
FYI it’s called “turning”.
Nice stand btw.
My dummy could beat up your dummy
No doubt … mine cracked after a year.
I’m starting to build my wing chun dummy this saturday… It’s good to have a step-dad that’s a carpenter
Re: I.F.
Originally posted by sunkuen
[B]And cutting/lathing <sp> (lathe-ing?)
FYI it’s called “turning”.
[/b]
Turning something on a lathe is called “turning?”
Cool
[b]
Nice stand btw. [/B]
Thanks
IronFist
Although my body cracked, you’d be amazed a what a bottle of Elmer’s carpenter glue can accomplish.
Squirted the whole thing into the crack and now it’s good as new:)
I’ll take a pic and post it.
waiting on the beaver
as soon as i train my beaver to build a dummy… i’m all over it
Beaver
It’s because I’m all over beaver that I had to get my Father to build my dummy for me instead.
Beaver or Dummy… the beaver won.
Hang on, are we talking about the same thing?
Hello Guys
I build dummies, out of wood (mostly oak,walnut, and ash,) it dose take some pratice,but if you takke your time and use some old timers tools (like a drawknife,and spokeshaven) it isnt so hard.
the armes can be made on a lathe,or by your table saw or jointer, (all depending on what you have and the amount of work you want to put into it.) juat take off the corners and keep going until you have a roundish shape,then use your hand planes or drawknife.to finish.
the holes for the arms should be big enough to withstand the shock ( I use a 40mm forstener bit.) (thats just a bit over a 1 1/2 ")
I takes time, but its worth your effert. Ive been building them for 12 or 13 yrs one at a time. (appx. one a month. give or take.)
I have many little tricks ive lurned over the years, if you ask,ide be glad to share them with you!
see ya latter.
C.A.G.
Tried it…
I’ll leave the professional wooden dummies to the pros.
I did some initial research. I could only 2 methods (within in my price range and means) to make a dummy with a wooden body. Either use a fence post, which wasn’t large enough in diameter OR use a telephone pole. However, the guy at Great Lion Co. informed me that those suckers are coated in creosole / creosote (sp?) to weather and bug proof it. Apparently this is poisonous to humans as well.
I guess I could chop down a mighty oak or something, but then I don’t have the means to dry it out to lower the moisture content or lathe it. Whoops! I mean turn it.
Which is why I’m going with the 8" OD PVC pipe for the body with traditional wooden arms and leg. I’m on my second PVC wing chun dummy and hope to have it done before I die.
My Question for Curtis-
If the ends of the pipe / body are not factory cut, how do you keep the arms parallel to the ground?
IronFist- you never answered my question… Bum!
To anyone: Would gluing enough whateversXwhatevers into a large rectangle, then planing, sanding or using some other esoteric woodworking tool to round be a viable option to make the body?
(But not a lathe, unless most woodworking shops have them and would do it for a price.)
Yup, creosote is pure evil. You wouldn’t want that ingrained in your hands.
I suspect the same of some of those wood glues and resins; if it is possible to make one this way kfcowboy, be careful in your selection.
glue wood + lathe…
KungFu Cowboy-
That’s pretty much how half the companies do it. First, they take the planks, dry’em out, then glue’em and lathe’em.
Then they put a few clear-coats on to seal the dummy. I don’t think the wood glue is extremely toxic or anything (hell- ya gotta call Poison Control if you swallow more than a dab of toothpaste).
Some folks will tell ya that after repeated use, laminated wooden dummies will split at the seams. Can anybody credit or discount this??
Peace!
Mokujin
laminated logs seem to be the strongest to me.
My log split in the rear where the arm hole are. Again, a bottle of wood glue and wood putty stopped the splitting and plugged her up real good.
I used a evergreen log which can be light, but I put a marine varnish on it and it soaked up so much of the stuff that it’s at least as heavy as oak. It does feel softer than my arms though.
Can it be rounded without a lathe? Maybe saw the corners of the rectangle off from top to bottom, then sand it or something until round? Or would it be too hard to get an even diameter the entire length?
Also, what would be proper wood dimensions to use, 2x2’s, 2x4’s or something else? Would there be a bunch of lines on it?
Oh yeah, what is a good wood? Oak, Ash, Cherry, Balsa?
Hi guys
yes all wood cracks as it dries.
There are a few ways to stop this from happening. One way as was suggested earlier was to glue up individual pieces to make your dummy. (2x4s would do.) And then around them into shape. Although I prefer to use a higher grade of wood. Go or call a tree servers. They do not always grind up the larger sections of wood. And you can buy it from them relatively cheap.
To help stop the cracking you must seal the endgrain. (buy endgrain sealer can be bought from local hardware store, or you can make your own.) As a general rule it takes one year for every inch of wood to dry. So if your dummy is 14 inches in diameter and 6 feet long. (You do the math. It will take a verry long time to dry.) You could also go to an old barn which they are tearing down and get an beam that is already dryed.
I made a beautiful dummy out of glued up boards. I used walnut,cherry, and ash to make a very interesting body. (Of course I could have use exotic woods. But that would give rather pricey.)
be careful, I find most mistakes come from the drilling of the arms. So take your time.
Good luck.
sincerely C.A.G.
P.S. Mokujin
there are many ways to make a stand, you could make a wall mounted base,or a concreat floor base, Ive even used a 4x8 sheet of ply wood.(it didnt work as well as I thought it should, The idea was to make a light base that could be moved easly,and my weight on the plywood would keep the dummie in place,as I used it. it worked OK, but…) the sky is the limit, use your imagination.
Again good luck. C.A.G.
Hi Curtis,
So, you are saying you used 2x4s? What do you think about 2x2s? I was thinking of gluing 25 of them into a 10x10X5’ rectangular, then drawing a 9" circumference circle, and cutting away the excess, then sanding and finishing. (Is 9" the usual dimension?)
Does anyone know which would be structurally and visually better, 2x2 or 2x4?
Originally posted by Mokujin
[B]
If the ends of the pipe / body are not factory cut, how do you keep the arms parallel to the ground?
IronFist- you never answered my question… Bum! [/B]
This question? I thought I answered it already. You gotta use a level and a plum line.
Or, assuming your walls are vertical, you can place the level on the wall and then the dummy against the level, tilting it up on its base so that its side is even with the level, and then you have a perfectly vertical pipe.
Hey I just made that last one up on the spot. I guess if your wall was level you wouldn’t even need to use the level, just get the dummy’s edge flush against the wall.
IronFist
That’s a negative, IronFist…
I wanted to know if I could post the picture of your wooden dummy in my Yahoo Photo Album. You never said yes or no…
Anyway, thanks for the advice. Laters.
Peace!
Mokujin