Buster Sword...
Apr 1, 2011 0:37:10 GMT
Post by SeanF on Apr 1, 2011 0:37:10 GMT
Yes, you read right. We've all seen the video of the guy trying to wield the buster sword replica, but while most people though 'lol, what an idiot' my brain immediately jumped to 'I want one'. Then the thought occurred to me, what if I can make a better one? (And the $600 price tag for what is essentially a big hunk of aluminum kind of put me off).
So I went to work trying to reduce the weight without sacrificing the ability to bust up pallets or anything else that is in my way. Obviously as the solid aluminum version is 45 lbs the only way I can reduce weight is by incorporating hollow space inside the blade. Fortunately it is ridiculously huge, so that isn't as much of a problem as it would normally be
I think I have it the main mass of the blade figured out. I am going with a series of square aluminum tubes running the length of the sword, with some 1/16" aluminum cladding on the outside to finish it. The main problem I have is what to do about the blade.
Here is a rough sketch I did of the dimensions (illustration purposes, not to scale) No CAD master here as you can tell. The second drawing is looking straight down the blade, illustrating the square tubing and my confusion as to what to construct the blade out of. And a picture of a buster sword for those of you who don't know what it looks like. (How do I make attached images bigger in the post? For now you have to click if you want to see)
Option #1
Solid piece of Aluminum running the length of the sword, welded on. This option gives a total sword weight of between 19-25lbs, depending on how I do other things. Main problems are it is hard to get a solid piece of aluminum shaped like that, and the edge will ultimately still be aluminum.
Option #2
Two pieces of 1/4" steel made together to make the tip portion of the blade. This option has the pro of having the lead edge made of steel, but presents much more difficulty getting it fastened. Best I can think of is bolts running through the sword holding it all together. This has the disadvantage of adding ~12lbs to the over all weight, plus whatever bolts I have to use to hold it together. 32-40lbs for those of you keeping track at home. (At this point I haven't made much of an improvement over the solid aluminum version other than adding a steel edge. And I don't even want to imagine what having the edge side weigh 4x as much as the backside will do to handling )
Option #3
Some crazy concoction where I can reduce the amount of steel in the leading edge by adding other lighter elements to the internal structural parts. (Just a rough idea in my head)
Option #4
Carbon Fiber? It has always been kicking around in the back of my head, but I really don't know anything about working with it. (Despite having spent the better part of my life surrounded by carbon fiber boats and paddles)
There is no Option #5 'give up because this is stupid' :lol:
More of an engineering problem than a sword one, but if anyone has any insight it would be greatly appreciated.
So I went to work trying to reduce the weight without sacrificing the ability to bust up pallets or anything else that is in my way. Obviously as the solid aluminum version is 45 lbs the only way I can reduce weight is by incorporating hollow space inside the blade. Fortunately it is ridiculously huge, so that isn't as much of a problem as it would normally be
I think I have it the main mass of the blade figured out. I am going with a series of square aluminum tubes running the length of the sword, with some 1/16" aluminum cladding on the outside to finish it. The main problem I have is what to do about the blade.
Here is a rough sketch I did of the dimensions (illustration purposes, not to scale) No CAD master here as you can tell. The second drawing is looking straight down the blade, illustrating the square tubing and my confusion as to what to construct the blade out of. And a picture of a buster sword for those of you who don't know what it looks like. (How do I make attached images bigger in the post? For now you have to click if you want to see)
Option #1
Solid piece of Aluminum running the length of the sword, welded on. This option gives a total sword weight of between 19-25lbs, depending on how I do other things. Main problems are it is hard to get a solid piece of aluminum shaped like that, and the edge will ultimately still be aluminum.
Option #2
Two pieces of 1/4" steel made together to make the tip portion of the blade. This option has the pro of having the lead edge made of steel, but presents much more difficulty getting it fastened. Best I can think of is bolts running through the sword holding it all together. This has the disadvantage of adding ~12lbs to the over all weight, plus whatever bolts I have to use to hold it together. 32-40lbs for those of you keeping track at home. (At this point I haven't made much of an improvement over the solid aluminum version other than adding a steel edge. And I don't even want to imagine what having the edge side weigh 4x as much as the backside will do to handling )
Option #3
Some crazy concoction where I can reduce the amount of steel in the leading edge by adding other lighter elements to the internal structural parts. (Just a rough idea in my head)
Option #4
Carbon Fiber? It has always been kicking around in the back of my head, but I really don't know anything about working with it. (Despite having spent the better part of my life surrounded by carbon fiber boats and paddles)
There is no Option #5 'give up because this is stupid' :lol:
More of an engineering problem than a sword one, but if anyone has any insight it would be greatly appreciated.
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