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Post by aussie-rabbit on Oct 19, 2014 12:11:11 GMT
Part review, part build Several of us in Aussie bought some spear heads - Overall Length: 19 3/4'' 1 lb 3 oz call it 19 1/2 after sharpening, came with a fair 1mm edge, this spear is a well thought out design from Windlass, tapering well but with a reinforced (thicker) point, while stated to be solid carbon steel it is in fact made in two parts then forged together. My build started with some Tasmanian oak, 28.6mm sourced from my local Bunnings, after much sorting for a good straight grained length without bends or warps, several coatings of stain and exterior gloss finish later we have this. ![](http://i1244.photobucket.com/albums/gg578/aussie_rabbit/IMG_20141019_172811_zpsa95d057e.jpg) The head is a compression fit, that is carved and sanded to fit the socket almost exactly but required forcing the last 1/2 inch (13mm) by tapping the butt on the ground. A 6guage screw was added for safety but is a touch too large, I will source a slightly smaller one tomorrow. ![](http://i1244.photobucket.com/albums/gg578/aussie_rabbit/IMG_20141019_172838_zps5307e0c7.jpg) For the butt end I added 200mm (8 inches) of copper tube both for strength and balance, the whole is just forward balanced from centre. Rather than adding screws or other projections I opted for some epoxy since the fit between tube and shaft was so close only a little was needed. ![](http://i1244.photobucket.com/albums/gg578/aussie_rabbit/IMG_20141019_172937_zpsd051a262.jpg) I also added a copper strengthening ring to the base of the spear head. ![](http://i1244.photobucket.com/albums/gg578/aussie_rabbit/IMG_20141019_173001_zps15ecfcf4.jpg) Overall I'm happy with the result, weighing 1.4kgs in total (3 pounds) and 1.96m or 6'6"
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Post by Novice_Surgery on Oct 19, 2014 18:33:58 GMT
Nice work Aussie! Dont see enough spear lovers these days, nice to see something different. I wonder how this spear would throw. Have you given it the ol' spartan toss yet?
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Post by Deepbluedave on Oct 19, 2014 19:14:50 GMT
Great work Aussie, the oak stained up really well.
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Paul
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Post by Paul on Oct 19, 2014 20:47:21 GMT
Nicely done as I said previously I really like the copper treatment. Not a big fan of the screw though, it's just a bit too moden. I was thinking on a blunt head nail might fit the look better?
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Post by aussie-rabbit on Oct 19, 2014 21:57:50 GMT
I am considering grinding the head off and leaving just enough of the thread to act as a safety stop
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Paul
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Post by Paul on Oct 25, 2014 1:31:40 GMT
"while stated to be solid carbon steel it is in fact made in two parts then forged together."
Jeff what are your thoughts on this in terms of its structural integrity? I noticed this on mine aswell and it looks to be a fairly small area at the join that has been welded. Given the length of the blade an amount of stress is pivoted on the join in question, I'm not convinced at the "battle ready" status of this. In anycase it's still an impressive display piece.
Cheers
Paul
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Post by aussie-rabbit on Oct 25, 2014 1:51:47 GMT
Well I've flexed mine and chopper up some boxes and it seems to be solid
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Paul
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Post by Paul on Oct 25, 2014 2:58:39 GMT
Good to know ![;)](//storage.forums.net/forum/images/smiley/wink.png) struggling with a bit of manflu at the moment but managed to mound and pin my 3 A&A javelins and A&A Norse spear. Ill have a crack at this one maybe tomorrow, thinking on the short side, around my height including the spearhead so allup 6'3".
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Paul
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Post by Paul on Oct 25, 2014 6:19:39 GMT
Was the 6'6" length including the head? Just fine tuning my 2 a&a spears, at this stage they are as follows, including heads; Norse is 7ft and a pob about 7" forward of centre Friedrich is 6'8" and a pob about 9" forward of centre I feel they are both a bit forward so I might go to bunnings tomorrow and look for some copper to weight the butts. Would like to try and bring these back to the middle (ish) Javelins are 5'3" & 5'1.25" and a pob about 5.5" I've got these a bit longer than the a&a stats (4'2") but might need to shorten them to bring the weight more forward as they are mainly throwing spears. Attachments:![image.jpg](//storage.forums.net/1694914/thumbnailer/Aud4iMCTi6b_yPpfCCip.jpg)
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Paul
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Post by Paul on Oct 26, 2014 6:15:18 GMT
Mines all mounted now, just waiting on the second coat of linseed oil to dry. It's a bit shorter than my others, 6'6" overall. I'm going to try and go to bunnings and Reese plumbing this week and see if I can get some good sized copper pipe caps for the butt, failing that I might have a better look at the KoA spear butts. Attachments:![image.jpg](//storage.forums.net/1694914/thumbnailer/i3bN1loYDHUSbLdnOTuh.jpg)
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Post by aussie-rabbit on Oct 26, 2014 7:44:44 GMT
[/attachment][/quote] Reese will be the way to go, I found nothing good for parts in Bunnings, 32mm copper tube should fit or require little adjusting, ask for an offcut
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