How to fasten 2x4x5' plank to make a staff

[Ayden]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to carving and this forum that I just found today.

I am attempting to make what indigenous Maori people from New Zealand call a Taiaha. It is a staff that has the appearance of a spear but is made entirely of wood. The length is measured from the person's chin to the ground.

The spear head end is literally a head, the tongue is the blade, and the head will have lips, eyes (abalone shell will be set in as the eyes), and head, and will measure approx 6-8" long (I will carve this w/ a Flexcut 8 piece palm set I just bought). Following the spear head will be the actual rounded staff portion that will probably measure b/w 3-4' in length w/ a 3/4" to 1-1/2" diameter (I will be using a 3.5" Flexcut draw knife I just bought to shape this). Following the rounded staff portion is the tail/blade of the staff. This will be the remaining length of the staff which will resemble a near club like end but w/ a tapered edge around the circumfrance of the tail end of the staff.

I have decided to make this staff w/ a Douglas fir 2x4x8' plank due to it's high tensile strength.

I have already taken a jigsaw cutter to the plank and cut an outline of the staff that I am happy with.

I do not have a shop but I need to conjure up a method/means to fasten the plank down so I can begin using my draw knife to begin shaping my staff.

I would love to hear any type of method or ideas, inexpensive ones, you have to help me fasten my plank down and begin shaping my wood w/ my new draw knife.

I am really excited to get going on this project and I look forward to hearing from any of you on this forum.

Thanks,

Ayden

[squbrigg]

Welcome aboard Ayden, glad you could join us.

What you are looking for sounds like a "shaving horse" and there is an active thread in the General Carving section. Check it out, it sounds like just what you need.

Your project sounds really interesting. I hope you keep us posted with your progress and some pictures as you go. We love watching WIP's here.

Bob

[Ayden]

Thanks for the tip Bob, I'll check it out. I'm hoping some folks have some low budget or ingenious ideas for fastening bow/staff projects.

Thanks again,

Ayden

[wade clark]

Ayden,
It sounds like you're starting out with a piece considerably longer than the finished piece, if I read right. How about drilling a couple small holes through the excess, then taking some screws and screwing it down to something solid? Just take the screw out and turn it over as needed, new holes for needed angles.
Welcome aboard!
Wade

[Goody]

We usually just use wood workers clamps or a C clamp and a block of wood and clamp them down to our workbench or my table saw top. Fir is going to be tricky wood to make that from. A spoke shave may be helpfull on this project also.
Goody

[Ayden]

Thanks for the tip Wade, unfortunately I've already cut away the excess w/ my jigsaw and now have an outline of my staff that needs to be shaved into shape.

I'm trying to concoct a stool horse device in my head, where you can create an adjustable/clampable device into a home made stool and your own body provides the stability while working on a work piece. It's just an idea but I'm hoping others chime in and provide even more creative idea's to make staffs.

Kind regards,

Ayden

[Ayden]

Thanks Decoydave, that about looks like my only short term option for now, but looking the ease of use of a shaving horse sounds really compelling.

The fir's a stuff piece of wood for a softwood. I haven't started carving the spearhead yet.

Thinking about a horse I'm seriously consider coming w/ some kind of stool/horse where I'll site over the top of the work piece and go to work on it etc. Just gotta figure out how to wedge it in place, make a soft seat over the top of it.

Thanks again for the tip,

Ayden

[Thomp]

Ayden,

my 2 cents worth and a very crappy drawing.

i take it your an apartment dweller without much you can use as a shop.

heres an idea, from my younger days in a roof truss factory. a wedge clamp as they called it.
where in the factory we just nailed 2 blocks of 2x4 to the table and and drove in the wedges to pin the gussets between the risers and roof joyces. of the roof trusses

if you dont have a old woden picknick table. make a small sawhorse, (do a google search on saw horse theres hundreds of ways to make them.) then if you make a a thing like a wooden miterbox a troft, and attach it to the saw horse,
the troft will also need support on top as to keep it togather so something like deck screws should provide strength,

in the drawing the left is the top view, then the right is side view.

explaining parts of the drawing, hope you see the same colors as i do.

Pink=the staff
black= the troft, 2x4
brown= top support to keep sides from spreading use 2 if needed
green= wedges,

if the wedges are of hardwood - oak. you might want to line the box to keep from marking the staff. cuz there gonna get tight.


using the clamp.. the clamp mounted on the top to one end of a sawhorse, place the staff in the clamp-troft then use the wedges to secure the staff by hammering on the big end of the wedge, .. till it slides in the troft against the other wedge and it will tighten so as to where you cant pull it out.

you might want to make the wedges with blunt ends on them so you can reverse them to remove and reposition the wood.

take a little wood and build it a drill - screwdriver saw and a hammer should suffice in making this jig - tool - doo' dad////

you might use a chair or stool to support the loose end of the staff as you work through the leingth of it. the staff better supported will help this camp work without it working loose...

2 loose wedges should be enough to acomidate adjustment for the material your removing as you work the staff

if your fanny gets sore riding this horse make your sawhorse with a 2x6 - or 2x8 cross piece and toss on a throw pillow...

[Ayden]

Thomp,

This is totally awesome Sir. I totally get where you're going w/ this idea. I'm going to Home Depot today to build this. This I can handle and put together no problem.

I do have a table saw at home and it should hold this down real well. Whenever I go camping there's always a large wooden picnic table I could work on too. I'm sure I could easily figure a way to mount and fix this box down.

Small, portable, easy to use, what a dream.

Excellent, EXCELLENT idea. Oh, the brilliance of you.

Can you tell I'm happy yet... Holy cow I almost bought a saw horse for $125 not including shipping from a canoe builder in Maine. This shaving wedge box is awesome.

Thanks so much Thomp have a wonderful day,

Ayden

[BobD]

Ayden,
First, Welcome aboard! I can't wait to see photos of your staff!

Here's what I would do:

Drill a hole through the carving bench/table you are going to use, and thread a loop of rope up through the hole. Tie the ends of the rope together so you have a closed loop. Then feed the staff through the loop on top of the table and step on the end that hangs down through the table--you can exert a lot of pressure on the staff just by leaning on it a little bit. YOu can also attach some sort of weight if you don't want to limit your movement (since you are essentially tied to the loop).

Make sense?

Bob Duncan
Wood Carving Illustrated