# Can I use a hand plane to reduce the diameter of a cylindrical rod?



## namy77 (Feb 11, 2011)

Hi all,

Okay, so I want to make my own Bō staff from wood rods commonly found at Home Depot etc.The only problem is... all the 6 ft rods are at least 1" in diameter - and that is a bit too big for a good grip.

So I was just wondering if I can *use a hand plane* to slowly strip off the wood alongside the staff, stroke by stroke, until it becomes a polygon with 3/4" in diameter (well I guess it wouldn't be called diameter but you get the point) then sand it back into a cylinder?

Will this plan be plausible or it will be pretty darn hard to make it work? (I don't really need a perfectly cylindrical staff) If not, what other tools or equipment do you guys suggest me to explore in order for this to work?

I also plan to make the two ends of the staff smaller than the middle, kind of like them pool cues - But I think sandpaper would work fine.

Thanks a lot!


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

namy77 said:


> So I was just wondering if I can *use a hand plane* to slowly strip off the wood alongside the staff, stroke by stroke, until it becomes a polygon with 3/4" in diameter (well I guess it wouldn't be called diameter but you get the point) then sand it back into a cylinder?
> 
> Will this plan be plausible or it will be pretty darn hard to make it work? (I don't really need a perfectly cylindrical staff) If not, what other tools or equipment do you guys suggest me to explore in order for this to work?
> 
> ...


 





 
A handplane will work, and so will a spokeshave. You could also likely use a drawknife if nothing else was available. Even a good rasp would work.











 







.


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## amckenzie4 (Apr 29, 2010)

namy77 said:


> Hi all,
> 
> Okay, so I want to make my own Bō staff from wood rods commonly found at Home Depot etc.The only problem is... all the 6 ft rods are at least 1" in diameter - and that is a bit too big for a good grip.
> 
> ...


If you're planning to use it for actual striking practice or sparring, be aware that the inexpensive (curtain- or clothes-) rods they sell at HD tend to shatter under impact after a while. Or, at least, the ones I had did. ;-)

If you're just using it for kata practice, they're fine, though.


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

As said above, be very careful of using it in any type of actual practise or tournament situation. These rods just are not made of the wood that a real martial arts staff is made from.

George


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## namy77 (Feb 11, 2011)

amckenzie4 said:


> If you're planning to use it for actual striking practice or sparring, be aware that the inexpensive (curtain- or clothes-) rods they sell at HD tend to shatter under impact after a while. Or, at least, the ones I had did. ;-)
> 
> If you're just using it for kata practice, they're fine, though.


Yeah lots of techniques for now and ill have my friend use that to teach me to defend using the sai -- so I think it will be fine.

On that note - what would you recommend as for material / methodology to make sparrable (if such word exists) bo?

Thanks for all the comments guys - I will try it out this weekend some time.


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## TGRANT (Jan 25, 2011)

I’m not familiar with the sparing techniques you are talking about, but riven wood - that is wood that has been split along the grain rather than sawn - is used for steam bending (like in Windsor chair backs), because there is no grain run-out, and the strength is about the best you can get from a piece of wood. Some woods like white oak and hickory also seem to work better for riving and bending because they retain a springiness that other woods will have less of. I’d guess there are other woods that work as well, though I am not familiar with them. White oak is a traditional boat building wood for ribs and keels in part because of the flexibility the wood retains.

Any wood can fatigue and split after a while, no matter how the piece was built in the first place. I’ve read that kiln drying makes wood a bit more brittle than if it was air dried, though I’m not sure if that’s folklore or science. In any case, using wood that was not kiln dried might last longer and be less brittle.


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## Greg in Maryland (Jan 6, 2011)

Hi

My Aikido Bokken and Jo are made from Hickory, though I have seen Japanese White Oak as well. I purchased mine from Kingfisher WoodWorks (http://kingfisherwoodworks.com/). With the proper care, these will last many, many years.

Given the difficulty and risk of making one yourself and the fairly reasonable price, I would purchase one. Keep in mind that if you do any sparring where strikes are involved, do not use home center wood. It will disintegrate in your hands and you won't be able to get out of the way quick enough from a your opponents strike when it does.

Also, there is a ideal heft, mass and feel of a proper Bokken/Jo and what you will get at a home center most likely will be poplar or some other light wood. Your technique will suffer as you go back and forth between a heavy and light Bokken/Jo.

Good luck with both your pursuits.

Greg


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## Jackfre (Dec 23, 2009)

*I have made quite a few white oak*

canes, staffs and wooden swords. I think my favorite woodworking tool is the Boggs curved blade spokeshave sold by LN. It is just a great tool for your project.


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## Keith Mathewson (Sep 23, 2010)

Making a dowel into a polygon is more difficult than making a square into a polygon. A larger plane with a longer sole is easier to use over 6' than a shorter bodied plane. I would opt for a even number of sides and then draw it out on the blank, then plane to the lay out lines.


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## b sco (Nov 8, 2010)

I'm on board with tgrant.
If you're going to buy a dowel or rod for this purpose, you should inspect it closely for grain runout.


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## xd_haze (Feb 1, 2011)

I couldn't agree with this more. It has been years since I've been involved with aikido and other martial arts, but I was once heavily involved. Gettign used to the weight, feel, and action of a real weapon is very important. Practice with the real thing. I had these silly rattan weapons once because you could show off some real speed, but my technique suffered, so I ditched them entirely.

mike



Greg in Maryland said:


> Hi
> 
> My Aikido Bokken and Jo are made from Hickory, though I have seen Japanese White Oak as well. I purchased mine from Kingfisher WoodWorks (http://kingfisherwoodworks.com/). With the proper care, these will last many, many years.
> 
> ...


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## 1066vik (Feb 18, 2011)

welcome to the forums from another newbie.
my old bo staff was made from some sort of reddish asian hardwood.
it's about 1 1/8" at the center and tapers out to 3/4 at the ends.
if you're tight on cash, a sure-form shaver is pretty handy for this kind of work and more forgiving than a block plane.
that's what I used in college to shape jo sticks, bokken, and axe handles out of oak, hickory, etc...


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