MBC Training Sticks

[mort]

Hi Mike,



What are your training sticks made out of? Do you know the dimensions?



Thanks,



Fred Morton

[Michael Janich]

Dear Mort:

After wearing out numerous rattan sticks, I switched to polycarbonate plastic. For heavy banging, we use 7/8-inch diameter solid sticks. For normal practice, we use 1-inch polycarbonate tubing with a 1/8-inch wall thickness. I buy the material in bulk from a plastics supplier here in town (check your Yellow Pages under &quot;plastics&quot<img src="wink.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0> and cut it to length with a hacksaw. I then sand and buff the cut edges to round them and eliminate any sharp corners and wrap the grip area with medical tape. When you're all done, you should have a practically unbreakable set of sticks for about $20.00.

Stay safe,


mike j

[mort]

Thanks

[bjmckean]

Mike,

What did you use to sand and buff the ends ??

--Bryan

[Michael Janich]

Dear Bryan:

The quickest method of rounding the ends of the polycarb tube is with a benchtop sander, like a 1x30, 1x42, or similar sander. Place the end of the tube flat on the tool rest at about a 45-degree angle to the belt. A medium grit (80 or 120) works best and won't melt the plastic. Lightly touch the end to the belt and rotate the tube to get the entire circumference of the end. The action is similar to a lathe, only you turn the material and the tool provides the power. Change the angle between about 30 and 60 degrees to radius the end. You can repeat the process with a 240-grit belt to smooth it up more, then shut off the sander and use an X-acto knife to trim the inside edge of the tube and remove any burrs.

To buff, I use a benchtop grinder fitted with 6-inch muslin wheels charged with white buffing compound (about 800 grit). Green chrome rouge or jeweler's rouge will also work.

If you don't have a buffer, a Dremel tool with felt buffs works well, or just use fine wet/dry sand paper.

I hope this helps.

Kickin' ASP,



mike j