Graphite Golf Clubs

M

Madhawk

Newbie
I noticed that golf clubs are really thin, but apparently they work for weapon cores...
Is there a good method to get the graphite golf clubs up to size?

I was thinking of placing the 5/8" pipe foam sealed around the golf club, using some spacers to make sure it's centered and filling the gap up with spray insulation. Another idea was to just wrap it with camping pad foam until it was 2" in diameter.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
Madhawk said:
I noticed that golf clubs are really thin, but apparently they work for weapon cores...
Is there a good method to get the graphite golf clubs up to size?

I was thinking of placing the 5/8" pipe foam sealed around the golf club, using some spacers to make sure it's centered and filling the gap up with spray insulation. Another idea was to just wrap it with camping pad foam until it was 2" in diameter.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
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Spray insulation has a problem: when it starts to break down during use, it breaks in shards, which tear up your foam faster. Also, when you do end up having to replace the foam, you have to sand off the old foam, otherwise you end up with faster wear next time around.

Camping foam works, I sometimes use tufts of open cell.
 
I just want to note to you that sine golf clubs are a non-standard core material a chapter may not allow it because of that.
I would make sure you check with the chapter(s) you intend to play at if they allow them. I can tell you most of the mid-west chapters do not allow them
 
Ohio does.

But anyway, two good ways around it. Use weather stripping down the narrow part of it and trim as needed or some pool noodles have very small inner diameter holes in them and it will fit with just a small amount of tape to snug it up.
 
I like the camp foam idea. you could cut individual washers/burrs/gaskets and stack them up until you have the right length. Then you could layer 5/8s inch flat foam on them to make a shaped core!
 
Cutting a strip out of the 5/8" tube works well. If you take a leftover piece of tube and keep cutting it down until it fits snugly, but not too tight, you can use it as a pattern in the future. It takes practice cause you need to take a big chunk out at first and narrow down towards the thicker part of the core. You can seal the crease with masking tape then duct tape as usual. Just make sure your thrusting tips are still 2" in diameter regardless of the blade width.
Will
 
I really, really hate golf clubs and fishing poles as weapon cores. Especially 'reused ones'. A broken piece of graphite will splinter, not snap, and tapered cores are just asking to punch through the end of a weapon on a thrust.
 
My one fishing pole weapon has been asking for like 3 or 4 years then.

It has yet to ask politely, so I haven't let it punch through yet.

To further back up my point I want to say something about how frequently I thrust, but then Jeff will make some kinda comment that will completely derail the thread for 3 pages and then nothing will get accomplished.
 
The different cores all have their flaws but as for breakage if you are fighting safely and check your weapons every game (a marshal should do this anyway) its pretty much a non issue.

When wrapped in tape and foam snap or splinter doesn't realy matter. the weapon is blown, and unless you continue to swing after it breaks its not gonna break through the foam.

The only time it will really be an issue is if the foam comes off due to a bad anchor but that why we do weapon checks. Also graphite splinters less than PVC when it breaks it usually is built up on a fiberglass core itself and it splinters but doesn't actually seperate usually. Same as msot kitespar materials, though I belive the break points are different.

As for taper, if you have good tips and have covered the end of your core with closed cell like your supposed to it really isn't any more likely than a non tapered core to punch through. It is harder to properly anchor a tapered core so that it doesn't come loose and will likely require a bit more maintnance than a standard PVS core but as long as you maintain it its fine in general.
 
If your breaking a graphite golf club core, you REALLY need to swing softer. I may have broken a fish pole weapon with my face once, but it was fiberglass. Its always the fiberglass ones that break their cores.
If anything its going to be more stable as far as temp goes, then the other materials we use.
 
Only graphite core I've seen break may have been swung too hard but I preffer to blame the foam flying off on the back swing and its contact with my steel pauldron.

Frankly I find the issue with fishingpole or golf club cores to mostly be that they are alot harder to construct a sturdy weapon from, they need more maintnance and are harder to make int he first place due to the taper that you need to account for. Once made they are safe as anything else but a PITA to make by comparison.
 
I really don't think that fishing pole weapons are all that much more difficult to construct.

Really the only difference that I have between a kitespar and fishing pole weapon is that I run a strip of 3/8" wide x 3/8" thick weatherstriping along the majority of the portion of the fishing pole that will be foamed and then run a strip of tape over that to secure it.
 
Well that doesn't sound to hard but most of them that I've seen haven't managed to have that and the core rattles around in the foam and it all breaks down quicker for it.

Never made one myself but it sounds simple, For anyone thinking of doing this do as tieran says it'll make a better weapon even if it adds a few ounces :)
 
Angrydurf said:
do as tieran says
Click to expand...

BWAHAHAHAHA!!!

And so my reign of terror begins.
 
Koshinara said:
Cutting a strip out of the 5/8" tube works well. If you take a leftover piece of tube and keep cutting it down until it fits snugly, but not too tight, you can use it as a pattern in the future. It takes practice cause you need to take a big chunk out at first and narrow down towards the thicker part of the core. You can seal the crease with masking tape then duct tape as usual. Just make sure your thrusting tips are still 2" in diameter regardless of the blade width.
Will
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Listen to this man as if he where a deity. Kinkaid specials are some of the best fighting weapons out there today. Like the Uppercut Sword(tm).
 
Thanks for the ideas.

The reason I want to fill up the hollow and not just trim the foam as Kinkaid suggests is that by trimming the foam you cut down the 2" diameter.

5/8" foam with a 3/4" core is 2" diameter. 5/8" foam with a tiny core is 1.5" to 1.75" diameter. This makes the thrusting tip look a little big, and more likely to get damaged (even drawing the weapon from a frog might damage it). Though if you know different, I'd like to hear about it.

Weather stripping sounds like a cool plan, but isn't weatherstripping heavy? Maybe it's lighter than I think...
 
Weatherstriping foam is pretty light.
 
Its all more in the balance anyway...
 
tieran said:
Its all more in the balance anyway...
Click to expand...

I still have problems with getting a really good balance. Ideas???
 
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