Fiber Glass Tubing

Post your LARP suppliers here
Post Reply
User avatar
GM_Chris
GM
Posts: 7553
Joined: Thu Sep 11, 2003 1:43 pm
Contact:

Fiber Glass Tubing

Post by GM_Chris »

OK!

So where does one fine fiber glass tubing to make weapons?
Chris
I be one of the gamemasters so e-mail me questions if you have them
User avatar
Zydana
GM
Posts: 1119
Joined: Sun Apr 03, 2005 4:55 pm

Post by Zydana »

the internet?

okay, I think most home improvement stores will at least sell the orange or yellow rods/markers people put to line curbs and driveways and such in the winter for plows. (I'm sure they have other normal uses, but that's what I see them used mostly here in Michigan.)

Another option is to look into kite stores. Not little dinky toy kite places, but places that consider kiting a real hobby.. like Mackinaw Kite Co in Grand Haven where they have kites for kite surfing... www.mackite.com

I think www.intothewind.com would have them too as fiberglass rods are considered kite making materials.

Again, I'm sure there are other places to buy them, but that's what comes to mind.
Torakhan
Town Member
Town Member
Posts: 509
Joined: Mon Mar 28, 2005 9:56 pm
Location: West Michigan
Contact:

Rods for Weapons

Post by Torakhan »

You can also look into carbon fiber as well. I believe the kite poles at MacKite are carbon fiber. They are lighter, typically, than fiberglass, and can be purchased in various lengths and thicknesses. They are, however, a bit pricey.
I think Matt used some of the black carbon fiber rods for some of the weapons at one time, but I don't know if it was really very different (other than thickness) from using the fiberglass rods.

As Angie pointed out, the driveway maker rods you can be purchased (or found) for fairly cheap prices and are made of fiberglass. It shouldn't be a problem if they are covered, or inside of the weapon, but when they are stressed, they can flake off or splinter into shards of fiber glass. We can typically find them in places like Home Depot and Menards nearer to Winter.
A Google search for "Fiberglass Driveway Marker", or "Hydrant Marker" will get you things like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Lifesafe-4-Ft-Fib ... B000O50T0W
Arthur Dreese - West Michigan
I just want to see tomorrow, day by day to just survive. / But this place is built to kill me. No one here gets out alive. ~Alice Cooper "Cold Machines"
"Beware the designer who does not design to play his own game." ~Justin Achilli, Vampire: the Masquerade Developer
User avatar
Rhul
Town Member
Town Member
Posts: 234
Joined: Mon Jul 14, 2008 7:47 pm

Post by Rhul »

You can also look at Farm Stores (Like Tractor Supply/Family Farm and Home, etc)

Not only do they have the thinner orange and white fiberglass driveway stakes, they also have a lkarger 1/8 inch DIA version in their fencing section (I think it's for portable electric fence for animals).

My WH PC (Garritt) has used a sword since the night of the Burning Skulls that has a core of two of those wrapped in duct tape with a blue camp foam blade. Works perfect, and after wrapping the handle with cotton clothesline, the two paired stakes make the handle a nice oval cross section for better control.
"BY THE POWER OF GRAVESBANE....

I.. HAVE.. THE.. POWER!!!"
User avatar
Atrum Draconus
Town Member
Town Member
Posts: 1316
Joined: Thu Sep 11, 2003 10:45 am
Location: Look over your shoulder... better yet... just keep your eyes forward.
Contact:

Post by Atrum Draconus »

If you're making latex weapons I would go with carbon fiber rods, they will hold up to stresses better. Personally, I don't think we should be allowed to use flat foam weapons which are pretty much all you can make with the fiberglass rods. Flat foam hurts a LOT more when it's cold outside unless you've found a flat foam in between the too soft stuff and the hard stuff. I'm using the thicker walled newer pipe foam and bamboo now. It has more give but you can find the wall thickness that used to be used for the larger weapons with the smaller core size.
Atrum Draconus
House Draconus
Hand of King Chimeron Draconus
ANNOSUS DRACONUS!
User avatar
GM_Chris
GM
Posts: 7553
Joined: Thu Sep 11, 2003 1:43 pm
Contact:

Post by GM_Chris »

I found the blue camping foam to not hurt anymore than the other stuff, but maybe that is just me.
Chris
I be one of the gamemasters so e-mail me questions if you have them
GM-August
Town Member
Town Member
Posts: 481
Joined: Wed Aug 04, 2004 11:50 am
Location: over there

Post by GM-August »

If you can find cheap graphite golf club shafts, you can use them to make a decent core for a weapon. Go for the women's clubs, they are lighter and more flexible...

Plus if you get them with the grips already on, you get a decent looking handle all in one package!
User avatar
Zydana
GM
Posts: 1119
Joined: Sun Apr 03, 2005 4:55 pm

Post by Zydana »

August wrote: Plus if you get them with the grips already on, you get a decent looking handle all in one package!
but don't forget, you need at least 1 inch foam padding on the back end!
User avatar
Leo
Regular Visitor
Regular Visitor
Posts: 33
Joined: Mon Jan 11, 2010 5:01 pm

Post by Leo »

I have an aluminium golf handle cliped at the top with a fiber glass driveway marker pushed to the bottem and pinched in with the aluminium and surrounded by 2 layers of tent bed roll foam plus duct tap and soon to be cloth.

all for a low price of 11 dollars and ! can make several more with the left over material, after 2 swords.
Leo Edanis of Geldaland

¤º°¨ ¸„ø¤º°¨„ø¤º°¨°º¤ø„¸¨°º¤ø„¸¸„ º¤ø„¸
¨°º¤ø„ ¸Free to do what I want Forever!! º¤ø„¸
¸„ø¤º°¨¸„ø¤º „¸¨°º¤ø„¸¸„ ¸„ø¤º „¸¨°º¤
GM-August
Town Member
Town Member
Posts: 481
Joined: Wed Aug 04, 2004 11:50 am
Location: over there

Post by GM-August »

The problem with the steel ones is that they have very little flex. Golf clubs come measured in 5 flexes, X, S, R, A, and L. They also tend to weigh about 50-100% as much as the Graphite.

The L (Ladies) and A (Senior) are the best. X (Extra Stiff) and S (Stiff) are what you usually find steel in. The flex softens the blow when you hit someone with the weapon. It will bend every so slightly to help cushion the impact.

I still advocate Graphite (aka Carbon Fiber) as the best for this, it tends to cut (like with a band saw) better as well. :D
User avatar
Rhul
Town Member
Town Member
Posts: 234
Joined: Mon Jul 14, 2008 7:47 pm

Post by Rhul »

Never in three years have I been asked to check my swings with flat foam weapons, but I see it all the time with tubefoam or latex swoards. I'll bet anything that if it hurts, the distance of foam between the core and the striking edge is too thin. I don't think I've even made a weapon with less than 1 1/4 inch from core to blade-edge.

You should also add a thin layer of foam 90 degrees to the pieces that are layered to make the blade.

Like this, 'o' being the core: l=o=l

It makes things compress better.
"BY THE POWER OF GRAVESBANE....

I.. HAVE.. THE.. POWER!!!"
Post Reply