Physical Projects

Description of Project & Rationale:
An Italian Sidesword, which has a bullet tip point so that it is school safe, made out of wood and metal.  My rationale for making this project is that I’ve always wanted a sword, and it was even cooler that I could make a sword for myself, and if I ever wanted to try again and improve, I could try again and always improve.

Material Bought:

7ft of Bass Wood (Due to 6ft Rule, and Discount due to dents & Student Discount ) : 22$

Various Gears : 10$

Material List:

40in of Bass Wood

Sheet Metal

Leftover Scraps of Poplar Wood

1/4in Dowel Rod

Various Gears as Addons for Aesthetic Reasons

Processes Used & Related Machinery:
(RULE FOR ALL MACHINERY: HAIR BACK)
Lathe: I glued two pieces of wood together so that I may carve out a handle and pommel on the lathe. I had to create 1/4th in of a cut on both ends of the wood. I then used turning tool sets to shape the handle. I was careful to make sure that the speed was not too high, and was around 2000rpm forwards.
Drill Press: I made sure that in the vice, that my pieces of wood were secure, and that the drill bit was tightly put in. Fingers had to be away from the drill, and had to securely hold the wood if it was being held at all.
Band Saw: I used this to cut my dowel shorter, and the safety procedure for this is to make sure there is distance between fingers and the rotating blade,
Belt Sander: I used this to sand the middle of the handle and pommel, so that it did not have any paper left on it. The safety behind it is to keep your fingers away from the abrasive running sand paper.
Disc Sander: I used this to straighten edges and curve the tip of the sword. Must keep fingers away from the abrasive circle, and use the sandpaper  on the right side so that the dust goes down into the dust collector.
Planer: I had to plane down my 40in long of wood from about 2in to around 1in. Safety-wise, I had to make sure the length of my wood was not under a certain number (which I cannot remember). I also had to make sure that the amount I was planeing to was not too small or too big for the plank of wood I was thinning. I also had to make sure that I kept my fingers away from the entrance feed of the machine, and that I fed the wood in as straight as possible.
Electronic Solder: This was in the metal-working lab, and to work had to put the sheet metal in between the two prongs. It had to be held securely, by pushing the foot press down, but not all the way. When it was secure in the spot that was to be soldered, i pushed all the way down on the foot pedal and it electronically soldered the two sheets of metal together.
Metal Shearing & Metal Curving: Two different machines in the wood-shop but with similar procedures. In the Metal Shearing machine, you had to put the metal forwards so that it may  be cut. Fingers away from the sharp blade, but the metal in front of the knife clamps down the sheet metal to keep it from slipping during cutting.

Metal Curving you had to unlatch a part of the machine on the right side, then lift the cylinder thing and place the sheet metal in between the top and bottom part, then rotate clockwise. Depending on how it is put in, it may go upwards, going into a smaller circle, or go downwards, curving into a larger circle.

PROCEDURE:

I didn’t have a full understanding of what I was doing, or how I was going to do what I wanted to do. I had a sort of clear idea of what I wanted in my end goal, and I knew that my end goal wasn’t going to be perfect. I did research by searching up youtube videos of sword making, learning the parts of swords and what helps distribute weight and force.
) References
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hg0JDKvKEB8  (How to Make a Wooden Long Sword)

I figured I could use the same techniques in this video, but apply it to a italian side-sword.
First Drawing of what I wanted to make, and the rough size. However after looking further at it we could not make a pointed tip, and instead went for a bullet tip.

) The second draft idea, churning out more of a concrete idea of what I wanted it to look like.  ) The Third and last draw up, with more concrete measurements and drawings.

PROCESSES & PHOTOS

(Foam sword)

I borrowed left-over cut up foam from the Creative Design room, and cut them into the shape and sizes I felt were close to what I wanted. I even measured and found that it was what my drawing had said. It was blocky and not straight, but a good start. If I did this again, I’d practice cutting out straighter lines on the bandsaw (which is what I used to cut the foam). I also used masking tape to put all the foam together, and hold it together.

(Tracing)

I traced the parts of the foam sword that were going to be individual pieces out and cut them on brown paper using a pencil, an x-acto knife, and a cutting board. I also had to cut out what the blade would have looked like from the side. I traced out the hand guard on the side, but never ended up adding it.
(Planeing & Tracing – Not Shown)

I planed down the 40in of Bass Wood from 2in to about 1in, so that could be the starting width, that way when I traced the paper, I could immediately begin forming the sword’s blade and tang.
(Cutting on Bandsaw – Not Shown)

I cut out the outline on the bandsaw, and straightened the edges and curves using the disc sander.

(Wood – Final after Cutting on Bandsaw and some disc sanding.)

(Hand Planing)

I used the hand planer, which I’d never touched before, but have always been fascinated with because of the thin length of wood that comes out in long strips if done correctly. I’ve seen youtube videos of people in contests planing thin and long strips of wood, and it always amazed me with it’s handicrafting. I hand planed the sword so that it had more of an edge to it so that it no longer looked like a paddle.

(Shown, with edges being more sharpened and less block-like, being clamped to the table so that it does not slip while being hand-planed)
(Handle & Pommel – Not Shown)

Used the lathe to shape the handle and pommel to shape.

(Hand Guard & Finger Guard – Not Shown)

Use metal to shape/curve and then solder to be part of the guards.

Self Evaluation:

 I think that I did well, and I’m very proud of what I made and how I made it. In the future, I’d like the sword’s blade to be less bulky, probably more thin and narrower towards the edge. I also was sort of unsure how I felt about the curved part before the handguard, into the handle, but it is sort of growing on me. I liked the handle, and how it holds in my hand. It is much lighter than I expected,and though the pommel is not how I wanted it to be, I think it still looks nice. I never was able to make some small parts for the sword, but I know like it as is. I was never able to add the little indentation in the sword to give it more of an aesthetic edge, but I think due to the simplicity of the blade, it looks nice without it.

I also think when I drilled a hole into the tang, and handle, since they were both sort of crooked, it canceled out just fine and centered itself perfectly. If I could add more things, I would complete the finger guard by adding the little area up top to be connected in a circle as I had drawn it in my third and second drawing version. I also did not have spirals on my handle, but I think it was for the best, and I really like how the handle fits in my hand.