How do I make a Bo Staff?

Porl and I are wanting to use staves for jade empire. So the question is, how do we make them?

I was thinking of getting 3 fiberglass rods of the right length, hotglueing them together then sticking a strip of foam on each side, making a 3 sided staff, which I hear is the proper shape for them. Other ideas?

Can you buy hollow fiberglass tube in NZ, that’s what I’d be using perhaps 15 mm Outside Diameter 2-3mm wall thickness.

Bryn.

The other option would be to go a round staff and go with pipe lagging.

[quote=“Uncle Vanya”]Porl and I are wanting to use staves for jade empire. So the question is, how do we make them?
I was thinking of getting 3 fiberglass rods of the right length, hotglueing them together then sticking a strip of foam on each side, making a 3 sided staff, which I hear is the proper shape for them. Other ideas?[/quote]

How long do you want to make them?

I have some 1200mm long 10mm diameter fiberglass rods which will do for staves 1250mm long. If you want longer, I suggest getting longer rods (duh!)

I’d only use a single one, not three.

Come visit. We’ll make a whole pile some evening. With wood grain and carvings and pretty things…

The other option is to make them in the old boffer style - 25mm pvc pressure pipe with aerocell tubing over the outside. Using pressure pipe and not electrical conduit or anything else is important.

The only catch is that you end up with a fairly think staff - but they’re well padded! :smiley:
I have a link for doing the ends around here somewhere…

Vanya, I’ve been planing to make some staves and peasant weapons for a while. I just need to pull finger, and pick a time to do it. I plan to do them much like THIS, except using 10mm fiberglass, not aluminium tube.

Wednesday evening is good for me, if you and Porl want to come over. I have all the materials, except I need to get a couple of test pots of different shades of brown paint, which I will pick up before then.

Any idea how to make larp safe tonfa? (Hell I haven’t even made a lard safe swod yet, why am I asking this?.. Zane grumbles odd weapon requests grumbles. Can’t he just want a bo staff… then again I’m trying to figure out how to make a larp safe battle spoon.)

The only thing that is different is the handle on the side. So all you have to do is figure out how to attach two pieces if fiberglass rod to each other at right angles. I’d use a strip of light leather and lots of glue.

[quote=“Derek”]

The only thing that is different is the handle on the side. So all you have to do is figure out how to attach two pieces if fiberglass rod to each other at right angles. I’d use a strip of light leather and lots of glue.[/quote]

That sounds better than trying to cut holes in a metal tube (with no tools) and slotting them together somehow. I hadn’t thought of that. Thanks!

There was a weapon (night stick i think) in the NZLARPs gear that we saw when moving the gear…it had lost its padding on the longest bit but has since had a blade added to it insted (saw it at the starwars game) may want to track down who ever made that for advice.

Actually those are two seperate items. They used to be a pair of black swords. One got munted and had the blade stripper, it will enventually be repadded as a night stick. The other was the one you saw at Star Wars.

Anyway Gaffy made them so you should talk to him.

I’m making a bo staff now. Pictures this evening :smiley:

Well I just couldn’t stop building stuff. One staff a night seems to be the going rate at the moment :smiley:

Here we have, from left to right:

  1. The typical ‘jo stick’
  2. An iron shod staff (mmm - tasty - you pick this up and just want to smash things :smiling_imp: )
  3. A piece of bamboo

mmm. I want… Man, you’re so amazing at making larp weapons Derek

I’m working on a new theory with weapons:

  1. Make it the same dimensions as the object you’re copying
  2. Make it the same texture as the object you’re copying
  3. Paint it the same colour as the object you’re copying

It seems to work. 8)

Of course, it limits what weapons you can make, but that’s okay, because everyone else is making swords.

Love the bamboo.

Are they padded enough? Given that they’ll be used two-handed, they may sometimes be accidently hitting pretty hard.

Dunno. I’m the wrong person to ask as I’d happily use a real piece of bamboo. I’ll get people to whack each other with them on Wedenesday, and get other peoples opinions.

Yeah, but isn’t one of the people Vanya? that won’t help either. :wink:

Yeah, well, what can I say…

Me: "It’s softer than a piece of rattan, it’s good with me!"
Vanya: “It’s softer than a piece of steel, it’s good with me!”

Yup, trying to out on some nice soft larpers would be the go.

If they’re using 10mm solid fibreglass rod and over 1.5 meters long, and the foam is camping mat, then my concern is that you might feel the core through the foam if the staff is swung in a wide arc.

I guess that once you fix the length of the weapon and the weight of the core, the key variables that could be experimented with are the thickness of the foam and its density.