There is a large Natal mahogany near our civic centre. It is quite an old tree. Occasionally branches that have been attacked by insects get broken by strong wind and fall down. I found two branches that looked suitable for making clubs, so I brought them home to turn into clubs. Here is the link: More torpedo clubs!
A few weeks ago, I went to the beach and found three pieces of driftwood that I thought could be cut into meel type clubs. I went to the beach yesterday to collect the driftwood, and couldn't find it! The driftwood was completely covered in wind-blown sand! After digging around for a while, I located the driftwood. I had to dig a lot more to lift it out of the sand. I used my trusty bow saw to cut two 750 mm sections from each piece. It was only after the last cut on the red milkwood that I discovered that it had a rotten core. Here is a picture: This is what the pieces looked like before I removed the bark and the sand. The two logs on the left are plantation grown gum. You can see the marks left by the debarker. It is probably Eucalyptus Saligna, the most common species of plantation gum. I think the pair of logs on the right may be Chinaberry (Melia Azedarach), also known locally as syringa. Update 28 April 2014: It's a bust! None of the wood that i collected from teh beach is suitable for making clubs. The syringa is waterlogged. It has a very low density when I dried a test cube in the microwave oven. The gum is so full of sand in the cracks, that I spend more time sharpening my tools, than shaping the wood!
I used the shorter piece of Eucalyptus Paniculata to make some torpedo shaped Indian clubs. I have created a separate web page to document my progress. Here is the link:
Torpedo clubs I live in a pretty neighborhood. I often go for walks in the neighborhood. Sometimes I find branches that have been trimmed from trees. If the branches look like they could be made into clubs, I bring them home. I make sure I have a pair of roughly the same size. Here is a picture of my branches. From left to right: Eucalyptus Paniculata, Eucalyptus Grandis, Araucaria Columnaris. The next pair of branches come from a leguminous plant with yellow flowers. I think it is a cassia of some sort. The last two branches has me stumped. They come from a large tree with pink flowers and palmate leaves. You can see a picture of the flowers and leaves below. If anybody can help me to identify this plant, I would really appreciate it.
I am like the proverbial surfer who spends his life searching for the perfect wave. In my case, I am searching for the perfect clubs to maximize the therapeutic benefits (stress relief and relaxation). My requirements are as follows:
I need to wait a few weeks for the branches to dry out before I cut them into clubs. But I will post my progress. I have created a page to describe how I learned the traditional Indian club swinging routines. Here is the link:
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AuthorMy name is Andreas Vogelsang. This year (2014) I will be 60 years old. I live in Durban, South Africa. Archives
September 2015
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