Question about woodies

[Wallzy41 9]

I know most wood hockey sticks are made from Ash, but would maple be an acceptable replacement? I am looking to make about 10-15 shafts that are 53" and have a blade with a 4" hosel and lie 5.5. If maple is too bendy, what would be an acceptable wood shaft? Color doesn't matter, because I'm spray painting them either white or black and stenciling the NBH logo onto it. I'm just using these sticks to mess around on a pond.

[Ahriman 1]

and stenciling the NBH logo onto it.

good god why

[Wallzy41 9]

Just to mess with a friend who thinks everything that isn't rbk sucks. He's a huge criesby fanboy, and so I try to avoid rbk at all costs. That, and nobody should question a NBH stick out on the pond messing around.

[K9 Unit 1]

maple might break too easy...look at all those pro baseball bats...

[Wallzy41 9]

I was look at the janka hardness scale, and it seems to me I want something between 1290 and 1450 (red oak to sugar maple). Ash is a 1320, placing it in the middle. I would be open to trying white oak, which is a 1360. Also, I know maple breaks easily, but this shouldn't be a problem, because i'm making about 10-20 shafts out of a decent sized piece of wood. Which would be the best wood for a defenseman? Ash, Maple, or White Oak?

[cptjeff 0]

Oak is a very durable wood, so if you want a durable stick, that's a great option. Very heavy though.

And why not leave the stick blank or put a logo of an old company on it? Put a Northland logo on there, that'll really screw with your friend.

[woodstick 0]

Go with the Ash shaft. Maple and Oak are more dense/hard than Ash, but that doesn't mean they'll make for a more durable hockey stick. Ash is a great wood when it comes to flexing/repeatable bending. In contrast, Maple/Oak is typically more stiff and tends to snap when bent too much.

Most of the sticks in the 60's/70's/80's were made with Ash shafts. Most of the wood blades today are still made with Ash. I recently bought some all Ash sticks (hard find) and I'm shocked at their high-performance. They are a little heavy, but my shot is excellent with them. Maple/Oak tends too weigh more than Ash so that is another reason to go with Ash. Ash also tends to be less expensive.

We didn't even talk about Aspen. Most high-performance wood sticks today have an Aspen-core and then fiberglas walls on each side of the wood. If you're not able to find fiberglas walls, don't bother to just use an all Aspen shaft as it is too soft/flexible. Well, maybe you could find some Birch veneer to cover the Aspen core. If yes, you'll have a ACV stick with is a good stick (e.g. like Sherwood 5030, etc.). Another option that is probably better than Maple or Oak is an all Birch laminated shaft.

One reason many baseball players prefer Maple to Ash is Maple bats don't get deadwood/flaking on the barrel after repeated hits. This is because of Maple's closed (not open) grain structure. Maple bats are great for batting practice/lower pitching speeds. They do tend to have a different feel than Ash as Ash doesn't feel as stiff/hard. That could equate to a better feel in hockey too.

Hope that helps.

[westcoastsniper 0]

watch this.

even without the fiberglass, all those polymers and crap just to hold the thing together is intense.

[Wallzy41 9]

Very nice vid. It's going to take some time, but i'm sure the stick i'm making will turn out fine. If not, oh well, but i'm pretty sure the tools used in here can be substituted to make a decent crosby curve replica(Yes, i'm aware crosby uses a straight blade, i'm talking about the RbK P87 curve).

[Warriorsdman 1]

Maybe look at bamboo. I know they make some bats out of it (ex matsui) and it may be worth looking into for a stick.

[Wallzy41 9]

I would try it except I have the feeling it would splinter like hell, just like maple.

[87vert 0]

why not just buy a cheap woodie and reshape the blade?

[Law Goalie 147]

Cool project.

Thanks to woodstick for his info as well.

Somewhere in my grandfather's workshop is a solid maple goalie stick that he and his father before him used for pond hockey - weighs a bloody ton, but it's an incredible piece of workmanship.

[woodstick 0]

If you want to make this "project" easy, you may want to go to the following Website:

http://www.buildastick.com/productcart/pc/...p?idCategory=11

I get the impression that you may be able to buy different types of blank shafts (with or without blades) from buildastick.com. I doubt they are too picky on minimum orders like some companies. I haven't dealt with them yet myself, but I have seen them advertise before (e.g. I went to the old Christian Bros Hockey factory in Warroad and buildastick was advertising on paper placemats at a local restaurant). I'd give them a call and see if you can work something out - maybe a blank shaft with a flat blade that you could curve yourself, etc. Looks like nice products but their Website seems a little confusing.

You may even have luck with Christian (cbhockey.com) although they typically want to have a minimum order of 6 custom sticks. Maybe they could send you 1-2 BLANK sticks at a reasonable price though. A blank all Ash stick with a blade/fiberglas wrap on it from them shouldn't be more or much more than $30. The ash custom curve/painted sticks I'm using now are from them - I've been happy with those sticks. They may even be able to print "Northland" on them as they probably own the Northland name again.

Keep us posted. This is getting pretty juicy.

[interpathway 9]

Anyone else wondering why Mack hasn't commented on the title of this topic? :lol:

[Wallzy41 9]

To the people that suggested buying blades/shafts, no thank you. I'm going to make my own. Even if it comes out messed up, (i'm only bantam aged, but can't play in our 18u minor system) i'd be willing to play with it just to avoid messing up my reebok crosby out on the pond.