Wooden Dummy Project

The most common problem in training for me seems to be the alck of a partner when I want to work on 2-man things, so Im stuck doing solo work. Obviously a good way to rememdy not having a partner available is to have a wooden dummy available. So recently I took it upon myself to build a wooden dummy.

While I am adamant about making little visual and written records of things I do (especially automotive projects), I am creating this thread not just so I can track my progress and say, "Hey everyone look what I did!", but also to encourage others to follow the path that I have taken. In the end, it will take some work, time and patience, and a small bit of money, but Im hoping to illustrate that its not a *huge* job and the benefits far outweigh the time invested. Ill provide problems Ive had, pictures of each step, pointers, details, etc in the hopes that everythign will be clear. It will probably take me a while as time is a rare commodity, but I will try to update the thread on weekends that I actually spend time working on the project lol...

__________________
PlumDragon Herbs: Dit Da Jow and Iron Palm Liniments

"When a handshake passes the elbow, it becomes Judo."

STEP 1: FIND YOUR WOOD!

Obviously the first step is to find your wood. The piece of wood for the body should be anywhere from 8-10 inches in diameter, with a tad over 9 being ideal. Rememeber, when removing the bark, you will tighten the diameter a bit. If youll be hanging the dummy you only need about 4-5 feet of length; if it will sit ont he ground, plan to get 6. The wood you cut for 3 limbs should be over 2 feet long per limb and 5 inches wide if possible. This will facilitate a bit of tolerance when actually fabricating the arms.

The *type* of wood, IMO, is of no significant importance. I cut 7 pieces for the limbs so I could replace them down the road if they broke, but recall that we are doing this on a budget versus spending $900 on a dummy and $100 for replacement arms. So its ok if an arm breaks every so often because of a wood that isnt as hard as wood like teak because were saving hundreds of dollars in the process here! Personally, I used Hickory because it was readily available to me via a friend who gave it to me for free. Furthermore, it happens to be a dense wood so its a good choice of wood. If yorue having a difficult time finding wood, look up some ranches in your area, private land where peopel hunt or other places of the like. Call and ask if they have any dead trees, or if they would mind you cutting down part of a tree. If you are nice, peopel tend to reciprocate. A bit of offered compensation can go a long way too. Otherwise, keep your eyes peeled, once you start looking for wood, youll be surprised how many sources will come out of the "woodwork"

When cutting the wood from the tree, it is best to seal the ends of the tree with paint or something or they could crack. Also, the best time to cut the wood is after the tree has gone into hibernation as it will have a lower water content.

My wood:


I have about 7 limbs and a 7 foot tall body. Next step here is to strip the bark off the wood and prepare it for a staining sealant. Hopefully I will get this process documented for the thread within the next week...

__________________
PlumDragon Herbs: Dit Da Jow and Iron Palm Liniments

"When a handshake passes the elbow, it becomes Judo."

Very good, I'm considering getting a Mook, whether I build it myself or not I don't know though!

I'd love to be able to train on one.

Actually the type of wood you choose plays a major role in how your dummy will perform, harder woods like oak and ash have less flexibility, are of course more dense and hard, while softer woods will have some recoil, so you get a different type of reaction depending on your wood type.

You gave good ideas on how to find wood cheaply, I recently got a good piece of oak that someone cut down at a much cheaper price than a lumber-yard.

__________________
Oh THAT'S how that works!

There are also all sorts of design methods that can change how well your dummy will perform.

You're an engineer, I'm a carpenter, I've built dummies before, I don't know if you'll need any help but you can shoot away if you need.

__________________
Oh THAT'S how that works!

“	Originally Posted By: Mei Hua Actually the type of wood you choose plays a major role in how your dummy will perform, harder woods like oak and ash have less flexibility, are of course more dense and hard, while softer woods will have some recoil, so you get a different type of reaction depending on your wood type.	”

Thats a good supporting point. Although its interesting that the dummies built professionally are made out of hard woods. Personally Id rather have a bit of recoil...

__________________
PlumDragon Herbs: Dit Da Jow and Iron Palm Liniments

"When a handshake passes the elbow, it becomes Judo."

“	Originally Posted By: Mei Hua There are also all sorts of design methods that can change how well your dummy will perform. You're an engineer, I'm a carpenter, I've built dummies before, I don't know if you'll need any help but you can shoot away if you need.	”

Im far from proficient with working with wood. Id love to have your inputs when the time comes and think they would be great additions to the thread. And after all, this is an open forum!
Feel free to fire them off what you see fit.

__________________
PlumDragon Herbs: Dit Da Jow and Iron Palm Liniments

"When a handshake passes the elbow, it becomes Judo."

What are you going to do to get the 'trunk' round plumdragon? Are you going to sit and sand it, or are you going to opt for an octagonal approach?

I'd go for rounding it, I wouldn't like edges on a woodern dummy, no matter how rounded they are. Rounding it is probably a major chore, though, I'd be interested in how you do it as well.

__________________
You only die once. But it lasts such a long time.-French proverb

A planer would round it, you might want to rig a frame if you're using a hand one... For all I know, though, there's a specialist tool.

__________________
Consider Phlebas, who was once handsome and tall as you
High mountains are a feeling
I don't need to sell my soul, he's already in me

To round it there is a special type of band saw that is used, you cut it into a square and then trim the edges off and then plane it round, you could do the same with a circ. saw if you have one, cut it into a square, cut the edges off, then the other edges off that are formed and eventually you'll get a rounder shape and then sand it to a nice circle.

As for soft woods, there are types of wood that are among a denser class of softwood, so they will be harder but still have that recoil of a lighter springier wood.

__________________
Oh THAT'S how that works!

Check these sites out:

http://www.wckfc.com/news/dummy/index.htm
http://www.wingchunonline.com/Wing_C...den_Dummy.html

they have some information about building your own dummy

Those are pretty common dummy plans across the board, I'd suggest rounding the part of the arm that sits inside the dummy instead of using the square method, a square can break way to easy while a rounded part reflects stress and breaking force easier.
You can make the hole for the arm using a good drill and a spade bit( 2"-3"), tack it into the dummy with a rubber malet, make sure it's good and snug, and secure it with a good wood glue applied to the interior passage that the arm sits in.


WOOD TYPES
HARD WOODS

1.)Oak; you have Red and White oak, both are hard woods with a high strength/density value: Red(45lb. per cu. ft.), White(47lb. per cu. ft.)
2.)Sugar Maple(44lb. per cu. ft.)
3.)Birch(47lb. per cu. ft.)

SOFT WOODS

1.)Redwood(28lb. per cu. ft.)
2.)White Pine(28lb. per cu. ft.)
3.)Douglas Fir(34lb. per cu. ft.) This is a stronger soft wood but is harder to work with, so that can offset the strength value, needs to be well laminated as it can splinter easier.

I gave some wood descriptions which I have worked with and have used in dummies, the soft woods are the stronger types out there and can suit well for dummy use, with a good laminate coating. The hard woods are some of the more common and easier to find varieties and work very well for dummy use.

__________________
Oh THAT'S how that works!

“	Originally Posted By: Mei Hua Those are pretty common dummy plans across the board, I'd suggest rounding the part of the arm that sits inside the dummy instead of using the square method, a square can break way to easy while a rounded part reflects stress and breaking force easier. You can make the hole for the arm using a good drill and a spade bit( 2"-3"), tack it into the dummy with a rubber malet, make sure it's good and snug, and secure it with a good wood glue applied to the interior passage that the arm sits in.	”

Surely instead of glueing it you could use the peg method, with that you put a peg on the other side that holds the arm in, but allows some rattling movement from it? :S

You could use the peg method, but in my experience I've found that it moves to much and breaks easier, a good wood glue will bond like cement and keep it strong and steady.

Also something to consider, with the peg method you put a hole through the entire dummy, thus weakening it and making it more suceptable to damage/breakage, with the glue method you only go through 1/2 to 3/4 of the way and so it keeps structural integrity. And with an arm that rattles it breaks easier while an arm that is firmer and stronger resists breakage and remains solid and conveys that strength out to the user, giving you a better workout.

Same goes for a block in real life, would you block a powerful strike with a loose arm or an arm that is firm and solid, as in a direct block and not a deflect style block.

__________________
Oh THAT'S how that works!