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Blade building: Best types of wood for Handles |
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jrscatman 
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Joined: 10/19/2008 Status: Offline Points: 4585 |
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 Topic: Blade building: Best types of wood for HandlesPosted: 05/08/2015 at 3:35am |
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Are there any recommended types of wood for making blade handles?
I have access to balsa and basswood. I would think Balsa might be too soft for handles. Not familiar with basswood - but both are available at hobby shops in small quantities. Any suggestions would be much appreciated. |
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Butterfly MPS
FH: Donic Acuda S1 BH: Palio CK531A OX |
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Tassie52
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Joined: 10/09/2010 Location: Australia Status: Offline Points: 1318 |
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Posted: 05/08/2015 at 6:58am |
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My observation would be that choice of handle material then influences blade balance. I know that Pieter Freundlieb - http://www.tt-piet.de/bilder-tt-hoelzer.html - makes most of his handle using balsa or basswood - and some people seem to like them, but the tendency must be towards a head heavy blade, especially if playing with double inverted. I guess with OX on your backhand that may not be so much of an issue.
Ross's blades - http://rossleidy.com/galleries/handles/index.html - most often come with hardwood handles in a huge variety of timber. To reduce weight, Ross then hollows the grips. With my latest blade, I wanted more weight in the hand - my coach's wisdom - so Ross hollowed less. The final weight was still <92gm (from memory). Of course the finished product was spectacular: that's what you get when you put exotic timber into Ross's hands.  Sorry, I couldn't resist another opportunity to post a picture of my precious.
Edited by Tassie52 - 05/08/2015 at 6:59am |
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jrscatman
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Posted: 05/08/2015 at 1:55pm |
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Thanks Tassie52,
I don't think anyone would complain about seeing another picture of Ross's blades. So it is possible to build blade handle using balsa. I wasn't sure if it would be sturdy enough for the handle. With regards to the blade above, do you find the handle gets slippery when you start to sweat or when playing in humid conditions? (I am assuming you're playing with the blade - personally would frame it and hand it on the wall!) |
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Butterfly MPS
FH: Donic Acuda S1 BH: Palio CK531A OX |
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Johnny Erasure
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Joined: 07/08/2013 Location: România Status: Offline Points: 2698 |
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Posted: 05/08/2015 at 2:55pm |
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This handle with american walnut is awesome:
http://mytabletennis.net/forum/uploads/26048/IMG_5604.jpg
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Blade: JM ZLC
Rubbers: FH Dignics 09C BH Dignics 05 Feedback: http://mytabletennis.net/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=63937&KW=Johnny+Erasure&PID=764628&title=feedback-for-j |
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jrscatman
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Posted: 05/08/2015 at 5:14pm |
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Thanks - I guess any type of wood can be used on the handle as long as the racquet can be properly balanced.
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Butterfly MPS
FH: Donic Acuda S1 BH: Palio CK531A OX |
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lineup32
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Posted: 05/08/2015 at 5:30pm |
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Cork is a great Grip and has the further advantage of being easily sanded into whatever form the player likes.
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Tassie52
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Posted: 05/08/2015 at 7:17pm |
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lineup32
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Posted: 05/08/2015 at 7:26pm |
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Yes, Kevin's cork grips.
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beeray1
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Posted: 05/08/2015 at 8:02pm |
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I like the way Ross Leidy does his handles a lot. I've never used a cork handle, but based on how easily the cork on my old Jpen sweat stained where your fingers go, I could see the handle staining pretty quick.
I could never buy a Ross Leidy blade. I would get it, look at it for a while, and decide it belongs in a glass display case instead of glued to two pieces of unworthy rubber.
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jrscatman
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Posted: 05/11/2015 at 9:13am |
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I forgot about cork - if I go with putting on grip tape - cork might be a good option.
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Butterfly MPS
FH: Donic Acuda S1 BH: Palio CK531A OX |
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Snakefish
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Posted: 05/11/2015 at 11:22pm |
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How about using maple wood for the handle ? we have lots of it here. Hollow out some of the handle to reduce some weight.
Dare i ask what you'll use for the plies ? |
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Andro Treiber Z - fl
FH: Tibhar MX-D max BH: Tibhar Quantum ProX-blue,max |
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jrscatman
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Posted: 05/11/2015 at 11:30pm |
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For the final product want to use Koto, Limba and Kiri . But initially need to practice building some blades using whatever I can get my hands on that is cheap. Planning on using hide glue - first trial didn't go very smoothly! Handle starting to get loose.
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Butterfly MPS
FH: Donic Acuda S1 BH: Palio CK531A OX |
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Leftyy
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Posted: 05/13/2015 at 6:50pm |
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I have never tried a cork blade, what is its advantages? Light weight?
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cgswss
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Posted: 05/13/2015 at 10:41pm |
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First, I have Limba and Kiri in 6 1/2 X 10 1/2 sheets. Only issue is cost of shipping (I'm in Michigan, USA)
I can tell you a lot about using hide glue for blades! You would not believe how much great Wood I have wasted getting to blades that are sellable. Besides the gooey mess it makes of everything, the open time can be a killer. Once the glue starts to "skim", you can flatten it out, but it will no longer hold. On 5 layer blades I actually glue up the core and one ply on each side, then after that is cured, go back and do the outside layers. I assume you already know to use the 192 cut the other cuts are actually stronger but almost worthless for laminations. If you are using REAL hide glue, the temperature is very important. 140 F is perfect. 160F and it will be weak as a newborn. Let it cool to much, and it won't hold. If your room temp is below 70F, it will not cure properly. Don't use a vacuum press. Make sure that the end grains are open to the air. I use Wax paper between my plattens and the wood. well the hide glue is so gooey/sticky that it joined the top and bottom waxpaper and sitting 48 hrs is still was not cured. When take you veneer plate out of the press, keep it between two flat surfaces with weight on it for another day to keep it from warping. Sorry for the poor photo, but this was for a progress report on a recent hide glue blade (Black Limba, Limba, Kiri, Limba, black Limba) FL grip, std size, Hide glue. OOPS, won't let me upload pic |
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Ratt "ghost" (OS kiri, balsa, kiri) innova UL/ Tibhar Grass D.tecs
Ratt "mouse" (mahogany, 3- kiri, mahogany) T05/ giant dragon talon Tibhar Furious/ juic 999/ Tibhar Grass D.Tecs Ross Leidy custom |
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cgswss
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Posted: 05/13/2015 at 10:55pm |
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try again...
 |
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Ratt "ghost" (OS kiri, balsa, kiri) innova UL/ Tibhar Grass D.tecs
Ratt "mouse" (mahogany, 3- kiri, mahogany) T05/ giant dragon talon Tibhar Furious/ juic 999/ Tibhar Grass D.Tecs Ross Leidy custom |
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jrscatman
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Joined: 10/19/2008 Status: Offline Points: 4585 |
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Posted: 05/13/2015 at 11:16pm |
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Thanks for the tips on blade building very helpful. I was thinking of using a vacuum press.
Do find there is a big difference in blades built using hide glue as compared to other types glue? The blade in the picture looks very nice.
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Butterfly MPS
FH: Donic Acuda S1 BH: Palio CK531A OX |
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jrscatman
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Posted: 05/13/2015 at 11:22pm |
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I have played with a couple of blades that have cork handles. I think they absorbed sweat, so they weren't slippery. As was mentioned earlier, they do get stained very quickly. Not sure about the weight - I'll leave that for more knowledgeable wood working experts on the board.
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Butterfly MPS
FH: Donic Acuda S1 BH: Palio CK531A OX |
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cgswss
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Posted: 05/13/2015 at 11:37pm |
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Actualy I'm building two blades that are exactly the same except for the glue and sending them to a member here that test blades. While he will know that one is hide glue, he won't know which one. I hope we can find from a blind test if there is a difference. I personally can tell the difference from the sound, but there is no difference in performance the way I play. (I play long pips on one side inverted on the other)
Frankly the only reason I do them is because some customers want only hide glue, and not many will build them that way. My personal paddles, and all the ones I have build for the guys I play with are NOT made with hide glue (and I'm the only long pips player). I use a vacuum press for most of the stuff I do, but hide glue doesn't seem to want to cure without air. I have never heard that it has to have air to cure, but I'll tell you what, I have left veneer plates in for 48 hours and have them STILL not cure! I also found out the hard way that you don't use the stuff if your room temp is below 70F I measure out my flakes and water and put them in a jar for 24 hours to get the flakes to soften, then I bring it up to 140F (I use a water bath). I use a candy thermometer to keep an exact temp. I actually have been using hide glue for many years in the stronger cuts has I repaired very old furniture. That paddle will look a lot better when I get the finish on it- thats about a 4 day deal for me.
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Ratt "ghost" (OS kiri, balsa, kiri) innova UL/ Tibhar Grass D.tecs
Ratt "mouse" (mahogany, 3- kiri, mahogany) T05/ giant dragon talon Tibhar Furious/ juic 999/ Tibhar Grass D.Tecs Ross Leidy custom |
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jrscatman wrote: