However you decide to shape them, you must - MUST - make sure that the grain
is oriented along the bokken, and best to make sure that it follows the
curve also. One thing that you do not want is to split one during a
parry/block and turn it into a spear.

Michael Latcha - at home in Redford, MI


"quixote" wrote in message
oups.com...
I want to make a bunch of bokken for some local univserity martial arts
clubs.
(A bokken is a wooden sword based on a japanese katana, for those who
don't know the term).

If you look at a picture of one, you see that the sword itself has
basically an oval cross-section with a few flattened sides.

Anyway, I think I can deal with most of the aspects of this, but I
can't think of an easy way to make something with an oval crossection
short of sanding it to death on a belt sander and jointer.

Even doing it on a sander, I would like a way that I can precisely get
something perfectly symmetrical.

If anyone can think of an easy way to do it or give me pointers on
where to look, here are the tools I have:
table saw
jointer
belt sander
bandsaw
drill press
various hand tools