GB2269756A - Hurley or the like sticks - Google Patents

Abstract

A method of manufacturing a hurley, camogie or the like stick material, comprises the steps of providing a first wooden handle element 1 the grain of which is substantially parallel to the side edges thereof; providing a second wooden head a bas element 2 the grain of which is substantially parallel to the side edges thereof; securing the elements together so that the grain of the first element is orientated transversly relative to the grain of the second element. A hurley, camogie or the like stick may be shaped from the stick material. Ash wood, elm wood or oak wood may be employed. Epoxied tape band reinforcement 7 may be provided. <IMAGE>

Description

IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO A HURLEY, CAMOGIE OR THE LIKE STICK This invention is concerned with the manufacture of hurleys and camogie sticks also known as camans by using an improved construction eliminating the wasteful uneconomic and expensive methods of procuring and producing the traditional hurley stick. The traditional hurley stick is, as is known, made from a single piece of ash wood selected only from the spreading butt of the tree. Very few such sticks therefore can have the ideal grain structure running longitudinally parallel with the centre line of the shaft or handle and in a continuous curve parallel to the centre lie of the bas or foot to the toe of the hurley and also have the grain direction parallel to the centre line of the stick as viewed from the front or narrow edge.

The majority of sticks manufactured do not meet the ideal specifications leading to numerous breakages of bas or handle. Furthermore, it is not widely known that the wood so curved in the natural stick is known in the timber trade as 'reaction wood' which by reason of its growth is brittle and split prone. The ideally grained natural traditional stick in playing use therefore is prone to splitting starting at the toe and continuing up through the handle due to impact. The attempts to counteract such failures and breakages by binding the bas with nailed steel banding is not really successful and potentially dangerous in use. The shrinkage and movement of the wood is not matched by the steel banding leaving it ineffective, loose and lethal.

Due to the scarcity of ideal ash hurley wood, many attempts to manufacture a laminated, composite and partly artificial hurley have not been very successful in construction or in use. Sheathings with glass reinforced plastic of polyester resin type are brittle on impact and subject to delamination from the wood. Laminating or plying constructions require expensive machining, clamping and gluing procedures.

The glues heretofore available i.e. Resorcinol or Urea Formaldehyde etc., require working and curing temperatures in the region of 20 -25 centigrade, pressures of 40 to 100 kg per cm2, a glue line of less than 0.lmm and a wood moisture content of less than 12% and produce inflexible and brittle joints.

The object of the invention is to provide a construction which will compare favourably with the best natural traditional hurley stick in use and superior to existing or previous composite constructions and in manufacturing procedures.

The invention, therefore, provides a method of manufacturing a hurley, camogie or the like stick material, from which a hurley stick having a handle and a bas may be cut, which method comprises: (a) providing a first wooden element the grain of which is substantially parallel to the side edges thereof; (b) providing a second wooden element the grain of which is substantially parallel to the side edges thereof; (c) securing the elements together so that the grain of the first element is orientated transversely relative to the grain of the second element wherein the first element provides for the shaft of the hurley stick and the second element provides for the bas of the hurley stick.

In order that the invention will be more clearly understood it will be described by reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is an elevation of the striking face or flat side of boards joined with a single curved jointing line; Figure 2 is an elevation of the heel or narrow edge of the jointed boards; Figure 3 is an elevation of the striking face of the lower part of the finished hurley stick; Figure 4 is a side elevation of the hand grip and upper part of the finished hurley stick; and Figure 5 is a side elevation of the lower part of the hurley stick showing an alternative double curved joint line.

Numeral 1 is shaft or handle part of the hurley stick.

Numeral 2 is bas or foot part of the hurley stick.

Numeral 3 is the finger joint.

Numeral 4 is the centre line of the shaft or handle.

Numeral 5 is the centre line of the bas or foot part.

Numeral 6 is a rubber band (car inner tube) clamping device.

Numeral 7 is the epoxied tape reinforcement banding.

Numeral 8 is the heel part of the hurley stick.

Numeral 9 is the toe or front edge of the bas or foot.

Numeral 10 is the hand grip or upper part of the hurley stick.

The invention provides for the fabricating of a hurley stick from two parts of 25mm thickness of ash wood boards of width and length to provide the required eventual hurley stick size having straight grain running longitudinally parallel to the centre line 4 of the proposed handle part or shaft 1 which is fixed to the bas part 2 having its grain longitudinally parallel to the centre line 5 of the bas part 2 by a modern machined multiple finger joint 3. The said finger joint is further strengthened by being curved singly or double curved or corrugated along its length as indicated on Figure 1 numeral 3 or Figure 5 numeral 3. The finger joint will be fixed using an epoxy (epoxide) two part resin adhesive specially formulated to coincide with and compensate for the flexibility and elasticity of the ash wood and joint i.e. West System with colloidal silica additive Chem.Tech T88 or Industrial Formulations G2. These formulations of epoxy provide a joint equal to or exceeding the strength of the natural ash wood. The profile copy routing of the finger joint is a simple procedure facilitated by being executed while the timber is still in board form 25mm thickness and also facilitates a simple clamping procedure using a rubber band strip cut from a car inner tube as indicated by number 6 Figure 1. This light clamping is desirable to ensure that the epoxy is not squeezed out of the joint. The moisture content while not critical with the epoxy formulations listed is ideally under 15* and a curing temperature held above 80-100 centigrade for 8 hours.

The jointed boards 1 and 2 now providing the hurley material may then be band-sawn and shaped as required by the usual hand, copy turned or machine carved methods. The invention provides for the further securing and reinforcement of the bas and joint 3 against splitting and impact damage by binding it with specially woven reinforcing tape 7 of polypropylene, high modulus polyethylene or carbon fibre or by hybrid combinations of these fibres saturated band adhered to the wood by two part epoxy (epoxide) resin compatible with the fibres and the wood i.e. West System, Chem.

Tech L26, or Industrial Formulations cold cure thereby providing a high impact resistant, high tear, peel and shear strength, flexible light weight joint construction reasonably safe in playing use.

The invention provides that identical banding laminations be applied to the natural grained single piece traditional hurley stick to provide resistance to splitting and impact thus obviating the dangerous metal banding heretofore used.

The invention provides by the nature of the curved or corrugated finger jointing that the grain of the bas part 2 is always at a varying angle to the grain in the shaft or handle part 1 giving a plywood type joint strength along the entire joint length. This feature provides counteraction to the tendency of the bas splitting or of its continuance up into the handle.

The invention in providing for the use of widely available straight grained bole of forest grown ash wood reduces the cost of hurley material and provides for the possible orientation of the annual rings at either right angles or parallel to the flat side of the hurley shaft 1 or bas 2 allowing a variation of stiffness or flexibility, strength and other characteristics of the wood.

The invention being composed of a two part construction provides for the use of alternative less split-prone wood such as elm, oak or of plywood construction for the bas part 2.

The invention provides for the shaft or handle part 1 having the top or handgrip curving back from the central line 4 towards the rear or heel edge of the hurley reducing wrist strain in close play striking and providing a greater sense of feel as to the orientation of the striking face. The invention provides a combination of procedures and constructions for a fast simple reasonably cheap method of manufacturing a strong durable and safe hurley stick.

It will be appreciated that a camogie stick or the like material may be constructed in a similar manner.

Claims (14)

Claims:

1. A method of manufacturing a hurley, camogie or the like stick material, from which a hurley stick having a handle and a bas may be cut, which method comprises: (a) providing a first wooden element the grain of which is substantially parallel to the side edges thereof; (b) providing a second wooden element the grain of which is substantially parallel to the side edges thereof; (c) securing the elements together so that the grain of the first element is orientated transversely relative to the grain of the second element wherein the first element provides for the shaft of the hurley stick and the second element provides for the bas of the hurley stick.

2. A method as claimed in Claim 1 which further comprises the step of machining both elements with a curved multiple finger joint and securing the elements together using an adhesive.

3. A method as claimed in Claim 2 when the adhesive is an epoxy resin adhesive.

4. A method as claimed in any of Claims 1-3 wherein the annual rings of the grain of the shaft are orientated substantially parallel relative to the striking face of the stick.

5. A method as claimed in any of Claims 1-3 in which the annual rings of the shaft are orientated substantially 900 relative to the striking face of the bas.

6. A method as claimed in any of Claims 1-5 in which the annual rings of the grain of the bas part are orientated substantially 900 relative to the striking face of the bas.

7. A method as claimed in any of Claims 1-6 in which the bas is made from elm wood or oak wood or ash wood.

8. A method as claimed in any of Claims 1-7 in which the bas is constructed of multiple veneers glued at substantially 900 relative to each succeeding ply and have one set of plys longitudinally parallel to a notional line located equidistant from the side edges of the bas.

9. A method as claimed in any of Claims 1-8 which further comprises the steps of sheathing the joint and the bas using a woven tape of polypropylene, polyethylene or carbon fibre secured and adhered with epoxy resin adhesive, cold curing and working the adhesive as an integral part of the bas.

10. A method of making a hurley stick material substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

11. A hurley stick material whenever manufactured by a method as claimed in any of Claims 1-10.

12. A method of making a hurley; camogie or the like stick from material as claimed in any of Claims 1-11 which method the further step of shaping in a known manner the first and second elements to form the desired stick.

13. A hurley, camogie or the like stick, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

14. A hurley, camogie or the like stick whenever manufactured by a method as claimed in Claim 12.