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Elm Wing Chun Wooden Dummy in the making.

Ash £925.00
Sapele £925.00

Below are some pictures of an Elm wooden dummy in the making.
The dummy body is laminated from either 4 boards each starting off life as 225mm wide * 65mm thick. Or Three boards at 225mm wide * 75mm thick They are then machined and glued together to form the dummy body this normally equates to approx. 3.5 cubic feet of timber just for the body.
People usually ask me why do you laminate the body like this cant you use a single piece of timber. The answer is yes I can use a single piece of timber if it were available, but unfortunately it is not. Hardwood tend to be sawn at a maximum thickness of 4" (100mm) the boards are then either kiln or air dried. Thicknesses greater than this cannot be dried easily and even when dried at a thickness of 4" (100mm) they cannot guarantee that the moisture content is suitable for internal use. If the moisture content is not low enough for internal use, as the wood dries out large cracks and splits can occur. You can obtain timber in a size large enough for the body to be turned from e.g. green oak this timber has not been dried and as it dries it will develop cracks and splits but these will not affect the strength of the body. This is an ideal choice for an outdoor dummy. Green oak is very heavy normally double the weight of dried oak, eventually as it dries out the weight will decrease but this may take many years. It does have one large advantage over dried oak, that it cheaper, available in large sizes and easier to cut.

Sawn Elm boards before processing, these boards will be glued together to make the dummy body.
Ripping board edgeRipping edge of boards to size.
Edging boardEdging board on planer.
Face surfacing boardFace machining boards prior to thickness

Planed elm board
Board face after machining, showing the grain pattern.

Faced boards stacked
Faced boards stacked prior to thickness. These boards will be thicknessed before laminating.
moisture checking board
Moisture checking boards.
Thicknessing boardsThicknessing boards prior to Laminating
Cutting support strut holesCutting the support strut holes on the middle board prior to laminating
Laminating the dummy bodyLaminating the machined boards together to form the turning blank for the dummy body.
Cutting body to lengthCutting the dummy body blank to length
Corners cut offThe corners have been cut of prior to turning
Body on latheThe elm turning blank mounted on the lathe ready to be turned
Turning on latheTurning the dummy body
Turned to cylinderThe dummy body turned to a cylinder ready for marking out.
Dummy Body marked upThe dummy body marked up with the hole positions, ready for drilling
Drilling holesThe dummy body on the drill press and the holes being drilled. This has to be done from both sides.
Holes drilledArm holes drilled.
Cutting holes squareThe leg hole being cut square with a mallet and chisel

Dummy body oiled

Elm dummy body 1st coat of Danish oil.

elm dummy with arms

Elm dummy with arms

elm dummy

Elm dummy side on view

Elm dummy

Elm dummy top half

Elm dummy

Elm dummy front view

leg
View of Elm dummy leg

Elm dummy top view

View of top of dummy

Elm dummy full view
Elm Dummy in wall mounted frame