Lacrosse Kit – EPICS

Students

robertson_phillip17 (1) - Phillip Robertson

Phillip Robertson
History, 2020

Andrew Bowman
History, 2020

Michael Sowers
History, 2020

Project Description

Each member our group plays lacrosse, so we wanted to create a project that reflected our passion for the game and allowed us to practice in a fun manner. For our EPICS project we designed and built a traditional wooden lacrosse stick as well as a mini folding lacrosse goal. We believed that a wooden lacrosse stick would provide a helpful training method, as a traditional wooden stick is significantly heavier than today’s metal stick. Practicing with a heavier stick can help increase hand speed and accuracy with passing and shooting. Additionally, traditional wooden sticks are sacred in the game of lacrosse as the sport is historically a Native American game. This historical context was also a motivating factor in our creation of the stick. We built the mini goal so we could have a small, light, and transportable net to allow lacrosse players at every experience level to play this incredible game in any type of setting. We hope that our creation of this light and transportable mini goal will allow us to bring the game anywhere with us and decrease the amount of time it takes to set up a fun game of 3×3 lacrosse. We created the wooden head using pieces of plywood that we glued together and used an oak dowel to create the shaft. We connected the head and shaft using a double-sided screw and strung the stick in the traditional manner. The completed stick measures 42” long and the head measures 8” wide. We created the folding mini goal using PVC pipe. The goal consists 7, 1.25” thick pieces of PVC pipe, 5 PVC elbow connectors and 2 3D-printed folding brackets. We left the PVC pipe white and spray painted the elbow connectors orange. The mini goal measures 36”x36”x30”.

Technical Background

Woodworkers use many different methods to produce curved cuts of wood. According to rockler.com, the simplest way to bend wood is to, “manually bend the wood and attach it to a solid piece to hold the shape” (“Bending Wood – Part 1”). Here, the arc shaped “holder” is placed on a flat surface while the wood is bent over top of it. Once the piece of wood is bent to fit the exact concavity, it should be clamped to the “holder” from the center and worked outwards, to avoid gaps in the wood.
Another method to curve wood is known as kerfing. Kerfing is the process of cutting slits into a piece of wood to make it thinner, so it can be curved. In order to bend the wood, it is first necessary to apply heat and steam to the wood, so its fibers become flexible. Additionally, it is necessary to have a premade mold of one’s desired shape to effectively bend the wood. Due to the many steps involved with kerfing, it is an impractical method to create a wooden lacrosse stick for this class.
A third way to curve wood is through laminating. This process requires gluing together veneers, which are very thin pieces of wood, in order to increase the strength of the wooden structure. Since the veneers have thin densities, they are relatively easy to curve. Each piece of wood is curved to the necessary shape and then glued together using wood glue. Next, the veneers are clamped together to ensure that no pieces slide during the glue drying process. While the laminating process can be very labor intensive, it became the practical method to create a wooden lacrosse stick, given the technology in the EPICS lab.
Sanding wood is also a process that involves many methods and precision to yield a strong final result. One tool used to sand wood is a belt sander. According to the https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/ a belt sander is a tool that is not often used for fine woodworking; however, it is especially useful for “forming curved shapes on small pieces of stock, by clamping the sander upside-down and using it as a stationary sander” (Baylor, “How to Use a Belt Sander”). Yet, one disadvantage of the belt sander is that it is difficult to reach every inch of a surface’s concavity. In instances where it is necessary to sand more precise parts of a project, other smaller tools should be used. A drum sander is helpful in sanding those hard to reach areas. A drum sander is a smaller, hand-held sander, which makes it very effective in dealing with smaller surfaces. Both a belt sander and drum sander were advantageous in the creation of the wooden lacrosse stick.

Baylor, Chris. “How to Use a Belt Sander.” The Spruce Crafts, TheSpruceCrafts, 5 Mar. 2019,
www.thesprucecrafts.com/how-to-use-a-belt-sander-3536861.

“Bending Wood – Part I.” Rockler Woodworking and Hardware, Rockler Companies, Inc., www.rockler.com/bending-wood-part-i.

Design Drawings

Fabrication Process

The wooden lacrosse stick was a year-long project. We created the basic shape of the stick in the first semester and refined our model in the second semester. In phase one, we designed the wooden shaft, which was made from an oak dowel. We used a blade saw to cut the dowel into a hexagonal shape with the dimensions 30”x1”x1”. Next, we used a belt sander to smooth the rough edges. Finally, we used a handheld drill to place a hole in the top-center of the shaft, which we later used to connect the shaft and head. In phase two, we created the wooden head. This proved to be the most difficult and time-consuming aspect of our project as it required extensive design work in the CAD software Autodesk Fusion 360. We generated a mock design in Fusion; however, due to the complex concavity of a lacrosse head we realized it would not be possible to cut a single piece of wood in our desired shape. Therefore, we used the slicing feature in Fusion to divide the design into quarter-inch increments. We then used the X-Carve to cut five, 0.25” pieces of plywood in the shape of the head, gluing them together with wood glue. Next, we focused on sanding the head, using a belt sander to refine the exterior. To successfully produce the concavity for its interior, we used a drum sander as it allowed for a more precise sanding finish. Next, we used the drill press to place holes along the outside of the head to allow for the netting. Thereafter, we drilled a hole in the bottom of the head, connecting the shaft and head using a double-sided screw. In phase three, we personalized our stick. We stained it with Minwax Dark Walnut wood finish and Deft Clear wood finish. Finally, we strung it in the traditional manner using brown leather and nylon strings.
The 3’x3’ folding mini goal was a second semester project. The goal consists of 7, 1.25” thick pieces of PVC pipe, 5 PVC elbow connectors and 2 3D-printed folding brackets. The design process for the folding bracket was the most time-consuming part of this project. We designed it using Rhinoceros 2 design software. We completed the design and 3D-printed two folding brackets with orange filament using the 3D printer in the EPICS lab. Next, we used a band saw and a handheld saw to cut the PVC pipes to fit the necessary dimensions (three 36”, two 5”, two 25”). Thereafter, we drilled holes in the folding brackets and bottom PVC pipes using a handheld drill, and then connected the pieces using hex bolts, screw nuts, and two removable hitch pins. We then spray painted the elbow connectors orange to match the brackets. Finally, we strung the goal using 3mm lacrosse net and nylon string. The goal folds by removing a hitch pin from both folding brackets. We successfully tested both projects together in Dillon Gym (see YouTube video).

Students

Project Description

Technical Background

Design Drawings

Fabrication Process

Final Result