Try taking a broom handle or similar round handle and pre cutting it in a jagged way. Then, take those two halves and drill out a 1/4" hole. Might have to use a drill press and clamp the work to the table or make a jig in order to line those holes up, dead center. Next insert a 1/4" dowel into one half, leaving 1 1/2 inches to insert into the remaining half of your handle. I would cover the break with some sort of ornamental sleeve, perhaps made out of an elastic tube.
This is how we used to rig up the break away railings in wild west shows. I would think it would work pretty well in this case. A neat tip is to apply some paraffin wax to the dowel before you use it-- makes it easier to remove after the break.
You might also try just pre-cutting the handle a bit-- not all the way through-- so it will break easier. Make the tip of the spear removable and just throw away the broken handle each night. Wooden paint extension poles are pretty cheap and the paint store might even give them to you if they knew what you were using them for.
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Michael Johnson
Trinity NC
Original Message:
Sent: 10-24-2015 10:52
From: Lee Daugherty
Subject: Breakaway Spear Special Effect
Hi all -
Any advice on how to build a spear that "snaps" in half? It needs to be stable prior to the breakage, and it should also be able to be reused. Willing to rent, if you have any leads on that, either.
Thanks!!
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Lee Daugherty
Mt. Vernon High School
Alexandria VA
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