Originally Posted by
Henry III
I looked into hickory but it's something I would have to purchase online since I couldn't find any place locally. Plus since larger diameter dowels are harder to find in decent hardwood from my searching.
Like I said I'm not trying to out beat the commonly used material and just don't like the look of current wood frames as they have a very heavy look to them. So we'll see and it fails then we'll have S'mores afterwards.
Henry, to repeat/expand on a previous post a little more clearly, I think using what your are doing for prototyping is ok....but that the classic oak dowel is a risky material for any significant riding, primarily due to its failure mode. it will fail with the grain and it will fail catastrophically, with nice spearpoint ends.....which could be an issue for a seat post fail and potential subsequent impalement.
you could minimize this by doing a full carbon or fiberglass wrap. you could do fiberglass and then a finish coat like on a surfboard and still see the wood.
it seems a shame to do the work this will take and it not be as long lasting as one would hope for
you could laminate and turn your own. basic over simplified steps: get hardwood, rip it to strips, glue strips together into square blank, turn round. more detail would be like using a very fine saw blade or planing pieces, making sure strips are flipflopped on grain pattern and using two type of wood for strength and aesthetics
Atlas Billiard Supplies - Laminated
In any direction you go.....kudos to you for experimenting and being creative....I will watch this thread with interest