by Cameron Scott

Created on: May 31, 2009

Many hockey stores will allow you to choose your own shaft and blade for a mix-and-match customized hockey stick and call it a custom build. Most players customize their own prebuilt sticks by cutting it to size, then curving the blade and taping the stick and handle to their preferences. Unless you have a one-piece stick, it is easy to get a replacement shaft or blade to replace a broken one, or you can just turn the old stick into art or firewood. However, for some hockey players, there is nothing quite like the feel of building your own hockey stick.

The most common material to make a hockey stick from is wood. For most bush league games, you can even use high quality plywood. It won't have the accuracy of a graphite stick or the durability of a Kevlar stick, but for most players, there's going to be a lot of practice water under the bridge before it is the composition of the stick that makes most of the difference in accuracy.

What you need:

* high quality plywood
* wood glue
* several vises or c-clamps
* fibreglass coating
* graph paper
* pencil
* tape measure
* saw
* chisel
* sandpaper

First you need a pattern. Sketch your future hockey stick onto a piece of graph paper. The standard dimensions of a hockey stick are roughly 150-160 centimetres long with a blade of about 25 centimetres. However, the blade is set at a wider than right angle, so your whole project will require a width of about 70 centimetres. There is also a lot of variation in stick size depending on position played and personal preferences. Taller players need taller sticks. Players who do a lot of stick handling need shorter sticks. The longer the stick, the stronger the slapshot. If you are not sure what exact size of stick you need, use an existing stick as a template until you become more comfortable with how a new stick suits your style of play.

Once you are happy with your pattern, transfer it onto the plywood and cut it out. If you are joining ply layers by hand, you will need enough copies to be able to bond into a stick about 6 cm thick. Smooth out the edges with a chisel and sandpaper. Bond each layer to the previous one with wood glue. Hold each one in place with vises or c-clamps until dry and firmly joined. The last step is to wrap the stick from head to foot with a thin layer of fibreglass coating.

You can also make your hockey stick out of graphite. Graphite hockey sticks are more durable and more accurate than wooden ones. Most commercially available sticks have a graphite core.

What you need:

* sheet of carbon fibre
* boiler
* hockey stick mold
* injectable silicon

Melt the carbon fibre in the boiler and pour it into the hockey stick mold. While the graphite is still molten, inject silicone into several places along the handle. The silicon is what will give your stick the right feel. Wait patiently for the graphite to set. When it cools, your new hockey stick is ready.

The most durable hockey sticks are made of Kevlar. If your hockey game is heavy on the power shots and you have repeatedly broken other hockey sticks, a Kevlar hockey stick may be for you.

The process is exactly the same as for carbon fibre, except that you substitute Kevlar instead and don't inject silicon. Because Kevlar has a higher melting temperature, set the boiler to 1000 degrees Celsius. Even so, both melting and setting will take much longer. Be extremely careful when handling molten Kevlar!

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