Klingon Bat'leth Sword Wall Display

My brother is a long time Star Trek fan, and for years he's wanted a Klingon Bat'leth for Christmas. If you've ever seen these swords they are big and bulky and usually hang on the wall via a wall plaque or hanger of some kind, and the sword stands are rather expensive so I decided to make a one-of-a-kind custom wall stand. This type of Bat'leth is from the rebel Klingon faction and I couldn't find the wall stand to match it, so I guess lets make one!

Klingon Bat'leth Sword Stand for Christmas

Materials and Tools:

3/4" Pine wood board size 24 x 48
3/4" Wood dowel
1" Screws
Various grits of sandpaper
Fine steel wool
String
Pen
Various size paint brushes
Wood stain and urethane
Sugru

Scroll saw (optionally a jig saw)
Table saw (optionally a circular saw)
Palm sander (or sanding block and a lot of elbow grease)
Drill
Drill and drive countersink screw bit combo (great tool for woodworking)
Table router w/ round over bit (or just a router)

Optional Tools:

Computer (If you want to trace a design you'll need to make or find one)
Printer (to poster print the mock up design)
Poster print program (I used this shareware one: Mr.Poster no affiliation just Googled it and found one)
Scissors
Tape

Due to all the curves in this project I decided to poster print the logo and reverse the image to depict the correct rebel Klingon image.

1. Using a poster printing program I printed the logo to a 3 to 1 ratio scale, cut out, and taped together the template.
using a tape measure I measured the circle in the back for future reference.
2. Cut out the remaining shapes and checked for any un-taped areas.
3.Then I taped the shapes to the board trying to get the shape of close as possible to each other to minimize the wood use.
4.Once you have taped the shapes get a pen and trace around the outside edges, tracing a template takes a bit of an artistic eye, don't get too crazy trying to get all the lines perfect however the better you do the less sanding and shaping you have to do.

5. Using a table saw can be helpful to rip down each of the pieces in a rough cut then you can begin the final cut using a scroll saw, jig saw, or router.
6. To do the backboard circle take your measurements from earlier divide it by 2 and take a string with a loop on one end and measure the divided distance trying a loop at the other end to match that size.
7. Then taking a screw find the center of the board drive the screw halfway into the board.
8. Place the string loop over the screw and taking a pen or pencil place it into the other loop, than simply drag the pencil in a circle.
9. Now that you have your circle shape cut, use the same methods used to cut the other shapes.

10. Using a round over bit in your router; run every shape through the round over bit on every side you don't want angular edges.
11. Then take a 60 to 100 grit sandpaper and start sanding every rough edge you can find (Paying special attention to the points).
12. Using a power sander go over every shape with several passes with different grits until your wood looks smooth and flowing.

This Bat'leth has small holes in it, so a couple of pointed pegs looked just right for this project.

13. Making the pegs are just a couple of quick turns on the lathe until you have shapes that your satisfied with.
14.Using a couple of standard gouges and a couple of custom made wood turning tools I cut, sanded, and stained each peg while still clamped in the rig.

In keeping with traditional Klingon lore, The rebel Bat'leth would have been dishonorable to hang it on the Klingon symbol used by the council. Klingon rebel would fly their battle flags with the symbol reversed to display their disdain for the council for joining with the Federation. So I reversed the design to honor this tradition (As you can tell I thoroughly researched this to make sure my brothers Trekkie friends didn't give him crap for it)

15. The easiest way I found to put everything together is lay everything out the way you want it to look before you get started, then quick clamp everything together.
16. Flip it over, drill and countersink 2 holes per shape through the back board (Take caution not to drill all the way through the front shape or you will have to use wood filler before staining) then screw it together (Make sure to use screws long enough to pass through the backboard but not the front shapes)
17. Do the same for the pegs once you have measured their placement is to fit the sword.

18. Using my torched wood method; I distressed the wood to give a battle worn look to the wood before staining.
19. To stain this project I used a Bombay mahogany wood stain to give it the blood red look Klingon's are known for (not to mention it's one of my favorites to use)
20. Between each coat fine sand and re-coat until you get the desired look you going for (Remember on the last coat use a fine steel wool before applying the last layer and it will give you a mirror like finish)
21. Once it had finished drying I went back and added black Sugru to the pegs for the sword to sit on (and it added a touch of professionalism to the whole look of it)

Every chance I get I try to make something from the heart that I think someone will love, I've always felt it was better than some store bought crap that they use once in awhile and then toss it aside for something new. Making something with your hands that is timeless and someone will cherish for years to come may not have the same wow factor as a shiny new electronic gadget, But it says to the ones you love, I put my heart into something for you.