John Cryderman has been woodworking for many years making everything from furniture to wooden cases to custom wood slingshots to china cabinets to gun stocks. The most rewarding of all is making boomerangs. Every facet of fine woodworking can be used in making boomerangs, starting from the forest to the finished product. There is something so personal and highly rewarding when one can actually pick out a tree in a woodlot, have it radial cut to get the correct grained wood lumber to produce some of the fine strip laminated boomerangs seen in this web site.
There are probably as many different shapes and sizes of boomerangs as there are fingerprints, almost anything will fly and return provided it is made the way it is suppose to be made. Unfortunately a number of boomerangs on the market today are not made with the quality, care and dynamics necessary for good flights and great returns as a result first time boomerang owners get discouraged. Boomerangs are also made from quality aircraft grade plywood as well as strip laminated hardwoods AND boomerangs are made for both right and left hand throwers.
When a boomerang is made properly there is no real technique involved in getting the boomerang to return. If you can throw a baseball you can throw one of these handmade boomerangs within minutes and look like a real pro. Imagine being able to manoeuvre a curved stick in the air like a well trained bird of prey. There is something so unique and majestic about the sport and recreation of boomeranging that a person can have hours of fun and relaxation all the while getting a pleasant workout. Also, a person can always compete in the many boomerang competitions around the world.
The other fascinating thing about making boomerangs is the boomerang can be made like a fine piece of furniture using the most beautiful woods that nature can provide. Boomerangs can also be inlaid with exotic woods to form unique patterns that quickly changes a nice looking boomerang into a piece of art. Just imagine a woodworking project that when thrown can resemble a piece of fine art or fine furniture that can propel itself outwards up to 140 meters ( 160 yards) in a massive sweeping circle and float back to your arms or to your feet.
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Courtesy of the Regina Leader Post
John Cryderman displaying handmade boomerangs and throw sticks and how they are made at the Edmonton Science Centre Alberta Canada
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