Make your own Heavy Indian Clubs of Concrete

Many Thanks to Richard “Army” Maguire for this article. The end result is a club that looks like it's an original Indian Club.

I have been swing clubs of some sort or another for almost ten years. I enjoy the exercise and find it is great for working the whole boy. It is difficult to find heavy clubs. Clubs available on the internet are usually very costly upwards of 300 hundred dollars if made of wood. Here I use the natural feel of wood for a handle and a tough and strong concrete for the body.

Here are directions and some brief explanations making a homemade set of Indian clubs. The materials are common place and very inexpensive.

I bought a small 18 inch safety cone at Home Depot.

Two wooden handles 18 inches long if you plan on making a pair of clubs. I used a wooden dowel one and an eighth (11/8”) inches in diameter.

I then turned it on my lathe to the proper diameter. Three nails were then driven through the dowel handle to act as an anchor for the dowel. I drilled small holes in the dowels first to prevent cracking the handles. I painted the handles also with shellac just so they would be protected from moister.

Silicone spray is used to spray inside of cone before filling cone with concrete mix to release concrete once concrete has set.

Here is the handle with nails intact. Can of silicone and bowl used to shape bottom of club.

Milk crate has a hole cut through it to support the bottom of the safety cone between two sets of block while concrete is setting up. If this is not done there is a good possibility that the cone will sag and your finished concrete club will be malformed.

Here is a photo of the concrete mixing pan and implement (stainless bowl) used to transfer mortar from mixing pan into cone.

Qickcrete 5000 is used in mixing pan ready to be mixed.

This has a fiber bonding material in it to make it stronger. Quickcrete 500 was $4.65 cents a 65 lb bag.

Concrete should be mixed to a firm but not dry consistency. You want it malleable enough to fill the cone evenly. Shake the cone many times while filling to get out any unnecessary voids caused by air bubbles. Shake the form as often as you like.

Cone in place ready to be filled .The handle has been inserted and the interior of the cone has been sprayed with silicone for release later after concrete hardens.

I measured and marked two handles with the length I wanted exposed when clubs were completed. I inserted the handle downward through the cone to this mark before pouring any concrete in.

The two sets or four concrete blocks are stable as well as level. They keep the handle from touching the floor.

I allowed the concrete to cure for 48 hours before removing it from its mold.

I pried the blow free first and then set the club and cone on its bottom and merely lifted the cone off the finished hard concrete and handle. Be sure to use the silicone liberally.

In the photos I have not painted the concrete .My plan is to paint them both when finished using epoxy paint.

After filling the cone and shaking it to fill any voids I place a plastic bowl in the top of the cone. I first sprayed this bowl also with release (silicone). The bowl fits snug in the top of the inverted cone.

I punched out the bottom of the bowl before setting it in the top of the cone. I can now fill this bowl also with concrete mix. The bowl is just seven inches in Diameter. You can see from the photo it lays nicely in the bottom of the cone. The bowl is also flat on the bottom. This will make for a smooth and even surface once the concrete club is removed. This allows the club to stand upright when finished.

Finished product and I made it for less than 5-6 dollars a club.

The cone used for the mold was the most costly item at $7.00.

Here is a comparison shot of a club made in Iran next to my smaller yet heavier concrete with wood handle club.

The Iranian club (Meel) was priced at 95 dollars. My little club weighs 29lbs and is 26 inches tall. The blue solid wood club weights 9lbs and is 30 inches tall.

Of course any one could use a larger cone and make heavier clubs. The coneI used as a mold for the concrete was small at just 18 inches tall. I suggest possibly using metal pipe as a handle if you were to go heavier than the 30lbs.

Anyone who swings clubs will tell you 30lb clubs are just fine for building strength as well as endurance. Good luck.

Richard “Army” Maguire

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