How to Curve a Wood Hockey Stick Blade with Heat

Bending a wooden hockey stick blade into the curve you desire is difficult to accomplish, and can often cause your stick to weaken. It is possible, however, to slightly change the curve or angle of the stick's blade by using a source of high heat. Because this process results in an extremely brittle blade, it's ideal to perform this process only on wooden sticks you use for ball hockey indoors or outdoors, as a brittle blade is apt to break quickly during use with a puck on ice. Before attempting to bend a wooden blade, ensure it's coated with fiberglass. Most wooden blades contain some element of fiberglass; it's this material that softens and allows you to bend the blade slightly.

Things You'll Need

  • Heat gun
  • Door
  • Vise
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Instructions

    • 1

      Turn a heat gun on, and set it to the highest heat setting.

    • 2

      Hold the barrel of the heat gun 2 inches away from the blade of the hockey stick, and move the stick blade back and forth in front of the gun. Flip the stick over after one minute and repeat the process on the other side of the blade, then move back to the first side and continue flipping the blade intermittently for a total of four to six minutes. Typically, flipping the blade so that you've heated each side two to three times is sufficient.

    • 3

      Place the blade of the stick into the crack under a door or in a vise. If you are performing this process at a rink, the crack of an open bench door is ideal. Gently pull on the stick in the preferred direction to change the curve of the blade. Because you heated the fiberglass that surrounds the stick blade, it will be soft and slightly malleable.

    • 4

      Hold the stick in the position you desire for one to two minutes to allow the fiberglass to begin to cool. Remove the stick and check the curve and angle of the blade. If it requires further bending, reheat it and bend it again.