Help Making Con Safe Nails

[Jesuit24]

I'm trying to make a spiked bat with nails hammered in a wooden bat. Obviously, I can't use wood, so I'm planning on picking up a plastic bat and painting it. But I also need nails. Preferably something flexible that won't break. I've heard about using drinking straws as molds and squeezing in some silicone caulk but my tests show the caulk is a little too thick to go in the hole evenly. I was wondering about latex, but not sure that will be strong enough or if it would fall apart. Would I need a rod in the middle to stabilize the nails? Also, how would I get them to stick to the bat? The plan would be to drill holes in the bat, but the plastic bat will likely be hollow giving me little surface area to glue them to, not to mention the issue with trying to glue a flexible material like silicone or latex.

 

[Megamicrofish]

Does it have to be nails, Just thinking, fake barbed wire is a lot easier to make and wrap around the bat?

 

[WireFox]

Use 1/2" thick craft foam, cut and sand them to get your nail shape. Hit them with a blow dryer or heat gun. Plasti-dip them and dry brush with silver paint and hot glue / super glue them to the bat.

 

[Moviefreak]

Use your plastic bat, and paint it with grain to look like real wood.

For nails follow these steps:

1. Take thin wood dowels according to your chosen thickness and size of nail you want.

2. Find some small plastic flat round pieces, if you are going for large nails, you can use bingo chips, but check craft stores for smaller sizes and just pick something that looks like a good proportionate fit to the thickness of dowel you choose.

3. Hot glue the flat plastic to the top of your dowel.

4. Paint a rusty brown and add dry brush or sponged rusting for depth.

5. Cut to length you want and poke hole in your plastic bat, and secure in the hole with glue.



I know you mentioned you wanted flexible, but this will be the most realistic as well as safe. With a plastic bat, the bat itself will have some give a and flex and the nails will move with the plastic. So you will still be able to move the nail from side to side as the plastic flexes.

 

[robstyle]

Ive had to make nail spiked bats before. There is a solid rubber that comes on a large spindle but the make and name escapes me. In a pinch you can hit the dollar store and look for rubber bracelets. Its fairly much the same rubber as the spooled stuff. What makes all the difference is a good rusted finish. The "nails" should be bent and twisted not strait and bland.

If you can find rubber in longer lengths off the shelf simply drill holes into the plastic bat, one side through to the other, and pull the rubber through, done. Youll have one length of rubber to make two nails, if that makes any sense.

You can also look at weatherstripping but considering this is Halloween time, check all the costume, toy stores and dollar stores for plastic and rubber nails off the shelf. Ive seen them before at the .99 Cent store.