Pre-production
Wood is the material used to make today's modern hockey sticks. The manufacturing process is fairly straightforward, producing sticks that are light, strong, flexible and durable. The wood for hockey sticks is first selected, then dried carefully to prevent it from warping or cracking later.
Shaft Preparation
Two thin strips of wood veneer are glued to either side of blank made of a light, flexible wood such as poplar. A press is used to hold the pieces of wood together. Once the glue is dry, the blank is cut using a saw into long identical pieces, trimming off the excess in the process. These pieces will become the stick shaft. Each stick shaft is then fed through a large sanding machine to smooth the sides.
Shaft Reinforcement
A coating of epoxy resin is applied to each sanded shaft. Before the resin cures, a strip of carbon reinforced fiberglass is placed on either side of each stick shaft. The shafts are then inserted into molds and placed in a press that is heated for around 20 minutes to harden the epoxy.
Shaft Shaping
Once removed from the press, each shaft is fed through a milling machine to round its edges. The shaft is then sanded again. A small wooden block is glued to the end of each stick shaft that will eventually hold the blade of the hockey stick. A special saw, called the slitter machine, cuts a slit in the wood block and shaft.
Blade Production
The blade of the hockey stick is made from a flat piece of wood around 14 inches long that has been cut off at an angle at one end. The angled end is then milled to form a tab that will be inserted into the slit in the shaft.
Blade and Shaft Assembly
The tab of the blade is then coated with glue and inserted into the slit in the shaft. Once the glue is dry, the rough hockey stick is placed in a special sander that smooths and thins both sides of the end of the shaft and the blade.
Blade Shaping
A computerized lathe cuts the blade to a predefined shape. The blade of the hockey stick is next placed into a steamer to soften the wood. The blade is then placed into a mold which heats and presses it into a permanent curve. The curve of the blade is then adjusted by hand to match a specific pattern. The blade is sanded by hand to remove rough edges and adjust the size.
Blade Reinforcement
Next, fiberglass cloth soaked in epoxy resin is laid over both sides of the blade, to reinforce it. The fiberglass cloth is pressed remove air bubbles and placed into an oven for 24 hours to harden.
Finishing
Once hardened, excess fiberglass is cut away from the stick, using a band saw. The unfinished hockey sticks are then sanded by hand using a circular drum sander. Once sanded, the blade is dipped into epoxy resin and allowed to dry. The handle of the stick is then painted and logos and printing are applied using silk screening.
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