Project Yuna's Staff - Help Please!

[JuzMel]

Hi guys,

If you're a wood carver / carpenter / very good at DIY stuff, have some free time on your hands (want to earn some extra cash!) and would like to help me, then please read on.

I need someone to help me make Yuna's Staff from Final Fantasy X for a Cosplay Event on Sat 17 Aug. Now I can buy the Staff from a Cosplay Store in the U.S for $150 shipped, but am hoping to save some money since my costume, accessories and wig are already costing me about a couple of hundred bucks.

I'm happy to pay you $80~$100 (or less if you're kind) to make one for me. Preferably wood or PVC for the top ornament round shape, otherwise hardened cardboard will do as well. The finished staff needs to look like one of those from the photos below and not some dodgy-looking cut-off that looks like a kid's work. It will also need to include the bell, the red coloured handle at the bottom, basically the whole complete staff and as accurate as possible what she uses in the game itself.

I haven't got dimensions for the circle ornament but if I'm not wrong, it should be about the same size as your standard round wall clock, if not slightly bigger / smaller.

Please let me know if you can help or can point me to someone who can help. Thanks heaps!

Here's a pic showing Yuna's staff just so you can imagine how big the dimensions are:


Here are some photos of the staff that people have made:






And here are some links to tutorials that people have posted:
- http://www.cosplay.com/photo/863973/
- http://www.squidoo.com/final-fantasy-yuna-cosplay
- http://deugenio.deviantart.com/art/S...taff-163945910

[JuzMel]

So sad.... Can no one help at all?

How about recommending somewhere or place I can just ask them to laser-cut the shape of the circular ornament out for me?

Any help or advice would be good too.

[gamblor916]

Laser cutting is expensive. Just go to Bunnings, pick up some hardwood board, drill, coping saw and files. Trace out your pattern, drill holes at regular intervals along said pattern, cut using saw, then clean up with files. A dremel would be handy here. It'll take time and patience but you can get a good result.

[JuzMel]

All good - thanks for the reply Gamblor! Found a wood carver in QLD who's happy to cut the shape for me for $40 delivered! And I've got a couple of mates who volunteer to help me make the rest of it!

[1orion2many]

Only just noticed this, Get one made by the woodworker but also have a go yourself at the same time and see how you go as you won't have any time restrictions on the one you make. It could be useful for future projects you might want to do. I think you can get something similar to a dremel with a small circular blade which you'd use to cut out the pattern, This would take a lot of the clean up out of the head piece.

[JuzMel]

Thanks 1orion2many! I'm not really good with DIY stuff as I just don't have the patience! But I do have a girlfriend who's offered to try and make with Styrofoam, so I haven't confirmed anything with the wood carver yet.

Also I don't really wanna get tools like the dremel and just use it once as this cosplay thingy is a one-off thing that I just wanted to try.