I’ve been working on a design for the team that will be somewhat light weight, and not as expensive, time consuming, or fragile as the one I made for Kendra.
Aircraft Spruce sells some 1″ diameter tube for $2.80 per foot, compared to $3.50 per foot for the smaller diameter tubing I used before, and I get to use less of it. I also don’t use any of the square tubing that costs $10.75 per foot.
More important than the cost of the tubes, the old design had a lot of semi-precise milling required, and had almost 50 welded joints. This design has simpler tube preparation and less than half the welds. Access to the joints is better, so it’s a little easier to get the torch into all the required angles. The tubes are much stronger than the 1/2″ tubes, so I don’t expect this guard to get dented in from any normal hit.
The guard weighs about half a pound to a pound more than the one I designed for Kendra, and a lot less than the guard I posted on September 24th. It remains to be seen if it gives a good hit on the ball, but I’m optimistic.
