Interview with Ben Gervasi, the Indian Club Maker!

I love this website if that doesn’t come across enough. It isn’t really the opportunity to write and research but rather the fascinating people it allows me to meet. While some strong bonds have been forged with regular commentators, every now and then a visitor will reach out with an interesting question or enquiry.

The subject of today’s post, Ben Gervasi, is one such individual. In late 2023 Ben reached out about how to make an Indian club. This was a question which tested me… quite a bit actually. I have studied Indian clubs for years but never considered how one could make their own.

Ben’s question sent me down a rabbit hole in the search for dimensions and weights and construction tips. Ben created an Indian club from scratch in one of the most fascinating projects I’ve come across in a long time. He kindly agreed to answer a few questions about his process and background. Check it out below.

Hi, y’all!

What is your background and how did you get interested in Indian clubs?

I am Ben Gervasi, and I am currently studying art history and history at the University of Texas at Arlington. I became interested in physical culture history as debates in art history seminars questioned if physiques on certain figures were humanly achievable or simply a product of an artist’s creative liberty. I found all of my arguments were informed by the current state of sport, and I had few historical references to back them up. In my research I quickly learned about the greats and their methods. I was surprised by how many promoted a lightweight approach to achieve general health. That was when I found the YouTube account The Physical Culture Historians and I learned about Indian clubs and their massive cultural impact.

Why did you want to make your own club? Had you made anything before this?

I have a background as a woodworker and primarily use a lathe for my projects. As many of the early exercise implements were wooden, the prospect of being personally able to create and use exercise devices popular hundreds of years ago excites me.

During the summer of 2023, I went to the H.J Lutcher Stark Center for Physical Culture and Sports in Austin, Texas to see their collection. After working my way through their public displays, I then viewed some items in their archive, one of which being an Indian club. While handling the club I was surprised at how easily and quickly they could be produced. Therefore, I decided to make my own. Luckily, the shape of the club is not far from my prior experiences making spindles on a lathe.

Where did you get information about the clubs? What was the most useful?

While researching information about Indian clubs I ran into an issue. I had not been able to locate a source with the specific measurements and weights of the various kinds of clubs provided. Even the British Military only spoke of them in general terms. In a call to the H.J Lutcher Stark Center for Physical Culture and Sports, I was directed to contact Dr. Conor Heffernan. He gave me great guidance and supplied me with information on an ad for Peck and Snyder’s Model and Popular Indian Clubs from Sim Kehoe’s Indian Club Book (1866) and a link to an auction house which listed dimensions for a basic Indian club. Interestingly, he mentioned a basic metric use to determine the length of a club was for it to be about the length from the armpit to the wrist. I made the club using the measurements given by the auction house and the wood, weights, and finish listed by Peck and Snyder’s Model and Popular Indian Clubs.

Can you describe the process of making your own clubs? Everything from getting the wood to the making of the club itself?

Peck and Snyder’s Model and Popular Indian Clubs calls for maple wood and a French or wax finish. For my project, the wood I decided to use was ash in substitution to maple since it is both what I had available and when compared is equally as dense. Further, I decided to apply a wax finish since it is less expensive and easier to apply. Additionally, Peck and Snyder’s Model and Popular Indian Clubs listed club weights from 1 to 12 lbs. in 1 lb. increments. The Indian clubs listed by the auction website measured the basic clubs at 15.5″ height, 2.5″ width, 1.325″ diameter base and 1 lb. each. I followed these measurements closely. When selecting the tools and equipment for this project, I used a variety of sizes of sharpened gouges and a Grizzly Lathe. The sharpened gouges allowed me to better control my cuts and get a clean finish.

When curing, the selected wood was a rough cylinder blank with wax applied to each flat side to prevent cracking as the wood was air dried. When cutting into the wood after it dried, the blank was centered on the lathe and pressed between the tailstock and the drive on the headstock, to later be fitted to a chuck. The wood was measured out to 15.5 inches and on given a few inches to work with. The lathe was set at about 900 rpm. The left side was squared off using a parting tool and made into a mortise. Then, using a parting tool, the right side of the wood would be separated from the excess wood.

Next the wood was inserted into the chuck. The wood was then re-centered and then measurements were marked on the piece to determine where the head, taper, and handle would be. Using a parting tool, the material of each section was cut down to proper size. Using a roughing gouge, large parts of the wood were cut down to shape the look of the club. After, smaller gouges were used to carve details such as the decorative ball at the end of the club.

Once the club was shaped, I then sanded it with 80 to 400 grit sandpaper. When the club was finally parted from the lathe, I then sanded the front and back ends of the wood to get out the impressed marks of the chuck, four toothed spur drive and tailstock. Finally, I applied a finish of beeswax to both seal and bring out the natural color of the wood.

Was it harder/easier than you expected? How does it swing?

Making the club was a simple process. The wood turning mentor that helped me make this club said the process he had me take was similar to baseball bats.

Using the club was harder than I expected since it was mentally challenging. The club weighing 1 lb. does not pose a threat to many, but the shear intricacy and desired speed of some movements gave me trouble. Being able to do a large, coordinated movement with the club is satisfying but difficult. I can now understand the mental and physical difficulty of swinging heavier clubs.

What did you learn about the clubs from this process?

To turn this club, it took me 4 hours. The process took me a long time because I was learning how to use spindle gouges and not carbide tipped tools which I am most accustomed to. If I was more skilled in the use of gouges and had prior experience making clubs, this project would have gone faster, likely minutes to make.

The most interesting thing I learned came from the aforementioned observation on the speed of production. This concept brings up the influence of rapid production rates introduced by the Industrial Revolution during the 19^th century. As a note of importance, the Indian clubs I viewed at the H.J Lutcher Stark Center for Physical Culture and Sports still had the tooth marks of the four toothed spur drive visible. This showed that club manufacturers, when mass producing clubs, were not extremely concerned with the final product being completely perfect. They knew the clubs would assume damage when used, so to craft clubs of extremely high quality was not necessary.

Both the speed of the club’s manufacturing process and relative affordability were highly valued. This, I believe, suggests a correlation between mass manufacturing and the greater physical culture movement of the 19^th century. The inexpensive, efficient and replicable production of Indian clubs gave the equipment the capability of easily permeating into several economic classes; hence, increasing the range of social classes able to experience excitement around the shared experience of club swinging. Thus, the development of the popularity surrounding the physical culture movement increased.

What’s next? More clubs?!

YES! I would love to make more clubs! Due to the lengthy time it took me to make the first club, I didn’t have time to make a second one. I would also like to make other objects from physical culture history, such as a lightweight dumbbell. Additionally, I would like to delve further into research on the art of physical culture. Recently, I have been intrigued by early posters pertaining to physical culture.

Mentions

If you enjoyed this article and wish to contact me further feel free to follow me on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-gervasi/

I would like to thank the H.J Lutcher Stark Center for Physical Culture and Sports for aiding me in research and getting me in contact with Dr. Connor Heffernan who has been critical to the continuation of this project. I would also like thank The Woodturners of North Texas and Mike Stevenson for his generosity in allowing me to use his equipment, materials and guidance throughout this project.

Illustrations

Illustration #1- Peck and Snyder’s Model and Popular Indian Clubs