Best Wood for Axe Throwing Targets - End Grain Targets Wood Comparisons

What wood should you use for targets? It's not as much of the wood as it it the orientation of it. Look at the difference between different woods for targets. Build your targets with end grain instead of pine or cottonwood for a longer lasting and better experience for axe throwing lanes.
This target design is what we use for our Axcitement.com lanes with projected targets. It makes not only for a much safer and better customer experience, your wood costs for the facility drop dramatically.

[@fin_jan]

Those projection targets are top shelf!

[@RhumRunner41]

Went for my first axe throwing “party” yesterday and although I was disappointed with the ordeal (a lot of throwing and not much sticking as the boards were badly mangled), I did see the fun side and decided to build myself a target for the cottage. The target projection is an awesome idea. I wished the place I went to had it. It was Halloween weekend after all. But now that I’ve seen this, I will build with end grain logs. Thank you for sharing this.

[@SwagnarFlossbrok]

This video was very helpful! Thank you!

[@juliebrinkman7719]

Wow, thank you for sharing! What a cool concept! I haven't checked yet if you have a video on how you make the ingrain boards

[@MaxwellVanDutch]

Really excellent information and described well!

[@Axcitement]

Thank you so much for the kind remark!

[@escaperoomcleveland5212]

Good stuff I’m sold!!

[@AxcitementSoftware]

Glad to hear it! Give a shout if you want to talk about it! axcitement.com

[@mikeslinde5506]

How do you switch out the targets....I would love to see how you made them so then I could see how to switch them out too!......nice video!

[@matthewbittenbender9191]

First 6 minutes were like "OK, make your point already," but the concept of endgrain throwing boards is a great idea. The software is awesome too. It would be nice to see how those blocks are mounted as competitive throwers will chew up bullseye and kill shots boards needing the most replacement. You can also find a large tree trunk or stump of nearly any type of clear wood, cut it into 6" thick sections, mount and mark them and they'll last for weeks of heavy throwing like a log splitting block. You won't see them at many axe throwing places which make it like a Viking dining hall.

[@rudeawakening3833]

Thanks for sharing ! Please make a video showing the actual “ construction “ if you haven’t already ….

[@James-lw3gi]

I second this! I’m super keen to build one of these

[@northamericancannonllc]

where on earth can I find a bullseye projector? i've looked everywhere!

[@nynwyr]

If you also use a thin blade axe made for throwing all targets last longer plus these are more forgiving for beginners.

[@willjbird3342]

I would love to get in touch with you guys about what it takes to build this type of thing or even the advice you have on building an entire range

[@AxcitementSoftware]

axcitement.com or just call 409-572-9101

[@lancemillward1912]

same for knife throwing too?

[@spartanchanel2969]

Good axe..

[@claib4]

Why is no one using elm? I can vouch from experience cutting lots of firewood that is by far one of the hardest woods to split. I would think it would make fantastic target wood, soft, cheap, and hard to split

[@VanGugenhiemer]

Are those 6x6's stained? And also, did you mill them down to be more square?

[@AxcitementSoftware]

Nope.. not stained.. and yes, the amount of jointing, planing, etc the boards need is all based on how good the boards are to start - but you will probably have to put some time into them.... We do.

[@peterbergen5662]

How do you flip the end grain blocks? Are the not glued or screwed into place? Thanks

[@AxcitementSoftware]

No, that would defeat the whole purpose if they were glued or screwed. They are assembled with a special frame system we sell so they can be moved, replaced, re-arranged, etc. That's why projection is so important in the system... if you draw circles, you have a set target and blocks get lines on them. That makes moving them around impossible.. it looks like one of those puzzles you had as a kid where you slide the wood tiles around trying to make a picture. Here, we can take a few that are worn or split, remove those, move everything around, add a few new at the top, and re-tighten the system, and the target is good for another 6 weeks or so of throwing.

[@mike_the_camper4315]

Do you have a video of how you build the target so the end pieces stay tight and don’t move? I’m building an axe throwing arena at my business and I like this idea better than using 2x10’s.

[@Axcitement]

We have complete build plans we supply to our customers. You really should look at projected targets, as end grain without is not very efficient. If drawing circles on them, you can't really move them around. With projection, if a block gets worn out, or an area of the target, you can rearrange the blocks since they don't have partial circles on them.

[@mike_the_camper4315]

@@Axcitement thanks for the reply. I do not have the budget for projected targets right now. Hoping to in the future, I’ll do some more research and see if I can find build plans that don’t require me to spend thousands on equipment first. Thank you again for your help.

[@dentonlong5074]

How thick are the cuts for your 6x6?

[@AxcitementSoftware]

We have done it multiple ways from 4" to 12". A lot depends on your set up.

[@gregoryallen9618]

Are the woods you sell at a discount if your facility is WATL affiliated or non-WATL affiliated?

[@Axcitement]

It does not matter if you are WATL or not. Watl does not like projected targets (they can't sell their markers and stencils if you project) and we found that it's very hard to draw on end grain, so normally the end grain projected systems are for locations that are more about recreational play, company events, date nights, and not just the tournament crowd.

[@mickeyberry4903]

What is the length of the 6x6 that your using?

[@AxcitementSoftware]

That's up to you... I've seen ranges from 4" to 12". If you buy our systems, we'll show you how we build them, but there are many different methods and many different sizes.

[@Airedale721]

What kind of wood is the 6"x 6" end grain pieces?

[@AxcitementSoftware]

You can use what you want. In that video it's pressure treated 6x6 from home depot. If you were buying blocks from us today, we would ship poplar / cottonwood, but anything really works as well.

[@davidcduarte]

@@AxcitementSoftware my chop saw can just barely make it through 4x4s, 6x6 would be too big unless I had a much bigger saw.

[@AxcitementSoftware]

@@davidcduarte Or unless you rotate it and cut several cuts - but yes, we use a larger saw.

[@realaxebolton2107]

Thats great, :) But does this mean you have to replace the whole board rather than single boards? are they all glued as 1 board

[@jamsand3]

Depending on your acceptable downtime you could hold them together under compression rather than glue if you jointed your edges well enough. That was something like a ratchet strap could keep the end-grain block "bundled"?

[@Axcitement]

Not at all! Our system uses special bracketing and you only change out blocks that have a problem. At our locations we end up replacing about 3-5 blocks a month, and you do it on a day you are not even open. We have never had a failure they way you do with conventional boards - so less down time = better experience for the customer and more profits for the facility.

[@HFHoss75]

Pressure treated for indoors?

[@Axcitement]

There is no problem using pressure treated indoors. 30 years ago that was not the case as the chemicals they used were toxic, but that ended years ago. So unless you are buying 30 year old pressure treated wood, pressure treated is safe for indoors. They suggest do not use it for cutting boards, and kitchen counters.. but for an axe target... no problem.

[@HFHoss75]

@@Axcitement Thanks for clarification. I really appreciate the info.

[@hellomynameis_________.248]

I've had 2 end grain targets and the biggest problem with them is that an axe will do what an axe does and split the wood

[@mickeyberry4903]

What is the difference in cost?

[@AxcitementSoftware]

It costs more to set up, but you save tons in the long run. Instead of changing out a board ever few hours, we change 4-5 blocks every 6-8 weeks.

[@lindamorgey6736]

Mine works too. I used the Woodglut plans and performed it without any problems.