Walking Stick

[Grov]

Got a friend with one but I would have to cut the curved length to lathe the straight chunk then reconnect the crook.  Since it seems to be cracking terminally, I think I'll just whittle it the hard way for the practice.

[rogheff]

You're probably way beyond this by now, but a really sharp hatchet will easily remove a lot of excess wood.

[Grov]

Tried to file my hatchet to a keener edge but I gave up.  If I had a grinding wheel, maybe...  With the severe cracking and so much other stuff coming up, I haven't touched it in over a week.

[groomporter]

Historically speaking, anyone know who made canes? Some of the really fancy ones had to be related to the jewelry/goldsmith trades. Did they have any guilds, or similar brotherhoods for cane/walking stick makers?

[Shandi]

when I use found wood in my sculptures they have to be heat cured to kill any residents, the wood is put in the oven at a low temp and left to cook for several hours. This kills any residents,fungus etc. I may be wrong but heat setting the staff/stick may be called for. A fire let to cool to ash and coal and lay it near there and rotate it till the whole thing has been exposed. This is better done after the carving as this will harden the wood a bit. I may be wrong, haven't made a staff yet. Have a nice piece on the porch I found while out riding my horse in the woods a few weeks ago. Been staring at it trying to decide what to do with it...not even sure what kind of wood it is.

[Woodland Artisan]

I suspect it was a combination of trades that made the fancy carved, jeweled, etc. ones, Groomporter.  The turning being done by the Guild of Turners (later Chartered "The Worshipful Company of Turners" by James I) and the rest by the other trades.  Much like today ... I do everything up to the really fancy wood carving or any of the metal, jewel or leather work.  That all gets outsourced to other artisans.

No proof, just conjecture.  But, I'd try asking the Worshipful Company of Turners yourself (http://www.turnersco.com/).  I'm sure they'd have the historical records on whether the turners had anything to do with it in England.

[groomporter]

Yeah that's my guess. Some one mentioned to me that possibly sword smiths might have had some connections as well as far as making fancy handles/knobs.

[kilteddispatcher]

So, having read this post, a 6' long, 10" diameter trunk of japanese maple came up on my local freecycle-- would love to get 3-4 slender walking sticks out of it.... is this a wood that can be used or is it too soft/hard/unforgiving/etc? TYVM in advance for any info

PS- Tree died of 'verticillium wilt', if that makes any difference in its usefulness...

[Woodland Artisan]

Japanese Maple is fine for making walking sticks out of.  It's not terribly hard and not soft, either.   Never have seen a 10" diameter trunk on those, though.  Other than at the very bottom and a whole lot of forking a couple of feet up after that.  Please post a picture if you have one.  I'd love to see it.

The verticillium wilt is quite common with the ornamentals and will, if it hasn't damaged the wood inside (no way to tell until you get in there and see), give some nice color streaking that could make some outstanding sticks.

Split that trunk into, at least, fourths as soon as you can.  And, with a good 10" trunk, you should be able to get a whole lot more than 4 sticks out of it.  Unless you're doing some serious twists or other things to your sticks.

Good luck and have fun.

[kilteddispatcher]

Brought it home today and cleaned off the bark.  It is 10 inches diameter at the base, but quickly tapers down to about 4-5 inches at the 5' point... going to cut it off at that point and try to get 4 out of it, plus chunks for other smaller projects when i remove the excess at the larger end, then the remaining 4-5 feet of trunk is kinda gnarled, probably only be able to get one out of it.  Really looking forward to this project! And, having removed the bark, the grain of the wood is absolutely gorgeous!

[kilteddispatcher]

Okay, so my only local lumberyard wants a rediculous amount of money to split the log- any suggestions as to how to split it cleanly myself?

[Merlin the Elder]

I can't think of a way unless you use a band saw, using moderately priced available tools. (I bought a band saw for $100 a couple years back). You'll need help feeding it!

[Woodland Artisan]

Okay, so my only local lumberyard wants a rediculous amount of money to split the log- any suggestions as to how to split it cleanly myself?

SPLIT it or CUT it?

If you actually split it, it'll follow the grain direction ... wherever that may lead.  I do this for my traditionally made windsor and ladderback, etc. chairs.  In todays' language, this type of woodworking is called 'greenwood woodworking' ... as in using green (freshly cut or wet) wood.   Everything is split (called: riving).   But, this is simply how most furniture was initially processed.  But, I digress ...

What I do to split logs is to just use a sledge hammer and some wedges.  Start one into the end of the log to get a crack going and then begin along the length of the log and keep splitting down the length until you get to the other end.  Repeat at different angles as needed.

If you're wanting to cut it, then either use a bandsaw (very dangerous if it's long or big diameter) or use a chainsaw and saw it lengthwise carefully.

[jcbanner]

Historically speaking, anyone know who made canes? Some of the really fancy ones had to be related to the jewelry/goldsmith trades. Did they have any guilds, or similar brotherhoods for cane/walking stick makers?

This reminds me of a rerun episode of "Antique Roadshow" that I saw a couple of weeks ago.  A man was there with an elaborately carved cane, and the apraiser was saying that typically only a few canes would be made by any one person.  Often it was a woodworker making a cane for themself to use and show off their talent.  Sometimes they would make a few more as gifts.  This was in referance to the 1800's.


If anyone has any more information then that, please share.

[jcbanner]

Every now and then I'll find at the family farm branches or saplings with the perfect bend to them for a cane.  but in addition to these, I'm also wanting to make some simpler canes, ones with a more standard shape.  I'm thinking about cutting saplings and bending them into shape. 

What would likely work best, cutting them green, and bending them in a jigg, (bark on or off) and letting them dry that way.  Or dry then, skin and shape, then steam them before puting them in a jigg.    That would also require me building and finding somewhere to keep a steambox.