After reading the "survival staff" thread, I got the idea that at least a few of you have made your own walking sticks in the past, so I thought I would ask for some tips.

I found some info on the web and went out yesterday to test my new etrex and managed to find a couple deadfall oak limbs with the bark still on them. They were not on the ground, but suspended, so they are not waterlogged or rotten.

I brought them home and let them hang overnight to dry off the outside and then I dipped the cut ends in candlewax, as I read that it is supposed to discourage cracks and splits in the ends.

I read that letting them dry 4 weeks or so before removing the bark, then letting them dry another 2 weeks with the bark off is adequate. Any disagreements with this? I am new at this and any tips regarding the drying process, sanding, finishing, etc are appreciated. I have watched a couple of the Hoods Woods vids and am intrigued by a couple things Ron has done with his walking stick. Thanks guys. John

I know we have discussed the merits of making one's own staff vs. buying one, but... I found this the other day on Ebay http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1980753770 . The seller has a number of them for sale, to see additional listings, just hit the seller's other auctions button. Looks like it could use some upgraded items and items that are not included. The seller has listed several so there is not much of a bidding war. If interested you should be able to pick one up for around the starting price of $20.00 plus $8.00 shipping. I did buy a couple to examine and give as gifts. The seller said he would not be selling on Ebay after Christmas, but will seller directly. For what it is worth. Pete

The great thing about walking sticks is that they can be fabricated in many ways to very different levels of finish and technology. I have found nice cane walking sticks on the beach that only needed a little smoothing to work well. On another occasion, I found a mop handle that worked superbly for several years. Recently I pulled a willow stem from a brush pile when faced with a long uphill pull. It now has a place in my quiver of walking sticks, which also includes some of the collapsible aluminum hi-tech jobs.

My guess is that oak is a bit heavy (I really like light swing weight), but that is a matter of taste. In any event, don't stop at just one walking stick! <img src="images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I have made a few sticks and staffs. Leaving the bark on for a while will make the wood dry slower but makes peeling the bark much harder.

I made an Apple wood staff that I peeled and rough carved fresh and it dried without cracks. I may have been lucky with this one.

I tried to make a Hawthorn staff the same way and it cracked completely end-to-end.

For my last stick, Maple, I cut and peeled the bark then wrapped in 2 layers of Saran wrap tied with string to retard quick drying. This worked great. After about 4 months (stored outside during the winter), I unwrapped and started shaping...no cracks.

Most likely the type of wood has had some bearing on my experiences, but I have found peeling a green stick so easy that I will keep up with the saran wrap method for now. I have read about wood carvers soaking green wood in propylene glycol prior to carving, but have never attempted this.

I have been eyeballing my Christmas tree (Nobel Fir) top...looks like a walking stick to me. I will definately peel and saran this as the resin content is very high.

Good luck on your stick.

Yes - peel the bark when it's green!

A cheap "secret weapon" for working on natural walking sticks is a Stanley SurForm shaver - mine are red, but it's the same gadget.

Use your knife or a drawknife to remove most of the bark and use the SurForm to clean-up, knock off knots, shape areas, etc. I use knife, drawknife, spokeshave, and this gadget, (and sometimes abrasives, including a belt sander) and the surform is the most quickly useful of the bunch.

Second-growth white oak is fine for a walking stick; red oak is not so good. The white oak will be a little heavy for a few months but once it fully seasons it is surprisingly light. If you use denser white oak, such as a split stave, it will be a bit heavier (and also stronger).

Ash makes a marvelously light and strong stick. Maple can be light or heavy, depending on species and growth rate (soft maple is lighter but not very strong). Elm is fantastic. Mulberry is very good and pretty. Osage Orange is dense BUT you can reduce the cross section (by layer, like for a bow) and it is fantastically strong as well as drop-dead pretty.

Second-growth hickory may be the king if you're starting from a sapling; splits are too dense for my tastes.

Sand it all smooth, put a small screw-eye in one end, suspend via cord from a joist, and hand-apply (fingers, not brushes) a polyurathane finish. Follow instructions for 2-3 coats.

A ferrule on the "business" end aids greatly with durability - even a scrap of copper pipe. Epoxy works to secure that. (Personally, I machine a snazzy tip from 6061-T6 aluminum and... but it's only because I can, not because it's important). Also, some sticks have only one orientation for a person; others work both ways, depending on the specific task. My current favorite gets used "heavy" end up or down, depending on exactly what I'm doing with it, has nice grippability either orientation, and is wear-protected on both ends for that reason.

They're just scavenged bits of wood - go nuts and try whatever tickles your fancy. Good cheap fun and often the result is beautiful. It's almost always useful.

Tom

Tom,

I will have to try the Stanley Shaver. I have never used one. I generally peel the bark with a draw knife and/or sloid knife, then do some quick shaping with a spokeshave. This surform may make some of this a bit easier. I may get one of these to rough out the fir staff I am seeing at the top of my tree.

I generally find myself evaluating branches as I walk among the neighborhood and parks.....Lots of sticks out there just waiting to be revealed. Thanks for the tool tip.

I wish I could machine some ferrules...so far I have only done copper pipe fittings. I saw that Cold Steel sells steel ferrules for a reasonable price. I am thinking of ordering a few for the bag of sticks that are still works-in-progress.

Out here my choice of woods is not as extensive as yours. Residential trees of various sorts, dogwood, maple, alder, cherry, other fruits and nuts, and then the various conifers. I have my eye on the perfect branch in a cherry next door....a few more years and then it is going to need trimming <img src="images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I have some wisteria vines that are well dried, greatly crooked and waiting for some work....surform may be required.

Randy

I started making a walking stick about 2 years ago, but somewhere between the first and second year I forgot about it. <img src="images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> Maybe I will start working on it again. But I have a nice rattan staff anyway.

Frank

Randy,

The shaper is inexpensive. Where it especially shines is working knots down smooth. It also is responsive to varying the pressure when scraping - hard pressure really grinds the wood off and light pressure with rapid strokes shapes things nicely with a lot of control

<<I wish I could machine some ferrules...so far I have only done copper pipe fittings.>>

You don't need to use a lathe. Check your local scrapyard(s) and snag some aluminum - square or round x-section - that is as "fat" or a bit more than the staff you are working on. I usually pay around $0.75 / pound for good stuff, but that seems to be low around the country - most folks seem to pay about twice that (still cheap). If they are machineshop scraps, many of the pieces will have the mill markings on them; the tempered alloys are best - like 6061-T6, 7075-Twhatever

Here is ONE method that works well; there is an "inverse" method to this as well:

Cutoff a scrap in pleasing porportions - try 2-3 times longer than the diameter as a suggested starting point. Drill the largest hole you can in one end - about 1 inch deep is plenty - or a bit less. On the lathe I will bore the recess out until there is a little less than a 1/4" wall left, but you may not have a large enough bit - try to make it at least a 1/2" diameter recess (use a reduced-shank bit if all you have is a 3/8" chuck drill).

On the end of the staff, whittle a peg that is about as long as the recess you bored in the aluminum. Keep the shoulder transition from peg to full diameter staff as square as you can. Cut and fit until the peg slips into the recess (you can "cheat" a little when you get close - hammer the aluminum on and it will compress minor high spots). Once it fits, epoxy the aluminum chunk on the staff - best if you have enough excess to fill in any gaps at the shoulder. Set it aside to cure.

Now just shape the aluminum end with your hand tools. The shaper will handle rough work but stop using it before you get too close to wood diameter or you'll have some deep gouges that you won't like. Switch to either a wood rasp or a file. If you use a file, two points: 1) "file" some chalk before starting (use something like a chalk ball for a mason's line) to fill the teeth and 2) make sure you have a file card handy. The chalk will greatly reduce the pinning (teeth fill with the soft aluminum), but sooner or latter you will have to card the file to remove the aluminum clogs.

If you've been using a wood rasp, remember to switch to a file before you get too close to final size/shape. At the end, you'll be gently filing both aluminum and wood at the same time, resulting in a "perfect" transition from wood to metal. Finish the aluminum and wood with some sandpaper to your taste - and don't get too carried away (like buffing wheel) because remember - this is the business end, LoL - it's gonna eat dings and wear - why polish it?

There are some speed-ups you can do if it's a square chunk you start off with, like hacksawing the corners off. The thing is, when you FIRST start shaping that lump of aluminum it seems to take forever and all of a sudden - omigosh, you're almost finished. It really doesn't take all that long.

BTW, aluminum tends to GRAB rock rather well - which is a good thing. Find a crutch-tip or furniture leg tip that fits at your hardware store - they come in 1/8" diameter increments at my neighborhood hardware store. You may slip the rubber tip on if you want to quiet the staff a little on pavement.

Also... if you are perverse, it is NOT HARD to shape the very tip of the aluminum into a facsimile of a deer hoof - which is kinda fun to play with late at night if you have my warped sense of humor AND a bunch of young Scouts around... think about it <grin>...

The aluminum looks sharp - especially on darker woods. Brass looks fabulous on lighter colored wood like ash and white oak but it is awfully heavy, so I stick to the aluminum (besides, I keep plenty around for tinkering with). The results on a finished staff are good enough to make these a SPECIAL gift for special folks.

HTH,

Tom

I am currently in the midst of constructing one myself.
my stick is a survival staff.
I constucted the staff out of 1 1/4 aluminum emt (pipe that electrictions use to run fire alarm wire.
it is 57 inches tall and has a rubber cane bumber on the bottom. inside the hollow space i have place acrylic tubes approx 8 inches in length and 1 inch in diameter.
each tube is filled with different survival items with one tube filled with survival food tablets.
on the outside of the staff i took an 8 x 10 foot piece of heavy poly (6 mil) and folded it to a 10"x10" and placed it inside a food storage bage and vacuum packed it. I the wrapped it around the top of the staff approx. 6 inches from the top and held it in place with ranger ricks ranger bands. then I wrapped approx 60 feet of 550 paracord around it to create a simple yet comfortable grip. on the top I place a 1 1/4 rubber cap that I epoxied a button compass. I then primed and pained the staff with a green and white flec type paint. I will post a couple of pictures of this staff and its contents as soon as i can get a chance. it was preety cool to make and is very effective in all situations.
good luck,
woodsman

Tom,

I roughed out the Nobel fir top for a stick. Tonight I am going to stop over at the store to pick up a SureForm shaper.

I peeled this stick with the sloid knife and am letting it age up a bit before starting to slim it down. Unsure what will come of it, but the growth whorl stubs are intersting and will probably remain as a decoration. I cut this at 5.5 ft but the stick will most likely go down to about 36-48 inches. Hopefully with all the rain and humidity we are having it will not crack.

Thanks for the tips on both the shaper and the ferrules.