Help with a walkin stick

B

Big philly 1

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Oct 28, 2005
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So i decided to make a walking stick. There was a tree cut down 4 houses down so i took all the wood i could for the fire pit, then i found a very lon pretty str8t branch about 5 inches in diameter and about 8 feet long. I got it yester day and started at it. I wittled it down to about 2, 2 1/2 inches. and about 6 foot long. Im 6'4" and it comes up to my chin. My question is, How do i go about hardening it, and what grit should i use to get it smoooooth? Also Im thinkin about a dark color any suggestions?

The blades i used were a fiskars 14 inch hatchet and my sak rucksack..... The sak Is awesome..... I tryed using my tak5 and lm surge, surge did ok but the sak just cut threw it like butter.
 
What little I know about woodworking, is you should allow it to dry for a few months before working on it.

Someone who actully knows something will be along shortly lol.
 
to harden it, you should slowly dry it (for small woodcarving, it is often said to put it in an open paper bag...maybe you could wrap it in brown paper or something.

i scrape my sticks with a scraper made from some scrap steel, i don't use sandpaper. if i were going to use sandpaper though, i would say you would probably be fine ending at about 200 grit.

don't know about stain, i always just use danish oil or linseed oil on mine.

for the bottom, you should buy a copper pipe end that is as close to the same size as the end of your stick but go undersize not oversize. whittle the last two inches of the stick down to the right diameter to do into the cap tightly. place the cap tightly over the end of the stick and hammer a roofing nail with a wide head through the middle of the bottom of the cap, straight down into the stick. this will protect the end of the stick from wear, probably for the rest of your life. if it ever does need replacing, it wouldn't be too hard to do.
 
I let mine dry until completely dry and then sand it down to about 300 grit. Scraping is fine too. I add two to three coats of stain (as dark as you would like) and then 3 coats of Marine grade poly (Satin). This will make an indestructible stick.

TF
 
Sounds like it will be a fun project. You might want to check out the cane fittings available from Lee Valley, as an alternative to using piping for the bottom (though that would definitely work).

Best,

- Mike
 
With a "green" pole that long, I would worry a little about warpage and some cracking at the ends. I just read recently, although I can't remember where, that if you wrap both ends tightly with twine of some sort, and hang it dangling from somewhere like a rafter, gravity will help keep the pole straighter as it dries and the twine helps prevent some of the cracking. -Matt-
 
My owm preference is for a maple sapling cut in early spring when the sap is just starting to rise. The bark peels off as pretty as you please, no sanding necessary. Stick it in th attic for a year or two and you're good to go.
 
after drying the wood, shaping and sanding, i put my sticks in a capped off ABS pipe filled with a mix of linseed oil and Danish Tung oil, where i let them soak for several months. I remove them and while wet steel wool them to a glossy sheen. Let em dry, put a brass pipe or copper pipe ferrule on the bottom (heat it up in gas forge, put on hot, let cool and drip in cryocynalate glue (HOTSTUFF brand) to set it tight.

edit: most of my sticks are oak or hickory dowels, 1&1/4" - 1&1/2", flame hardened. i use them for hiking and as a center pole for my tarp, street defense (these sticks break bones).

walk softly and carry a big stick.
 
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Just a thought, but you might want to seal the ends with some kind of paint (doesn't matter what, whatever's laying around). As the wood dries, it'll begin to check (split) along its length. Painting the ends ensures that the drying rate stays constant. The rule of thumb I use is 1 year for every inch of thickness (indoors). I read it somewhere and it seems to work.

Do you know what kind of wood it is ?
 
I make walking sticks for a hobby. I have about 50 of them in My garage as we speak. I go into the woods and shelter belts and cut and collect whatever wood I find. I have them made from about every kind of wood that grows in the Dakota's. I just cut them to the length I want them, strip the bark and let them set for a month or two. I have stained them while still green at times with oil base stain. I sand mind down pretty smooth and I put the rubber cane tips on them as I use them on all kinds of surfaces from sand to concrete. The rubber tips last a long time and if they do wear out, I just put on a new one. I put lanyards on some and leather wrap a grip on some. I use them every day where ever I walk due to sme leg and foot injuries.
 
You can find the rubber chair tips at any wally world , depot, or similar store. They come in package of 4, very inexpensive.
 
For keeping a green stick from warping (or correcting a slight curve) I've had good luck by lashing the stick to the railing of my deck and letting it sit in the weather for a couple months. That way it's held straight as it dries.
 
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