walking cane

[tomwilson74]

Anybody make their own cane?  Not a walking stick or staff, but a cane.  I need some new ideas.

[Timberwolf]

Anybody make their own cane?  Not a walking stick or staff, but a cane.  I need some new ideas.

.........
Never made one but thought about it when I had to start using one. I bought a couple books on stick making...I found a Blackthorn shepherds hook cane at Good will and bought it..I have others now but it is my fav by far!!!!!
You can get some good info on stick making on Youtube..how to Jig up for the bending of the handle etc..

[2beast]

I made this one for my father some years ago.
Walnut and white oak.

   

[chips ahoy]

Made one years ago,two parts.Used the kit from LV.Made it for my FIL he loved the fact he could unscrew it in the car,two parts,easier to store.

Mel

[BrokenOlMarine]

I'm making one now.  Don't have a clue, or a lathe. Using a spokeshave and a plane.  I have been shaping it over the last few days, and taking my time, enjoying the tool work.  It will be intentionally thicker than my other canes, more like a short staff.  I'll post some pics of the "in progress" when I get to the desktop.  There is still shaping and finishing left to do, and I need to order the foot. 
I may try to do some carving on the shaft as well, or inlay... who knows. The shaft is walnut. The handle is a piece of mahogany laminated between two pieces of spaulted maple.

[BrokenOlMarine]

Here are the pics....

I started with a rough piece of walnut...

   

Once I ran it across the jointer I ripped it in half and glued it into a blank.

   

After it came out, I began shaping it by trimming off the bark on the band saw, trimming off a 1/4 inch on the table saw, then shaping with the plane and the spoke shave.  Careful shaping and rounding took a couple days work, since I can only work a couple hour, to hour and a half sessions at a time per day.

   

I took a break from working on the shaft and laminated a block to work the grip from... a piece of mahogany sandwiched between spaulted maple.

   

Once that was set I started shaping that.  Final shaping of all of it will take place once they are joined.  I may put an accent spacer between the handle and the shaft, but I haven't decided.

   

There is still a lot of work left to do, shaping, sanding, finishing, and of course parts to order, and assembly.  It may not turn out at all, but it's a first try.  I don't want it to look factory, and I do want the belly of the cane to remain thicker than the rest... I want it to be unique.  Can't wait for it to be finished myself, so I can see how it turns out. 
  I will be as surprised as everyone else.  I don't have a clue.  Would be easier if I had a lathe, or knew what I was doing. 

[Timberwolf]

I'm making one now.  Don't have a clue, or a lathe. Using a spokeshave and a plane.  I have been shaping it over the last few days, and taking my time, enjoying the tool work.  It will be intentionally thicker than my other canes, more like a short staff.  I'll post some pics of the "in progress" when I get to the desktop.  There is still shaping and finishing left to do, and I need to order the foot. 
 I may try to do some carving on the shaft as well, or inlay... who knows.  The shaft is walnut.  The handle is a piece of mahogany laminated between two pieces of spaulted maple.

..............
I just use the replaceable rubber "cane/crutch" tips from Walmart..with me, they wear quickly because I put lots of weight on the cane.

[BrokenOlMarine]

I have worked on the cane for the past two days, it's getting there.

   
The handle was shaped with long strips of Sandpaper after roughing on the band saw and the belt sander.
It was attached with a bolt with the head chopped off, and glue, then blended to the shaft with my spokeshave.

Now it's getting close.

   
I need to cut the shaft to length and transition and shape the bottom end to accept a rubber foot.



Note: finish hasn't been applied here... I have just wiped 'er down with mineral spirits to check for faults in the progress so far, and to see what the grain looks like. I love the spaulting in the maple handle and couldn't wait to see what it would look like once the Watco Oil was applied.

[chips ahoy]

I have worked on the cane for the past two days, it's getting there.

The handle was shaped with long strips of Sandpaper after roughing on the band saw and the belt sander.
It was attached with a bolt with the head chopped off, and glue, then blended to the shaft with my spokeshave.

Now it's getting close.

I need to cut the shaft to length and transition and shape the bottom end to accept a rubber foot.



Note: finish hasn't been applied here... I have just wiped 'er down with mineral spirits to check for faults in the progress so far, and to see what the grain looks like.  I love the spaulting in the maple handle and couldn't wait to see what it would look like once the Watco Oil was applied.

Beautiful work sir,I love that handle.

Mel

[BigD]

Anybody make their own cane?  Not a walking stick or staff, but a cane.  I need some new ideas.

I make what I call a "wiggle cane". I make it in two basic versions - one with the curved handle as part of the main cane and a Gent's version which has the handle as a separate item from the main cane body.

   

   

The main body of the cane is made from fifteen layers (five sections of three strips) that are 1/16" thick. They are soaked in water overnight and then placed into a fixture to let them dry. The same fixture is used when gluing the strips together.

You can get a lot of variations of how the cane will look depending on the choice of woods used and how they are arranged. The most popular of the ones I have made is to use 3 strips of walnut on the inside and the outside and in the middle.  3 strips of maple make up the second and fourth sections. 

Another popular version is to reverse the above and use maple for sections 1,3 & 5 and walnuts for sections 2 & 4.

On the Gent's version, you can inlay into both faces or just leave them plain.

If you want to try these, let me know and I can send some PDFs of the clamping fixture that I use.