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Posted: 2/27/2024 9:53:57 AM EDT
[Last Edit: buck19delta]
Iv got some medical issues , especially dizziness related, and REALLY need to get myself a cane. if im going to subject myself to using a cane though, I want something I can be proud of, and that will be good quality and hold up well and look great for decades, honestly, I’m wanting something made from Osage orange if possible, due to hardness / scratch / dent resistance, and esp toughness, as I’d like this to be useful as a self defense tool as well as a cane. Osage is the preferred wood, but hickory is my second choice.
I want a single, solid, turned piece of wood, basically 1.5” thick shaft, with a ball type head, maybe 3” thick, and approx 37” long. Obviously I’d be willing to pay for it, and don’t expect it to be free, or even cheap.  I basically want this… or something very close to this, made from Osage orange, if possible.  Attached File Attached File |
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Posted: 2/27/2024 12:35:41 PM EDT
[Last Edit: buck19delta]
[#1]
I’ll be your friend ! And pay you money !
 
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Posted: 2/27/2024 4:54:50 PM EDT
[#2]
 Attached FileI'd love to make one for you but my lathe isn't long enough. Osage is pretty dense. That will be a heavy cane. I use an aluminum one with a right angle handle but I have bear a lot of weight on it. But if I keep the handle pointed the correct angle, I keep it out of my stride and don't trip over it. That round knob will reduce control of planting the tip precisely. Important on steps. See the reflector tape and after the foam deteriorated I did some Coxcombing and there is a glow-in-the-dark tip so I can locate it in the bathroom at night. It serves me well. |
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Posted: 2/27/2024 5:16:27 PM EDT
[Last Edit: buck19delta]
[#3]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By wingsnthings: https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/225497/image_jpg-3143195.JPGI'd love to make one for you but my lathe isn't long enough. Osage is pretty dense. That will be a heavy cane. I use an aluminum one with a right angle handle but I have bear a lot of weight on it. But if I keep the handle pointed the correct angle, I keep it out of my stride and don't trip over it. That round knob will reduce control of planting the tip precisely. Important on steps. See the reflector tape and after the foam deteriorated I did some Coxcombing and there is a glow-in-the-dark tip so I can locate it in the bathroom at night. It serves me well. Mine isn’t for load bearing mostly, it’s for stability, as my issues are 95% dizziness related, with back issues the other 5% where a cane could really help with standing, squatting, getting back upright / back up straight, etc. the cane is for dizziness mostly, and helping steady myself, but especially to provide brain feedback to help the brain compensate for said dizziness, ( Ménière’s disease), and in regards to the brain feedback more weight is better than less weight. I tried a lightweight aluminum cane and it didn’t help nearly as well as a heavy walking stick. Plus I want something useful for self defense as well. I also want something attractive / nice. I’d love Osage, that’s my goal, but will settle for hickory. |
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Posted: 2/27/2024 7:27:44 PM EDT
[#4]
@Nikademus
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Posted: 2/27/2024 9:57:28 PM EDT
[#5]
The hardest part of making a cane like you want is finding a piece of osage orange in the length and diameter that would be needed..
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Posted: 2/27/2024 11:17:24 PM EDT
[#6]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By KB_in_CT: The hardest part of making a cane like you want is finding a piece of osage orange in the length and diameter that would be needed.. I know where there’s a gigantic Osage tree. If Osage is too difficult I’ll settle for hickory, but hopefully I can get Osage. |
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Posted: 2/27/2024 11:40:20 PM EDT
[#7]
I cut down a lot of Osage at my farm. I don’t know if I have ever seen a straight piece. That stuff seems like it is twisted all through the trunk. It is really hard and burns hot. Spits and sparks so I only burn it outside.
If I ever find a piece that could be a walking stick, I’ll save it for you. |
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PA, USA
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Posted: 2/27/2024 11:40:44 PM EDT
[#8]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By buck19delta: I know where there's a gigantic Osage tree. If Osage is too difficult I'll settle for hickory, but hopefully I can get Osage. |
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Posted: 2/28/2024 11:39:41 AM EDT
[#9]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Webdood: They use osage for making recurve bows so search for osage staves or bow blanks. Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Webdood: Originally Posted By buck19delta: I know where there's a gigantic Osage tree. If Osage is too difficult I'll settle for hickory, but hopefully I can get Osage. The wood is a later problem, first I need to find someone who has a lathe the skills, and would be interested in helping make this project a reality. |
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USA
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Posted: 2/28/2024 4:09:59 PM EDT
[#10]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By buck19delta: The wood is a later problem, first I need to find someone who has a lathe the skills, and would be interested in helping make this project a reality. surprisingly the skills are the easy part, i'm confident I could make one that size and shape, if I had the wood and a lathe that long. You buy me the lathe and send me the tree and i'll send you a walking stick. |
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Posted: 2/28/2024 6:37:00 PM EDT
[#11]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By DirkericPitt: surprisingly the skills are the easy part, i'm confident I could make one that size and shape, if I had the wood and a lathe that long. You buy me the lathe and send me the tree and i'll send you a walking stick. Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By DirkericPitt: Originally Posted By buck19delta: The wood is a later problem, first I need to find someone who has a lathe the skills, and would be interested in helping make this project a reality. surprisingly the skills are the easy part, i'm confident I could make one that size and shape, if I had the wood and a lathe that long. You buy me the lathe and send me the tree and i'll send you a walking stick. Nice try ! If I had the extra money right now I’d go buy my own and make my own cane.  Seriously though, there’s a very nice 81” wood lathe with tools on Facebook for $600.00 right now. A few years from now I will have one, so I can make handles and shafts for my black smithing hobby, walking sticks, fighting sticks, 6-8’ spear shafts, tapered round tomahawk handles, handles for farm tools as I can get the shovel / hoe / rake etc heats basically free at the scrap yard. |
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Posted: 2/28/2024 7:06:05 PM EDT
[#12]
Search for McCaffrey walking sticks on YouTube. He’s in Ireland and makes a variety of great sticks. I bought a blackthorn one two months ago. Shipping only took about 7-8 days.
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Posted: 3/22/2024 12:14:37 PM EDT
[Last Edit: bdicki]
[#13]
I looked at a cherry tree that had snapped off during a storm and thought of this thread. You can see the hole from the ants. I'm leery of turning a pricey piece of wood because you can't tell what's inside of it. Both pieces started to vibrate while turning toward the end, anything smaller or longer would require a steadyrest.
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Posted: 3/22/2024 12:50:30 PM EDT
[Last Edit: Rodent]
[#14]
Originally Posted By buck19delta: ... Osage orange if possible, due to hardness / scratch / dent resistance, and esp toughness, as I’d like this to be useful as a self defense tool as well as a cane. Osage is the preferred wood, but hickory is my second choice. https://kingfisherwoodworks.com/products/enhanced-hiking-stick?_pos=7&_sid=b42a3f5f6&_ss=r |
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Posted: 5/5/2024 11:14:55 AM EDT
[#15]
@buck19delta
Got a chance to play around with this some more, just cutting a test from sycamore to make sure I don't have any more clearance problems or anything. Getting closer! Appreciate your patience on this.  
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Posted: 5/5/2024 1:01:37 PM EDT
[#16]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By midmo: @buck19delta Got a chance to play around with this some more, just cutting a test from sycamore to make sure I don't have any more clearance problems or anything. Getting closer! Appreciate your patience on this. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/219829/DSC_0298_JPG-3206055.jpg https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/219829/DSC_0294_JPG-3206056.jpg No problem ! That’s looking great ! 
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Posted: 5/5/2024 1:56:45 PM EDT
[#17]
In a more rustic look Diamond willow makes for some interesting canes.
Back in Montana I used to know a couple people that made them. I don't have any pictures at the moment though. |
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Posted: 5/6/2024 11:03:40 AM EDT
[#18]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By smashedminer: In a more rustic look Diamond willow makes for some interesting canes. Back in Montana I used to know a couple people that made them. I don't have any pictures at the moment though. Rustic canes are cool, and definitely and easier option for Osage Orange since "good" lumber is so hard to find. But Buck wants a thwackin' knob, so a thwackin' knob it is.  @buck19delta got the prototype (sycamore) done... glad I did it because I turned up a few things I want to change before trying it with OO... like how obvious the different layers of wood turned out to be. I can minimize that by being a little more careful in selecting wood than I was here, and using a different glue without such an obvious glue line. Overall though, even this'n seems capable of holding a rickety old man up.   
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Posted: 5/6/2024 11:11:13 AM EDT
[#19]
I watched enough Bat Masterson to want a dressy thumper cane myself. Looks good the one built so far.
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Posted: 5/6/2024 11:11:44 AM EDT
[Last Edit: buck19delta]
[#20]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By midmo: Rustic canes are cool, and definitely and easier option for Osage Orange since "good" lumber is so hard to find. But Buck wants a thwackin' knob, so a thwackin' knob it is. @buck19delta got the prototype (sycamore) done... glad I did it because I turned up a few things I want to change before trying it with OO... like how obvious the different layers of wood turned out to be. I can minimize that by being a little more careful in selecting wood than I was here, and using a different glue without such an obvious glue line. Overall though, even this'n seems capable of holding a rickety old man up. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/219829/DSC_0305_JPG-3206864.jpg https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/219829/DSC_0308_JPG-3206863.jpg Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By midmo: Originally Posted By smashedminer: In a more rustic look Diamond willow makes for some interesting canes. Back in Montana I used to know a couple people that made them. I don't have any pictures at the moment though. Rustic canes are cool, and definitely and easier option for Osage Orange since "good" lumber is so hard to find. But Buck wants a thwackin' knob, so a thwackin' knob it is. @buck19delta got the prototype (sycamore) done... glad I did it because I turned up a few things I want to change before trying it with OO... like how obvious the different layers of wood turned out to be. I can minimize that by being a little more careful in selecting wood than I was here, and using a different glue without such an obvious glue line. Overall though, even this'n seems capable of holding a rickety old man up. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/219829/DSC_0305_JPG-3206864.jpg https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/219829/DSC_0308_JPG-3206863.jpg  That’s looks AMAZING !  . GREAT JOB ! Milling sycamore vs Osage is like milling candle wax vs ar500 armor plate. Good luck ! Only advice I can give is go slow and make more, and shallower cuts, than deeper / fewer / faster cuts. Maybe use carbide cutters. Looks perfect, you got every dimension great, the bottom lip is perfect too. Since it’s going to be lamanated construction, I’m thinking of staining it to resemble a laminated rifle stock. Think it’s possible to stain Osage to look like this ?  Attached File |
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Posted: 5/6/2024 11:51:49 AM EDT
[#21]
Yeah, I wanted to cut something soft first because I was just checking all the geometry and everything before committing to tougher stuff. OO actually machines pretty nicely, though.
As for staining it, not sure. Never tried, but it's so hard and dense it might be hard to get stain to penetrate. That being said, it can have some interesting grain and colors on it's own... and will actually fade over time from the bright yellow orange of freshly-milled stuff to a kind of dark chocolate brown. Sometimes the grain comes out pretty neat all by itself. I'll scrounge around and see if I can find an example of an aged piece with interesting grain and post a pic. Grain patterns tend to disappear at this scale, though. The other reason I used sycamore is because quartersawn sycamore has a really neat grain pattern, but it turns out that a cylindrical shape doesn't really expose it. All I can do is keep going and hopefully we'll get to something we both like! I'm curious to see what Osage Orange looks like myself. |
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Posted: 5/6/2024 12:50:19 PM EDT
[#22]
Looks great. Anytime you guys want to come by south OK, I can give you all the OO you want. You probably have plenty in Missouri. Does Kentucky have OO?
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Posted: 5/6/2024 4:54:06 PM EDT
[#23]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By hollowhandle: Looks great. Anytime you guys want to come by south OK, I can give you all the OO you want. You probably have plenty in Missouri. Does Kentucky have OO? We do, there was a massive one at my last house. |
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Posted: 5/6/2024 5:24:48 PM EDT
[#24]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By buck19delta: We do, there was a massive one at my last house. Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By buck19delta: Originally Posted By hollowhandle: Looks great. Anytime you guys want to come by south OK, I can give you all the OO you want. You probably have plenty in Missouri. Does Kentucky have OO? We do, there was a massive one at my last house. Plenty here too, but almost nobody mills it into lumber. It gets used as fenceposts and firewood, mostly. I need a sawmill. 
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Posted: Yesterday 11:24:37 AM EDT
[Last Edit: buck19delta]
[#25]
I milled a bunch of 16’ 6x6 and 8x8 cedar beams out of logs using a chain saw a few years back using a husky 455 rancher, it worked pretty well, just slow. All that’s needed is an 16’ 2x6 board to run the saw on, annd a guide you bolt to the saw bar. I’d screw it down with a deck screw, make the cut, remove screw, move saw, put screw back in, make next cut, etc. Each side of a 16’ beam took 15 minutes and a tank of gas. Burned 56 tanks of gas cutting beams. OO might be a bit tougher.
My last property had BEAUTIFUL. 60’ cedar trees like telephone poles, which would have been much better than these short fat trees that I could barely get 16’ out of. Here’s some of those awesome cedars used as supports for a deer stand tower. The cedar poles were easily 3x longer when I cut them down, I chopped to 50% to build this tower, put 4’ into the ground and then cut another 10’ off to finish up once I hoisted the walls up. Those cedar trees were simply beautiful at that place. In this pic, the floor is 16’ off the ground, 4 feet of pole in the ground, and original poles least 20’ longer before I started trimming.  Attached File Attached FileI used most of the beams as posts as the project didn’t work out, but I still have some nice thick cedar slabs 5’ x 24” x 7” thick Iv been meaning to sand down and turn into bench seats with steel legs etc, I’ll get to it eventually.  Attached File Attached File Attached File |
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Posted: Today 7:00:18 AM EDT
[Last Edit: Jkees]
[#26]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By midmo: Plenty here too, but almost nobody mills it into lumber. It gets used as fenceposts and firewood, mostly. I need a sawmill. Don't know where you are at, but there is a place kind of tucked away in the hood of St. Louis called Lumber Logs LLC. They have phenomenal prices, and we have been able to get some really good cuts of osage orange there, but they are only open from 9-11 am on the first and third saturday of the month. I don't know if these prices are exactly current because I have not been there in about a year, but they have some prices posted here. It really can be worth a trip out there, they get their logs for free from city expansion and maintenance projects, so along with the short man hours their price margins are incredible. |
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OH, USA
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Posted: Today 7:32:27 AM EDT
[#27]
I know this does not meet all of your criteria, however their quality is second to none and they use the finest and densest Hickory available.
I own their walking stick and one of the canes, I bought it for aesthetic and self defense use, not for any type of medical necessity. https://kingfisherwoodworks.com/collections/featured/products/self-defense-cane |
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Posted: Today 9:47:15 AM EDT
[#28]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Jkees: Don't know where you are at, but there is a place kind of tucked away in the hood of St. Louis called Lumber Logs LLC. They have phenomenal prices, and we have been able to get some really good cuts of osage orange there, but they are only open from 9-11 am on the first and third saturday of the month. I don't know if these prices are exactly current because I have not been there in about a year, but they have some prices posted here. It really can be worth a trip out there, they get their logs for free from city expansion and maintenance projects, so along with the short man hours their price margins are incredible. Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Jkees: Originally Posted By midmo: Plenty here too, but almost nobody mills it into lumber. It gets used as fenceposts and firewood, mostly. I need a sawmill. Don't know where you are at, but there is a place kind of tucked away in the hood of St. Louis called Lumber Logs LLC. They have phenomenal prices, and we have been able to get some really good cuts of osage orange there, but they are only open from 9-11 am on the first and third saturday of the month. I don't know if these prices are exactly current because I have not been there in about a year, but they have some prices posted here. It really can be worth a trip out there, they get their logs for free from city expansion and maintenance projects, so along with the short man hours their price margins are incredible. Pretty neat place, and kinda after my own heart... I'm trying to do sort of the same thing on a much smaller scale here in the middle of the state. Just picking stuff from the city compost heap, stuff I cut myself, and word-of-mouth logs that are easy enough to come by once people know you're looking, but it's enough to keep me busy for now. Will definitely have to hook up with them though! Fiddling around with something new this morning, Osage Orange 1911 grips...  |
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Posted: Today 10:37:25 AM EDT
[#29]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By midmo: Pretty neat place, and kinda after my own heart... I'm trying to do sort of the same thing on a much smaller scale here in the middle of the state. Just picking stuff from the city compost heap, stuff I cut myself, and word-of-mouth logs that are easy enough to come by once people know you're looking, but it's enough to keep me busy for now. Will definitely have to hook up with them though! Fiddling around with something new this morning, Osage Orange 1911 grips... https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/219829/DSC_0312l-3208666.png Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By midmo: Originally Posted By Jkees: Originally Posted By midmo: Plenty here too, but almost nobody mills it into lumber. It gets used as fenceposts and firewood, mostly. I need a sawmill. Don't know where you are at, but there is a place kind of tucked away in the hood of St. Louis called Lumber Logs LLC. They have phenomenal prices, and we have been able to get some really good cuts of osage orange there, but they are only open from 9-11 am on the first and third saturday of the month. I don't know if these prices are exactly current because I have not been there in about a year, but they have some prices posted here. It really can be worth a trip out there, they get their logs for free from city expansion and maintenance projects, so along with the short man hours their price margins are incredible. Pretty neat place, and kinda after my own heart... I'm trying to do sort of the same thing on a much smaller scale here in the middle of the state. Just picking stuff from the city compost heap, stuff I cut myself, and word-of-mouth logs that are easy enough to come by once people know you're looking, but it's enough to keep me busy for now. Will definitely have to hook up with them though! Fiddling around with something new this morning, Osage Orange 1911 grips... https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/219829/DSC_0312l-3208666.png That’s awesome ! Love me some 1911 ! |
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Posted: Today 11:09:53 AM EDT
[#30]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By buck19delta: That’s awesome ! Love me some 1911 ! Thanks Working on a checkered version now...  Haven't abandoned the cane though! Had to glue up a few new pieces this morning since I went back and picked out some new ones based on what I learned with the sycamore version. Probably let that dry all day before giving that one a go. |
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