Woodworking Question

[larrwhit]

take a walk into the local woods. keep your eyes open and the ideal walking stick will appear like magic. just pick it up and use it. when you get hone whittle on it, carve a few totems in it, couple peices of leather from a friemds old walking shoes, a few beads and gewgaws(whatever gewgaws are) and you have a better walking stick than anything you could produce in a shop. at least from this aging hippies point of view

If you can find some hemlock that's been kept dry for 100-150 years, it should do. The stuff gets so hard you can't drive a 30 penny spike into it with a sledgehammer. Check in old barns. Some of the beams used to be made from hemlock. Not the wood of choice for barnbuilding... All those pegs that hold them together are usually oak or ash.

Hey Knot, you know what I found when I ripped up my carpets to refinish my floors? Tiger maple floors

Maybe you could get some Ironwood?

[cracked]

what is ironwood? sounds tough

drew

[Gomer]

Knothead:
While we are on the subject of wood...

I picked up two chairs, a bench, and a table (trestle style?) of solid Oregon Myrtle for $80. It is a flawless set. Did I do good?

[Knothead]

LOL, Gomer, ya can't beat that with a frozen rattlesnake!

[Brainchild]

Well the only experiance I have with wood is firewood, but let me tell you, HIckory is some of the hardest stuff to split I have ever tackled, and darn heavy too.

Tiger maple is some pretty stuff though.

[Ruler2112]

Cracked, ironwood is relatively hard, but like most other rosewoods, is also toxic to some people due to severe allergic reactions to the dust. Wear a respirator if you work with it. It's also oily and needs a sealer of some sort.

Something you might want to consider (if you do decide to buy something) is a product called Dymondwood. It's like Knot said earlier- thin laminates layered to produce a thick piece. However, before they laminate them, they are infused with liquified plastic under high heat and pressure. You can get it in all different colors and different combinations of colors- really is beautiful. (I use it when I make knives.) The original wood is birch, but the plastic that's added to it makes it work almost like a solid plastic with a grain. It's also waterproof with no finish- just polish on a buffer and use! I get it from a couple of knife houses, but only one - jantz supply (at http://www.jantzsupply.com/ ) - has dowels long enough for your purposes.


PS- Hickory is for smoking salmon.

I was half kidding about the Ironwood. It's extremely dense; it doesn't float. It's so hard that it used to be made into bearings. It has a fine grain and is some expesive stuff. Really expensive. With a good sanding, it can be made to look like glass. It's pretty regulated stuff. It has to be lying, dead, for at least 100 years before you're allowed to use it for carving or walking-stick making.

So, if you do come across any, send some my way

This means you, Knothead!

[Brainchild]

I saw on New Yankee Workshop, Norm was making a bookcase with ironwood pegs in it, and he said it was only sold by the pound. I think it was 6 bucks a pound,and who knows when the show was made. But a board foot would be really expensive

[sharder8]

Now ya' guys have been crossing into my area! (Sorry Knot!)

I've carved several of the exotic woods and I can tell you that Ruler2112 and prexaspes are both correct about the "Ironwoods". Several woods that fall in this catagory are Rosewood, Zebra wood, Purple Heart, Blood wood, Pau Fero, Babinga, and my favorite is Bacote.

The dust from these can cause an allergic reaction on the skin that looks like a severe rash and itches like HE**. A respirator is highly recommended! These all will produce a beautiful walking stick, if you can afford them, have the proper tools, can find a long enough piece with a nice grain, and have patience when working with them. (Bacote can change grain patterns with 1 swipe of a sanding drum, so be warned.) I wouldn't advise any of the Ironwoods due to the weight of the wood.

Diamond Willow, while it is NOT straight can also make a BEAUTIFUL walking stick, that is strong, durable, and affordable. It's just hard to find the right piece!!!

Rock Ash is easier to come by back east and can be easily formed for the handle. We used to use it at Christian Bros. Hockey Sticks for handles. I tested a couple thousand one summer and can tell you, you need to check the bend in the stick for strength. It's main weakness is in the grain spliting and the split traveling up.

BC, I still have chunks of all the "exotic" woods I named and a few more and I can tell you, I paid by the board foot for all of them. Albeit, some were in the range of $45 a board foot. But, when your using them for pistol grips that you are selling for $45 - $99 a set, it can pay off. On average, I could make a set for an auto in about 2 hours, and a revolver in 4 hours. I sold them as fast as I could make them and got more pleasure at the sight of the finished product.

Unfortunately, I had to quit making them when I had my last nose rebuild and just never got back into making them. I still have the wood blanks, some chunks, and most of the tools, so, one day, I may take it up again as a hobby.

Harder

BTW, my favorite "normal" wood to work with is Oak or Lace Wood (which is similar to Oak, but with a lace pattern in the grain).