Woodworking Question

[Knothead]

Wow, you've worked with some really wild wood, man!

SHarder, if you don't mind, I wonder if you'd tell us about this 'nose rebuild'...because just yesterday, I was getting a check-up, and the doc looked in my nose and asked "so how long have you had that nasal infection?"

I had noticed something wrong in that dept., but figured it would go away by itself. He gave me a scrip for antibiotic, plus--get this--nasal steroid spray!. Yechh.

Anyway, last night I was trying to figure it out, and realized it started about the time of this enormous set of Cherry cabinets I did, 3 months ago.

I have read all the books, magazine articles, etc. about toxic woods...I discovered early on I am sensitive to Mahogany, believe it or not...but CHERRY??

My question is, do you think your difficulty started out because of this? I've noticed for the last month or so I've been weak as a kitten (body fighting the infection) so I'm glad I got help, but hope I haven't damaged my sniffer.

[samwichse]

Ironwood is the coolest!

There's also a similar tree/shrub called musclewood (or american hornbeam, Carpinus caroliniana) with the same characteristics. The reason it's so dang expensive though is that:

A) it's a non commercial species (people always manage for other stuff)
B) it's almost more a shrub than a tree
C) it's hard to find it growing except very moist, but well drained sites (read: the best sites).

Ironwood's a little more flakey looking, but I love musclewood because it's got smooth bark and the smooth/lumpy shape of the stem really does look like the muscle/sinew in an arm.

And I'd just go for plain old hickory. Heck, if it's good enough to make axe handles out of, it's good enough for a walking stick .

Sam

EDIT: I'm not trying to be a know it all or anything, just practicing for my comps (ugh).

[sharder8]

My question is, do you think your difficulty started out because of this?

Nope!

Mine came from the 2 years of martial arts at international levels! (I was great at blocking roundhouse kicks with my nose! )

Harder

[Knothead]

Thanks, I'm relieved.

(I was great at blocking roundhouse kicks with my nose! )---SHarder

STOP THAT! lol

[RedFury]

Well, unless the guys I was working with at the time were pulling my leg, my company sanded an Ironwood hardwood floor! ( plus steps and risers ). All I can say is, it was damn hard to sand the old finish off. Took twice as long as they normally take to sand that floor. Never saw it finished though..what a shame.

Heck, I haven't even HEARD of half these woods, and I work with hardwood floors everyday!

Brazillian Cherrywood used to be one of my favorite woods, until I saw red Birch...beautiful as a floor. We do see some interesting stuff though. Spotted Gum...ugly white, yellow and green grained wood. Someone put about 500 sq. ft of it next to about 900 feet of real nice Walnut ( including the entire staircase )

[Ruler2112]

Sharder- When I read about your 'last nose re-build', I thought for a minute that we might have Michael Jackson on these boards!

RedFury- "Right-a-circle, left-a-circle. Right-a-circle, left-a-circle."

"Now show me sand-da-floor!"

Spotted Gum?

[HamletSword]

I make quite a few walking sticks, and what woods are good and which ones are not depends on what you are really after. Hickory is the strongest US wood. Oak will also make a good cane, but as someone else mentioned, these are both big grain woods. This is an appearance, not a strength, issue.If you want a rustic looking cane, either hickory or oak are great. If you want a more polished appearance, I like maple if I am going to be staining the wood. Walnut is a very nice brown and a good hard wood. If you want a light-colored cane, youpon holly is normally available in a walk through the wood and makes a very hard stick. Pick one that is a bit larger than you want, they shrink more than most woods when they dry. Fruit woods, such as apple and cherry make good sticks. Stay away from conifer woods although some people say spruce can make a good cane.

The think that you need to remember is that there is no single wood that is best for a cane. It is all a balancing act. Do you prefer a light stick that will not transfer as much shock up to your elbow and wrist, or do you want a stick that will have no give to it at all. Do you want something that is 1/2 inch thick or something over an inch thick. Do you want a visible grain or not? Do you want bark on, bark off, or partial bark? Do you want something you can carve easily with handtools, or something that will virtually never nick and/or dent. Lignum vitae is actually the hardest densest wood, but if you carry it on a boat, don't expect to see it again if you drop it overboard. You can get the mechanical properties of wood from the Forestry department. Search the web for Stroud Metal Works and you can buy steel ferrules for the end of a country stick, or you can buy rubber ferrules for a city stick at any medical supply or Wal Mart.

With all that said, my favorite woods for stick making are white oak for the ease with which I can get a nice color with ammonia fuming, Peruvian walnut because of the beautiful brown it is naturally, and then I use Ebony for a naturally black stick (but very pricy) or maple for the ease with which I can dye/ebonize it. I like youpon holly and ebony for making spacers that allow me to dress a stick without a collar, the holly for white and ebony for black. Someone mentioned snakewood -- that is great and very beautiful, but it is hard to find a good piece long enough, and when you do find it be prepared to give up your first born to buy it. I don't like rosewood despite its beauty. It transmits too much shock up the stick for my taste without having the outstanding virtues of an ebony or snakewood. Ash makes a good substitute for the way I use maple. Bubinga is nice, zebrawood is nice, mahogany makes a good light stick, beech and birch are both good. Blackthorn is actually considered to make the very best canes, but it is almost impossible to get in the US, and I have never had the pleasure of making a cane from it. The cane I actually use the most for myself is an ivory handle on a malacca shaft, but I have never found a malacca source to make any with it myself. It is perfect though, light, strong but flexible, and wears like iron. That stick is 111 years old now and still going strong.

Bottom line -- there is no one wood that is the best. Think about what you want and what you want to use it for and then find a wood that fits those characteristics. Short grain on hardwood need not be a problem unless you intend to cut a curved or crook handle. Even then you can reinforce the grain with dowels by drilling and dowelling. If you use a two piece cane, shank and handle, any hardwood will do the job if you don't weigh 300 lb and want a 1/2" birch shank. If you like a weaker wood and are a big man, just use a bigger diameter shank. Just figure out what you want in a stick and then get the wood to do it. Stickmaking is fun.