What I ended up with for a cane

[Matt Ranum]

A while back I was asking for some input on making walking canes for my Dad who was recently stricken with Cancer. This is what I ended up with for a first one. The only stock I had was 4/4 so I had to do some glue ups and thought for the shaft maybe a small strip of Walnut between the Maple would look decent. I had some scraps that had pretty decent grain in them and hated to burn them(another reason Santa gave me pen turning stuff) so thought I would try and use them for this. Since the shaft was so long and I didn't have a steady rest I used shall we say some unconventional methods. I ended up turning a series of grooves along the shaft to use as depth gauges then took it to my galoot/neanderthal section of my shop and with my #3 Bailey took it down to my depth markers, then remounted it on the lathe and finished it off with a skew. The handle was all done the neanderthal way.

I wanted the grain to show through nicely, and wanted to try something other than poly so I picked up some Watco, which if I understand correctly is a BLO & varnish combo. I was floored how much it showed the grain off, I will definitely be using this stuff more often.

Dad was pretty proud when he was showing it off to the nurses in the Cancer center today when I took him in for a treatment. That right there is what its all about.:)

Anyway here are some before and after shots.

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k65/mr_matt3764/2010_01060001.jpg

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k65/mr_matt3764/2010_01060002.jpg

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k65/mr_matt3764/2010_01060002.jpg

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k65/mr_matt3764/2010_01060009.jpg

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k65/mr_matt3764/2010_01060010.jpg

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k65/mr_matt3764/2010_01060006-1.jpg

[Richard Madison]

Looks great from here Matt, but if your Dad likes it that's what really matters.

[David E Keller]

That's beautiful. Amazing figure on that maple. Your dad has every reason to be proud of it.

[Paul Douglass]

I'd certaimly be proud of it. Great job.

[Baxter Smith]

Real classy! Well done!

[Michael Short]

Very nice cane Matt. I bet your dad is very pleased with it.

I am getting ready to do that same thing for my mom. I have been thinking of a similar style to make for her.

[Ted Calver]

Matt,
You better put a LoJack chip in that beauty!! Somebody will snatch it when your dad's not looking. Very nice!!

[Mark Hubl]

Nice job Matt. Looks great and it will help your Dad out a bunch. The pride in the piece will give him strength you can't imagine. Well done.

[John Keeton]

Excellent work, Matt! I really like the lamination, and you did a superior job on the shaping of the handle. That Watco really made a nice finish and popped the grain beautifully.

How did you end up securing the T handle to the shaft?

[Jeff Nicol]

Matt, Since I have never turned a cane yet I believe you did a fine job! I normally find small trees and branches in the forest and use them to make canes from. I have a hundred or more waiting to be finished, all have a natural crook for the handle and some need some carving done on them to make them special. I will have to turn one and see what happens. I will show you the ones I have in a couple weeks.

Jeff

[Matt Ranum]

John I used a 5/16" x 2 1/2" fluted dowel rod glued with that expanding gorilla glue. I don't really care for that stuff too much but figured that would be a good spot for it. I debated about running some small dowels across the dowel joint as a secondary lock in case the glue joint would break free but decided against it, at least on this one. Maybe the next one I'll try that, I found some Walnut in my shed thats a bit thicker so I'm going to try another without laminating.

Jeff, looking forward to seeing those, and as an FYI. The shaft itself was 29" long and 1" at the top to 7/8" at the bottom to fit the rubber tip. Thought about going to 3/4" but opted for the larger diameter for strength.

[charlie knighton]

very nice, your dad should be proud of it

[Norman Pyles]

Very nice!!!!!!

[Steve Schlumpf]

Beautiful work Matt! Love the curl! Bet your Dad shows it off to everyone! Can't ask for anything more than that! Thanks for sharing!

[Bernie Weishapl]

That is beautiful. I bet dad is proud of that.

[Matt Ranum]

Thanks for the kind words everyone!

[Allen Neighbors]

Pat yourself on the back, Matt! That's about as perfect as it could be!

[Dolan Brown]

That is a beautiful cane and what a nice way to show the love for your father.

[Dave Halter]

That's a beautiful piece of work. It's great that it has some special meaning for you and your father.

[Gary Chester]

heart warming...

[willie sobat]

Very nice Matt!