While writing the previous article on the English Gentleman’s Walking Stick I was reminded of a few hiking sticks that I made over the past couple of years.

I made a couple of them by turning decorative knob handles that sit atop perfectly straight shafts of exotic woods of unknown origin (honestly, they’re just commercially made push broom handles ) and a couple of them were made from young Birch trees that I cut, peeled and carved.

Each one is about 56″ (142cm) long and from 1 1/8″ – 1 1/4″ (2.5cm – 3cm) in diameter. They are all finished with just a couple of coatings of tung oil. One of the carved ones had a bit of stain brushed on to darken the carving.

Here are some more photos showing a closer look of the top of the hiking sticks:

Continue reading 'And Speaking Of Walking Sticks…'

My project for the Nova Woodturners Guild Fun Turn was, what has come to be called, an English gentleman’s walking stick. It is made of African Red Mahogany and it is 46 inches (117cm) long. It features aluminum rings on the shaft as well as a silver plated disk on the knob.

The object of the Fun Turn is to turn something from a 6″ X 6″ X 3″ block of wood, in this case, African Red Mahogany. I wanted to do something different again this year, something that I hadn’t done before. Last year I turned the Shared Heritage piece which sits in our living room and I enjoy seeing it every time I walk into the room. It’s unlikely that I would ever have turned this piece if I wasn’t given the Fun Turn challenge. I also wanted to create something that would maximize the amount of wood in the block. So after months of staring at the wood, (yep, just sitting there and staring at it ), it came to me – I would make a walking stick. That would definitely maximize the wood!

I cut the block into eight 1 1/2″ X 6″ pieces, drilled a 2″ deep hole in each end, except for the top and bottom piece which only had one. I wanted something to accent where the pieces joined so I cut 1 1/2″ pieces of 1/8″ aluminum, rounded the edges on the grinder for easier turning, drilled holes in them and then glued the whole thing together with 4″ long hardwood dowels. However, to make it easier for roughing I just glued two pieces together at a time. I turned them individually and then when they were all rough turned I glued them all together and did the final turn and shaping.

The top was made out of a separate piece of wood, some type of Mahogany that I had here in the shop and matched well, with just enough shade variance to accent. The tip is made of just several washers and a screw which not only matched the other ‘silvers’ but will also be quite adequate at protecting the wood. To get the right length I cut several inches off the bottom section.

Here are some more photos of the stick including one of the block of wood that I began with:

Continue reading 'An English Gentlemen’s Walking Stick'

For a recent woodturning project I required a spindle steady rest. I couldn’t find anything locally that would fit my lathe and the ones I found for sale elsewhere were lathe specific or way above what I was willing to pay so I decided to build my own. Boy, was I glad that I did because it was really easy to do!

A spindle steady is used to steady a long spindle while turning. The smaller the diameter and the longer the spindle is the more likely it is to vibrate and ‘whip’ back and forth, making it pretty much impossible to turn. The spindle steady, using clamping pressure with a series of wheels, tames this erratic motion allowing you to turn your piece as normal. Basically it minimizes the distance of support on your workpiece.

Making your own steady rest is rather straight forward and easily finished in a day, though an afternoon and a few hours the following morning is preferred since this will give time for the glued pieces to dry.

Here’s how I built mine:

Continue reading 'How To Make A Spindle Steady Rest'

Here’s a wooden canister that I recently made of Ash. The 9″ sides are tapered slightly from its 4″ diameter base to an approximate 3″ diameter lid, which is topped with a Cocobolo knob.

It was finished with tung oil and then buffed and shined with the three step Beale system.

The grain of the Ash really accentuates this piece, making it appear taller and the sides more tapered.

The lid fits perfectly into the base with a 1/4″ tenon. It’s not too tight and not too loose.

Here’s a few more photos:

Continue reading 'Ash Canister With Cocobolo Lid Pull'