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mac davis June 23rd 05 05:14 PM

Wood bending for canes?
 
I've been researching on the web, but now I'm looking for anyone with practical
experience...

A friend asked if I could "redo" his favorite cane... natural type branch wood
with a wood sprite carved in.. My wife took it on, sanded and refinished, then
did a little wood burning on it..
It blew him away.. he said that in this area, it was really hard to find
anything but standard canes... the only "cool" stuff available was walking
sticks... and that he had several friends that were always looking for nice
canes in the $50 - $100+ range... (cha-ching)

Has anyone done any wood bending for cane handles?
The web is full of bending info for boats, kayaks, canoes, planes, etc... none
on canes..
Most canes for sale on the web (other than the standard institutional type) are
sticks with separate handles attached... he says that they are weak and awkward,
so we'd like to learn about bending green? wood for canes...

Any info appreciated, and idea, hints, tips, etc...


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

Brian June 23rd 05 05:33 PM

check with folks that are building Sheperd sticks the link attached is
someone that I know has worked on problems like what you mention because he
wants that strength.
http://www.harbornet.com/~gmacdonald/

there are a lot of other links on a google too.

Brian



Dan Bollinger June 23rd 05 05:56 PM

Bending canes is not unlike bending anything. Same process, and in fact, a
little simpler than most. It helps to have a drying fixture(s). You only
have to steam the tips, the rest act as a lever for bending.

Some woods bend better than others. "The Wood Bending Handbook" is out of
print, but available used, see:

http://www.alibris.com/search/search...*listing*title

Dan



A friend asked if I could "redo" his favorite cane... natural type branch

wood
with a wood sprite carved in.. My wife took it on, sanded and refinished,

then
did a little wood burning on it..
It blew him away.. he said that in this area, it was really hard to find
anything but standard canes... the only "cool" stuff available was walking
sticks... and that he had several friends that were always looking for

nice
canes in the $50 - $100+ range... (cha-ching)

Has anyone done any wood bending for cane handles?
The web is full of bending info for boats, kayaks, canoes, planes, etc...

none
on canes..
Most canes for sale on the web (other than the standard institutional

type) are
sticks with separate handles attached... he says that they are weak and

awkward,
so we'd like to learn about bending green? wood for canes...

Any info appreciated, and idea, hints, tips, etc...


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing




mac davis June 23rd 05 05:57 PM

On Thu, 23 Jun 2005 08:33:47 -0700, "Brian" wrote:

check with folks that are building Sheperd sticks the link attached is
someone that I know has worked on problems like what you mention because he
wants that strength.
http://www.harbornet.com/~gmacdonald/

there are a lot of other links on a google too.

Brian

thanks, Brian.. but it seems like George's sticks all have the heads attached,
not bent out of the cane stock itself??

I'm trying to avoid building a steam chamber, but yak never know...


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

George June 23rd 05 06:17 PM


"mac davis" wrote in message
...

I'm trying to avoid building a steam chamber, but yak never know...


Willow.

A steam chamber is as simple as a kettle and a piece of stovepipe.

At school we had a setup for snowshoes between the heating pipes where we'd
stripped away the (asbestos?) insulation to put the pipe. Guess I'm gonna
die....




Leif Thorvaldson June 23rd 05 10:44 PM


"mac davis" wrote in message
...
I've been researching on the web, but now I'm looking for anyone with
practical
experience...

A friend asked if I could "redo" his favorite cane... natural type branch
wood
with a wood sprite carved in.. My wife took it on, sanded and refinished,
then
did a little wood burning on it..
It blew him away.. he said that in this area, it was really hard to find
anything but standard canes... the only "cool" stuff available was walking
sticks... and that he had several friends that were always looking for
nice
canes in the $50 - $100+ range... (cha-ching)

Has anyone done any wood bending for cane handles?
The web is full of bending info for boats, kayaks, canoes, planes, etc...
none
on canes..
Most canes for sale on the web (other than the standard institutional
type) are
sticks with separate handles attached... he says that they are weak and
awkward,
so we'd like to learn about bending green? wood for canes...

Any info appreciated, and idea, hints, tips, etc...


mac


====Well, Mac! You plant a sapling of whatever type of wood you want and
as it grows you start bending the tip over, eventually hanging a weight on
it. Depending on the wood, in five to ten years you'll have a bent cane
handle. It is sorta like Xmas tree farming, ya gotta wait awhile before it
pays off! ( Well, you did say "any" info appreciated, and idea, hits, tips,
etc!)*G*

Leif



Ken Moon June 24th 05 05:49 AM


"mac davis" wrote in message
...
I've been researching on the web, but now I'm looking for anyone with
practical
experience...

SNIP........
Most canes for sale on the web (other than the standard institutional
type) are
sticks with separate handles attached... he says that they are weak and
awkward,
so we'd like to learn about bending green? wood for canes...

Any info appreciated, and idea, hints, tips, etc...

=========================
Mac,
Not all shafts with separate handles are weak and awkward. I made a mesquite
cane for my Dad for his 80th birthday. The shaft was a reasonably straight
(there is no such thing as STRAIGHT mesquite) sapling, about 7/8 inch on the
bottom up to about 1-1/4 at the handle end. The handle was larger, about
1-3/4 cut near a fork, so the cut revealed the usual maroon of the mesquite
heartwood. I made a ball on the end of the shaft and a socket in the handle
to receive it. There was a slight taper on the mating surfaces of the shaft
and handle to maximize the mating surfaces. After every thing fit like I
wanted it to, I filled the socket hole in the handle with epoxy and fitted
the shaft into it to set up. I was worried that the setting process of the
epoxy would cause the handle to split, but it did OK. I engraved his name on
one side of the handle and his birth date on the other side, as well as
carving reliefs on the handle for finger grips. Then the whole thing was
finished with clear poly.

SInce my Dad had been a life long woodworker, I knew he would test it for
strength, and he did. He put his full weight ( about 175#) on it, but I knew
it would hold because I'd put my 300# on it before I gave it to him. So the
separate shaft/ handle configuration can be a viable option. I brought the
cane home after his death, so if you're interested, I could try to post
pictures or e-mail them to you.

Ken Moon
Webberville, TX.



Tom Storey June 24th 05 06:09 AM

That book is available from my local library. Call # 674.8

Tom

"Dan Bollinger" wrote in message
news:mYAue.96868$xm3.75730@attbi_s21...
Bending canes is not unlike bending anything. Same process, and in fact, a
little simpler than most. It helps to have a drying fixture(s). You only
have to steam the tips, the rest act as a lever for bending.

Some woods bend better than others. "The Wood Bending Handbook" is out of
print, but available used, see:

http://www.alibris.com/search/search...*listing*title

Dan



A friend asked if I could "redo" his favorite cane... natural type branch

wood
with a wood sprite carved in.. My wife took it on, sanded and refinished,

then
did a little wood burning on it..
It blew him away.. he said that in this area, it was really hard to find
anything but standard canes... the only "cool" stuff available was
walking
sticks... and that he had several friends that were always looking for

nice
canes in the $50 - $100+ range... (cha-ching)

Has anyone done any wood bending for cane handles?
The web is full of bending info for boats, kayaks, canoes, planes, etc...

none
on canes..
Most canes for sale on the web (other than the standard institutional

type) are
sticks with separate handles attached... he says that they are weak and

awkward,
so we'd like to learn about bending green? wood for canes...

Any info appreciated, and idea, hints, tips, etc...


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing






mac davis June 24th 05 06:28 AM

On Thu, 23 Jun 2005 15:56:02 GMT, "Dan Bollinger"
wrote:

Bending canes is not unlike bending anything. Same process, and in fact, a
little simpler than most. It helps to have a drying fixture(s). You only
have to steam the tips, the rest act as a lever for bending.

Some woods bend better than others. "The Wood Bending Handbook" is out of
print, but available used, see:

http://www.alibris.com/search/search...*listing*title

Dan


thanks, Dan... that looks like a great start..
My wife thought that she could do better on the price, so it's her assignment
now.. *g*


A friend asked if I could "redo" his favorite cane... natural type branch

wood
with a wood sprite carved in.. My wife took it on, sanded and refinished,

then
did a little wood burning on it..
It blew him away.. he said that in this area, it was really hard to find
anything but standard canes... the only "cool" stuff available was walking
sticks... and that he had several friends that were always looking for

nice
canes in the $50 - $100+ range... (cha-ching)

Has anyone done any wood bending for cane handles?
The web is full of bending info for boats, kayaks, canoes, planes, etc...

none
on canes..
Most canes for sale on the web (other than the standard institutional

type) are
sticks with separate handles attached... he says that they are weak and

awkward,
so we'd like to learn about bending green? wood for canes...

Any info appreciated, and idea, hints, tips, etc...


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing





mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

mac davis June 24th 05 06:32 AM

On Thu, 23 Jun 2005 12:17:12 -0400, "George" wrote:


"mac davis" wrote in message
.. .

I'm trying to avoid building a steam chamber, but yak never know...


Willow.

A steam chamber is as simple as a kettle and a piece of stovepipe.

At school we had a setup for snowshoes between the heating pipes where we'd
stripped away the (asbestos?) insulation to put the pipe. Guess I'm gonna
die....

I was actually thinking of using the hot tub.. 300 gallons of 101 degree
water...
that, or soaking in water and using the heat gun..

I used to install furnace insulation back in the 70's... got out of it when the
2nd or 3rd one of the older guys got black spots on their lungs.. nasty stuff..



mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

mac davis June 24th 05 06:33 AM

On Thu, 23 Jun 2005 13:44:53 -0700, "Leif Thorvaldson" wrote:


"mac davis" wrote in message
.. .
I've been researching on the web, but now I'm looking for anyone with
practical
experience...

A friend asked if I could "redo" his favorite cane... natural type branch
wood
with a wood sprite carved in.. My wife took it on, sanded and refinished,
then
did a little wood burning on it..
It blew him away.. he said that in this area, it was really hard to find
anything but standard canes... the only "cool" stuff available was walking
sticks... and that he had several friends that were always looking for
nice
canes in the $50 - $100+ range... (cha-ching)

Has anyone done any wood bending for cane handles?
The web is full of bending info for boats, kayaks, canoes, planes, etc...
none
on canes..
Most canes for sale on the web (other than the standard institutional
type) are
sticks with separate handles attached... he says that they are weak and
awkward,
so we'd like to learn about bending green? wood for canes...

Any info appreciated, and idea, hints, tips, etc...


mac


====Well, Mac! You plant a sapling of whatever type of wood you want and
as it grows you start bending the tip over, eventually hanging a weight on
it. Depending on the wood, in five to ten years you'll have a bent cane
handle. It is sorta like Xmas tree farming, ya gotta wait awhile before it
pays off! ( Well, you did say "any" info appreciated, and idea, hits, tips,
etc!)*G*

Leif

thanks a bunch, leif...
in 5 or 10 years I'll probably NEED a cane..


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

mac davis June 24th 05 06:35 AM

On Fri, 24 Jun 2005 03:49:10 GMT, "Ken Moon" wrote:


"mac davis" wrote in message
.. .
I've been researching on the web, but now I'm looking for anyone with
practical
experience...

SNIP........
Most canes for sale on the web (other than the standard institutional
type) are
sticks with separate handles attached... he says that they are weak and
awkward,
so we'd like to learn about bending green? wood for canes...

Any info appreciated, and idea, hints, tips, etc...

=========================
Mac,
Not all shafts with separate handles are weak and awkward. I made a mesquite
cane for my Dad for his 80th birthday. The shaft was a reasonably straight
(there is no such thing as STRAIGHT mesquite) sapling, about 7/8 inch on the
bottom up to about 1-1/4 at the handle end. The handle was larger, about
1-3/4 cut near a fork, so the cut revealed the usual maroon of the mesquite
heartwood. I made a ball on the end of the shaft and a socket in the handle
to receive it. There was a slight taper on the mating surfaces of the shaft
and handle to maximize the mating surfaces. After every thing fit like I
wanted it to, I filled the socket hole in the handle with epoxy and fitted
the shaft into it to set up. I was worried that the setting process of the
epoxy would cause the handle to split, but it did OK. I engraved his name on
one side of the handle and his birth date on the other side, as well as
carving reliefs on the handle for finger grips. Then the whole thing was
finished with clear poly.

SInce my Dad had been a life long woodworker, I knew he would test it for
strength, and he did. He put his full weight ( about 175#) on it, but I knew
it would hold because I'd put my 300# on it before I gave it to him. So the
separate shaft/ handle configuration can be a viable option. I brought the
cane home after his death, so if you're interested, I could try to post
pictures or e-mail them to you.

Ken Moon
Webberville, TX.

I'd love to see the pictures, Ken.. either email or ABPW...


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

Lobby Dosser June 24th 05 08:02 AM

mac davis wrote:

thanks a bunch, leif...
in 5 or 10 years I'll probably NEED a cane..



It just ocurred to me that during one of my fits of ebayery I had
purchased a book on cane making. Here are the specs:

'Walking and Working Sticks' by Theo Fossel
ISBN 1 869988 0 Hardback
ISBN 1 869988 9 Paprback

It's a small book - 5x8 or so and 125 pages - but crammed with
information. Types of wood to use, straightening, a few pages on bending
handles, antler, horn, and other types of handles, finishes, shepherd's
crooks .... It is well worth getting.

If you are really interested in doing canes and can't find the book, give
me a shout and I'll loan it to you for a while. I tend to squirrel stuff
away for rainy days and we're get some sunshine here in the upper left.

e-mail: lobby dot dosser at verizon dot net

LD

Dan Bollinger June 24th 05 01:53 PM

Mac, 101° isn't hot enough for bending. Steam - actually hot water vapor
at about 200° - is barely hot enough. What steam bending does is soften the
lignin, the natural binder that holds the wood fibers together, so the
fibers can slide past each other. When cooled, it hardens and binds the
fibers once more.

On Thu, 23 Jun 2005 12:17:12 -0400, "George" wrote:


"mac davis" wrote in message
.. .

I'm trying to avoid building a steam chamber, but yak never know...


Willow.

A steam chamber is as simple as a kettle and a piece of stovepipe.

At school we had a setup for snowshoes between the heating pipes where

we'd
stripped away the (asbestos?) insulation to put the pipe. Guess I'm

gonna
die....

I was actually thinking of using the hot tub.. 300 gallons of 101 degree
water...
that, or soaking in water and using the heat gun..

I used to install furnace insulation back in the 70's... got out of it

when the
2nd or 3rd one of the older guys got black spots on their lungs.. nasty

stuff..



mac

Please remove splinters before emailing




Andy McArdle June 24th 05 02:55 PM

Pounding the pulpit in ,
Leif Thorvaldson did expound thusly:


====Well, Mac! You plant a sapling of whatever type of wood you want
and as it grows you start bending the tip over, eventually hanging a
weight on it. Depending on the wood, in five to ten years you'll have a
bent cane handle. It is sorta like Xmas tree farming, ya gotta wait
awhile before it pays off! ( Well, you did say "any" info appreciated,
and idea, hits, tips, etc!)*G*




There was an article on in a local mag some time back on an "artist" who
actually does very similar for making custom walking sticks! They were
lovely spiralled jobs with highly detailed carving, much like the
traditional Scots blackthorn sticks; from memory he only turns out one a
week or fortnight or so.

I forget the name of the tree, but 'tis one of those English trees that
grows in coppices, and generates a lot of suckers every year. He wraps 'em
around lengths of reo-rod as they grow, there was some reason he didn't
steam 'em but unless I can find the magazine....

--
- Andy
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Noah! Come quick! There's water in the basement!



mac davis June 24th 05 05:28 PM

On Fri, 24 Jun 2005 11:53:47 GMT, "Dan Bollinger"
wrote:

Mac, 101° isn't hot enough for bending. Steam - actually hot water vapor
at about 200° - is barely hot enough. What steam bending does is soften the
lignin, the natural binder that holds the wood fibers together, so the
fibers can slide past each other. When cooled, it hardens and binds the
fibers once more.

thanks, Dan... we were wondering how much heat it would need...
the plans on the web for the pvc pipe/coleman stove talk about maintaining about
220 degrees..

Might try the wife's idea: bring a big pot of water to a boil on the bbq side
burner and soak the end we want to bend in it... lay out the clamping form on
the deck next to it... "redneck wood bending"... *g*


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

Dan Bollinger June 24th 05 05:51 PM

thanks, Dan... we were wondering how much heat it would need...
the plans on the web for the pvc pipe/coleman stove talk about maintaining

about
220 degrees..


LOL! Water boils at 212° at sea level. Boiling temperature increases with
pressure. To get to water to 220° it would have to be under a few pounds of
pressure. I don't know of any steam box that is pressurized.

I don't know of any advantage to soaking the wood. Disadvantages are it
will take longer to cool and dry. And, you may get water stains on your
work piece. Just steam it .

Keep in mind that your 'deck' could be the clamping form. Just screw your
blocking to the deck. ;)

Dan


Might try the wife's idea: bring a big pot of water to a boil on the bbq

side
burner and soak the end we want to bend in it... lay out the clamping form

on
the deck next to it... "redneck wood bending"... *g*


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing




Andy Dingley June 24th 05 09:29 PM

On Thu, 23 Jun 2005 12:17:12 -0400, "George" wrote:

A steam chamber is as simple as a kettle and a piece of stovepipe.


Do Americans use wallpaper ?
If so, how do you remove the old wallpaper when re-decorating ?

My steam chamber is a long box powered by a steam wallpaper stripper.
These are cheap (£20 - about the same as a kettle), commonplace and come
with hose connectors ready attached. They also contain 45 minutes worth
of water. Power is that of a small kettle (2.4kW) not a large (3.1kW)
kettle, but you can always pipe two into a box.


mac davis June 26th 05 08:11 AM

On Fri, 24 Jun 2005 15:51:57 GMT, "Dan Bollinger"
wrote:

thanks, Dan... we were wondering how much heat it would need...
the plans on the web for the pvc pipe/coleman stove talk about maintaining

about
220 degrees..


LOL! Water boils at 212° at sea level. Boiling temperature increases with
pressure. To get to water to 220° it would have to be under a few pounds of
pressure. I don't know of any steam box that is pressurized.

I don't know of any advantage to soaking the wood. Disadvantages are it
will take longer to cool and dry. And, you may get water stains on your
work piece. Just steam it .

Keep in mind that your 'deck' could be the clamping form. Just screw your
blocking to the deck. ;)

Dan


that's a damn good idea!
I've been looking at that 5 gallon can of deck stain and thinking that there
MUST be a reason not to restain the deck right away..


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

Leo Van Der Loo July 8th 05 12:18 PM


Hi Mac

How's your cane bending coming, sorry I'm a little late, became Opa
(grandpa) for the 5th time and helped my youngest son move his
belongings, he needs more room now that he has a new addition to his family.
If you look at Lee Valley's web site under "steam bending" you can see
some of the tools used for steam bending, I have not much practical
experience in steam bending, but I do have a tip, you have to get the
wood as hot as you can with steam, and clamp the wood in such a way that
when you bend the wood that the wood does not get stretched, or it will
break, wen bending it should be compressed, and for that you need the
heat so that the wood fibers will slide alongside each other.
That's all I have for you

Have fun and take care
Leo Van Der Loo

mac davis wrote:

I've been researching on the web, but now I'm looking for anyone with practical
experience...

A friend asked if I could "redo" his favorite cane... natural type branch wood
with a wood sprite carved in.. My wife took it on, sanded and refinished, then
did a little wood burning on it..
It blew him away.. he said that in this area, it was really hard to find
anything but standard canes... the only "cool" stuff available was walking
sticks... and that he had several friends that were always looking for nice
canes in the $50 - $100+ range... (cha-ching)

Has anyone done any wood bending for cane handles?
The web is full of bending info for boats, kayaks, canoes, planes, etc... none
on canes..
Most canes for sale on the web (other than the standard institutional type) are
sticks with separate handles attached... he says that they are weak and awkward,
so we'd like to learn about bending green? wood for canes...

Any info appreciated, and idea, hints, tips, etc...


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing



mac davis July 8th 05 07:55 PM

On Fri, 08 Jul 2005 06:18:25 -0400, Leo Van Der Loo
wrote:


Hi Mac

How's your cane bending coming, sorry I'm a little late, became Opa
(grandpa) for the 5th time and helped my youngest son move his
belongings, he needs more room now that he has a new addition to his family.
If you look at Lee Valley's web site under "steam bending" you can see
some of the tools used for steam bending, I have not much practical
experience in steam bending, but I do have a tip, you have to get the
wood as hot as you can with steam, and clamp the wood in such a way that
when you bend the wood that the wood does not get stretched, or it will
break, wen bending it should be compressed, and for that you need the
heat so that the wood fibers will slide alongside each other.
That's all I have for you

Have fun and take care
Leo Van Der Loo

Thanks, leo...
I was in the process of building the steam chamber, when my wife spotted some
trees coming down at a local school...

They turned out to be some kind of ash, 5 good size trees, but pretty messed up
from the bull dozer... we've been busy cutting, loading, unloading, sealing
ends, etc... you know how priorities change when free wood is available.. lol

Most of it is stress cracked from the dozer, and will be firewood and coring
practice, but I'm guessing so far that I'll get 25 or 30 bowls and a lot of
goblets and jars out of it...
The good part is that they had it all pushed into one area, along with some old
bleachers and stuff, so we just cut and go, no cleanup...

we've brought home 2 pickup loads so far... we'll get another load or 2 Saturday
morning and be done.. (I hope)


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing


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