Have been asked for advice on making a folding wooden walking stick for a
large heavy man. So its got to be something a bit stronger than usual. Was
thinking of something like using 2 inches (5cm) by 3/4 inche (2cm) in cross
section size.

I searched and read the preferred wood for making aircraft is Douglas Fir,
so i thought that would be good for this stick. (good strength to weight
ratio) but I guess that is difficult to buy already cut to size here in
London. U.K.? Would some kind of building grade plywood be stronger, I
wonder?

The tricky part would be some *self-locking* hinge. Does such a hinge now
exist? I remember very many years ago seeing such a thing (I think on
something agricultural). Would be grateful if anyone had advice on this.
Thanks.

On Aug 20, 8:49*am, "john hamilton" wrote:
Have been asked for advice on making a folding wooden walking stick for a
large heavy man. So its got to be something a bit stronger than usual. Was
thinking of something like using 2 inches (5cm) by 3/4 inche (2cm) in cross
section size.

I searched and read the preferred wood for making aircraft is Douglas Fir,
so i thought that would be good for this stick. (good strength to weight
ratio) but I guess that is difficult to buy already cut to size here in
London. U.K.? Would some kind of building grade plywood be stronger, I
wonder?

The tricky part would be some *self-locking* hinge. Does such a hinge now
exist? I remember very many years ago seeing such a thing (I think on
something agricultural). *Would be grateful if anyone had advice on this.
Thanks.

I don't know of anything that would work - doesn't mean there isn't
one, just that a walking stick presents a lot of problems. Not much
cross sectional area, round and not square, could be subject to fairly
high stress and if it fails there's a _huge_ problem.

What about modeling your cane after one of the folding canes already
on the market? The typical ones have nesting aluminum sections that
are held together by an elastic cord.

The two most likely approaches:
- wrap wood veneers around a store bought cane and then gussy it up
- start with metal tube sections and cut solid wood to fit the tubes.
Cut a piece of wood in half, use a core box bit to hollow out the two
sections, then epoxy the two pieces back together around the tube and
turn it on a lathe.

Either way, inlays and metal banding would dress it up and strengthen
the connection points.

R

On Aug 20, 2:23*pm, RicodJour wrote:
On Aug 20, 8:49*am, "john hamilton" wrote:

Have been asked for advice on making a folding wooden walking stick for a
large heavy man. So its got to be something a bit stronger than usual. Was
thinking of something like using 2 inches (5cm) by 3/4 inche (2cm) in cross
section size.

I searched and read the preferred wood for making aircraft is Douglas Fir,
so i thought that would be good for this stick. (good strength to weight
ratio) but I guess that is difficult to buy already cut to size here in
London. U.K.? Would some kind of building grade plywood be stronger, I
wonder?

The tricky part would be some *self-locking* hinge. Does such a hinge now
exist? I remember very many years ago seeing such a thing (I think on
something agricultural). *Would be grateful if anyone had advice on this.
Thanks.

I don't know of anything that would work - doesn't mean there isn't
one, just that a walking stick presents a lot of problems. *Not much
cross sectional area, round and not square, could be subject to fairly
high stress and if it fails there's a _huge_ problem.

What about modeling your cane after one of the folding canes already
on the market? *The typical ones have nesting aluminum sections that
are held together by an elastic cord.

The two most likely approaches:
- wrap wood veneers around a store bought cane and then gussy it up
- start with metal tube sections and cut solid wood to fit the tubes.
Cut a piece of wood in half, use a core box bit to hollow out the two
sections, then epoxy the two pieces back together around the tube and
turn it on a lathe.

Either way, inlays and metal banding would dress it up and strengthen
the connection points.

R

How about hinging with a regular hinge and fitting a sliding metal
collar to prevent lateral movement of the joint. When the user wants
to collapse the stick they slide up the collar and use the hinge to
fold it. When they use the stick, the open it out and let the collar
slide over the joint (obviously with a stop to prevent it sliding all
the way down the stick). A more tricky question might be what you do
about the handle as this would take a great deal of stress if jointed
to the stick.

On Aug 20, 9:42*am, Lee Nowell wrote:
On Aug 20, 2:23*pm, RicodJour wrote:



On Aug 20, 8:49*am, "john hamilton" wrote:

Have been asked for advice on making a folding wooden walking stick for a
large heavy man. So its got to be something a bit stronger than usual.. Was
thinking of something like using 2 inches (5cm) by 3/4 inche (2cm) in cross
section size.

I searched and read the preferred wood for making aircraft is Douglas Fir,
so i thought that would be good for this stick. (good strength to weight
ratio) but I guess that is difficult to buy already cut to size here in
London. U.K.? Would some kind of building grade plywood be stronger, I
wonder?

The tricky part would be some *self-locking* hinge. Does such a hinge now
exist? I remember very many years ago seeing such a thing (I think on
something agricultural). *Would be grateful if anyone had advice on this.
Thanks.

I don't know of anything that would work - doesn't mean there isn't
one, just that a walking stick presents a lot of problems. *Not much
cross sectional area, round and not square, could be subject to fairly
high stress and if it fails there's a _huge_ problem.

What about modeling your cane after one of the folding canes already
on the market? *The typical ones have nesting aluminum sections that
are held together by an elastic cord.

The two most likely approaches:
- wrap wood veneers around a store bought cane and then gussy it up
- start with metal tube sections and cut solid wood to fit the tubes.
Cut a piece of wood in half, use a core box bit to hollow out the two
sections, then epoxy the two pieces back together around the tube and
turn it on a lathe.

Either way, inlays and metal banding would dress it up and strengthen
the connection points.


How about hinging with a regular hinge and fitting a sliding metal
collar to prevent lateral movement of the joint. *When the user wants
to collapse the stick they slide up the collar and use the hinge to
fold it. *When they use the stick, the open it out and let the collar
slide over the joint (obviously with a stop to prevent it sliding all
the way down the stick). *A more tricky question might be what you do
about the handle as this would take a great deal of stress if jointed
to the stick.

The problem with sliding latches and locks is that they leave room for
human error. A walking stick that is not fully locked is very
dangerous. Very. Lawsuit and broken bones dangerous. The bungee
cord (shock cord to some of you folks) solution keeps the pieces under
constant tension, is very quick to assemble and disassemble, and it is
immediately obvious if the sections aren't fully locked in place.

There's a big risk in such a project, and a very large downside. I
don't know that this is the time to be reinventing the wheel. Then
again, maybe it is - just make sure the thing is foolproof, not
susceptible to wear, and way stronger than needed.

R

On Aug 20, 3:02*pm, RicodJour wrote:
On Aug 20, 9:42*am, Lee Nowell wrote:





On Aug 20, 2:23*pm, RicodJour wrote:

On Aug 20, 8:49*am, "john hamilton" wrote:

Have been asked for advice on making a folding wooden walking stick for a
large heavy man. So its got to be something a bit stronger than usual. Was
thinking of something like using 2 inches (5cm) by 3/4 inche (2cm) in cross
section size.

I searched and read the preferred wood for making aircraft is Douglas Fir,
so i thought that would be good for this stick. (good strength to weight
ratio) but I guess that is difficult to buy already cut to size here in
London. U.K.? Would some kind of building grade plywood be stronger, I
wonder?

The tricky part would be some *self-locking* hinge. Does such a hinge now
exist? I remember very many years ago seeing such a thing (I think on
something agricultural). *Would be grateful if anyone had advice on this.
Thanks.

I don't know of anything that would work - doesn't mean there isn't
one, just that a walking stick presents a lot of problems. *Not much
cross sectional area, round and not square, could be subject to fairly
high stress and if it fails there's a _huge_ problem.

What about modeling your cane after one of the folding canes already
on the market? *The typical ones have nesting aluminum sections that
are held together by an elastic cord.

The two most likely approaches:
- wrap wood veneers around a store bought cane and then gussy it up
- start with metal tube sections and cut solid wood to fit the tubes.
Cut a piece of wood in half, use a core box bit to hollow out the two
sections, then epoxy the two pieces back together around the tube and
turn it on a lathe.

Either way, inlays and metal banding would dress it up and strengthen
the connection points.

How about hinging with a regular hinge and fitting a sliding metal
collar to prevent lateral movement of the joint. *When the user wants
to collapse the stick they slide up the collar and use the hinge to
fold it. *When they use the stick, the open it out and let the collar
slide over the joint (obviously with a stop to prevent it sliding all
the way down the stick). *A more tricky question might be what you do
about the handle as this would take a great deal of stress if jointed
to the stick.

The problem with sliding latches and locks is that they leave room for
human error. *A walking stick that is not fully locked is very
dangerous. *Very. *Lawsuit and broken bones dangerous. *The bungee
cord (shock cord to some of you folks) solution keeps the pieces under
constant tension, is very quick to assemble and disassemble, and it is
immediately obvious if the sections aren't fully locked in place.

There's a big risk in such a project, and a very large downside. *I
don't know that this is the time to be reinventing the wheel. *Then
again, maybe it is - just make sure the thing is foolproof, not
susceptible to wear, and way stronger than needed.

R- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Whilst true, if done correctly, the user would pick the stick up by
the handle, it would automatically unfold on the hinges enabling the
collars to slide down the stick into position.

Why make one?

I use a Leki 'Wanderfreund' walking stick (cane). They are a 'get up
and go' cane. They are collapsable and have several cool attachments
available. At least take a look.

On Aug 20, 10:20*am, Lee Nowell wrote:
On Aug 20, 3:02*pm, RicodJour wrote:
On Aug 20, 9:42*am, Lee Nowell wrote:

How about hinging with a regular hinge and fitting a sliding metal
collar to prevent lateral movement of the joint. *When the user wants
to collapse the stick they slide up the collar and use the hinge to
fold it. *When they use the stick, the open it out and let the collar
slide over the joint (obviously with a stop to prevent it sliding all
the way down the stick). *A more tricky question might be what you do
about the handle as this would take a great deal of stress if jointed
to the stick.

The problem with sliding latches and locks is that they leave room for
human error. *A walking stick that is not fully locked is very
dangerous. *Very. *Lawsuit and broken bones dangerous. *The bungee
cord (shock cord to some of you folks) solution keeps the pieces under
constant tension, is very quick to assemble and disassemble, and it is
immediately obvious if the sections aren't fully locked in place.

There's a big risk in such a project, and a very large downside. *I
don't know that this is the time to be reinventing the wheel. *Then
again, maybe it is - just make sure the thing is foolproof, not
susceptible to wear, and way stronger than needed.


Whilst true, if done correctly, the user would pick the stick up by
the handle, it would automatically unfold on the hinges enabling the
collars to slide down the stick into position.

If the collars could slide freely, there would be play, play leads to
wear. Downward spiral. A sliding collar lock is doable, but there'd
have to be a way to lock it in place and it couldn't more too freely.

This is one of those threads that I really hope that the OP posts an
update with his solution. I'm very interested.

R

On Fri, 20 Aug 2010 13:49:36 +0100, "john hamilton"
wrote:

Have been asked for advice on making a folding wooden walking stick for a
large heavy man. So its got to be something a bit stronger than usual. Was
thinking of something like using 2 inches (5cm) by 3/4 inche (2cm) in cross
section size.

Is this a walking stick as in a stick to help balance, test
foot-holds, and throw snakes out of the way while hiking--- or to help
a disabled person navigate his house and sidewalks?

If the latter- then talk to his physical therapist & do what they
say-- which will probably be 'buy a proper device'.

If the former-- then you need to decide whether strength, weight, or
foldability is the most important feature.


I searched and read the preferred wood for making aircraft is Douglas Fir,
so i thought that would be good for this stick. (good strength to weight
ratio) but I guess that is difficult to buy already cut to size here in
London. U.K.? Would some kind of building grade plywood be stronger, I
wonder?

Doug fir would make a heavy, [compared to nearly any commercially
available stick] weak stick that would be difficult to hinge-- but you
could join two pieces with a ferrule.

I think in the UK, Yew would be much stronger but a bit heavier.

The tricky part would be some *self-locking* hinge. Does such a hinge now
exist? I remember very many years ago seeing such a thing (I think on
something agricultural). Would be grateful if anyone had advice on this.

I have a longbow that comes apart at the handle- joined by a metal
ferrule. It was used for 30 years before I twisted the limbs while
stringing it one day and some laminations were broken. The ferrule
was just fitted tightly. On a walking stick, I'd use a button lock &
maybe a piece of elastic to keep the pieces together.

Jim

john hamilton wrote:
Have been asked for advice on making a folding wooden walking stick for a
large heavy man. So its got to be something a bit stronger than usual. Was
thinking of something like using 2 inches (5cm) by 3/4 inche (2cm) in cross
section size.

I searched and read the preferred wood for making aircraft is Douglas Fir,
so i thought that would be good for this stick. (good strength to weight
ratio) but I guess that is difficult to buy already cut to size here in
London. U.K.? Would some kind of building grade plywood be stronger, I
wonder?

The tricky part would be some *self-locking* hinge. Does such a hinge now
exist? I remember very many years ago seeing such a thing (I think on
something agricultural). Would be grateful if anyone had advice on this.
Thanks.


As a base use a 1 leg photo stand. Easy to collapse, and expand.
Then prettify it with a nice knob.

On Aug 20, 11:23 am, Cicero wrote:

Your basic idea is used on tent poles:

http://onlinemilitaria.net/shopexd.asp?id=819

Ash is sometimes used for walking sticks, thumb sticks and of course Boy
Scout poles.

Interesting. That does look like a reasonably easy to build
solution. The OP might also want to check to see what patents have
been granted. Here's a start:
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/res...d+folding+pole

R

Also spruce.
And what about doing like a blind mans stick.

Where you use elastic inside the core from top to bottom
and then have a brass ferrule on the female piece to prevent it from
splitting where they join. That would in effect be a hinge.

On 8/20/2010 8:49 AM, john hamilton wrote:
Have been asked for advice on making a folding wooden walking stick for a
large heavy man. So its got to be something a bit stronger than usual. Was
thinking of something like using 2 inches (5cm) by 3/4 inche (2cm) in cross
section size.

I searched and read the preferred wood for making aircraft is Douglas Fir,
so i thought that would be good for this stick. (good strength to weight
ratio) but I guess that is difficult to buy already cut to size here in
London. U.K.? Would some kind of building grade plywood be stronger, I
wonder?

The tricky part would be some *self-locking* hinge. Does such a hinge now
exist? I remember very many years ago seeing such a thing (I think on
something agricultural). Would be grateful if anyone had advice on this.
Thanks.

"john hamilton" wrote in message
...

I searched and read the preferred wood for making aircraft is Douglas Fir,
so i thought that would be good for this stick. (good strength to weight
ratio) but I guess that is difficult to buy already cut to size here in
London. U.K.? Would some kind of building grade plywood be stronger, I
wonder?

Hickory would be good.

The tricky part would be some *self-locking* hinge. Does such a hinge now
exist? I remember very many years ago seeing such a thing (I think on
something agricultural). Would be grateful if anyone had advice on this.
Thanks.

How about the screw-together joint for a billiard cue?

"john hamilton" wrote in message
...
Have been asked for advice on making a folding wooden walking stick for a
large heavy man. So its got to be something a bit stronger than usual. Was
thinking of something like using 2 inches (5cm) by 3/4 inche (2cm) in
cross section size.

I searched and read the preferred wood for making aircraft is Douglas Fir,
so i thought that would be good for this stick. (good strength to weight
ratio) but I guess that is difficult to buy already cut to size here in
London. U.K.? Would some kind of building grade plywood be stronger, I
wonder?

The tricky part would be some *self-locking* hinge. Does such a hinge now
exist? I remember very many years ago seeing such a thing (I think on
something agricultural). Would be grateful if anyone had advice on this.
Thanks.


Does this person currently use a cane? Does he want a folding cane, or is
this some well meaning other person dictating the requirements? I've been a
cane user for more than ten years and have a number of canes. Some are
collapsible and some are not. Those that I can collapse are almost never
collapsed. I've found that the most important attribute is whether or not I
can hang the cane from something or have it lean upright against a wall.
This requirement typically means some sort of rubberized or foam grip.

Hinged canes tend to be fixed length and the length of commercial models is
never quite right. The same goes for the push button collapsible canes. A
custom model should be a "perfect" fit for the user and this will require
discussion with a physical therapist or other health professional. Also, it
might be better to make three canes as the "perfect" fit varies. I move my
push button canes longer or shorter at times to accommodate wear and tear on
my back, shoulder and arm, but there is a reasonable range.

You might consider making a cane using the Lee Valley hardware suggested in
another post and giving it two removable central elements: perfect, and
long. Short would be accommodated by omitting the central element.

Both of my 'custom' canes are perfect length in cherry and both are ovals of
about 3/4" on the major axis. Two inches seems excessive to me.

Good luck, and please let us know what you end up doing.

LD

"Dave Balderstone" wrote in message
news:200820101706065756%dave@N_O_T_T_H_I_Sbalderst one.ca...

How about the screw-together joint for a billiard cue?


Or:

http://www.leevalley.com/en/hardware...t=3,41306,4133
2

Huh, that must be new, haven't noticed it in their catalog before. One of
my back-burner ideas is making some canes, just have to find the right
pieces of wood.

I like this company's canes, I own several of them although I have no
medical need for one. It's just kind of nice having an inch-thick,
three-foot piece of hickory in the hand when going for a walk. And so long
as it has a crook at the top it's a cane, not a stick. ;~)

http://www.canemasters.com/