My First Attempt at a Cane

[JimGo]

Here's my first real non-pen, which is, as you hopefully can tell, a cane. The assembled pic shows that the colors actually do flow together nicely, even though the disassembled pics show that the colors don't match exactly (especially the bottom blank). The bottom has a more distinct orange color, but it picks up the highlights in the middle blank, so it doesn't look too bad together. The middle blank is really the focal point of this cane - the figure was just amazing. The reason I added two disassembled pics is that there's a REALLY odd highlight in the wood that's showcased in the last pic. It's near the bottom of the blank, almost dead center, right near the end of the "hot spot" from my flash. It's naturally occuring, but it doesn't match any of the other stuff surrounding it. Really neat, and very visually interesting.

CA/BLO on the top blank, with just a natural finish on the bottom two (the middle one didn't like the CA, and I was afraid to try it on the bottom one). A coat of TSW tops it off in the pics, but I'll probably add another before I ship it out to my Aunt for Christmas.

I learned a heck of a lot from this one, and look forward to making some more. Any comments/critiques/etc. are welcome, as always.

BTW, thank you again to everyone who offered advice as I was looking into making this!

/forum/albums/JimGo/Cane Assembled - small.jpg

/forum/albums/JimGo/Cane Disassembled 1 - small.jpg

/forum/albums/JimGo/Cane Disassembled 2 - small.jpg

 

[PenWorks]

Beautifull Jim ! [:0] That mid section sure is dynamite. I think you should rig a blade or gun barrel in the next one []

 

[Doghouse]

Nice job jim. I don't know if you used this trick or not, but when doing long canes, if you cut a belt sanding belt and use it on an angle, you will get a more even finish quicker. I use that when doing one piece canes as they tend to have a little flex when turning 30+"

 

[dubdrvrkev]

Very nice Jim. That is really great wood. I'm sure it will be treasured by the recipient.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Definately a keeper.

 

[JimGo]

Anthony, it has a 1 1/2" steel spike in the end - the rubber tip unscrews. I have come close to poking myself with the spike a few times now, and let me tell ya...that thing is SHARP! Might be better than a blade!

John, thanks for the tip! I have a single piece of 30" long, 2x2" square Cocobolo to make another cane, and will try that technique next time!

Kevin and Frank, thanks for the kind words!

 

[Dario]

The middle section is a killer...it could have fetched premium $$$ either as pen, knife or gun scales.

That cane is sweet...I'm sure it will be appreciated by the recipient.

 

[nilsatcraft]

Wow- Nice work, Jim. That's an amazing piece of cocobolo. I'm sure that whoever that is for will just love it.

 

[Fangar]

Came out great Jim. Can you tell me where you purchased the components? I believe I have seen the end system at CSUSA, but don't remember the connectors. Thanks in advance,

Fangar

 

[MDWine]

Great job, Jim... very very nice, and what a piece of wood! some great color and figure there!!
Congrats!

 

[JimGo]

James, here's the kit I used for the body and handle:
http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/cgi-bin/shopper?preadd=action&key=904-1175

The couplers are also here:
http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/cgi-bin/shopper?preadd=action&key=904-0100

and the foot I used is here:
http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/cgi-bin/shopper?preadd=action&key=050-7087

 

[pete00]

looks nice, center section is great...

 

[swm6500]

That looks really great Jim. I have to agree that the center piece is a really nice piece of wood.

 

[ldimick]

That center piece would look great on an Emperor.

But the cane is great!

 

[JimGo]

Thanks for the suggestion Lynn! Maybe that's what I'll do with the left-overs from that piece.

 

[wdcav1952]

Beautiful work Jim!! I am constantly amazed and the level of talent and sharing that I find here!

 

[JimGo]

Thanks William!

In the spirit of sharing, here are some of the things I learned while making this cane:

1) My little benchtop drill press can't handle a 10 1/4" long piece of wood with everything in its standard configuration.
2) My cordless drill is only a 3/8", not 1/2" like my drill press, so it can't handle the bigger size bits.
3) Square pieces aren't held particularly well by any of my chucks - in hindsight, it was the first time I was using the chuck and I was trying to hold the piece by the corners, rather than on the straight part of each side, so that might explain some of the problems I was facing. Regardless, drilling on the lathe was a problem at that point.
4) The portion of the drill press that actually does the drilling is held in place by two set-screws, which can be loosened and the whole top rotated.
5) The drill press is incredibly off-balance when the top is rotated.
6) Finding a table that is the appropriate height to fit under my work bench and beneath the drill press while keeping the drill press from falling can be challenging.
7) The PSI self-centering vise (the only one I own) doesn't like wood over 1" square, at least not if you want to hold it in the vise by the corners.
8) When you advance the quill of an off-balance drill press, the quill tends to not want to go straight down.
9) Remember that when you want to square the end of a blank, the standard barrel trimmers are only about 3/4" in diameter.
10) The adapters come in two sizes; epoxying the smaller diameter pieces into opposite ends of the middle piece of wood is not the best use of those different diameters.
11) Brass turns pretty easily, and actually helps sharpen the tool some.
12) A 1 1/8" square by 10" long piece of wood generates a LOT of saw dust/shavings when turned to approximately 3/4" in diameter.
13) Don't start turning this project after 7:00 PM if you need to get it done that night, even if you've already drilled and glued everything the night before (check the time stamp on my original post).
14) Make sure you get any excess epoxy off the mating surfaces of the couplers BEFORE you start the finishing process.
15) If you use a skew, the Medium and Fine grit sanding blocks that Harbor Freight sells do a great job of getting rid of any residual tool marks before you progress to Micromesh
16) CA and Cocobolo don't always mix well, even after wiping the Cocobolo with DNA.
17) Don't try applying CA to Cocobolo after 11:00 PM, unless you don't mind staying up another 1/2 hour or so cleaning up all the high-spots.
18) Oh, and a 10" by 1 1/8" square piece of wood that comes flying off the lathe can really reduce the likelihood of any additional children if it hits you in the right spot. Thankfully it only hit the inside of my leg.

Hmmmm...I think that's a good start. I hope this helps others!

 

[dfurlano]

Thanks for sharing Jim!

No wait... Thanks for sharing your experience Jim!

Yeah, thats better.

 

[alamocdc]

Very nice, Jim. I'm sure she'll love it.

 

[wdcav1952]

Nice tutorial, Jim!!! It sounds like you are ready to start mass producing canes now.

Seriously, it sounds like you had a rough go of making the cane, you have a great sense of humor, and you stuck to it until you got a great result.

 

[JimGo]

Thanks William...I call it the learning curve, and it manifested itself in the slight misalignment of some of the cane components! []

 

[johncrane]

Jim very nice work well done mate.

 

[JimGo]

Thanks John!

 

[huntersilver]

Awesome looking cane!!

 

[gerryr]

Great looking cane. You did real good on this.

 

[ilikewood]

Jim, should have used that center section for pens! Good looking cane!

 

[JimGo]

Thanks guys!

Bill, I actually have an Emperor that I made from a cut-off piece from that center section. That's my "daily driver" pen, and I love it. The wood is really pretty (IMHO), although it does compete with the kit as far as trying to get your attention.