[brokenolmarine]

Howdy folks, I am one broken old Marine, and there are a few things I can still do. Kayak fly fishing, shooting on my range, and woodworking. I fell on my deck last September, and have done very little for the last six months, but recover from that shattered femur... but I am almost walking a little again.

Prior to the fall.. I used a cane around the house, walker for short trips, and wheelchair for longer outings. The last six months had been mostly in the chair.

I have been wanting to make a few custom canes for years, but didn't have a lathe, or room for one. My new larger shop will be finished in the next week or so, but I don't really want to add a lathe, I'm planning to try and make a few canes with the spokeshaves I just got from lee valley. If I get hooked, the lathe may come later.

Can't wait to work my way thru the forum.

Jim

 

[MJC4]

Welcome aboard and thank U for your service. We have a couple "old" Marines on this site, they make some damn fine walking sticks too!

 

[Rodney]

Welcome aboard!

Good to have you here.

Rodney

 

[RandyL476]

Welcome to the forum, thank you for your service.

 

[LilysDad]

Wrlcome! I'm looking forward to seeing what you do with those tools. I'm in the process of making a shaving horse, myself.

 

[dww2]

Welcome to the forum. I tend to make sticks with bark left on, but when I do peel them I love the control a spoke shave offers, as opposed to a drawknife. Looking forward to seeing your work.

Careful about buying a lathe, though. Woodturning can be addictive.

Dana

 

[brokenolmarine]

Dana,

After suffering thru a hand plane addiction, and several backslides... the lathe moneypit is one I want desperately to avoid. Lol. I've seen the grinning turning addicts, standing in front of their lathe, knee deep in shavings, with the oxygen fed facemask in place, and the wall covered in turning tools behind them....

Secretly I want to breathe pure oxygen, wade thru shavings, and buy more tools...
Gasp... but...

Control... must... have... control. ????

 

[dww2]

LOL!! Except for the fancy mask, that was me for the first couple of years after buying a lathe. (A cheap one bought from Home Depot with my tax return about 17 years ago) First piece I did that didn't end up back in the firewood pile was a cherry burl bowl I made for my Grandmother's birthday. Everyone got bowls for Xmas that year. Wooden vases the next year, and tree ornaments the next. A couple of my favorite tools are ones I made myself because I couldn't afford the fancy versions from Robert Sorby or Buck Bros. I changed jobs a couple of years later and no longer had the time to use the lathe as much.

I start jones-ing every now and then when I see a nice cherry burl, though. Some of the small vases I did are in my gallery (or at the upper right when you first enter the forum)

 

[Gloops]

Welcome, you don't really need a lathe for walking sticks as natural shanks always look better, and even using the shapes in branches to make handles works well.

 

[brokenolmarine]

My plan is to laminate some walnut, cherry, and oak for accent, using my cabinet makers clamps to apply pressure. I'll let the glue set for 48 hours, then start playing... err... shaping ... with the spokeshaves. It will work... and I will have a beautiful cane I made myself.

If it fails, I put the laminate to the sander after cutting it in half, and I will end up with a pair of beautiful nightsticks, one for my truck, one for the wife's. Both that I made myself. Lol. A win/win sit-chi-ation.

Bwah ha ha

 

[LilysDad]

I've seen the grinning turning addicts, standing in front of their lathe, knee deep in shavings, with the oxygen fed facemask in place, and the wall covered in turning tools behind them....

I took a class on tips for production turning from a man from Iowa who made a living making hand turned spinning wheels. He only used 3 tools. A parting tool, a 2" bowl gouge, an 1 1/2" chisel. He said if you have more than that, you spend too much time changing tools.

 

[CV3]

As one old Marine to another welcome to the forum.

 

[brokenolmarine]

I've seen the grinning turning addicts, standing in front of their lathe, knee deep in shavings, with the oxygen fed facemask in place, and the wall covered in turning tools behind them....

I took a class on tips for production turning from a man from Iowa who made a living making hand turned spinning wheels. He only used 3 tools. A parting tool, a 2" bowl gouge, an 1 1/2" chisel. He said if you have more than that, you spend too much time changing tools.

I have a good bit of woodworking tools, but I do have to say, I have used half of them a lot, half the rest a good bit, and ninety nine percent do get used. There have been a couple things I bought thinking I had to have, or the tool came free with something else... and it's just taking up space.

 

[cobalt]

i also have loads of tools but mainly just use about 6 chisels band, saw drill, rasps and a rotary tool

and for stickmaking you don't need mush more . the rest adorn the walls in the workshop sometimes used but think I may as well stuck money on the wall . I'm just a hoarder

 

[dww2]

For making hollow forms (vases) you really need to add a hollowing tool or two (or three) to the list, but my most used tools were a roughing gouge, a bowl gouge, a parting tool, and a skew chisel.