[mikec]

I just refurbished an old walking cane that I found and was wondering if any of you had advice on what to use for the bottom tip. I walk around the neighborhood on paved roads so it may get a good bit of wear from the road surface. I was thinking just a flat piece of metal maybe held on with a screw. The original tip was the brass end of a shotgun shell but that had some red plastic in it that didn't look good so I took it off. I have an 1/8th in thick sheet of brass that I was thinking of using but that may be too soft.

My profile picture is the top of the cane, a nice piece of curly maple that I glued on and finished with homemade varnish.

 

[CV3]

Depending on the diameter of your cane you should be able to get a cane tip at most durg store. As a rule they Carry tips for 3/4" to 7/8 canes. You can also find tips on Amazon. Based on where you said you would be using the cane a rubber cane tip would meet your needs and be safer than a metal tip.

 

[mikec]

Thanks for the advice. The tip is right at 3/4. I'll consider a rubber tip but kind of wanted something that looks a little nicer too. That's why I was considering brass just for the gold color. I'm not concerned about traction as I'm reasonably fit. I just carry it because a guy should have a stick.

 

[MJC4]

I use the rubber chair tips I get at Home Depot. They are relatively cheap, sturdy and when they wear out they are easy to replace.

Pics are the bottom of my bear cane and the chair tips I use. They come in 3/4", 7/8" and 1"

Also you might check out Treeline's web site. They offer a several tips and cane/ stick parts. They have a combi tip that might fit your needs. A rubber tip that you can remove and has an "off road" spike.

Mark

 

[mikec]

That rubber tip doesn't look too bad. Basic black. Would kind of blend in with the dark brown color of the cane. I'm not sure what kind of wood this is but it has a thick layer of dark brown smooth bark.

 

[alador]

Texas Knifemakers supply has a good selection of tips. http://www.texasknife.com/vcom/index.php?cPath=911_995_1006

 

[Sean]

Nice stick, lovely looking wood. I also primarily use rubber tips but do occasionally put on a tip that Lee Valley Tools offer which are very similar to the products featured in the link alador sent you.

http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=63218&cat=1,250,43243,63218

 

[mikec]

Thanks for those links. I like the brass ferrule

 

[JJireh]

I use a copper reducer from lowes and insert a rubber pad inside the small end.

 

[mikec]

Rather than ordering a brass ferrule from one of those links I decided to try attaching a brass plate to the bottom. I have a 1/4 inch thick sheet of brass. So I shaped a piece to fit and countersunk a hole in the center to attch it with a screw. My mistake was not drilling a big enoug pilot hole and using a brass screw instead of a strong steel one. The screw head broke off so scrap that idea. Then I used a piece of copper pipe from Lowe's. You can still see a little bit of the brass screw sticking out and I started to file it down but then decided it would just wear down with use.

I fitted the pipe to the wood by filing teeth into one end of the pipe then twisting it around as it slowly worked it's way down onto the wood. Then took it off, turned it around and cut it off to length. Glued on with gorilla glue.

The 1/2 inch pipe was slightly smaller diameter than the stick so you can see that I had to taper the stick slightly. The top handle end is a little over 1 inch diameter so overall it has a nice taper.

 

[Deltaboy1984]

I get rubber chair leg tips from my local mom n pop hardware store.