[cobalt]

Had a hawthorn for about a year now so 1st time stripping the bark, the thorns are deadly.

But using a draw knife only took a matter of mins, then scraped it useing a stanley blade much quicker job then i thought

Photo no 3 shows the bend in the shank so will get the heat gun and tweak it to get it straight,the shanks about 6 ft with the diameter just under 1 inch. so will need cutting down to size

Will varnisg this one dont normally varnish them ,not sure what topper to carve on it yet

 

[gdenby]

A good start. I find that scraping often results in a surface smooth enough that very little sanding is necessary. I have a few official scrapers, but mostly use a single edged blade designed for use in a picture matt cutter.

I like seeing the picture of your bench, and the vise-grip clamp mounted on it. I'm still mulling what I want my bench to be, and that looks like a very handy way of holding a stick for work.

 

[airborne]

That's a good looking stick and I'm sure what ever topper you decide on, will look great. I too like seeing your clamping method. I have just recently started carving and have done 3 wood spirit faces on 12 inch long pieces of poplar that I cut from my woods. I do have lengths of maple and other common woods from the area but wanted to get some experience before I "ruin" one of my decent sticks. I would love to see some photos of a portable type holding device for carving walking sticks as I am at the campground for the summer and have only a picnic table at the time. Does anyone have photos or links that I could possibly follow? Thank you for your time.

 

[cobalt]

Got to agree with you regarding scraping suprising good way.

I must admit i am very taken by the vice clamp its has a small head on it so its easy to fit to the bench and suprising has a very good hold on the wood even round pieces and will allow me to carve easily its quick to reposition ,found it to be much better than a clamp

Its so easy to fit to the bench would recomend it to every body. Although my bench is over 2" thick the lengh of the bolt could be longer as i had to drill a bit of wood away to get it to fit but once done a simple thumb screw fits and removes

it

A good start. I find that scraping often results in a surface smooth enough that very little sanding is necessary. I have a few official scrapers, but mostly use a single edged blade designed for use in a picture matt cutter.

I like seeing the picture of your bench, and the vise-grip clamp mounted on it. I'm still mulling what I want my bench to be, and that looks like a very handy way of holding a stick for work.

 

[cobalt]

the above post has removed gdenby quote?

got a bit more done on the hawthorn Filed down a piece of buffalow horn to fit the shank, drill a hole in the centre of the shank and horn to accept a threaded bar.

have yet to cut it to size and varnish it

Just considering using a existing topper of the king fisher or a robin, have yet to paint the robin or carve a new on to fit it?

 

[MoroCreek]

airborne, Stanley makes a multi-angle vice that's pretty handy. It's small enough to carry around with you. It will attach to your picnic table, and it will swivel and adjust to almost any position. I use one in my shop.

 

[cobalt]

One or two nicks in the hazels shank so will rub down with a finishing paper and burnish it with brown wrapping papper to see if it improves the finish when i varnish it?

But now we are decorating cant get out of it have to paint the doors now vistors arriving soon so not so much time in the workshop .its a addiction getting in there no telephone and peace its stress free

To many ideas to carve and draw but needmore lime wood getting a 8ft x2.25inches x 18inches wide enought to last for a few mnths should be enough to get just over a hundred toppers from it. and see if i can pick up some exotic wood at the same time.

 

[Rad]

I've got a few hawtorn trees around, but they tend to be short and scrubby -- it's hard to find stick material out of them!

 

[airborne]

MoroCreek,

I ordered a vice from Harbor Freight that swivels, tilts, and equipped with a screw down clamp for portability. I believe it was $23.00. I'll let everyone know how it works out.

 

[MoroCreek]

airborne, that sounds like mine. Mine is just a Stanley tools brand. I really like it.

 

[Rad]

MoroCreek,
I ordered a vice from Harbor Freight that swivels, tilts, and equipped with a screw down clamp for portability. I believe it was $23.00. I'll let everyone know how it works out.

airborne, that sounds like mine. Mine is just a Stanley tools brand. I really like it.

Pictures guys -- pictures!

 

[MoroCreek]

Here's a picture of the one I use. I'm at work right now, so it's not the one in my shop But it's just like mine.

 

[airborne]

I don't have a clue how to post photos with my I-pad. I can barely use the I-pad!!! I'm old enough to still be in awe of the transistor radio.

 

[airborne]

However, if you google Harbor Freight, search item number 97160, you will see it is different from the Stanley model.

 

[Rad]

Thanks for the pic!