[buckoff84]

Hi my name is Ryan i am a 30 year old 100 percent disabled army vet with a lot of extra time on my hands. I walk with a cane for two reasons, i have a realy bad back due to a helicopter crash and i have a rare form of brain cancer that forms on scar tissue and it affects my balance. please forgive any misspelled words or in proper writing due to my injury i had to re-learn a lot of simple task. any way enough about my sob story that is not why i am hear.

I have recently falling in love with the art of making walking sticks so far i have only completed one that i made out of a crepe myrtle branch that i cut a year or so ago from a tree in my yard. it is very simple and im not all that good at carving YET!! i plan to practice a lot so that i may make some beautiful canes to give to my fellow brothers and sisters in arms that need one so im needing tips and tricks if any of you have any also im looking for a place on the internet that i can purchase rubber ends and even pre made handles with out braking the bank any suggestions on that would be great. also if you your self are a veteran or you know someone that is and they are looking for a cane or waking stick it would be my pleasure to make one for you/them.

this is my first attempt please give me your feed back about it but please be kind i take constructive criticism well

 

[RandyL476]

Welcome to the forum Ryan and thank you for your service. That's a nice looking cane I like the rustic look. The canes I make are plane and simple haven't tried carving yet. I get my rubber ends a Wal-Mart there in the household section they come 4 to a pact actually they are made to go on chair leg to keep the form sliding but they do work and come in different sizes.

 

[Sean]

Ah... A sunny day, porch, time, beautiful setting, tools laid out, nice!

Welcome to the stick and cane forums Ryan.
Time is your friend as there is lots of good info here to peruse through and even more help and skilled individuals who are very willing to share their expertise.
I also love the rustic canes and sticks and you did a great job on that one. As Randy suggested about the furniture leg tips from your local hardeware store make a great cane tip on a budget. A step up in quality and durability are the actual cane replacement tips you'd find at a pharmacy with more rubber and steel plate in bottom are what I'd recommend for someone who needs a cane as a daily user.

 

[MJC4]

Welcome Ryan and thank you for your service.

I also use the rubber chair tips on my pieces as they are fairly easy to find and are inexpensive. Downside is if you use the stick frequently as Sean says expect to replace the chair tips on a regular basis.

Very well done cane Ryan!

Stick making is a great hobby but be forewarned, its like eating popcorn, one piece is never enough!!

Mark

 

[yaxley]

Welcome Ryan and I also thank you for your service. Commendable.

Treeline has a lot of wood working supplies including a section with walking stick "parts," including toppers and such. http://www.treelineusa.com/

Also, for military medals, patches, etc. I use Medals of America...online. http://www.medalsofamerica.com/?gclid=CNbniu6AusUCFYaTfgod2qwA0A

Their medals and patches can easily be attached to sticks. I've done many purple hearts and other military insignia for veterans.

I attach toppers like you did using threaded rod and epoxy. Also for the wood burning I rint the letters out on the computer, trace them using graphite tracing paper onto the stick, and then wood burn them. Once the pattern/text is on the stick the wood burning is very easy...as long as you stay within the lines.

You did a nice job on the cane and the more you make, you'll find your style probably will change...mine did. Just keep making them and find out the things you like and if you look around here you can get more ideas.

Good luck.

 

[norson]

WELCOME and highest of honors to you, Ryan

I join these fellow members to thank you profusely for serving our Country. I wish I could shake your hand.

I am confessing here and now your story got to me...for I also have balance issues because of scar tissue...so I CAN relate. I also use a cane "24/7" - if you see me, you see my cane, one of the many I have made the past 2-3 years.

As a hobby I began collecting canes years ago, way before I needed one . . . but now at age 81, and they have become a life-style, I just flat out enjoy using one of my own creations...and am currently working on #65. I have given most of them away but have been fortunate enough to sell a few, giving the money to our church food pantry fund.

I would like, from my experience, to offer a tip . . or two. (I skipped Brevity 101) I use "dowel screws" to attach the "T" handle to the shaft...they look like wood screws but are threaded on both ends. I get mine at Lowe's or Ace Hardware...and they cost $.18 each, or something like that. You may want to consider that method for attaching the handle.

When the cane/stick is all sanded and ready for the finish coat I put an "EYE" into the bottom end and hang the stick from the ceiling/porch light, etc. That allows me to apply the finish coats, stain/polyurethane/etc and they hang there until fully dry. When finished the rubber tip covers the hole made by that "EYE"

Again, thank you SO much for your service to our country.

-neb

ps - I am also a veteran - USAF 1953-1957.

 

[Rad]

Welcome to the site! You will get lots of positive input here on this site!
Good looking sticks!

 

[CAS14]

Welcome aboard Ryan! I see that you learned to "improvise, adapt, and overcome." Like you, I've been hooked, although I was down most of last year with health issues. I'm now ready to begin again this summer. I've done them for my grandkids, my kids and their spouses, my siblings and their spouses, and an old Marine who was declining with cancer. He used his for a couple of years before he passed away a week ago.

One of my favorite "ferrules" or stick tips for veterans are .50 cal. dummy rounds that I found online. The conical tip of the round is itself durable and good for trails, but not so good for indoors or streets. It can be sawed off a bit with a hacksaw to permit the cementing of a threaded insert to accommodate a variety of tips. A bit eccentric I know, but a good conversation piece.

Welcome home and Semper Fi

P.S. My maternal grandmother was a Buchanan, from a clan that resided in east Texas and southeast Oklahoma.

Also, the ship Buchanan provided outstanding NGF support for Marines and Allies at Alpha-2 northwest of Dong Ha during the Easter Offensive in 1972. (Of course, no U.S. forces were in I-Corps in 1972 according to official sources at the time.) I have a number of friends who were there, but I was discharged in 1969 and back to school.

 

[Steve R.]

Welcome aboard