Make Your Own Walking Sticks

Large, clear photos are linked to excellent explanatory text in this beautiful book on walking sticks, canes and staffs. Fifteen individual projects are described step by step, from a simple pine branch to flat walking sticks to carved patterns from Lora S. Irish. Directions are also given for a laminated, bent-handled cane. Self describes sevral different kinds of screw fasteners for joining canes and staffs made in sections, and covers what hardware is available, from screw-on handles to hame knobs. He even suggests decorative hardware from found items such as upholstery tacks or brass jacket buttons. Many of the canes represented are lathe-turned, but others are made from sticks with bark remaining, or root pieces selected for bent handles. The author goes into detail about tools needed for shaping and sanding, and is careful to discuss tools, adhesives, and safety-related issues. One section is devoted to sample color swatches of forty different hardwoods with their range of availability, relative cost, and workability. It would be nice to know you can acquire a wood locally, look it up in Mr. Self’s list to see its grain and color patterns, then read about its durability and how well is stands up to drying and carving. A great feature of this book is a gallery presentation of the cane collection of Albert LeCoff, founder of The Woodturning Center in Philadelphia. The canes were gifts from accomplished woodturners, in appreciation of Mr. LeCoff’s contribution to the field. Many are quite imaginative, and an inspiration to lead into the various projects.
Large, clear photos are linked to excellent explanatory text in this beautiful book on walking sticks, canes and staffs.
by Charles Self includes step-by-step instructions for making 15 different walking sticks. These projects range from a simple pine branch cane to a brass-handled and stylishly turned two-piece cane. The book includes info on what woods to use, the tools and hardware needed, and construction and finishing techniques. Also included is an inspirational section exhibiting the canes in the private collection of Albert LeCoff, the executive director of the Wood Turning Center in Philadelphia.

Woodworker Charles Self is an award-winning writer who has contributed a vast amount of work to the woodworking field. In 2005, he received a Vaughan-Bushnell Golden Hammer Award for Best Do-It-Yourself Book for “Woodworker’s Pocket Reference.” His other books include “Cabinets and Countertops,” “Woodworker’s Guide to Selecting & Milling Wood,” “Creating Your Own Woodworking Shop,” and “Building Your Own Home.” He has also written thousands of articles for publications, such as “Popular Woodworking,” “Woodcarving Illustrated,” “Woodshop News,” and “Woodworker’s Journal,” and he has edited and consulted for companies such as DeWalt, Grizzly Industrial, mcGraw-Hill, Time-Life, and Popular Mechanics Encyclopedia. He currently serves as a director for the National Association of Home & Workshop Writers.

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