Let's Talk BBQ
OTHER HOBBIES => OTHER HOBBIES => Topic started by: Smokin Don on October 20, 2015, 09:46:48 AM
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Oct 20 2015
I have a neighbor I see always working in his garden in the summer. He has a green thumb and tries planting about anything. The other day he was riding a new riding mower so I went over to see it. He showed me his crooked trees, he had three started along the side about 2 foot high and two taller ones out front. He said he starts them in water.
He said he was making canes and showed me three he had taken the bark off and was drying them. He said pick you out one if you want it. I said you pick out one; and he handed me the one I really wanted. It was just about the right height for me and had a natural bend for a handle.
It was a white wood without any grain. I thought about taking the top layer off but when I cut down the end for the crutch tip it was the same looking wood under the first layer. I stained it with a dark walnut but it did not take the stain well and I did three coats on it. It did not take me long to cut it down for the tip; I used my pocket knife and a wood file.
I gave it two coats of all-weather polyurethane semi-gloss spray paint. This will be my Sunday cane!
Before
(http://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a474/deains/My%20Favorite%20Photos/_A065979_zpsqyeortcv.jpg)
After
(http://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a474/deains/My%20Favorite%20Photos/_A206107_zpsrvuiurf4.jpg)
Smokin Don
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That is a great looking cane. I like the way the stain "took." It looks like a well worn patina. I this neuropathy keeps progressing, I might need to grow a cane myself. You did a wonderful job of finishing it!
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Nice . i can promise you nobody has a cane like yours .
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Never seen such a thing. ;)
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It's grain maybe "grainless" like that of the Dogwood tree which were used in textile mills for spindles for their lack of grain. Dee
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Nice job on that fine looking cane Don! Looks like it just might put a little spring in your step! :D
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That's one swell looking cane Don, Nice job and nice neighbor. There is a guy that hobbles with his canes to the gas station everyday that stands at the side of the front door and sells them. I think he might be homeless. I should by one for the wife and one for me for the future not far away :)
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I think it came from a Contorted Filbert. We have one in our yard my wife planted when we built the house about 10 years ago. The cultivar is called Harry Lauder's Walking Stick. Really a neat tree - and one that is best as a display specimen in the winter. After the leaves fall off it's pollen "buds" appear, and all of the crazy, twisted limbs are on full display.
Here are some pictures of this species of tree in winter:
https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;_ylt=A0LEVx00_SZWqsgADXJXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTEyZThuaG0yBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDQTAyMDFfMQRzZWMDc2M-?p=Contorted+Filbert+Tree+Winter&fr=yfp-t-901#id=16&iurl=http%3A%2F%2Fpics.davesgarden.com%2Fpics%2F2005%2F04%2F01%2Fdesignart%2F94709e.jpg&action=close
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Very cool Don!
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Thanks Tee for the info, that's what it may be. I ask him and he didn't know. He said my cane came from one that was 3 yrs. old and as tall as his house. Don
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My pleasure Don! They are an interesting looking tree for sure, as there are NO straight limbs or trunk. Most of the year - you can see that.
But when the leaves fall off - the tree looks like a failed horticultural experiment. :D