'Walking Tall - Part 2' stick...

G

Glock17JHP

Joined
Aug 23, 2007
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I am going to make a replica of the stick Bo Svenson carried in 'Walking Tall - Part 2'... see this link...

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_FdEdvFQfw...21ApCfmlyk/s400/Bo+Svenson+Walking+tall+2.jpg

The stick is approximately 3 1/2 to 4 feet long, and it is approximately 3 1/2 to 4 inches in diameter at the bigger end. It is rough hewn on the outside, like it was shaped with a hatchet, perhaps. I have a 5 foot long and 4+ inch diameter straight piece of Italian Cypress... cut today. Should I do anything to it to prepare it? Should I leave it alone to dry? Should it have the ends 'sealed' in some way while it dries (perhaps to prevent splitting/cracking)? How long should it sit before I carve on it? It will be unfinished when complete.

Suggestions???
 
i'd definitely bind the ends and wrap them.

you can make a drying oven, or just hang it outside under some good shelter for a year or so.

lots you can do.

vec
 
I agree with vec and Bushman5 Dip the ends in some hot wax and leave it for approx 1 year hang it or lay it somewhere flat...
 
What about instead of drying it, he impregnates it (love that word) with Boiled Linseed or Tung oil?
 
When you say 'bind the ends'... what specifically do you mean???

Would that black seal people use when they cut off a tree limb be good for sealing the ends??? If it had smaller branches leading off the main branch that were cut off, should they also be sealed???
 
Glock17JHP said:
When you say 'bind the ends'... what specifically do you mean???
Click to expand...

tie the ends tightly, about an inch from the ends.

this will prevent splitting when used in addition to sealing the ends with something. - it should never be considered a complete seal, so the binding is a contingency measure.

vec
 
Thats good to know, I have an ash tree in my back yard with a relatively straight 30' limb i am going to cut down soon. nice to know how to keep it from splitting while it dries out.
 
Cpl Punishment said:
What about instead of drying it, he impregnates it (love that word) with Boiled Linseed or Tung oil?
Click to expand...


ive done that extensively with my walking sticks, i get a 4" ABS pipe, glue weld a cap onto the bottom, fill it with tung oil, immerse the sticks with a rock to keep it under the oil and then cover with plastic. Sticks i have taken out and cut 3 - 6 months later show full "impregnation" of the oil. Thicker oils (linseed) take FOREVER to penetrate, unless cut with tung oil or kerosone
 
Heat the ends up with a blow drier or something similar before applying the paraffin wax. If the wood is cold, the wax will not penetrate and do no good. The wax needs to penetrate the ends. Then bind the ends. Rawhide works well. Go to the pet store and get some large raw hide 'bones" soak them for about 2 hours or until they are supple wrap the ends of the wood and let it set someplace where the raw hide will dry out. It will shrink as it dries and compress the ends far more than you could with wire.
 
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