Walking Staff Steps

[Arausio]

Okay so a lot of my staffs are just about dry and i know things i need to do to them but how and in what order it would help to know so that's what i wish to know

How many times do i sand? How do i sand? and with what types of sand paper i have a lot so

When do i stain it what should i stain with is their something i should put on before or after the stain

Do i carve and wood burn before stain and sanding

Basically all this i want to know Thanks and sorry for the trouble

[AlArchie]

No trouble from asking!

Sanding; Depending on the carving you plan on doing you can sand before,
after, or not at all. How's that for an answer?
If you have stripped the bark completely and plan on doing detailed
carving, you may want to sand to a smooth surface befor carving.
I've found that 100 grit followd by 150 is usually good enough for this.
Follow up after finishing the carving with a fine foam sanding pad.
If you have a stick that you want to keep the bark on or keep it on
partially, and not carve, you may not want to sand at all; at least not the
parts with the bark still on..

There are no hard fast rules about carving walking sticks that I know of.
These are probably some of the most freely devloped types of
carving around.

Burning; Definitely burn BEFORE applying stain. I've found that burning my
stop cuts rather than using a blade produces smoother outlines and it
also limits the bleeding of paints when paint is needed.

Staining; Again, depending on the effect you want on your stick, you can stain
either before or after carving
.
Stain first and your cuts will show as light wood and provide an
"engraving" type look.

Either water based or oil based stains will work fine. I don't think you
need a pre-stain treatment on walking sticks, but you may want to
use one anyway. Up to you.....

Hope this helps.

Al

[Arausio]

Thanks that was a big help