First attempt at a cane

[Graywolf71]

Well thanks to the newest addition of WCI's fall issue, i got the itch to dust off the craving tools and bench and try my hand at the cane style featured in there.
But first i had to rebuild the workshop...there's a method to my madness according to the wife, i've been bucking for a new shop for a year.
So the first picture is the old shop then the new, much better, and then the first project to crisson it. Now i have more room to clutter up.

This cane project was one of the must fun i've ever done. Creating the tenon joint for the handle mount was a bit tricky to fit propper and i ended up with a loose fit so i tightened the fit with some shims made from the end cutting and appoxy. After it all set i applied all my 260 lbs. to the handle and lifted myself off the floor. Now i just have to find a rubber foot cap to fit it.
This cane is going to a disabled friend of mine who can't afford a strong cane for herself, here's hopping she likes it.

Michael Gray

[Woodartist]

Nice job ! You can get the cane tips at hardware stores. I know Ace carries them.

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

I get all my cane tips at wallyworld...3.00 something for a box of two

[Woodartist]

Mine were .69 Wink They are the soft rubber kind, white and black, as opposed to the hard type....FYI

[Tom-H]

Michael, Get the soft type! Nice job on the cane. And real nice of you to be thinking of someone who needs it. Oh! now about the shop; looks good so far. But please clear up something for me. In one of the photos there appears a tool that I don't recognize. It's leaning up against the wall.

Tom H

[Graywolf71]

Originally Posted by Tom H

But please clear up something for me. In one of the photos there appears a tool that I don't recognize. It's leaning up against the wall.

Tom H

In the first photo in the background is the excercise machines, not used of course or i wouldn't be 260lbs., and in the forground w/ the red handle is a broom, a foreign object to some shops...lol!
Hope that clears it up Tom.

Michael Gray

[Mottles]

Agree 'nice job on the cane' and what a nice thing to do for someone!
Kathy

[Eddy-Smiles]

Mike.... Take it from someone who has learned the hard way. Invest in a standard cane tip with metal insert for weight bearing. When I first started making canes I picked up a couple of 1" tips from Home Depot that were no more than chair leg caps. In the first place they are safty hazards when used as a cane tip because they don't grip the floor surface, and secondly they very quickly failed because without the metal washer insert the wood wore right through the rubber. I had the cane go out from under me more than once until I put a decent tip on it. Wally Mart does sell tips for $1.97 a pair in sizes 5/8', 7/8" and 1" or even better if you have a medical supply store near you see what they have. While more expensive they may be even better made.

[Woodartist]

The ones I were referencing Eddy, were regular cane tips and not the furniture type. The furniture type I think are the harder ones and in addition to being weaker they gouge the floors...double problem. Also I think the furniture ones have a smooth bottom, while the regular cane tips have some concentric rings for additional gripping.

Also, you can insert a t-nut into the bottom then have the tip fit over it for normal use. If it is icy outside then you can insert a dagger pin into the t nut....good thing for folks who live in those areas Nice for ice fishing also.

[Clifford_Parker]

Absolutely lovely for a first cane. Is that spalted maple?