Anybody use ash for canes?

[nameless]

Originally Posted by Sharynideas

I know that ash is used for baseball bats and was wondering if anyone has used ash for a walkig stick or cane?
I'd use the search engine to search for ash but it won't accept three letter words. So frustrating!!
Shari

Carved an old basebll bat into a cane.
Just the right length for a solid one-piece.
Carved a 'Kilroy' into it with no trouble.
Was there a question?

[jigsaw1]

How do you attach a handle to the top of a cane? I have a piece of lilac and want to use a piece of the same for a handle. How woud you do this?

jigsaw1

[Marvin Little]

The best way to attach a handle is to drill a hole in the handle approximately 3/4 in ches in diameter and 1 inch deep or as deep as you can without going all the way through the handle. Carve /cut a corresponding tenon on top of the shaft and epoxy the two together. I clamp the shaft upright in my vice, put the epoxy in the hole in the handle and insert the shaft into the handle. Put masking tape or painters tape around the shaft below the tenon to catch any epoxy that runs out. The epoxy will stain the shaft and will be hard to get off.

Marvin

[Robson Valley]

Try your Google search for Fraxinus that's the Latin name for the Genus that the various ash species belong to. The wood is 'ring porous', with a springtime layer of pores or vessels followed by summer wood, almost all dense fiber. This gives the wood almost a leaf-spring type of anatomy. That may explan some of the carving detail difficulty, but it lends itself to more conventional applications.

Fraxinus nigra, the Black Ash, was used by First Nations in the St Lawrence River region. They delaminate the wood and use the strips for some of the best basket construction I have ever seen. You can stand on top of the basket!

[AL...]

Also makes a good Bow My second choice next to Yew.

Cheers
AL

[wyndegahl]

I have a 6ft. tall eagle in flight I chainsaw carved from ash. It was very dense wood and I carved it green. There is not much checking that I would get from other woods but it was hard to carve. Ash is one of the only woods you can burn well when it is green so I guess the moisture content is low. My point is if you want detail then power carve or chainsaw it. Spar urethane doesn't really do well on it either. I am refinishing it as I speak. Good luck with the ash.

[Waitpinga Whittler]

I have an update on my experience with ash. Late last year an aquaintence cut down what he said was an ash tree for a neigbour of his and brought it round to me. Apparently the tree had been dead for some time. I've only used one bough of it so far, and while it was a fair bit harder than most other woods I use, it held the detail quite well. I was pleased with the results.



The only thing I'm not sure about is if the 'ash' that I have is the same as the one you are talking about. Ash is not native to Australia and I've no history for this tree whatsoever. No leaves either.. just moss covered grey bark.

[Claude]

Originally Posted by Marvin Little

The best way to attach a handle is to drill a hole in the handle approximately 3/4 in ches in diameter and 1 inch deep or as deep as you can without going all the way through the handle. Carve /cut a corresponding tenon on top of the shaft and epoxy the two together. I clamp the shaft upright in my vice, put the epoxy in the hole in the handle and insert the shaft into the handle. Put masking tape or painters tape around the shaft below the tenon to catch any epoxy that runs out. The epoxy will stain the shaft and will be hard to get off.

Marvin

You can also drill holes in the top of the shaft and the bottom of the handle (3/4 inch is good, as Marvin says), and put a hardwood dowel in with epoxy to join the two. Another option is to drill 3/8 or 1/2 inch holes in both, and then epoxy in a section of threaded steel rod, available at all DIY and hardware stores.

Claude