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How To Cure Wood For Sturdy Hiking Staff?


BigDaddyD

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After doing several forum searches for proper ways to cure wood for a staff, I decided to ask the expert opinion of the forum. I was interested in making my own wood hiking staff and wondered if anyone knew the proper way to cure the wood to make it more sturdy and reliable. What are the best types of wood to use, hardwood vs. softer wood, etc. Ways you have modified your own staff, straps, tips, engravings, add-ons etc. How do you judge the proper length of you staff depending on your height etc. Post pictures of your prize staff here. Thanks in advance for your help.

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I'm hoping El Diablo, who seems to be the resident walking stick expert, publishes something in the Geocacher magazine. Here is a good (albeit lengthy) post that he started:

 

http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=73258

 

But I hope he includes some pictures of how he does the engraving. Specifically, how much of the outline gets engraved, how deep, sanding requirements, along with some more detailed specifics that he put in the above post. I may even buy a video (hint, hint) if he were to put one together. "Welcome to the El Diablo Workshop"

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There will be an article on it in next months Today's Cacher It will cover the basics and some details. However to write everything complete with pics and detailed instructions would be a magazine in it's self.

 

As to the question on how to cure the wood. The best is to find a piece already cured. If you are going to cut the wood, cut it longer than what you will need by a foot. It will have a tendency to crack at the ends while curing. After it's cut you can do one of two things, either debark it immediately or let it cure with the bark on. I try to debark right away. If you let it cure with the bark on it will be hard to get off later. There are pros and cons to this that I'm not going into.

 

Find a dry place like a garage a workshop etc... to store the wood. If you can lay it flat, if not make sure it's standing up straight and not leaning. Turn the wood at least every couple of days to prevent warping. Depending on the type of wood this process will take 6 to 12 weeks before the wood is ready to use.

 

As to hard or soft wood. Hardwood is the best, but there are some soft woods that work well also, just don't use Pine. Also consider the weight. Remember you will be carrying it, and you don't want to lug around a 5lb staff. For that reason Oak is a bad choice. If you have access to either Popular, which is my favorite try it. Poplar cures fast, straight and very light.

 

I hope that helps. B)

 

El Diablo

Edited by El Diablo
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Find a dry place like a garage a workshop etc... to store the wood. If you can lay it flat, if not make sure it's standing up straight and not leaning. Turn the wood at least every couple of days to prevent warping. Depending on the type of wood this process will take 6 to 12 weeks before the wood is ready to use.

Make sure you also leave sufficient room around the wood for good air circulation. Do not allow the wood to be exposed to direct sunlight or freezing. If you can maintain a constant temperature and humidity level, you can minimize cracking/checking.

 

I'm really surprised at the short amount of time you season your wood ... as I understand it, even the kiln-dried wood sold commercially is cured for longer than that.

 

I realize we are talking about vastly different things, but it is interesting to note that the makers of world-class woodwind instruments cure their wood for DECADES, and prior to beginning the air-curing, they steam the wood for a period of time to kill the living cells (and other organisms.)

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Hi, I've made several walking sticks here in New England. My personal choice for wood is witch hazel - light, sturdy and with an interesting grain.

 

To cure/dry it I simply hang it in the eaves of my attic for the summer - it gets pretty hot up there during the day and is ventilated so it stays dry.

 

I'm not very scientific about height - but shoulder height seems about right - certainly not much more than that. I like to 'carve' out a recess for a leather grip and I place this at whatever height seems comfortable for a natural grip and stance.

 

If I strip the bark off, I like to treat the wood with a light walnut oil - does not get tacky and gives a low sheen to the wood. Smells ok too.

 

Hope this helps a bit.

Yours aye,

The Prospectors

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I'm really surprised at the short amount of time you season your wood ... as I understand it, even the kiln-dried wood sold commercially is cured for longer than that.

 

Like I said..it depends on the wood. Poplar will cure in the summer in about 4 weeks in the right conditions. Of the scores that I've made over the years I've never had a complaint. Donnacha is the only one I've even had break one. :smile:

 

BTW...Donnacha if you read this, I'm working on one for you right now that you couldn't break if you tried! B)

 

El Diablo

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A while back I supplied a friend a bunch of Maple and Hawthorn saplings I pulled out of the ground when clearing some property. With minimal carving and an artistic eye he came up with some impressive and expensive satffs which he sold in his jewelery/pottery shop. I just trimmed the good looking ones and stored them in a shed before dropping them off at his shop. He managed to carve some sort of animal figurehead into about a third of the saplings. The others ended up in a wood stove. Hawthorns have a very interesting "muscular" look to them and tightly curved roots that branched off at nearly right angles. Just try getting them out of the ground!

 

It is almost impossible to get rid of a Hawthorn by cutting it off at ground level because it just sprouts and suckers with even more of the nasty 1" spikes they are famous for. I once tracked down an arborist at a University and asked if he knew of any herbicides I could use to get rid of Hawthorn trees. "Yes, a bulldozer." He said.

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I've never made a walking stick so am by no means knowledgable about such things. However, I am a woodturner and, as such, have some experience with the drying, or curing as you call it, of green wood for turning purposes.

 

Wood is constantly moving with the relative humidity. It moves a considerable amount across the grain and a negligable amount with the grain. As the wood dries and begins to shrink across the grain, the internal forces are immense. If these forces cannot be relieved, the wood will check across and along the grain. Of course, different species and even different trees within a species will shrink and expand at different rates which is why some woods, like fruit woods, are very difficult, if not impossible, to dry without checking.

 

When air-drying any kind of wood it is important to dry it very slowly. Most of the moisture escapes from the end grain causing the ends of the stick to dry much faster than the rest and usually results in checking (cracking) on the ends. To even out the drying process you must coat the end grain with something that will stop or slow down the drying process from the end grain. Paint can be used but really doesn't work that well. For a one off project, molten paraffin wax is probably the best solution. If you dry a lot of wood a liquid wax emulsion such as Anchorseal works best. Rule of thumb for drying wood is 1 year for each inch of thickness, plus 1 year.

 

Another problem with drying wood is the pith, or the centre part of the wood. Most folks harvesting green wood for lumber will cut the pith out as quickly as possible after felling the tree. Doing so will reduce the likelyhood of checking by a huge amount by relieving the stresses built up by the shrinkage. Since this is not really possible for a walking stick, slow air-drying is even more important.

 

Another approach is to not dry the wood at all but to seal in the moisture and prevent the wood from drying at all.

 

There are also other methods employed by woodturners for reducing the effects of shrinkage or warping including boiling the wood and/or soaking in Kirkland (Costco) liquid dish detergent prior to drying.

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I am going to agree with theprospectors in that shoulder height is the best height for a walking stick

 

Now for something any experienced woodworker will probably laugh at. I have recently made a walking stick (out of cedar) and from the time that I had pulled the dead stick out of the ground to the time that I was sanding it and adding a grip was probably about 4 hours, no curing time at all. :huh:

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I am going to agree with theprospectors in that shoulder height is the best height for a walking stick

 

Now for something any experienced woodworker will probably laugh at. I have recently made a walking stick (out of cedar) and from the time that I had pulled the dead stick out of the ground to the time that I was sanding it and adding a grip was probably about 4 hours, no curing time at all. :huh:

Cedar actually is one of the few soft woods that make good staffs. As you said it was dead when you pulled it out of the ground (pre cured).

 

There are a lot of different opinions here about the curing time. The only actual way of knowing if it is cured enough is by using special instruments to measure the moisture in the wood. I have no instruments. I use my experience, the feel and sound of the wood.

 

El Diablo

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Thanks for all the information. I knew this forum would be there for me. ElDiablo, I have been to your site, Today's Cacher, many times and seen your examples of various staff models and am looking to use my own creativity to develop a staff for my wife and myself of similar caliber. I just was unsure about the drying process and didn't want to put a lot of effort into a staff only to have it crack/break quickly. Thanks to everyone again for your input.

BigDaddyD :D

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I made a walking stick out of Bamboo. I found a large narrow piece and cut it just taller then the height of my arm at a 90 angle while standing. I bought a rubber cap that you would find on a cane, and put an old mountian bike handle bar grip at the top for comfort. After I had it for a while, I spray painted it to make it look nice.

Best of all it was real cheap, looks good and works great. :D

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A small suggestion : roots. I made my staff out of a root (from a dead thuya tree) instead of a branch. Roots appear to be much stronger than branches for the same weight and diameter. They also tend to have interesting shapes (even though you want a rather straight one). I couldn't cure it before using it, since it was an emergency (sprained ankle on top of mountain), but I later let it dry leaning in a dark corner of my room after removing the bark and it only developped very slight cracking at the top end (now reinforced with cord wrapped around).

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To: teepeeayy Sent a reply -- I think -- it's in my sent box anyway. PM me again if you didn't get it.

 

The Prospectors

 

Apologies to the folks reading this just because its a new response. But Prospectors, no I didn't get the PM, so I sent you an email.....I think. I clicked on your name in the post, which brought up a screen, then clicked "email this person", so I did. I copied myself, and actually received it.

 

Please advise.

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I'm interested because I do a lot of hiking/backpacking. I did some gunstock finishing for a gunsmith when I was young but I don't do the gun thing anymore, yet love working with wood. Every wood has its own characteristics, and almost anything can be finished attractively. I like to find pieces from places I go where I've had memorable moments and make mementos of them. I'm into native american flutes, and I make flute blocks out of such wood, they remind me of my trip every time I play. Last August I got a fresh sapling of Eastern Hemlock, about 1-1/4" diameter, tapering to 3/4" at tip, during a hike in SW VA that was a particularly memorable and reinvigorating time for me (from an area where trees had been recently cut and cleared). I let it cure about 4 months. I made a few blocks from it, some buttons for some of my outdoor gear and a buckskin vest I made, then I had still 53" left for the walking staff (I like that length fine, but if I did it over I might go for 57-60"). The fundamentals are easy: shape, sand, seal, finish. For shaping, many staff makers decide to remove all the bark, for this particular one, since it's a "totem" of memory - there's nothing special about its wood grain, so I sanded using a mix of wood exposures - the light wood under the bark, the soft brown bark under the outer bark, and leaving the outer bark intact. You can do whatever pleases you, although some woods' bark is too difficult to finish (as well as some wood is so beautiful it's a shame not to expose it and finish it nicely!). I love the finish, the bark finished very elegantly and the wood is more attractive for it I think. When sanding, start with a rough grain, say 60 or 80 grit, and work until you have your desired shape. Then sand the sanding marks and streaks out with successive finer grades, I use 100-220-325-400. Oh, and always sand with the grain - sand marks against the grain will show up during finishing. Once sanding is finished, wipe the dust off and seal the wood. I use a stain/seal (Minwax), and natural stain. 2-3 coats of seal protects the wood and prepares it to take a real nice finish. I use oil finish, Tung-Oil finish by minwax currently, but I used Tru-Oil to finish gunstocks and really like it. Tung finish was available locally and I'm too lazy or compulsive to wait for an order of Tru Oil so I went with Tung. I'm happy, but drying time is a bit long. I put a dozen razor thin coats of oil on by hand. This may seem obsessive, but it produces a lovely 3D deep sheen, moreso on really pretty wood like walnut and mahogany, birdseye maple, etc. Looks good though on my staff. Oh, on shaping - one more thing - I don't like a straight staff. I like a little bend because it feels more natural as I walk. To get this, I actually DO lean the fresh sapling up against a wall (in a corner) of my home at about a 70 degree angle. While curing over the 3-4 month period, it warped a little, gravity putting a slight bend in it. It turned out perfectlly for my purpose. The bend also gives it a nice little spring, almost like a shock absorber, when I walk with it. I finished it off by putting a rubber tip on it that I bought from REI (during shaping I sanded the tip to a diameter that would accomodate the rubber tip). The great thing about making your own is you're never limited. Do whatever strikes you. If you botch one up make another (this is the part I like - I'm good with finishes, but I'm a sorry artist and keep trying to carve things into the wood, I need lots of tries!). All I use for tools and materials are hand sandpaper, a Dremel Mototool, a Leatherman multitool, stain/seal, a couple of rags and foam brushes, oil finish, and mineral spirits for wiping dust and cleaning. It's very economical but satisfying.

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I was doing a search online for different resources about staves and the like.. And this popped up. And I have to say, this thread has given me so much information to use. Thank you all for holding this conversation. I feel a lot more secure and safe in my capacity to actually make a decent walking staff.

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I was doing a search online for different resources about staves and the like.. And this popped up. And I have to say, this thread has given me so much information to use. Thank you all for holding this conversation. I feel a lot more secure and safe in my capacity to actually make a decent walking staff.

 

I tend to like Diamond Willows. I use several sites when my supply gets low for the ones I carve for customers, however this site is both a good source and very informative.

 

Having said this, if you're looking for function more than form (Sometimes both), what you find hiking on your own are the best. Some are even do quite well for carving.

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How is sycamore? I found the perfectly shaped stick while following our daughter around at one of her golf matches. Pretty straight and the grain in sycamore is awesome. I've sanded it quite a bit, but still have some to go. I was just wondering how it holds up over time.

I have a few natural ones made from Sycamore that Beavers have gnawed the bark off of. I have a real light one made from Osage Orange/Hedge Apple that I cut and hung it in a building with a weight tied to the end to keep it from warping. Anorter good way to cure one is put it inside a 1 inch pipe until it drys. I like a good heavy hiking staff, and Sycamore holds up well.

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Hi, I bought a cane - something like a fine bamboo from a bloke at the local markets. As to height, I made it just below eye level, and then inserted a screw into the top so that I could screw my camera onto it, turning it into a mono-pod. I find this really helpful when bush walking and geocaching to get a sharp photo and to put myself in the picture when walking alone. Another use is to push it into dark rock crevices which might contain a cache and equally might contain a taipan snake. With a little hook, I can take a photo with the flash and all is revealed in safety - though the pictures tend to be rather blurred.

Cheers,

Dan

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I cut a "cedar" (juniper) sapling, stripped the branches, then left it standing in the corner of the garage for a few months. Bugs are naturally repelled by it, so no bug problems. After it dried out, I sanded down the branch nubs, drilled a hole below the top for a wrist lanyard, drilled a hole in the top for a camera tripod screw, wrapped some extra duct tape around it for "just in case" scenarios, and that was that. I've hiked all over the US and Europe with it for over 15 years with no issues, I hope it lasts forever.

 

edit: me and stick in 2004 (along with stupid hat that shrank too much to wear anymore)

 

Arav03-06.jpg

Edited by hzoi
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I made this one a few days ago 02-12-2011. It's eucalyptus wood and is 54" long. I left the bark on at the handle then craved the spiral effect leaving some of the bark on as I went down the staff. It came out pretty good.

 

HPIM0911.jpg

 

HPIM0913.jpg

I've done this sort of decoration on sticks before, as well (for furniture, in my case). It s very cool, and with practice, you can get much more elaborate that those examples.

 

By the way... I just have to say that this is SUCH a refreshing thread to read after spending so much time on another that shall remain linkless. Thanks for the breath of fresh air!

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We had a ball making a hiking staff with my cub scout den! We really liked this site for all of the options/ideas for all the neat little things you can add to your staff. http://sne.tripod.com/hikestaf.htm

 

And also our local scout store has all the scout medalions to add and plus alot of parks have medalions you can add. And I took a class at our local scouting university about them as well!

 

I have always been told that sholder high was the best height. And I used maple but my staff was just for fun and show and we don't hike to far so otherwise I was told to use a lighter type of wood. Can't remember which types he said to use and not sure where my notes are at the moment.

 

Have fun!

Edited by Cindyj2
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I made mine from a White oak branch i found about 14 years ago. It sat in my parents garage till about 8 years ago. It has a slight bow to it from leaning against the wall all that time. Only recently did i cut it down to size and started using it as a walking staff. I used a 1.25 inch copper pipe cap to protect the bottom of the stick. I picked up some Teak Oil to help protect it while in the elements. It darkened the wood a good bit but only added to the appeal of the stick. At the top i inlaid a small 20mm compass. In gave the handle area a dimpled texture and rapped above and below the handle with some 550 para cord.

 

Another stick i found about the same time was Maple. Love the white wood. I left most of the bark on it for looks. Only stripped the upper most layer exposing the softer layer just above the wood. Adds a great look to it. It has been cut to size and i rounded off the top of the stick and basically polished the wood. Haven't used any sealers or anything on it. Just sandpaper down to a 400 grip wet sand then buffed with an old t-shirt. The top of the stick is smooth as silk.

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I have tried just about every wood we have in Florida and none met my needs. I was in a martial arts supply store and noticed some staffs along a wall. They were called Bo Staffs. I bought one just a little longer than I. It is about 1-1/8 in diameter and straight as an arrow. The wood is almost white and has a very tight grain (slow growing) and very very strong. I added a threaded metal insert at the top for adding attachments. So far I have a hook - good for fishing geocaches out of the water and a round rubber knob. I made a handhold with bat tape (baseball bat, not the flying kind) at elbow height and fire hardened the ground end. Looking for a good metal tip now. My hiking buddies said it looked like PVC so I tried staining it. The wood would not take stain. Too tight a grain I guess. Ended up spray painting it with some camo. Ugly, but it does not look like PVC pipe. I like it long for going up and down slopes. Nailing on medallions requires a hole be drilled before using the nail. Did I mention the wood was very strong. I watched a YouTube video where a guy took out a car windshield with his staff. Nuff said? Cheers. Jim

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I am in the process of making my own. I made one for my 3 year old already. And will be making one for my 13 year old who caches with me. All I have done so far is pick out a stick that was fairly straight or straight enough, trimmed it to the hight I wanted, sanded it smooth, stained it, about the proper hight for the hand I wrapped it in 550 cord and for my 3 year olds, put a rubber cap on the bottom.

 

Mine, I did much of the same to mine as for my 3 year olds, except I engraved my family crest near the top of it as well as carved out a spot for the walking stick trackable medallion I purchased. I still have a but more to finish up on it before it is ready to go out with me.

 

For my 13 year olds, I have not fully decided what we are gonna do with his, but I will get working on it once spring arrives.

 

For the larger sticks, I am contimplating cutting them and adding a large screw so they can be broke down for traveling.

 

All my know how on this has come from searching the web, mainly via Google, on how to make a walking stick. I found a few good sites and forums that I combed for some info and ideas. If I can locate some of the sites I used, I will post them here for your referance as well.

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I was in a martial arts supply store and noticed some staffs along a wall.

They were called Bo Staffs.

I had one many decades ago made of cocobola (SP?)

I covered it in heat shrink tubing. It was all but unbreakable.

(Note: can't be broken does not equal can't be stolen...) <_<

 

I like it long for going up and down slopes.

An added bonus to a long staff is no more spider web face plants. :blink:

 

My hiking buddies said it looked like PVC so I tried staining it.

The wood would not take stain. Too tight a grain I guess.

Could the wood be sealed? Mine was.

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All my know how on this has come from searching the web

You might find this of interest: El Diablo's Tutorial

 

I will add this to my list of referances. I am very interested to read all of it when I have the time to sit down to do so.

 

And I should have said, searching the web first than applying to the walking stick I am making. I started mine Aug 2013 and am about 90% complete. My 3 year olds is done and he uses it around the house mostly, and my 13 year olds has yet to be started.

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