Walking cane made from yardsticks

I was shopping at my local home improvement store, and happen to notice a bunch of yardsticks in the paint department.  These yardsticks were made of 1/4" pine, and were less than a dollar each.  I also noticed that they were nearly the perfect length for a walking cane.

 

Step 1 Materials and tools required

The material required for this project is very simple:

- three wooden yardsticks (you want wide, thick ones)

- white glue

- epoxy glue

- 120 grit and 220 grit sandpaper

- 1/8" rubber sheet (optional)

The tools required are minimal.  I used a bandsaw, but a hand-held coping saw would do the job.  I also used a belt sander, but you can always sand by hand.

Comments

[Rich99]

knife141--

what a great idea, and you presented your ible so well. nice photos and commentary.

i've made a few canes over the years (i use a cane for a missing left foot), but i used hardwood -- walnut -- cuz i weigh and eighth of a ton, plus it finishes so beautifully. three of mine are 'out of the ordinary': a saw handle, a m1911a .45 caliber automatic and a s&w long barrel .357 magnum. i just trace them onto a plank of wood, then round the corners with a router and spokeshave. the 'handles' need a lot of rasping, sanding and carving. everybody
asks me where i got them!

-- rich in maine

p.s. use the 60 minute epoxy. it's much stronger.

[knife141]

Thanks for the nice comment. I've also made a dozen or so other canes. On most of them I used oak for the shaft and exotic woods (olive, desert ironwood, paduk, etc.) for the handles. I made a few of them where they screw apart in the middle so they fit in a carry-on bag for traveling. Also made a couple using antique doorknobs for handles, but don't particularly like using them. I made the yardstick canes (about 40 of them in total) and gave all of them away as gifts. Every now I then I just get in the mood to make a new cane. Thanks again for the comment, and I agree with using the slow curing epoxy. Not only is it stronger, but I'm getting sort of slow myself!

[Rich99]

if you're making canes that screw together, you're doing a lot better than me. once, i cut 3 inches off my favorite cane, knowing that it was too long. now, of course, it was too short. i drilled the stub and used dowel centers, but somehow i was way off. and i've used dowel centers quite a few (100s) times. oh well.

[knife141]

The way I center drill a cane is to first make a little jig from a 4-5 inch piece of tubing that slips snugly over the cane shaft. If its a little too loose, I shim it by wrapping tape around the cane's shaft. Then I epoxy a hardwood dowel inside half the length of the tube. After the glue has cured, i center drill the dowel glued inside the jig using a metal lathe. Then, to drill the holes in the cane shaft I place the jig on the cane (shimming it with tape, if necessary) and using the hole I've drilled in the jig, I center drill the cane shaft. It seems to work pretty well. Hope my description makes sense.

[dchall8]

Pretty clever. I've become a fan of Gorilla Glue for wood projects, but I'm sure you're works fine.