OK. I'll confess....

Frank Fusco

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Mountain Home, Arkansas
We all have those occasional misteaks.
This morning, I was turning a spindle, part walnut and part Osage Orange. The two woods had been butt joined with a 1/2" dowel glued in with ProBond. I was in the process of turning from square to round. The OO kept catching and stopping. I was cursing my beloved now Grizzly G0632 powerful lathe. And was getting very concerned about the small drive belt slipping and wondering if this was a portend of troubles to come. My gut wuz not happy.
:(
Finally, I shut down to make an adjustment and grabbed one end of the work. The other end did not turn. :huh: Only took a second to figure out the glue joint had failed and the chucked up walnut part was spinning when the OO I was attempting to cut wasn't.
Partly happy now. Lathe still good.
But, the dowel joint was not as strong as I believed it should be. 1/2" dowel about 1" into the wood should have (IMHO) held. Oh, well.
I cut apart, redrilled and epoxied in a 5/8" dowel to a 2" depth.
BTW, I'm trying to make myself a hiking staff. If this fails I'll just use an old stick off the ground. ;)
 
Frank, sounds like a good project. Glad you figured out you problem and it was cheaply fixed. Please post a pic once it is completed.
 
If instead of a dowel you've made a square loose tenon the pieces wouldn't turn separately, but obviously it is more work and time consuming
 
For a walking stick, I'd think the 1/2" dowel would be a little thin anyway. Sounds like the bigger dowel is a better idea. It'll provide more shear and flexural strength.
 
BTW, I'm trying to make myself a hiking staff. If this fails I'll just use an old stick off the ground. ;)

Frank,

I've got a lot of old sticks that I use for walking staffs, but I'd really be interested in seeing how this project turns out. I've been wanting to make something a little more 'polished'.

Brent
 
For a walking stick, I'd think the 1/2" dowel would be a little thin anyway. Sounds like the bigger dowel is a better idea. It'll provide more shear and flexural strength.

The 'handle' is actually more of a decorative topping. The grip and support part is right under it. But, then, should I ever put pressure on the top, the extra beef of the 5/8" is, no doubt, better. If I make another, the design will be different.
 
Try using 3/8" steel threaded rod CA'd in about 2-3 inches each side. It will definetly not break during use of the stick.
Just a rookies opinion.

Agreed. But, I try to use what I have on hand. Buying some threaded rod would require a round trip to town (almost two gallons of gas) and time. I had the dowels already. I'll be going to town today, first time in three days, with a long list of 'to do' things on it.
 
Post a pic when you are done, Frank. I'd like to see what it looks like.

About the only hiking I do is the 80 foot trek from the back door to the shop but I'm still interested in seeing it.

Back when I was a kid and growing up poor on a farm, we would routinely pick Dew Berries every year in early summer. Mama would make jelly, jam and berry cobbler out of them. The vines grow wild alongside the roads here in East Texas.

One of the requirements back then was a "berry picking stick" to not only lift and move the prickly vines for getting at the berries but also to check underneath for snakes...usually Copperheads. :eek:

I might just make me a "berry picking stick" for old times sake. :)
 
Post a pic when you are done, Frank. I'd like to see what it looks like.

About the only hiking I do is the 80 foot trek from the back door to the shop but I'm still interested in seeing it.

Back when I was a kid and growing up poor on a farm, we would routinely pick Dew Berries every year in early summer. Mama would make jelly, jam and berry cobbler out of them. The vines grow wild alongside the roads here in East Texas.

One of the requirements back then was a "berry picking stick" to not only lift and move the prickly vines for getting at the berries but also to check underneath for snakes...usually Copperheads. :eek:

I might just make me a "berry picking stick" for old times sake. :)



I'm not much of a hiker/trekker either. But we will be taking two vacations in the next year that might include hiking. In a couple weeks we are going to Colorado to visit our daughter and son-in-law. Colorado does have some great trails. In March our son and daughter-in-law are treating us to a Hawaiian vacation. I would like to hike up to the volcanoes. Plan on using stick for both. I could buy a ready make hiking staff but they look.....well....ready made. Don't like that when I can make something for myself. Other priorities will keep me out of the shop for about a week. Pictures when finished.
 
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