new to stick making

[eagleye]

as the title suggests iam new to the art of stick-making

the advise iam after is

(1) strightening a shank i.e steaming and how

(2) can buffalo and or rams horn be bent / strightened i.e to make a crook

 

thanks in advance for any info or links

 

eagleye

[henry d]

It is usually better to just cut a straight one however I tend to just straighten them over my knee. First I leave the seasoned shank somewhere warm(at work we have a drying room and this is great!) or you can use an electric heat gun IF you are CAREFUL. Just keep looking down the shank and estimate where the bend is then place over your knee and ease it into shape, it may take some time but it does work.

I have a nice blackthorn stick which had a curve running all along it`s length and after a couple of days I had it nice and straight, I then gave it several coats of yacht varnish and all was good, however 4-5 beating seasons later and the bottom 6" or so of bark has been worn away and the moisture has got back in and it`s back to its curve Time to make a new one !

[Dunkield]

(2) can buffalo and or rams horn be bent / strightened i.e to make a crook

 

thanks in advance for any info or links

 

eagleye

 

I was shown how to do this at the last game fair I went to, having failed miserably last time I tried it.

It can be bent, plenty of people do it, but you heat up the inside of the bend, not the outside, so you are softening it for compression, not expansion.

 

If you search for stickmaking you will find site that show you how to do it, but the guys I was talking to (the stickmakers guild) say you don't need those elaborate jigs.

They use a piece of steel plate drilled with loads of holes and then insert dowels in the holes to stop the horn straightening as the horn bends.

 

When I get the time I will give it another go as I still have a unused piece of horn kicking about.

 

 

Some good stuff here, he will bend horn for you, but then the cost goes up to £40

 

http://www.thestickman.co.uk/diylist.htm

[Oly]

you heat up the inside of the bend, not the outside, so you are softening it for compression, not expansion.

 

Stuart, not being funny but I think one part of this is the wrong way round...if you soften the inside of the bend you would then surely be expanding the inside of the bend in order to get it straight? Or am I being daft...again!

[Peter_HMR]

Im with oly the inside of the bend will be expanded to straighten the stick think you need to head the outside of the curve as that will be under compression.

[Dunkield]

Or am I being daft...again!

 

Yes, again

 

If you look at the reply I am answering how to bend horn, i.e. the handle which you want to put more of a bend into.

Not the shank, where the object is to straighten, i.e. remove bends

 

Like this:

 

Before.

 

 

 

After.

 

 

 

 

And no, that isn't one of my sticks!

[eagleye]

http://www.scottishwalkingsticks.com/

http://www.wlaidler.co.uk/page2.html

 

found these sites they might give you some info

 

eagleye

[Stealth Stalker]

Eagleye

 

I'm just getting into stickmaking myself & a couple of good books are The craft of stickmaking by Leo Gowan & Stickmaking handbook by Andrew Jones & Clive George.

 

Both are very imformative & have some good step by step projects to try

 

The straightening of the shanks couldn't be simpler, I just held them over a pan of boiling water with a hessian sheet to keep the heat in, then bent to shape over a knee.

 

Here's a couple of thumbsticks for my first attempt

 

 

 

My next project is an antler thumbstick & after that a nice market stick with a horn crook & some carved **** sticks, the frustrating part is waiting for them to season

 

SS