Making Mendowood Walking Sticks

Handcrafted Walking Sticks How our sticks are made

I bring wood in from all over the world. Burl wood is purchased in large blocks, slabs and whole burls, and I harvest burls that grow locally as they become available. Hardwood lumber, rare and exotic woods are purchased in boards of one to five inches thickness.

Blocks are cut for the heads. The selection of wood for each type of walking stick head is chosen for workability, appearance, and material strength.

Every head, regardless of style or wood species, is drilled to the maximum depth the style will allow and a 1/2" or 3/4" aluminum billet is glued into the drilled hole. The glue is waterproof and expands many times in size to completely fill the drilled hole and all pores in the wood. The block and billet become essentially one piece.

Shaping the Heads

Some of the heads are turned on a lathe. They are done by hand with no "pattern". It is the hand, eye and skill of the craftsman that turns a block of wood into a work of art.

Some heads are machined. These are heads that were originally carved. A computer program was written to allow a computer-controlled mill to reproduce them making an exact copy of the original carved piece.

More traditional handles are cut to shape with a band saw and have the edges eased with a router.

Finishing the heads

COOL!!!!!

An awful lot of sanding gets done on these heads. I use 12 different grits of paper on each head, a process that takes hours.
Five to ten coats of finish, either Tung oil or Acrylic Polymer depending on species of wood, are applied to each head by hand. Very oily woods can't use Tung oil, as it won't dry. Some woods are photo-sensitive, and need the UV protection of the Acrylic.

Return to Mendowood Catalog Call me for questions
(360) 437-7741 mendowood@yahoo.com

	I bring wood in from all over the world. Burl wood is purchased in large blocks, slabs and whole burls, and I harvest burls that grow locally as they become available. Hardwood lumber, rare and exotic woods are purchased in boards of one to five inches thickness.
	Blocks are cut for the heads. The selection of wood for each type of walking stick head is chosen for workability, appearance, and material strength. Every head, regardless of style or wood species, is drilled to the maximum depth the style will allow and a 1/2" or 3/4" aluminum billet is glued into the drilled hole. The glue is waterproof and expands many times in size to completely fill the drilled hole and all pores in the wood. The block and billet become essentially one piece.
Shaping the Heads

Some of the heads are turned on a lathe. They are done by hand with no "pattern". It is the hand, eye and skill of the craftsman that turns a block of wood into a work of art.	Some heads are machined. These are heads that were originally carved. A computer program was written to allow a computer-controlled mill to reproduce them making an exact copy of the original carved piece.	More traditional handles are cut to shape with a band saw and have the edges eased with a router.
Finishing the heads
	COOL!!!!!
An awful lot of sanding gets done on these heads. I use 12 different grits of paper on each head, a process that takes hours.	Five to ten coats of finish, either Tung oil or Acrylic Polymer depending on species of wood, are applied to each head by hand. Very oily woods can't use Tung oil, as it won't dry. Some woods are photo-sensitive, and need the UV protection of the Acrylic.