# Anybody make their own canes and walking sticks?



## Alan Michaels (Mar 21, 2014)

I seen this Grand Rapids Craigslist / Arts and Crafts

http://grandrapids.craigslist.org/art/4567946660.html

I would like a branch but I have no use for a whole tree, and its up north.
Cool looking tree though.


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## Section 8 (Feb 28, 2006)

very cool


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## Anish (Mar 6, 2009)

Love those corkscrew willow. Very cool looking trees!


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## finlander (Jan 11, 2007)

Interested in doing a walking stick doubling as a monopod. I knew a local man made some from sassafras years back. Alzheimer's has struck him since. Haven't seen him in awhile. I have carved basswood figures for 20 years. I would like to try a design on a stick. Where would I look for sassafras in Michigan? Thanks


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## Waif (Oct 27, 2013)

I see sassafrass in fencerows.
Along our road they were recently taken out of the right of way. 
Hopefully enough survived for tea....
They tolerate a lot of sun.
Kinda brittle for walking sticks.


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## A.M. General (May 3, 2001)

finlander said:


> Interested in doing a walking stick doubling as a monopod. I knew a local man made some from sassafras years back. Alzheimer's has struck him since. Haven't seen him in awhile. I have carved basswood figures for 20 years. I would like to try a design on a stick. Where would I look for sassafras in Michigan? Thanks


I have a ton of sassafras on my property in eastern Oceana county.


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## finlander (Jan 11, 2007)

I don't know much about it. Is it a vine and not a tree? It is listed as one that is used for sticks. Beyond that, ??? One says it's brittle. I plan on varnishing it to protect it. Wether that will help...?


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## Waif (Oct 27, 2013)

It is a tree. Colonies occur where allowed. Rough bark ,light tan/ brown and crooked tops help spot at a distance. Green stemmed young.
I have looked at a rare gunstock made from it but hard to work out a straight unknarly section , and that example was wormholed. Ants can cause galls on young shoots.
To overcome strength issues ,using a bigger diameter should help. A couple inch diameter vs an inch for example.
Varnish will help keep bark on after loose and high standing areas are sanded off . Dried bark a pain to remove.


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## A.M. General (May 3, 2001)

Juvenile sassafras in this picture. Usually is very brittle at smaller sizes. Kind of a gnarly tree that rarely grows straight


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## Mvillecowboy (Mar 1, 2012)

I have 2 curing right now waiting to be turned into walking stick from Ironwood


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## A.M. General (May 3, 2001)

I cut down 12 the other day if anyone wants any. Many more to go


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## multibeard (Mar 3, 2002)

I have some on my property in western Oceana as well. It is scattered all over Oceana County.

It can get pretty big, like saw log size. A friend built the cabinets in his bus conversion bus out of it. I have a duck decoy carved out of it by Bob? Auw from Fremont.

I never knew it had berries on it until a few years ago when I could not figure out what the robins were feeding on in the one in my front yard in Montcalm. I showed a small limb with leaves and berries on it to a 90+ year old guy. He said those are sassafras leaves but why the berries. He had never seen berries in all his years being in the woods.


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## A.M. General (May 3, 2001)

multibeard said:


> I have some on my property in western Oceana as well. It is scattered all over Oceana County.
> 
> It can get pretty big, like saw log size. A friend built the cabinets in his bus conversion bus out of it. I have a duck decoy carved out of it by Bob? Auw from Fremont.
> 
> I never knew it had berries on it until a few years ago when I could not figure out what the robins were feeding on in the one in my front yard in Montcalm. I showed a small limb with leaves and berries on it to a 90+ year old guy. He said those are sassafras leaves but why the berries. He had never seen berries in all his years being in the woods.


I'm going to have to pay attention and look for the berries this year. I have yet to notice any. Quite a different type of wood, the smell when cut or burned reminds me of black licorice.


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## swampbuck (Dec 23, 2004)

Here another bit of sassafras trivia. It turns pink when kiln dried.


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## Firefighter (Feb 14, 2007)

And sassafras is a known carcinogen for those that like to enjoy the tea made from roots.


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## Anish (Mar 6, 2009)

Are you talking about sassafras or sumac? Sassafras is a plant that grows low and spreads by rhizomes. Sumac is an actual small tree that put out clusters of red berries towards the end of summer.


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## swampbuck (Dec 23, 2004)

Sassafras is actually a tree, you are seeing saplings. Very few make it to shade tree size.

Pretty useful plant.


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## multibeard (Mar 3, 2002)

Annish I think maybe you have the two mixed up.

Sassafras does not grow low to the ground around me. It can grow to be quite a large tree in the right places. I have some on the lot behind us that are over 30 feet tall and at least 10 inches in diameter. I have seen some that was probably 15 inches in diameter.

Staghorn sumac does have Christmas tree shaped berry clusters in the fall. I have used it for trap dye. When it is boiled it smells like making grape jam. It can each 10 feet in height. My sis in laws dad fertilized one in his yard. It was 8 to 10 inches in diameter when it died. I had my cousin saw it on his band saw mill. It had two colors of wood in it. Part was green the rest was tan/brown. Deer love staghorn sumac berries.

There are other types of sumac one of which grows close to the ground. It to has berries but as I remember the berries are greenish. I had it in a side yard one time. It took a lot of mowing off to finally get rid of it.


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## Anish (Mar 6, 2009)

multibeard said:


> Annish I think maybe you have the two mixed up.
> 
> Sassafras does not grow low to the ground around me. It can grow to be quite a large tree in the right places. I have some on the lot behind us that are over 30 feet tall and at least 10 inches in diameter. I have seen some that was probably 15 inches in diameter.
> 
> ...


Oh for cripes sake! Geez! Talk about brain cramp! I don't know where my head was this morning when I responded. 
My brain registered sarsaparilla instead of sassafras . I think this weather change really did a number on me or something ! DUH!
Right! I find sassafras all over down in Southern Genesee county, but Ive never found it up/over this way. 
Staghorn sumac has a BEAUTIFUL grain! I do quite a bit of wood carving with it. 
Man! Talk about feeling stupid!


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## Waif (Oct 27, 2013)

Firefighter said:


> And sassafras is a known carcinogen for those that like to enjoy the tea made from roots.


I' m still alright ,a slight twich at times ,but no lab rat overdose ...yet.


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## multibeard (Mar 3, 2002)

Anish said:


> Oh for cripes sake! Geez! Talk about brain cramp! I don't know where my head was this morning when I responded.
> My brain registered sarsaparilla instead of sassafras . I think this weather change really did a number on me or something ! DUH!
> Right! I find sassafras all over down in Southern Genesee county, but Ive never found it up/over this way.
> Staghorn sumac has a BEAUTIFUL grain! I do quite a bit of wood carving with it.
> Man! Talk about feeling stupid!


I never heard of sarsaparilla so you got me on that one. Don't feel bad about feeling stupid as I have that feeling all to often.
I can remember taking some small sassafras transplants to Camp Ket south of Cadillac for the manager as they had none on the property. He wanted to get some started as part of their nature program. I exchanged them for some iron wood that did not survive on my property. I do not know how the sassafras faired as the manager took another job a year later.


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## hypox (Jan 23, 2000)

I've got sassafras on my property in SW Michigan. Grows tall as a single trunk with no braches all the way to the canopy top. Up top is just a small cluster of branches and leaves.


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## Waif (Oct 27, 2013)

hypox said:


> I've got sassafras on my property in SW Michigan. Grows tall as a single trunk with no braches all the way to the canopy top. Up top is just a small cluster of branches and leaves.


Lower branches can die off with age.
The young in the yard here average a new layer/ level of branches each year , with one example having eight( ?) living layers/ levels with one ( the lowest level) dead .
It is in a non crowded site.


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## hypox (Jan 23, 2000)

Waif said:


> Lower branches can die off with age.
> The young in the yard here average a new layer/ level of branches each year , with one example having eight( ?) living layers/ levels with one ( the lowest level) dead .
> It is in a non crowded site.


I believe it. I was talking mature woods. Mine are as tall as 150+ year old oaks.


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## Waif (Oct 27, 2013)

hypox said:


> I believe it. I was talking mature woods. Mine are as tall as 150+ year old oaks.


Fantastic.
There are some fence post diameter ones near here ,but not very common in the area.


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## A.M. General (May 3, 2001)

So I was having a tough time figuring out what I wanted to use as a bar edge and had a bunch of sassafras laying around. I ended up cutting off a burl and accidentally took some bark off too. Then I realized I found the unique look I've been looking for. After a few failures, sanding and planing, I think the sassafras edge with all of the different colors turned out pretty cool.


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