Walking Stick

Materials:

safety glasses
ear protection
leather gloves
latex gloves
apron
4' to 5' aspen sapling (or other wood)
circular power saw
sharp knife
palm sander
100-, 220-, 400- and 600-grit sandpaper
pad superfine #0000 steel wool
olive oil
10" x 10" square of upholstery quality leather
1/8" x 4' Latigo leather lace
leather hole punch
leather scissors
clear glue
wood epoxy
6 bone beads, 1-1/2"
2 wooden beads, 1/2"
4 colorful feathers
decorative stone
rotary tool with woodcutting bit

1. Wearing safety glasses and leather gloves, cut the walking stick to the desired length with a circular power saw (figure A).

2. Sand the knots on the walking stick with a palm sander using 40-grit sandpaper.

3. Wearing leather gloves, remove the bark from the stick with a sharp knife (figure B).

4. Hand-sand the entire stick with 100-grit sandpaper.

6. Hand-sand the entire stick with 400-grit sandpaper.

7. Hand-sand the entire stick with 600-grit sandpaper.

8. Finish the final sanding with a super fine steel wool pad (figure C).

9. Wipe the stick with a clean dry cloth to remove sanding dust.

10. Oil the stick with one-tablespoon of olive oil on a clean dry soft cloth (figure D).

11. Wipe off the excess oil with a clean dry cloth.

12. Wrap a 10" x 10" leather piece around the stick to create a handgrip. Trim the excess (figure E).

13. Fold the leather grip in half and use a leather hole punch to make holes for lacing through both sides of the grip. Place the holes approximately one inch apart (figure F).

14. Apply a generous dab of glue to the leather grip and affix it to the walking stick for the stick's handgrip.

15. Lace 1/8-inch Latigo leather lace through the grip's holes from top to bottom.

16. Pull the lace as tight as possible for a snug fit and tie a square knot at the bottom (figure G).

17. String bone beads on both ends of the lace (figure H).

18. String wooden beads on both ends and tie off with a simple knot (figure I).

19. Cut off the excess lace about 1-inch from the grip.

20. Dip the feather tips in glue and affix to the ends of the leather lace (figure J).

21. Use the rotary tool with a woodcarving bit to carve an indentation for the decorative stone in the top of the walking stick (figure K).

22. Wear latex gloves and knead a small piece of wood epoxy until soft. Place the epoxy in the indentation in the walking stick. Set the stone in the epoxy and remove excess glue. Let dry.

Website: www.Walking-Art-Inc.com