Oak canes

Oak Canes

i have admired oak canes for a long time. They have a warmth and elegance that come from natural hard wood. So one day i made me a set. i hope Y/you also make a set considering how easy it is! First go to a large lumber store, my fav is DomDepot of course! Go to the dowel section. Now there are regular dowels, you don’t want these. Find the oak dowels. If you don’t see them labeled oak dowels, they’re not. Ask someone for help in any case. They come in various diameters just like regular dowels. Find diameters and lengths that please you. Roll the dowel on the ground to make sure it is straight…i got some that weren’t….grrrrrrrrrr. They are about twice the cost of regular dowels by the way.

Also pick up some sand paper in various coarseness…all the way down to super fine. Add a jar of oil polyurethane…it’s said to be tougher than water based although clean-up is a pain.

The tips of the dowel on both ends needs to be rounded. This can be done in many ways. If you want to give Your sub busy work…make them sand it by hand. You can whittle it to roughly the shape You want with a sharp knife and then sand it smooth. Or You can do it the easy way and use a drum sander…mine is attached to my drill press. Then sand the length smooth.

An option now is to stain or not….there are many different colors and shades. Again, a personal choice. Stain per instructions. After the stain dries apply the polyurethane remembering to sand lightly between coats. i think i did 3 or 4 coats on mine. Allow to dry thoroughly and then find a likely target to try them out on!

The cost of this project would depend on the materials you have on hand and the material You need to buy. i personally enjoy the fact i made them myself! i will put a picture of the canes i made here as soon as i buy another digital camera….sigh…hate when my toys break!

Play nice!