Replies

1. 
   jonsherryl | Nov 06, 2003 05:30am | #1

   Jim, if you only need one of them, I think I'd just cut a cube and then knock off the corners freehand on a coarse disc sander. It might take you an hour or so to get the facets uniform.

   To jig up for cutting it on the table saw, you'd probably have to make a rather complex egg crate type housing to hold the cube...based on a couple of hours worth of mind boggling mathematical calculations followed by a couple of hours of assembly and then another10 minutes or so at the saw to actually perform the process on each piece. I think a jig would only make sense if you were going to make a production run of a half dozen or more of them.

   You might also make a multi faceted diamond of sorts, probably more easily using a radial arm saw than a table saw (with the blade tilted to 45 degrees) and a simple "V" shaped trough to hold the stock on its edge...then cut it from a length of 6X6 (why so big?!) by flipping the stock over four times in the trough, first from the left side (reset the saw) and then four times from the right...and then, finally, straight cut the diamond free from the stock. It would make for a lot of finicky cuts and you'd still probably end up at the disc sander to clean it up.   

   ...Of course, you could always just turn a ball on the lathe and then tell the customer you decided to go with a pearl instead of a diamond. :O) 

   
   

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   Edited 11/5/2003 9:33:33 PM ET by Jon Arno

   
   

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   Edited 11/5/2003 9:37:51 PM ET by Jon Arno

1. 
   jackofhearts | Nov 06, 2003 03:24pm | #6

   Thanks for the reply Jon, I had the same concept in mind about the sanding disk.  The person who wants this is some sort of midevil historical buff.  It is not just a staff but a weapon of sorts I believe.  That's why he wants it so big.

   Jim

   p.s. my turning buddy was thinking along the same lines too.

2. 
   Telemike | Nov 06, 2003 06:34am | #2

   Talk about coincidence. I'm making a walking stick for a hiking buddy with a carved faceted crystal on top. I use only good straight grained garden tool handles for walking sticks that will actually be used.

   For the crystal, I carved the top to a flat hemispherical shape. Then, I laid out the six sided crystal and carved them with a 25 mm straight carving chisel. Since the facets looked pretty crude, I tried to clean them up with a sharp block plane which worked quite well.

   I'm going to recess and epoxy a 1/4 x 20 stainless steel nut into the top so the walking stick can also serve as a monopod for photography.

   I'll post a picture tomorrow when I get back out in the shop (before this old house, of course).

1. 
   CharlieM | Nov 06, 2003 07:17am | #4

   What kind of garden handle?  I need to make one for my granddaughter.

   Thanks

1. 
   Telemike | Nov 06, 2003 09:25am | #5

   This one was for some kind of hoe that uses a wide taper to hold the head on the handle. I like to have a broad head on a walking stick because sometimes I will put my hand on the end of the stick pushing down to cross a log or a stream. A thick handle end also means lots of wood to remove. I use a drawknife and, sometimes, a jack plane.

   Also, a thick head gives lots of artistic possibilities like woodsprite faces (overused), a crystal, a ball head and others that I haven't thought of yet!

   I'll try to post some pictures tomorrow.

1. 
   CharlieM | Nov 07, 2003 02:20am | #8

   Thanks I would enjoy that.

2. 
   jackofhearts | Nov 06, 2003 03:25pm | #7

   Thanks for the reply, I look forward to seeing the picture.

   Jim

1. 
   Telemike | Nov 07, 2003 08:31am | #9

   I put a picture of a couple of sticks into the gallery. Oh, the wonders of digital imaging!

3. 
   Steinmetz | Nov 06, 2003 07:08am | #3

   Jack, If one of your friends has Auto  Cad, he can work up an exploded view of all the segments and angles and miters so you can glue the whole thing together.

    I would use a S L O O W  setting glue.   The segments will be more or less identical, so you'll need only one or two jigs to use when cutting to size  Stein

   
   

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   Edited 11/5/2003 11:10:13 PM ET by steinmetz