# Homemade Walking Stick (early stages)



## Swamprat (May 15, 2010)

I had this old mimosa limb sitting under the rafters of one of the covered areas of my shop. It has been there for years and early this week I decided to do something with it during my free time.

This is still in the early stages and will post update pics as I go along. For now the bark was stripped and the limb sanded and was stained a light oak color.

The white rings are handcarved grooves I guess for grip factor. The 2010 penny was recessed into the top showing the year it was made. When all of my painting, etc is done I will coat with poly 2-3 times to protect and give it some shine.

BTW...the tree/bush in the background is a crepe myrtle. My world champion crepe myrtle as I call it since I have not seen any with bigger trunk sizes. 

My son graduates from UF in December so I might give him this one or do another in darker wood color. I think the orange/blue would look better set against a darker background.

Sorry for the so-so pics. Camera's are not my friend. Anyway, hope you like it.


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## Razor Blade (May 15, 2010)

nice work , where is mimosa wood from


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## Swamprat (May 15, 2010)

It is pretty much an invasive tree, kinda like a chinaberry. You will see them quite often along old fence and hedgerows here in Florida and SE Georgia. I don't think they can tolerate the cold to well so you might not ever see them up your way in the North part of the state.

They get seed pods like a locust and the deer will eat them as well as the leaves but other than that there is not much use for them. The wood is pretty soft, probably to soft to do much with it. This branch had been sitting for about 5 or 6 years so it it is fairly easy to work with but pretty hard to get a smooth sanded finish. Not sure why I had saved the branch but it has several areas that are spalted which I did not know till I stripped the bark.


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## DROP POINT (May 15, 2010)

Good looking walking stick.Nice job!
Davin


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## Swamprat (May 15, 2010)

DROP POINT said:


> Good looking walking stick.Nice job!
> Davin



Thanks, nothing compared to what alot of other folks on here do. I don't have the patience like you all who make knives but for some reason I can slow down for this. Sitting in a chair under the shade, next to the hummingbird feeder with a cool one while working on this is relaxing.

I will be cleaning up and finishing the paint up top tomorrow and possibly start on the logo next week. Will post updates.


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## dawg2 (May 15, 2010)

Is the wood strong?  I always thought it had a "pithy" center and would be weak.  I like it, definitely looks good!


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## Swamprat (May 15, 2010)

dawg2 said:


> Is the wood strong?  I always thought it had a "pithy" center and would be weak.  I like it, definitely looks good!



It is pretty strong and light for it's size. When I sawed off the ends the core was pretty solid with no sign of voids or weak spots. As I stripped the bark there was no evidence of splitting or cracking.


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