A lead loaded, hiking stick length beech shillelagh. Yes, the music is bad, but it was that or the free U2 album that came with an iOS update My Etsy shop www.etsy.com/uk/shop/Shillela...
great work. I watched a bunch of your vids before I worked on mine. I just finished up one with striped maple and melted down about 6-8 oz of lead fishing weights to fill the head and capped it with an Irish Punt coin.
very cool I`m very new to this I have a lot of black thorn shanks where is the best place to store un seasoned, inside or out? one of mine that is outside has split.
@@dfcvda I stored mine inside in my basement where I know it's a controlled environment. I season for about 12-18 months before making walking sticks. I also oiled any exposed wood monthly to prevent cracking. Petroleum jelly works for that.
Blackthorn dries and swells like it’s still alive. Protect and fill with polymer resin, and it’ll outlast your grandchildren. Respect the wood, fulfill the craft.
do another please, I watch this more than anything else even more than Francis Mcathey`s..anyway to help my technique etc, so I think I may not be the only one.
Mate, beautiful work. Got a question. I just cut a really nice bit bit of blackthorn and I want to make the best of it. Is it necessary to drill out the knots in order to prevent splitting, or should I let it dry first? I've dabbed wood glue over all the knots for the time being.
That turned out really nice. What varnish do you use? I'm finding it difficult to get a good even, glass-like finish on mine. I always seem to get some bubbling in some places.
+Mark Smith I meant less on the brush to start with & build up, but you can go as high as 50:50 with thinner (for the first coat) Also, make sure there's no dust on whatever you're working
Nice craft ! Just wondering why do you drill and hollow the head ?! Is is a preventive measure against risk of splitting ? Is it done straight just after collecting or after seasoning the wood ? I am puzzled …
Making another cudgel. Got myself an Apple tree, which i dug out of the ground some time ago. I roughly shaped the rootball into the head, and i've cut the shaft to make a handle. The rootball was a bit rotten (i trimmed off the rotted pieces), but it's got a nasty crack down the handle and a lot of small bug holes. Could i fill the crack up with epoxy and sawdust? Also, i don't have varnish, and i'm looking for an antique look. Will soaking it in a tub of sunflower oil for a while do the trick?
Epoxy & sawdust will work on the crack, & you can fill bug holes with twig "pegs" I've never used sunflower oil on wood, you'd have to watch out for it going rancid. As for antiquing, there's loads of how-to's out there, I've used the vinegar & steel wool method before
@@StonesSticksBones Does the rancidq oil do anything bad to the wood? I don't mind the smell at all. Also, about the bug holes: they're extremly small in diameter, i can't even stick a toothpick in them.
It would be very unpleasant.... you can pick up more suitable oils very cheap (baby oil, which is just mineral oil with a few additives, will do the job!)
@@StonesSticksBones Do you have an email? I'd like to show you a picture of this monster. It's a beast. A war shillelagh at best. It's also quite heavy, about 2 kgs.
neil brown it's small lead balls, you can get it from dive shops (gun shops might not sell it to you without a certificate), though I use cast lead to load sticks now
Not many peat burning stoves to do that with today ;-) There's several methods, if you Google "Hugh Brontë Shillelagh" you'll find quite an interesting one
Karen, can we see one that you made? Btw, I don't make Shillelaghs but I do make canes/walking sticks. I use the wood that grows on my property... Dogwood, Black Locust, Maple, Tulip Poplar... whatever I have a mind to try that day. And although I've never used smoke to cure or treat them, they've all turned out just fine. Dogwood is a little weird though... No matter how long you let it dry before you work it, It'll go from being lathe-turned dead round to an oval cross section within a few months. It just doesn't want to hold it's shape.
Thanks. I make my own walking sticks and recently did my first loaded one out of a small maple sapling that had a wonderful little hollow in it. Held 3 oz. of #7 shot nicely. Looking forward to another video.
If you go back to Celtic times it was either an ash or rowan tree they believed that these two gave protection from natural and supernatural threats I'm just telling you A what I've been told all life and I later confirmed with books and then the internet I hate when people assume things about the Irish culture just because of a stereotype