Bois d' arc

Do any of you craftsmen use bodark wood in any of your projects? It grows wild here and used to be treasured by American Indians for bow making, then later by ranchers for fence posts. I have a nice straight limb with about 5 years of age on it that id like to turn into a cane/shillelagh. I've got a back surgery in my near future, so I'd like some advice on how to work with it. I worked on a cattle ranch back in the day that had a mile or so of fence with bodark posts, you couldn't drive a staple into it with a sledgehammer. Also I have some split pieces that might be useful for knife handles if anyone's interested. I'm not looking to sell it, I just don't have a use for it. Any suggestions would be appreciated on the best tools for making a cane. I can tell you that my cheap 1" belt sander started smoking the wood faster than it smoothed out one of the knots the barbs grew out of, with 100 grit.

 

I would be interested to see pics of it. The wood it's self sounds like it could make a workhorse handle material.

 

It makes a fine duck call .

 

Pierre, we refer to it as 'Orange Osage' most commonly in the US.

I want to get my hands on some Quina. "Argentine Sandalwood".

 

Ah, now that I have seen. Thank you.

 

If I were making a cane I would turn it on a lathe.

 

Unfortunately no lathe here, I may see if I can find someone in the area they does wood turning. I think the high school has a wood shop still, maybe I'll see if I know a kid that's in it. The only other tool I can think of is the one they use to shape logs for log homes. I can't remember what it's called, basically a sharp blade with a handle on either side that you draw towards you as you shave off the material. That doesn't seem like a good solution considering my back problems though.

 

Sorry for the sideways pic, but you get the idea.

 

After you get it turned an option is to steam it to make the crook or handle.
Pretty easy.

 

A drawknife is, I think, the tool you're referring to. Would make for a much more interesting stick than just round, but that's just me...... A sharp one takes little effort to use, especially since you're not removing much material.........

R

 

I agree with Rich, a draw knife will make quick work of it. And you can keep some character. With a draw knife you can follow the knots instead sanding through them. This is the method bowyers use so not to interupt the grain of the wood. When most of the wood is removed, you can switch to a scraper for smoothing it out. A vice is really useful for holding the limb while you work.

What Diameter is the limb you are working with?

As far as you sander goes, I always start with a 36 grit belt for removing lots of material. You can get very close to the final shape before you switch to finer grits.

I have used it a quite a bit for knife handles, is an extremely durable beautiful wood.

 

I made a cane out of a piece a few years ago, it was a split piece given to me by a Boyer, that was unsuitable for a bow. I used my shop knife in between forging Damascus. It took me a couple of weeks. As a final finish I scraped the whole thing with the blade held at 90 degrees to the shaft. It came out quite nice. I added an antler tine for the tip, and a knob on top. I would use a wood rasp to file down the branch stubs, followed by course sandpaper with a hard backing.
You will be able to maintain a lot of character that way.
Del

 

I'm glad to see that there are some options. I'm just recovering from the back surgery, so it'll be a good while before I can do anything with it. The circumference of the staff is roughly 1 inch at the small end, and 2 inch at the fat end. I just need to find a craftsman and have him/her take care of it already.

 

what aboit having the apprentice do it... might look good with a green tint lol