# "Saw" cane



## reible (Sep 10, 2004)

Hi,

Please take a look at these posts for some background:

http://www.routerforums.com/showthread.php?t=1468
http://www.routerforums.com/showthread.php?t=1655

I really like these and decided to make one someday, well that day has come. My father-in-law is 90-1/2+, he wasn't interested in using a cane or anything else to help himself get around but took a minor spill so the Dr. suggested using a walker and or cane. Since we are going to visit soon and fathers day is almost here I thought the time had come.

It is pattern routed on a table router and the screws are real saw screws I ordered from Ace Hardware. The tip is from Lee Valley. It was a fun project and I just might make myself one for when my back is acting up.

Still time to turn one out for the special person in your life???? Do it.

Ed


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## Visteonguy (Aug 6, 2005)

Hi Reible, Nice job on the cane,,, I am sure your Father in law will get a kick out of the cane,,,,, Its nice to see other peoples ideas of a project, An old friend of mine that I gave one of the canes to,,, has sence made a few of his own,, one idea he contributed, was to make a slightly more pronounced hook shape on the handle below your knuckels so he could hook it over the edge of a sink or hand rail when he uses the restroom, so he does not have to bend over and pick it up when he leaves. I thought that was a bit of common sense thinking,,, I do not use a cane ,,, Yet,,,,, so I never thought of that.. But you are right,, its a fun project that is a hit with about everyone that sees them,,


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## GoonMan (Mar 22, 2005)

reible said:


> Hi,
> 
> Please take a look at these posts for some background:
> 
> ...



Hello Ed,

Looks great and I hope your Father Inlaw enjoys it. I have had so many Irons in the fire I have not had time to try my hand at any canes. I hope to start some soon. My mom wants one.

Hello Terry,

Looks like your Ideal is catching on. Good to see you are still around and making saw dust.


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## reible (Sep 10, 2004)

Thanks for the comments!

On my way up to drop it off I stopped to show it to my brother... he loved it and then we "had to" take it around a show a few other people. To be sure no one else had ever seen one like this... sure was a great idea!

My father-in-law doesn't get out too much but I'm sure when he does people are going to ask about it. He is understated so I made the cane much the same way, nice to make one for someone you know. I have an uncle who needs one, he on the other hand would need a bolder style and brighter trim.

Good idea about being able to hang the cane somewhere! Having not used one I'm sure a few improvements can be gathered from those that do. I had to make a minor adjustment for the one I did. The tip works fine outdoors or on carpet but for hardwood floors and tile it has no grip. I went to the local hardware and got a chair leg tip for a 7/8" leg and it fit over the can tip with a tight grip and took care of that issue. He can still use it out of doors or anywhere else and I have 3 replacement tips in case he wears the first one out.

I was PM'ed with a request for more details on make a saw cane but I will post that under the table router portion of the forum in a few days.... still recovering from the trip and being gone for those days......

Ed


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## Visteonguy (Aug 6, 2005)

Hahahah,,,,,,,,,,, Funny how that whole story sounds so familiar, Ed. Same thing happens every time I give one to some one that has not seen one before. Might as well save your self some work and make up a little pile of blanks all at once,, so when you give one away,,, and you get request for another one,,, all ya got to do is reach in the corner and grab another one. Once ya got a pattern made,, you can make several with not much more work then it takes to make just one,,,,, because, now you know,, you will be getting request for another one. 
Thanks for the story,,Ed. It makes my day.


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## SandyT (Apr 28, 2006)

I liked these saw canes so much I decided to try to make some. I have a pattern now and wondered if I should practice on pine (I traced two canes out on a pine board)......... or just go ahead and cut the two canes out that I have traced onto oak?


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

You should have no problems going ahead on the Oak. Your posts indicate you have a good head on your shoulders.


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## SandyT (Apr 28, 2006)

Mike,
Thank you for that vote of confidence. I will proceed with the oak as soon as I'm finished with my cedar planter.


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## Visteonguy (Aug 6, 2005)

Hi Sandy. I have made them out of red oak, basswood, and it was either elm or box elder. I am not sure about that because I have had people tell me the tree that I cut up for boards was either of those species,,, anyway,, what ever it was,, it did not route very well at all, I had 4 blanks from that wood and only had one that turned out well enough that I could use and actually was lucky to still have all my fingers still intact after messing with that wood. It was just very "grabby" wood and just did not rout well at all. But the red oak and basswood both routed beautifully and came out nice. I do not like to mess with pine because it just is harder to finish and dents easily,,, but thats just my prefrence.
Only area that gave me any difficulity was when I routed inside the handle,, you REALLY !!! have to pay attention that you have a good hold on your work piece when you lower it over your straight trim bit, ( I used a forstner bit to remove most of the wood inside the handle so there was not a lot left to take out with the trim bit ), so the bit does not wrench it out of your hands, because its inclosed in that area and it surrounds the bit,, it will through it around wildly and if it happens,,, it is so fast that you could be hurt before you know what happened. But. like I said,, I only had problems with that 3'rd wood, what ever it was,, I do not use it for canes, anymore.
Another thing I might suggest, is to right now, before you make any canes,,, is to make another pattern right off the one you got now. Maybe just use one of your pieces of pine and leave it as your back up pattern. IF you spent a lot of time making your pattern and sanding it so it is smooth with NO defect that will be telagraphed to your cane blanks when you use the straight trim bit to take it to size. You will absoulutly cry if you are routing and happend to make a mistake and take a diviot out of your pattern. Then you would have to stop and make a new pattern right from scratch again. This way if you do damage your pattern,, just take your back up pattern and you can quickly make a new pattern right off your back up so you will again have 2 patterns and can then continue to make your canes. I learned that the hard way... I did slip and take a bite out of my pattern and ruined it. ALso last time I made these canes, I made 15 of them at once and I was using a piece of pine for my pattern,, and before I got done, I was pressing hard enough that the bearing at the top of my trim bit was putting a groove in my pattern,, so my cane blanks were starting to be undercut more and more with each cane being routed. So a few patterns are a good thing to have.
I used 1 inch thick wood for cane blanks so when I used a 1/2 inch round over bit as the last step in routing out the blanks,,, the lower part of the cane shaft turned out to be a full 1 inch round piece of wood and then got a good fit with the 1 inch rubber table legg ends that I bought at Lowes to finish off the bottom end of the cane. As Reible bought, the 7/8's inch diameter size, you might have to go with those so that it has a tight fit and will not work its way off as the owner is using the cane. 
One more thing, I started out using a 1 inch long, 1/2 inch diameter, 2 fluted straight cut flush trim bit, but was having trouble because it was "Just " enough to cut the thickness of my wood,,, so I bought some 1 1/4 and 1 1/2 long bits and even chose the 3 flute versions and they cut even nicer because of the extra cutting edge.
Just be extra careful when you route inside the handle, other then that,, it is a fun project and you will have a ball when people see your cane and their eyes light up.

When ya get your cane done,, maybe you can post a picture of "your' version of them,, it would be nice to see some one else idea of a neat, fun project.


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## reible (Sep 10, 2004)

Just put another post over at the table-mounted area... Since this is a show and tell area if we could move any more details over there it might be better.

See:
http://www.routerforums.com/showthread.php?p=29286

Ed


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