Several years ago, WOOD magazine did a project, a "wood turned walking stick". It didn't happen very often but this particular project just spoke to me and I had to make it. That's kind of funny because at the time, if I'm being honest, I couldn't really call myself a wood turner. My lathe was a shopsmith and I turned a spindle if I just had to. Anyway,  I ended up making several of those walking sticks for gifts or personal use. I have decided to revisit the project and hit the highlights of it for the May demo for our club.

It's a very straight forward thing to make except for the handle. I have a handle on the lathe, have turned it and done some shaping. Still a little more to do but it's coming along. Two things are different this time around. In the article, a compass is let into the handle with a cavity under it for matches, a map, or whatever. Those compasses are no longer available and I haven't been able to find a substitute so I'll just round the top. The other thing that's different is the EWT negative rake insert I now have in my arsenal. They are perfect for shaping the finger slots. Here's a WIP picture. Still some tweaking to do on this one but I'm happy with it to this point. The neat thing about this walking stick is, it's made in four pieces so a person doesn't need a real long bed to do it. One of the best WOOD projects ever IMO.

 

 

Steve

Edited April 14, 20197 yr by Steve Krumanaker

That is really cool!

 

Scuba divers often wear watchband compasses like this one-

https://www.piratediver.com/Marine-Sports-Watch-Band-Scuba-Diver-Compass-p/2568.htm?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIz5-Ak6vQ4QIVxZCfCh3oxQ2jEAQYAyABEgL_APD_BwE&site=google_base

 

 

Some are pretty small and might be adaptable to what you are making

Edited April 14, 20197 yr by lew

Another one-

http://soldiersystems.net/2016/03/18/116882/

Thanks Lew but this was a pretty specialized little compass. It was designed to be let into a 1" cavity. It had a nice bezel and an O-ring for a press fit. Have searched several times using every description I can think of and haven't found anything remotely similar.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I ordered several and actually have two that I haven't used yet but I have people in mind for those.

 

Edited April 14, 20197 yr by Steve Krumanaker

I see now, the ones I thought about were nowhere near that nice.

Edited April 14, 20197 yr by lew

wait, five finger slots?  

 

You using something like billiard cue hardware to connect the sections?

2 hours ago, p_toad said:

wait, five finger slots?  

 

You using something like billiard cue hardware to connect the sections?

Good eye!!

 

I have done them with four, five, and even six slots. There are times a person might want to grip a little lower, or a little higher. The WOOD magazine plans call for a threaded insert and 3/8"-16 all tread for joining the two sections. The top section is  the grip and shaft which are glued together. The bottom half is a shaft and foot which are glued together. The foot piece gets a 3/4" crutch rubber tip on it.

Now i will have to dig out that issue. That handle looks good.

Amazon has a bunch:

https://www.amazon.com/walking-stick-compass/s?k=walking+stick+compass

 

Here are some more.....

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=1"+diam+compass+inserts&t=ffab&atb=v80-1&iax=images&ia=images

 

Herb

21 minutes ago, Gerald said:

Now i will have to dig out that issue. That handle looks good.

Thanks Gerald. It's a year 2000 issue, March or May, I think.

10 minutes ago, Dadio said:

Amazon has a bunch:

https://www.amazon.com/walking-stick-compass/s?k=walking+stick+compass

 

Here are some more.....

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=1"+diam+compass+inserts&t=ffab&atb=v80-1&iax=images&ia=images

 

Herb

Thanks Herb but I still don't see anything similar.

Todays version would include GPS, phone and first aid kit, all tucked in the same area.

The store that has everything....

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/20mm-Lot-of-12pcs-Small-Mini-Compasses-for-Camping-Hiking-Traveling-Outdoor/261809249869?epid=933363727&hash=item3cf50c1e4d:g:gsoAAOSwqu9VAVVj