There was a crooked man . . .

[MNlad]

who had a crooked stick.
I've got a Corkscrew Willow in the back yard that will unfortunately fall to the chainsaw next year. Before this old friend ends up as firewood, I decided to make a walking stick or two for appearances at our local Renaissance festival. Here's my first. Nothing fancy, but it's sturdy and serviceable with a bit of whimsy my other sticks lack.

Leave it to Mother Nature to create natural elegance.

[derosa]

Looks nice and smooth, you use a spokeshave or does it just come out that smooth when the bark is peeled?

[MNlad]

After drying for several months in the rafters of my garage, it peeled fairly easily. Then it was just a matter of working down through various grits of sandpaper, ending with #320—about an hour's work. Some teak oil and a couple of coats of poly were topped off with a light buffing with fine steel wool.