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DIY shanks information and price list ALL PRICES ARE IN UK POUNDS and include VAT Page last updated June 2010 - click on "Refresh" or "Reload" to ensure you see the latest information each time you visit. |
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Please
note - small packages will normally be sent by
Royal Mail and larger ones by
courier. |
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Picture shows typical "Seasoned only" hazel, Straightened hazel and Turned Ash |
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SHANKS |
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SEASONED ONLY HAZEL The most popular material for stick shanks in the UK and we try to keep it in stock. Bark colour varies from pale, silvery-grey to very dark brown, mottling and striping often shown. Some hazel is very knotty, some has hardly any knots at all. If you have very specific requirements please contact us before ordering. 42", 48" or 54" long - Click on the boxes (below left) to change your selection |
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Hazel Standard Grade,
7/8th inch to 1 1/8th inch (22 mm to 28 mm) at thickest
end. |
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Hazel Lightweight Grade less than 7/8th inch (22 mm) at thickest end. |
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Hazel Heavy Grade more than 1 1/8th inch (28 mm) at thickest end. |
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Other stick varieties - Seasoned only |
Less common varieties, standard grade. We do sometimes have them in light/heavyweight |
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ASH SYCAMORE
BIRCH ELDER
ROWAN
Click on selection box to choose other varieties. |
ASH Bark normally grey, sometimes with a green tint which slowly fades. Lightly sand or scrape the top layer to reveal a lovely olive-brown under-bark. Often very knotty bark - sand down or leave standing slightly proud. Ash takes stain very well and can look quite striking when stained dark brown. Wood under the bark is almost white SYCAMORE Reddish brown bark, often quite knotty. Quite a lightweight wood. Pale yellow when stripped of the bark BIRCH Quite knotty wood with bark from silvery white through reddish brown to almost black. Inner wood is often pale orange. A strong wood, birch can be reminiscent of knotty blackthorn and many people have been convinced that it really was! More difficult to straighten than some woods, but worth the effort! ELDER This has a rough, corky bark that needs sanding or scraping off. The wood underneath is a rich creamy yellow. Young wood on Elder bushes is very soft and pithy but as it matures it hardens and only a narrow core of pith remains. Most Elder grows straight to begin with then curves down toward the ground - these sticks are nearly all slightly bowed because of this. ROWAN Also known as Mountain Ash. Bark is dark grey, often quite wrinkled when dry. Wood under the bark often very pale yellow and can look quite striking when peeled and oiled. SOLD OUT! BLACKTHORN Very hard
wood with deep reddish brown or purple bark - often very
knotty. I only cut a few of these each year so stock soon
runs out.
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BUDGET PACKS |
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Limited number available BUDGET
PACK OF 10 (SEASONED-ONLY) HAZEL STICKS just
These are bundled
in tens in the woods so are unsorted for length or
thickness, however most are 48" to 56" as that is what we
usually cut. |
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BUDGET
PACK OF 10 MIXED
VARIETY (SEASONED-ONLY)
STICKS just £36 |
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STANDARD
HAZEL 48" £9.50 |
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HEAVYWEIGHT
HAZEL 48" £7.50 |
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LIGHTWEIGHT
HAZEL 48" £7.50 |
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Chestnut
seasoned and straightened. Standard grade typically 7/8"
(22 mm) to 1 1/8" (27 mm) at the thicker (tapering down to
the thinner end) end but occasionally outside these
limits. Premium grade more regular
shape and size with good bark colour and condition. We don't
have many of these and there are time when we only have the
standard grade. Heavy grade typically 1 1/8"
(28 mm) to 1 1/2" (36 mm) at the thicker end. If you have very specific requirements please contact us before ordering. |
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Peeled Chestnut Fumed Chestnut Stained Ash |
NEW shanks: Like the Chestnut with bark on that we have been selling for several years, these new shanks come from managed woodlands in continental Europe. The Peeled Chestnut and Fumed Chestnut are the same species as our normal Chestnut but have had the bark peeled off to reveal the wood underneath. The plain peeled ones take stain or paint readily or can be carved or pyrographed. The Fumed Chestnut has been subjected to ammonia fumes to give a rich mahogany colouration. Both the Peeled and the Fumed are generally thicker than our standard shanks, usually around 1" to 1 1/4" at the thicker ends (25 to 32 mm). The stained Ash shanks, on the other hand, are generally around an inch or slightly less at the thicker end and have been stained dark brown. All the above are around 52" to 54" long |
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Please click on the selection box (left) to choose the shank type. |
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Budget Bundle: Mixture of Five straightened shanks from the list of hazel, chestnut and ash above - no guarantees of what will be included as it depends on the stock at the time. Price £36.50 |
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Budget Bundle: Mixture of Ten straightened shanks from the list of hazel, chestnut and ash above - no guarantees of what will be included as it depends on the stock at the time. Price £67.50 |
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TURNED SHANKS |
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Stick Press with a stick in a vice
Below: Very bent stick before and after straightening with the press. It took less than 10 minutes to straighten this 54 inch blackthorn stick!
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Two brass parts and threaded steel insert. Use 1/2" or 13 mm drill for holes in stick and use epoxy (below) to glue into holes. I've recently started using the epoxy putty because it holds the joints in place better than the liquid epoxy so you get more chance to get everything lined up before the glue runs out of the holes or sets hard too quickly!
I find the steel rod supplied is often longer than required so use epoxy to glue one end into the internal thread then cut the exposed part in half. You can also cut the brass part shorter if required.
I use strong Saddler's thread to whip behind the brass to strengthen the stick and prevent it from splitting around the joint.
Soak the whipping thread in epoxy or superglue to form a solid band. Smooth with steel wool and varnish or oil with the rest of the stick
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Screw-joints Brass, as in pool-cues, to make a collapsible stick. 25 mm diameter flanges (file down easily to smaller sizes). Essential if you are taking your stick on an aeroplane!
£4.50 per joint or £3.50 each for 4 or more (ONLINE OFFER) These have steel rods fitting into brass threads and are much stronger than the old all-brass ones!
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Epoxy putty Two-part epoxy - mix equal amounts of adhesive and hardener together to start the setting reaction. The mixture sets slowly, starting off quite soft like Plasticine and slowly getting harder. In effect you have an hour or so before the mixture gets too stiff to work and it's pretty hard after three hours and can be handled after that. |
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Epoxy liquid Adhesive Similar to "Araldite Rapid" but much cheaper! Equal amounts are supposed to come automatically from each tube as you press, but in use it doesn't always happen. I sometimes separate the two plungers using a small saw and this gives me more accurate measurement and less waste! Five to ten minute working time, full strength achieved in 60 minutes. Setting times are slower in cool conditions. I use nothing else for fixing heads and handles to shanks! Also good for filling hollows or cracks in horn handles - it is almost colourless, unlike some other epoxies that are cream coloured. Perfect for fixing glass eyes in heads and many other uses. Price £1.50 per
pack £14.50 for 12 packs (Internet order only) |
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Wrist straps nylon with elastic loop, fits most sticks. £2.50 each Black or brown available - if we are out of stock of your chosen colour we will send the other. |
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(new coloured tin) |
The oil finish I use on nearly all my sticks: Ronseal " Furniture Oil", made for protecting outdoor garden furniture but it's great on sticks - I use it all the time! More flexible than varnish so less likely to crack or flake. I've never known it set in the tin or even skin over like so many varnishes do, so it's really economical! Use it on bare wood for a matt or satin finish. Use sanding sealer first (rubbed down with fine abrasive) to get a more gloss finish. Very fast drying time - I often get two coats put on in about an hour. Price £6.99 for 500mls tin. |
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Vinyl glove £1.25
per pack of 10 Discount
for 10 packs or more
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Wading staff conversion kit. All the
bits you need to convert your own stick into a Wading Staff.
Kit includes lead sheet, shrink tube, nylon cord, clips,
pins, brass screw and heavy duty rubber ferrule. To see my wading stick click HERE |
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Amazing stuff! 38 mm shrinks to 19
mm when heat is applied (I use a paint-stripper gun). Just
slide it onto the stick and apply heat. Forms a tight
plastic cover. Can be used on metal, too. Stops soft wood
and cane from fraying. Makes metal "warmer" to the
touch. |
Shrink tube 38 mm (1 1/2")
diameter, for wading staffs and many other uses. Black, in
cut lengths of 20 cm (8")
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For more abrasives look on the TOOLS page |
Abrasive tape. Much longer lasting than sandpaper, used for smoothing shanks, handles, horns and carvings. Sold in a mixed pack or by the metre MIXED PACK Three pieces in each pack - approx. 30cm (12") X 2.5cm (1") each - one in each of three grades (coarse, medium and fine). COARSE tape (80 grit) sold per metre MEDIUM tape (120 grit) sold per metre FINE tape (320 grit) sold per metre |
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Small compass - diameter around 3/4 of an inch (20 mm). Fit into handle of hiking stick or glue one of these to a piece of polished wood or horn and fit a leather loop to make a simple gift for a walker. Note: The small air bubble inside the compass should float above the dial. During shipping the bubble may become trapped below it and stop the dial rotating - try tapping the compass on its edge on a hard surface to dislodge the bubble then place upright and allow to settle. Close proximity of any iron/steel may affect the correct functioning of the compass so DO NOT fix steel studding near it! £1.99 each or Discount pack of 5 for £ 8.99 |
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Leather lace (dark brown), for wrist
loops, whistle lanyards, boot laces etc. Sold by the metre
or on a full 25m roll. |
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