Taboo4Two
Posts: 170
Joined: 1/1/2004 From: NH, TX Status: offline
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knikypuppy is spot on. Manufactured birch dowels have a pretty low moisture content (6-8%) and are likely to split and / or splinter with even moderate use. Birches taken directly from a live tree are another matter altogether. The naturally high moisture content (60% +) and the long tight grain make them very whippy and not likely to split. If you really want to use them find some sort of encapsulating finish and use multiple coats. That way when they do break the coating holds the pieces together instead of having them imbed in the skin. Here a link to the manfacturer we use for conformal coatings. I have used them on wood paddles with good success so I'm pretty sure they would work on canes. The other option would be to buy some shrink tube from an electronics supply house. You can get that in clear and once its shrunk to the dowel it would make a nice cane.....hmmm....I'm going to have to try that myself. Domino
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