Carving Diamond Willow

These are Diamond Willow carvings done by others with sticks they got from me. No doubt there are millions of other things you can do with Diamond Willow; not only carving

Here are some examples of the types of carvings most carvers like to do; note also the baseball.

And this is MY BABY! I really enjoyed making this gorgeous piece of Diamond Willow look as good as it does now. Did not take long either and looks terrific. Only problem was that a bear decided to raid the bird feeder. He left one hair on the feeder so I knew who "Dun It." He caused other problems too, unfortunately, and paid the price. The way it is fastened down now makes it easy for a bear to "break" it loose from the ground without seriously damaging the pole. At least I hope so. Four pins through the pieces of "2x6" hold it down now. In back you can see my "park" where I've cleared most of the trees and undergrowth so I can see and photograph the deer better.

And here is one more idea for using Diamond Willow. Just little "blocks" to play with.

And a Cane; more about that on my page at http://www.sticksite.com/making_canes/.

Here are 3 close-ups of 3 of the 4 faces carved into one stick by Gary Fishell on one long stick. THANKS to Gary! Gary actually GAVE this incredible stick to me.

And a nicely-made clock.

A realy neat idea; a cane with a compass built into the handle.

This spectacular piece of decorative craft was made by Gregory Lockwood.

Now HERE is something else that is unusual. A lady named "Patches" (Sheryl Monroe) was good enough to send me a picture of her Diamond Willow cane. Note how the diamonds stand out: (Patches did not get this stick from me). I have found that if you take a stick which is rotting from the outside in, sometimes you will find that around the diamonds the wood has the texture of dry putty. You can sand it out leaving the diamonds like this. Often the inside of the stick will be as solid as ever. More about rotting sticks on my Stick - Making page.

Mike's Diamond Willow Tree must have a few hundred diamonds on it. I'll bet it is worth a fortune. This kind of a piece is hard to come by. Over the years I've found only one like this that was worth saving. Clearly, Mike Danault is a true craftsman. Wonderful work, Mike!!

And look what Brian Hutchison did with some beautiful Diamond Willow.

Terry showed me a picture of a handrail beside his stairway; the handrail is a nice piece of Diamond Willow. What a neat idea!! Makes you want to go up and down the stairs all day, just to keep feeling that stick! Some of my "HUGE ones" may be perfect for this.

Here is a super nice lamp made by Dennis Ostgaard: Diamond Willow Lamp Dennis makes all kinds, including floor lamps. See his collection at his own website: www.whittlingcowboy.com.

One more way to use a nice Diamond Willow stick; I use mine on occasion as a "monopod" when I cannot carry my big, heavy tripod.

I have a good supply of these "RAILS"and there are probably a lot of FREE ones available too; see the site at http://www.sticksite.com/rails/

This is a very popular way to use the shorter, thick pieces of Diamond Willow (I call them my RAILS) and you can see my supply at http://www.sticksite.com/rails/index.htm)

I have a few of these kits for making Diamond Willow stools. See my page at STOOLS .

What a gorgeous table! I still want one of these for myself!

One of these days I'll have to make me one of these toothpick-holders.

Some day my kids will have to fight over this Diamond Willow Chair; hope not toooooo soon.

Mike made very nice kitchen chairs with Diamond Willow!

Another super project by Mike Denault; NICE WORK, Mike!

Makes me want to get busy with my tools and make one too.

Gorgeous work by Brian Hutchison!

Here's one that I really like; maybe someday I'll try to make one too. Again, by Brian.

Here is a neat idea: Pens made from Diamond Willow; this one was made by the Webers; see their work at http://craftyones.net/originalsbyweber

Another really cool idea; a Diamond Willow spoon by Renzo Rutili.

I don't know what it is, but it was a gorgeous piece of Diamond Willow; now it seems to be a piece to just hold, fondle, play with, feel it............

Obviously, only your imagination limits you when it comes to making neat, cool things with Diamond Willow.

This is what I call a "Cup-stand" or a "Lamp-stand" and I have two of them.

This piece of decorative Diamond Willow sits in my living room.

This seems like a great way to use scraps of Diamond Willow; I use this on my coat and a lot of people comment on how unique this is. Plus, when the subject of "Diamond Willow" comes up, I'm always ready to SHOW what it is.

Mike Phelps made this extraordinary Diamond Willow headboard for a bed using my RAILS.

"Skip" told me: "Just wanted to say a quick thank-you for the nice diamond willow sticks. I got them stained, varnished, wood-burned, with polished stones inset, all in time for Christmas gifts to a few of my several grandkids and I'm happy to report they were not only a big hit with the kids, but impressed the adults as well."

Al Martin came up with this really cool way to use Diamond Willow; I'm pretty sure I'm going to do that too, in my cabin sometime. Thanks, Al!

Roger Proulx said:

"This is an easel which I made from sticks purchased from Ken Laninga at sticksite.com. It is to display the Eagle Scout Plaque for Troop 611 Moorpark, CA. I lashed and mechanically fastened them together. They were stained and sealed before assembly."

Nice work, Roger and thanks for sharing.

Murray made a "Puppet Tree" for his friend. She is into "hand puppets" and this tree is for storing those puppets. This is made from one of my Rails and some smaller pieces. I suppose one could make a larger one for hanging clothes on too.

ken@sticksite.com