DIY No-cost Hiking Stick Clip

One of the items that has been outstanding on my list of things to complete for some time is to fit some kind of clip to secure the hiking stick on the tiller when it's not being used.

I looked around online for something that would work, and even ordered some nylon clips from Duckworks, but they didn't end up working, as they were too small and too stiff.  Might use them for something else sometime.

So today I implemented an idea I had a while ago to make my own clip. A few years ago I used rubber strips cut from the tread of a worn out implement tire to pad the steel crosspieces on a canoe trailer.  

I thought that some simlar material might work here, so drew a pattern on one of the left over sidewalls and cut it out on the bandsaw.  This is cut from above the bead area, but where the rubber is still pretty thick. Note that this type of tire has no steel belts in it.

I was able to smooth the edges with the disc sander, and then I drilled a hole to secure it with a #10 x 1" stainless screw. Tightening down the screw pulls it into the rubber nicely.  My countersink was of no use in the rubber.

I think it turned out pretty nice.  It has just the right amount of tension in it, and should last indefinitely.  Plus, I like making something out of nothing.

What do you think? A eco-friendly way to recycle an old tire into a good-looking and useful product?  Or an ugly monstrosity that would never be seen on your boat?

Laminating a tiller

One of the things I've been working on between other jobs is creating a tiller.  Rather than reinvent the wheel, I decided to use an existing pattern created by Dale Simonson.  You can see the details of the layout here: Dale Simonson's tiller pattern

I drew out the pattern on a piece of scrap plywood, and glued down blocks that I could clamp to. Then it was just a matter of cutting the strips and planing them down to about 5/16" thickness. The thickest part of this lamination took just over 6 strips, and not all of the strips needed to be full length, since the profile of the tiller is not constant.  I used walnut and a contrasting strip of maple the second one down from the top.

Before gluing I put packing tape down on the form so the glue wouldn't stick. Glueup was then straightforward, using regular wood glue.  The curves are gentle and easy to achieve.

After the glue dried, I cleaned up  the squeeze out and then planed it down to a thickness that matches the opening in the rudder head.

I then glued up a smaller blank for the hiking stick.  I put packing tape on the tiller and laminated the hiking stick right on top, so that the curves match.

Then it was a matter of removing any wood that didn't look like a tiller.  The profile changes from square at the end that inserts into the rudder head, to roughly round at the hand end.

I used my Shinto rasp, a spokeshave, and sandpaper to shape this part.  I think it feels best when there is a little increase in diameter towards the end, like a pitchfork handle.  In this photo from above you can see that curve a bit.

I also like a bit of a knob at the end so your hand can tell where the end is.  Axe handles are like this.  I ended up glueing on another thickness of wood at the end so I had enough to shape.

I also found I didn't like the feel of the handle when it was completely rounded, so I put a little flat on the bottom side.  This also helps your hand know where it is on the tiller shaft.

I also rounded off the hiking stick and reduced the diameter on the end to fit into the Ronstan universal joint that holds these two parts together.  Here's how that looks.

To finish this off I need to drill out the hole at the rudder end and epoxy in a bushing, then epoxy coat overall and varnish.