An odd project- suggestions greatly appreciated

A blank that big is going to way, what, 40 lbs? There's probably a reason why they were PEG legs, and not WOODEN legs ;-)

Ask the hospital to make you a form-fitted stump cap with a suitable mounting point on it, and just turn the peg part. Then buy him a pirate's hat and a stuffed parrot for his shoulder ;-)

My leg is 7 lbs. with the shoe on it, but it cost me about $8,000.00 us dollars

A glue-up will probably be stronger than a leg made in one piece. The longer, thinner part that supports his weight had better have straight grain absolutely parallel to the axis, like wagon wheel spokes. I understand these are made by splitting the wood, to be sure the grain runs within the piece.

DJ Delorie's suggestion, to have the stump cap professionally made is very important. That's got to fit like a denture, or he will develop sore spots. And, incidentally, your search for wood will be much simpler.

You may be missing the point there- I need it that big to make the cap on the end, which will be hollow, and the remander will be turned down to make the peg. I figure a single hunk of wood will look nicer and be a little stronger than jointing two together, but whatever works is what I'll go with.

Oh yes... If I make him a peg leg, you know a pirate hat and parrot are going in the box with it- that's just too much for anyone to resist. :)

As far as the hospital making a cap with a mounting point on it, that may end up being what it has to be, but I think his idea was to have the entire thing visible for when he goes to his cowboy shoots. (No, I don't have any idea why a pegleg is appropriate cowboy attire in his mind, but I'm not going to argue.)

I can do that, though it does raise the question of whether or not turning that piece after splitting will defeat the purpose of that process.

I don't know much about the whole thing yet, but wouldn't it be possible to get the padding/cap made so that it would slide into a hollowed bit of wood?

I doubt much will happen with this until he's got the surgery done, been through whatever rehab that entails, and is fitted with a professional prostetic. Looking at that will probably answer a lot of questions, but I'm just gathering some basic info to start the process of figuring out what it's going to take. There's even the possibility that wood is entirely unsuitable, and I'll have to use some kind of plastic or resin.

Still no suggestions for wood, though? I've kind of got straight-grained hickory (if I can find it) or a couple of ash baseball bat blanks laminated together in mind. I know at least a few of you have turned bats- has it been your experience that the ash blanks that can be purchased commercially are straight-grained enough for something like this?

If you can go with claro walnut then this is probably something that Jim Baker would probably find your project worth going thru his stash. Your dad wasn't a Marine by any chance?

Walnut has good shock resistance, turns well and is relatively light. Might look into old growth heart redwood as well - light, turns well and takes compression nicely.

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charlie b

1. look up the strength of woods you are considering - oak is particularly strong and would be a good contender.
2. if you make the "cap" of wood, it will be dramatically weaker and will probably fail soon - do a search for old prosthetics and see how they were made 200 years ago - as I recall, the cap is leather not wood, and for good reason - the end grain is not strong in shear.

I was going to suggest Cocobolo until I read about the cowboys & injins... how's 'bout a bit of mesquite with a little ivory inlay... and a hidden compartment that holds a Derringer?

Like one of these bad boys:

The traditional wood was willow for its weight and resistance to splitting. I suppose aspen would be similar enough to work with. Branch or small trunk with heart in would have the greatest strength. The tree stand pretty well with the annular form of the grain, after all.

I'm missing my leg. Long time ago when I was in college and crazy, I went skiing. I had a ski leg made that was the socket with a course threaded aluminum piece in the bottom. Then a hickory axe handle cut down with a rubber pad for the bottom and the top with the mating threads. Thus I could unscrew the bottom when skiing, and still have protection for my stump when skiing.

Definately get the socket professionally made to custom fit the stump

- or he will get sores, pains, etc. Also if it's off in hight, tilt left/right/back/forward, prolonged use will result in back pains, etc.

Suggest you discuss with him and his prosthetic techcian and then make a portion that could be worked into a professionally made prosthetic - in the long run that would be best for your dad's health.

A l>Hello all,

I would use a 1" by" ash or hickory core. This will have more strength than needed for compression and sheer strength. Do a build up lamination of various colored woods for contrast. All sorts of really neat ideas come to mind. If you make it so the piece that attaches to the leg is removable you could make all sorts of legs. Would solve birthday gifts. A leg for each occasion! Keep us posted.

If it's been gone that long, I don't think you're going to find it and would likely consider it lost.

I recently made a cane for a fellow that absolutely had to be STRONG. I made it of laminated tamarind (janka is 3x oak) and leopardwood using slow setting expoxy. He decided that he didn't like the lighter wood. If you'd like, I could UPS it to you.

Bill

Funny - Although not accurate on my account or your's.....Not getting into medical terminology, etc., actually I'm only missing my foot (amputated - and I do know what city it was last seen in), but my thigh is only 2" long and my knee (malformed) is by my hip. Thus my entire leg does not even come down to my knee on the other ("Normal") leg.

gimp

I really think your choice of wood would be governed by what looks nice, rather than what you think would support his weight. I have little doubt that a 2x2 made of balsa wood would (wood would, get it?) support 260 lbs. In contrast, while in a materials class in college I've seen a 2x2 nominal of red oak that wasn't split or cut specifically for parallel grain (although it was pretty straight and had no knots) support 9,000 pounds.

My two cents: use clear pine; it looks nice and isn't too heavy. That's for the "calf." The socket, it would seem, should be custom made by a prosthetic, um, person. Put a rubber stopper on the "foot" end and call it good.

Speaking of which, I heard the funniest mixed-company joke I'd heard in years last month:

Knock, knock. Who's there? Interrupting pirate. Interr- GARRR!

I also heard it shortly after with interrupting cow.

It works better live, but you get the idea.

-Phil Crow

IMO it also works better with "impatient cow" rather than "interrupting cow"...

Knock knock. Who's there? Impatient cow. Impatient cow wh... Moo! Moo!

;-)

Nope- he lost his foot in a farm accident before he was old enough for that. Couldn't say if he had any plans in that direction, but if he did, the rehab and surguries he had to deal with kept him out military service.

I will take a good look at both of those- neither are local to my area (Northern Wisconsin), but this one is a project I can see going out of my way to get the right wood for. Probably not to the extent of driving to California, but on-line ordering is certainly possible, and even likely.

I had thought of oak, but most of it I run across has some squirrely grain, and I worry about it being straight enough to be that strong. If I do go with something along those lines, especially if all I need to turn is the peg, and not a cap with a socket, I do have some old hophornbeam that is about as easy to work with as cast iron- that's gotta be strong enough.

Will do. After you mentioned leather, it does kind of ring a bell. Might work out kind of neat, too- the old man does some leather working, so he could have a hand in making it.

A funny idea, but maybe a bit heavy if it's big enough for a hideaway piece. Though the thought of putting something inside it is useful in it's own right.... Might not be a bad idea to re-enforce it with an internal steel core. Tough to drill out, but I might be able to split a blank, route a groove in each half and re-glue it. Maybe even use my new forge to try putting some steel rings around it like the old coopers used to do with barrels. That sounds sort of cowboy-ish. Might even be able to work in a spur on the end...