Guys: This maybe off topic, but I need to make a better shepherds crook. Ones I have purchased are worthless after about a year as the 'crook' opens up and makes it impossible to catch a goat (I raise meat goats). The purchased variety are made of oak and seem to be steam bent. My thoughts are:
- Steam bend one myself. Would using green wood, maybe ash, make the bend more permanent?
- Make the bend with thin strips and epoxy (a laminate).
"Terrence J Smith" wrote
Sounds like an interesting project. But most of us have no idea what you are asking for here. It might be an idea to provide a link so we can look at it. After all, it is hard to provide ideas and advice on something that we have never seen.
Also, are these shepherds crooks that expensive? Buying one each year may be a totally sensible expense and a lot less bother.
Here is a link. I haven't tried one of these. The ones I have gotten locally are about $25 plus shipping. I think it would be fun to make my own anyway.
It seems like at least some of the commercial ones use aluminum and/or fiberglass.
If you want to stick with wood, what about something laminated from multiple layers and glued together (in a curved press) with epoxy?
Chris
Tue, Oct 3, 2006, 11:03am snipped-for-privacy@altel.net (Terrence=A0J=A0Smith) the goat boy sayeth: This maybe off topic, but I need to make a better shepherds crook. to catch a goat Make the bend with thin strips and epoxy (a laminate)
Personally my choice for catching a goat would probably be just to shoot it. However. If you want to make your own, out of wood, that would last, I'd say laminate one.
When I was a kid, for catching chickens we'd use a piece of stiff wire with a "crook" bent into one end, then snag a leg. The same thing, but using a stiffer wire, or a stiff wire in the end of a wood pole, worked for pigs too, snag 'em by a hind leg. Alternately, for pigs, we'd just grab a hind leg - then hand on ttight. If by chance you want the pig to back up you put a bucket over its head. If we weren't real serious about catching pigs we'd sometimes try lassooing them.
JOAT It's not hard, if you get your mind right.
- Granny Weatherwax
Terrence J Smith wrote: > Guys: > This maybe off topic, but I need to make a better shepherds crook. Ones I > have purchased are worthless after about a year as the 'crook' opens up and > makes it impossible to catch a goat (I raise meat goats). > The purchased variety are made of oak and seem to be steam bent. > My thoughts are: > - Steam bend one myself. Would using green wood, maybe ash, make the bend > more permanent? > - Make the bend with thin strips and epoxy (a laminate).
It would be rather straight forward to make one using knitted fiberglass and epoxy.
Lew
Have you looked on ebay?
Lee Michaels wrote: But most of us have no idea what you
Who's we. I'd bet most folks know what a shepherd crook is.
Well, I think it would take a bit of experimentation as far as the steam bending goes.
Might I suggest you make a crook that you can change out the heads on? Say something that's double pinned or a good screw thread.
I think in all cases with the steam bending they will open up eventually because of the stress you're placing on the bend. Snagging a goat weighing in anywhere from 8 to say 50 lbs. (I'm guessing) will do that.
A glue-laminated crook might hold up just as long but I think when it gives up it might give up with a snap rather than just opening a bit.
Another thought would be ask>Guys:
Damn, makes me hungry, just thinking about cabrito.
Way too much trouble ... wait til dark, or use a leftover from 4th of July/New Year's baby giant firecracker ... works OK on chickens, but best on guinea hens.
Why not the old fashioned way? Find a branch with a hook already in it and cut it off, or failing that, find a branch with a fork in it and whittle the fork into a smoother curve.
I must be missing something, this seems too obvious, H
Personally my choice for catching a goat would probably be just to shoot it. However. If you want to make your own, out of wood, that would last, I'd say laminate one.
When I was a kid, for catching chickens we'd use a piece of stiff wire with a "crook" bent into one end, then snag a leg. The same thing, but using a stiffer wire, or a stiff wire in the end of a wood pole, worked for pigs too, snag 'em by a hind leg. Alternately, for pigs, we'd just grab a hind leg - then hand on ttight. If by chance you want the pig to back up you put a bucket over its head. If we weren't real serious about catching pigs we'd sometimes try lassooing them.
Been there, done that, and failed. I found that you cannot lasso a pig because its neck is larger than its head, the rope just slide off as it doesn't have anything to catch on to.
Tue, Oct 3, 2006, 1:20pm (EDT-1) snipped-for-privacy@nospam.com (Swingman) doth sayeth Way too much trouble ... wait til dark,
Nah, especially if you want chicken for today's supper. A chicken will let you get to about 2-3 feet before they start getting real antsy. Walk slow, use a piece of wire about 3 foot long, and real easy to hook one around a leg. Then no prob to grab it up. You can do the stump and hatchet route, or just grab 'em by the neck and crank. Chicken & dumplin's for supper. Mmmm mmmm good. I can remember gatherings at my greadgrandparents where we have maybe a dozen chickens caught that way, then an assembly line plucking and cleaning them.
Of course, if you want to be sporting about it you could always bait a hook with a bit of corn or something, and use a rod nd reel. That's usually best if you're poaching a neighbor's chickens tho - they don't squawk with their neck stretched out. LOL I heard of a guy who would do that out of his basement window, with chickens in his yard from next door. The neighbor never did figure out what was happening with his chickens.
JOAT It's not hard, if you get your mind right.
- Granny Weatherwax
Maybe he never went to a church Christmas play.
On diy, David Marks did a bent laminate lamp project that might be applicable. There is information on the diy web site about the forms used and the technique.
Episode WWK-512
Long ago and far away I knew an old man who made walking sticks. He took a green stick and bent it around and wired it and stuck it in the attic of his shop. The next year he took it down, and if it was not cracked, cut and trimmed and finished the stick.
Look for a picture of "Mary Had a Little Lamb." :-)
Yes, I know all the traditional "looks" of shepards staff. But he made mention of "catching" goats for dinner. Having raised goats, I know that a great big "crook" commonly associated with this kind of staff would not slow down the goat at all. That was the comfusion.
I would bet most on here do know what it is.
I looked it up in a book for you -John Seymour the Forgotten Arts.
There are various ways of making walking sticks and crooks. Laminating is not a traditional method and would be comparitively laborious. He mentions three:
Heat to bend the hook of a walking stick.
Growing ash saplings with weights and formers to make them grow the right shape.
And particularly for larger crooks - you find a long thin branch growing from a much thicker one, and cut out from the tree the whole piece, so that you have a shape a bit like an enormous tobacco pipe. From the 'bowl' of the pipe you saw and then whittle and carve the hook of the crook.
Ask me if I am not making it clear
Tim w
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