I was after one of those shooting sticks, as it just seemed like a nice thing to have, and looked like a solution to the 'where to sit when it has been chucking it down with rain' problem. So, I checked out the prices, both online and in stores. Then I winced at the price. Then I tried them out anyway, and found that the only ones that were confortable were the ones outside my budget.
Ho hum.
Then I ended up in Hay in Wye just before Christmas, and there in an antique shop, in corroded condition, was a seat stick, without the fabric/leather seat bit. The metal seemed sound, and the stick still had the removable basket bit to stop it sinking into the ground, so I bought it for just a few pounds.
A bit of sandpaper and a little brasso, plus a touch of oil, and it came up a treat.
(Out of focus picture due to my wife Tracy not having the hang of her camera yet)
So then I smiled sweetly at Tracy, told her how wonderful she was, and persuaded her to sew me a seat for it.
This is what she came up with:
The seat itself is three strips of webbing from an old rucksack, with a cover stitched on over it for extra comfort. The result is wider, and therefore more comfortable, than almost all of the commercial seats that I tried, and she used scraps from the fabric box so it cost nothing. Hand stitched, as you can't get the stick under a sewing machine.
I brought her chocolates as a thank you.
I just need to get a rubber ferrule for the tip, and put some Danish oil on the wooden stick, and we are away. it isn't adjustable height, but that's ok because it is already the perfect height for me.
I'm very pleased.
Ho hum.
Then I ended up in Hay in Wye just before Christmas, and there in an antique shop, in corroded condition, was a seat stick, without the fabric/leather seat bit. The metal seemed sound, and the stick still had the removable basket bit to stop it sinking into the ground, so I bought it for just a few pounds.
A bit of sandpaper and a little brasso, plus a touch of oil, and it came up a treat.
(Out of focus picture due to my wife Tracy not having the hang of her camera yet)
So then I smiled sweetly at Tracy, told her how wonderful she was, and persuaded her to sew me a seat for it.
This is what she came up with:
The seat itself is three strips of webbing from an old rucksack, with a cover stitched on over it for extra comfort. The result is wider, and therefore more comfortable, than almost all of the commercial seats that I tried, and she used scraps from the fabric box so it cost nothing. Hand stitched, as you can't get the stick under a sewing machine.
I brought her chocolates as a thank you.
I just need to get a rubber ferrule for the tip, and put some Danish oil on the wooden stick, and we are away. it isn't adjustable height, but that's ok because it is already the perfect height for me.
I'm very pleased.
.
okenest:
