[mathiasCoffee]

So, I recently had my left hip replaced and needed to acquire a cane to help with the first week or so of recovery. Somewhat surprisingly, this was a very speedy recovery as most people with the experience had said it would be.

This experience was inspiring none the less. I found it incredibly fascinating! As I sat in my hospital bed or stood by the window, watching traffic pass on the freeway just outside, all nearly pain free, I had a clever idea for a walking cane.

The next day I set out onto the Internet to see if I could find any out dated or perhaps defective components used in the process. I ended up winning the bid for this beauty, the femur component. I'm not sure of the date it was manufactured but it is made of an alloy called Vitallium (Cobalt, Chromium, and Molybdenum). It's extremely hard and heavy!

I then hunted down several photos of a femur to use as a reference for the sculpture. I wanted to keep the proportions of the bone somewhat accurate for a human but the length needed to be usable for a cane. I had to elongate the length of my templates before gluing up the stock to make the carving.

Unfortunately I didn't take any photos once the cutting/carving began. I will be taking more photos tonight as I put the finish on it though. My plan is to give it an as-real-as-possible look using a faux finish that looks like real bone.

Here are a few shots of the rough carving.

 

[Catpower]

Pretty cool

It is a long femur guess it came from one of these LOL

 

[mathiasCoffee]

Catpower,

LOL, great connection. I'll certainly share this video.

 

[Pineknot_86]

I'm sure after you got out of the hospital, you had to bone up on your woodworking skills. That cane could be used for self-defense, too.
My daughter is a nurse and I would love to show her this thread. She worked in orthopedics at a local hospital.

 

[mathiasCoffee]

I'm sure after you got out of the hospital, you had to bone up on your woodworking skills. That cane could be used for self-defense, too.
My daughter is a nurse and I would love to show her this thread. She worked in orthopedics at a local hospital.

I was only in the hospital overnight. The procedure was done on Valentine's Day, so two weeks ago today. I'm far better now than I was before the surgery. Please do share this with your daughter. I'd like to know what she thinks. I'm taking this with me tomorrow for the followup. I hope the doc can help me identify the component that I purchased for this project. I'd like to know how dated it is.

 

[johnep]

I had my new hip under UK NHS. I donated the bone for medical use. (used in grafting etc). Perhaps you could have asked for your old hip bone and cleaned it up. A really novel idea and sure to be a talking point with your friends.
Johnep

 

[mathiasCoffee]

I had my new hip under UK NHS. I donated the bone for medical use. (used in grafting etc). Perhaps you could have asked for your old hip bone and cleaned it up. A really novel idea and sure to be a talking point with your friends.
Johnep

I tried... I was told it belongs to the insurance company as of 7 years ago (what ever regulations changed, so they told me). That was my original idea. I was going to make a shillelagh out of it!

 

[WeebyWoodWorker]

That's really cool! It'll look real nice once it's made to look like bone.

 

[difalkner]

That is a really novel idea and looks like it's being well carried out, Matt. Glad all went well with the replacement.

David

 

[Kenbo]

Well this is one of the oddest projects I've seen here on the forum but it is also one of the most original and coolest. I absolutely love it. Nicely done. I'm looking forward to seeing the finished project.

 

[mathiasCoffee]

These are the latest photos after I put the finish on it. I'm not satisfied with the color just yet, but I may leave it be. Let me know your thoughts.

I used a product called Rosco Scenic paint. If you've never tried it, it's worth looking into. The diversity of this paint is absolutely amazing.

One thing the doctor did tell me today on my 2 week checkup was that the replacement component that I purchased on Ebay to make this is from the early 80s. They don't use these anymore for a variety of reasons, but mostly because it caused major bone issues after about a decade for various reasons... I'll consider myself very lucky!

 

[mathiasCoffee]

Well this is one of the oddest projects I've seen here on the forum but it is also one of the most original and coolest. I absolutely love it. Nicely done. I'm looking forward to seeing the finished project.

Thank you very much Kenbo! This was uniquely inspired obviously. I will admit that I did have some fun with it.

 

[mathiasCoffee]

That is a really novel idea and looks like it's being well carried out, Matt. Glad all went well with the replacement.

David

David,

Thank you! This has truly been a fun project. I got the all-clear today, so I'll be working on something else soon.