Scout Staff / Stave

This article is about how to make a Scout staff or stave from lumber, as apposed to harvesting a small tree.  Scout staves have fallen out of favor as an item for each scout to carry, but they are still useful as a patrol flag pole or for pioneering projects.

I made some from some hickory that came from a tree that died on my property that I had milled.  You could make these from a regular old 2x4.  Pine is not as strong as hickory, but would make a serviceable patrol flag pole, and you could make a bunch of them for about $1.75 each. 

For this project you will need a table saw and a router table, as well as a 9/16" roundover bit.  I bought the bit on eBay for $9, and it performed well.

First cut your board to 1 1/8" x 1 1/8" on the table saw.  The length is up to you.  The traditional scout stave is 66".  I think 72" is a better length for a patrol flag pole.

If you want to have a hole in the end to secure a patrol flag tie, drilling this while the piece is still square will be easier.  A 1/4" hole, 1 1/4" from the end, works well for this purpose.

Next run this piece through the router table with the 9/16" roundover bit to round off the 4 corners.  It never came out perfect on the first pass, so I had to run it through the router table multiple times to get it reasonably smooth.

I chamfered the ends to prevent splitting on a bench top belt sander, but you could use a wood rasp or shurform plane for this task.

Then I sanded it down with 80 grit sandpaper and applied 2 coats of boiled linseed oil with an old sock.

Scout Staff / Stave in hickory.

1/4" hole, 1 1/4 inches from the end.

Chamfer on ends.

Patrol flag secured to staff.

You could make a bunch of these out of 2x4's use them to make camp gadgets like a camp table or dish washing rack.  I have found that paracord works well for lashing these.