Picking the Right Wood.

  Sometimes I make my projects from the wood I have on my shelves. Other times I choose the wood for my project to match or stand out in relation to the decor that will surround it. Still other times I choose the wood for its mechanical                 characteristics, like weight, strength or resistance to rot and weathering. 

  If you are a follower of the Harry Potter's stories their wands were made from a variety of woods with magical inclusions. My grand daughter's birthday is this coming weekend and I was asked to provide wands for her and her fairy princess guests.

12 inch wands with bells attached,
there will be ribbon attached later.

  The initial thought for the wands was to simply buying  dowel and spray it gold. I decided against dowel for two reasons, these wands are bass wood which is lighter than dowel of sufficient diameter, basswood is also less likely to break if stepped on. If it does break and it will certainly not splinter leaving a dagger like end the way a dowel can.

 I was easy enough to rip off 3/4 pieces of bass wood and then use a round over bit on my router table to shape the sticks. 

 It took more time to work with the wood than dowel, after all it had to be shaped, sanded and then painted. I considered putting unicorn tail hair or phoenix feather into the heart of these wands, but, I suspect that nine four year old fairy princesses filled with cake and ice cream will cause enough chaos without extra magic.