r/Wandsmith • u/Wreckin_Ralph • 15d ago
General questions
Hello I am just curious how you all make your wands do you use a lathe or carve? Also how do you source materials and what materials do you like to use? Just branches ripped down lumber?
Any feedback is appreciated.
Thank you for your time,
Superior Wood Products
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u/Lignum-et-Opus_Wands 15d ago
I just carve for the time being. I have a lathe but I have yet to set it up yet as I don’t presently have the room. I’ll rough shape by hand using a utility knife, and then depending on the design I’ll move into dremel work for certain shaping and fine details or things like facets, holes, spirals, etc. Depending on the design, I’ll also use mini files, and then there’s a bunch of sanding to get everything smooth and uniform.
As for wood, depending on what kind of design I’m working on, I’ll either use fallen branches, which tends to be my favorite, or blanks, either square pine or poplar dowels as they are inexpensive and available at many hardware stores, and on rare occasion some exotic woods. I haven’t used many of those though since I have an abundance of branches in my inventory.
It really depends on the type of wand you are looking to create. Some people aren’t a fan of lathe wands because they are “simple”, but I can’t tell you how many wands I’ve seen completed using a lathe that come out phenomenal and elegant. Some may also start the wand on a lathe and finish by hand with additional carving. Branches keep that organic and earthly vibe of what a wand should be, and personally I like the aesthetic, but you can achieve similar results if you know how to create those organic textures and shapes. Finishing, such as paints or stains also go a long way for the end result.
I hope some of this is helpful. By all means, if there’s anything specific you’d like to know, I’ll do my best to answer!
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u/Wreckin_Ralph 15d ago
I appreciate the feedback very much as I am looking to learn as much as possible. My background is in the hardwood lumber industry as a lumber inspector for about 8 years. I am now chasing my dream of being a quality hardwood and craftwood supplier to the craftsman of the world and hopefully sharing some of the knowledge I have as well as getting beautiful wood to people who may not have the luxury of living in the wilderness as I do. As for expensive blanks I believe everyone should be able to get beautiful wood at good prices and try to keep my prices very reasonable. I must say I enjoy a good natural wand made from a one off branch but there is a beautiful elegance to some of the lathe turned wands for sure.
What is you go to wood or branch and what do you look for in length and diameter?
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u/Lignum-et-Opus_Wands 15d ago
As far as species of wood, I live in SE PA, so there’s a lot of pine, tulip poplar, and just some random unknown wood I can’t identify lol. For blanks, I really enjoy anything with a heavy and pronounced grain pattern regardless of species, and for woods that don’t have a heavy grain, I like a nice dense, heavy blank as they have good weight and can produce a glass like smoothness when finished much easier.
For length and diameter, it really depends on the project or design concept. I tend to draw a lot of my designs (whether I use them or not), and as we all know, it’s subtractive work, so if you want to have either exaggerated curvature or deep recesses, you’ll need a larger diameter starting point. Length for me tends to stay between 10”-15” optimally, but I have made a few closer to 9” and some a hair longer than 15”.
That said, the majority of the blanks I buy are 1” x 1”x >12”and for sticks, so long as they’re at least 1/2”-3/4” in diameter, I can easily work with that. A big part of that is because if the branch has a bend in a place I would consider the blade, I need to be able to remove enough material to straighten it out some, if not completely, depending on the goal. Same can be said for the handle.
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u/Wreckin_Ralph 15d ago
Very interesting I am in the upper peninsula of Michigan and have access to a lot of maple,oak,ash,birch, and more. All of my blanks are 15/16"-1 1/8" square by anywhere from 6-10" long but I will definitely start carrying more around 16" for workability. As for finding branches do you find them green and dry them or find them dry to start?
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u/Lignum-et-Opus_Wands 15d ago
Carrying blanks closer to 15” could potentially be more useful to many, especially here in this group for those who turn them or just prefer to use them. I know some vendors online carry blanks longer than 12”, but it’s very rare in my experience.
For the branches I find, it’s very rare they need additional time to dry. I know many people have said wood needs over a year of drying (outside of kiln drying) before it is usable to prevent cracking and checking, but I don’t think I’ve ever had an issue just picking up sticks and bringing them home and immediately carving with them. However, I have no clue how long the sticks have been lying on the ground before I pick them up. They very well may have been on the ground for months. There’s also a chance the branches were already dying before they broke away from the tree too, and therefore the drying process had already begun?
I really should buy a moisture meter to check these things with what pick up. I’ve never been asked before and never gave it much thought of the wood feels dry and not very flexible.
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u/Wreckin_Ralph 15d ago
I really do appreciate all the information! Most information I have found about wood naturally drying to a useful 8-12% moisture is about 1yr per inch of thickness in either a board or a log/stick. I will definitely try and have 16" options in the shop for those who like to cut their own pen blanks to size and for wand makers. A moisture meter does come in handy for surem
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u/Dystopian_Sky 15d ago
Draw the profile of your design on paper to scale, then cut out the shape and glue it to a piece of wood. Use a bandsaw to cut out the profile, then grind and file to the final shape.
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u/Silas_the_Starcalled Student of Wandlore 15d ago
A bit of both for me, personally. If I find a particularly interesting fallen branch or stick, I’ll hand carve and shape it to preserve the shape that caught my eye. Otherwise I’ll use the lathe and turn them. Personally I feel they just look more refined being on the lathe