Carving a magic wand embellishment?

[Aaron Buys]

I'm in the process of turning a "magic wand" for a 7 year-old I know who is caught up in all that is Harry Potter. After some research it appears most of the Potter wands have a handle made of one wood and the "wand portion" made of another. Not wanting to make this too complicated I just stuck with making the whole thing out of walnut. I have the wand all roughed out (not all the diameter I want yet) and I'm trying to think of a way to embellish the handle portion of the wand to make it different than the rest. I had planned on using a V carving tool to carve a spiral around the handle and then sanding it lightly to give the handle some deep grooves but I'm worried how good it will look or if the walnut will allow me to cut it that way and still look clean. You can see in the picture some light pencil markings of what I had in mind. Good idea? Bad idea? Suggestions? Somebody recommended that I use a blow torch to scorch and blacken the handle portion but I'm not sure if that will effect the final finish and buffing.

[Richard Galloway]

I'm in the process of turning a "magic wand" for a 7 year-old I know who is caught up in all that is Harry Potter. I had planned on using a V carving tool to carve a spiral around the handle and then sanding it lightly to give the handle some deep grooves but I'm worried how good it will look or if the walnut will allow me to cut it that way and still look clean.

If your V tool is sharp you shouldn't have too much problem making the spiral you have laid out. Just make light cuts and deepen them a little at a time. If you try to cut too much the walnut will splinter out between the grooves and not look good. I would turn it to the finial dia. and sand to near the finial grit before carving. That only leaves the light grits which will leave your lines sharp looking. Be sure to support your work and wear a safety glove on the holding hand so it's not a "blood" wand!

Be sure to post photos of the finished product!

[Michael James]

you can fiddle with dyes or stains, but if I remember correctly 7rs is pretty magical all by itself, so anything you do will be special. I need to build one of these and I will use a different wood for the handle, just because I need the added length on a 12" spindle blank. For me drilling a hole and turning a tenon would be easier than hand carving. I just turn beads. Good luck
Michael

[Chris Colman]

But, where are you going to get a Phoenix feather, and how are you going to get that in there?

[BILL DONAHUE]

I, too, recently did some research on magic wands and would recommend looking at the website for "Alivan's." They have some wands made of two types of wood but most are made of just one. It's probably not going to make much of a difference to a 7 year old. Mine was made of ebony and sold for $100 at a charity auction to a collector of wands. Like Jerry Butler said, "Make It Easy on Yourself" (an oldie song).

[Curt Fuller]

I've used this dremel bit http://www.dremel.com/en-us/Accessories/Pages/ProductDetail.aspx?pid=9931 to do some spiral finials. Just hold it at about a 45 degree angle to the wand handle and slowly rotate the handle like you were cutting threads. With a little practice you can get some pretty good spirals.

[Tim Thiebaut]

But, where are you going to get a Phoenix feather, and how are you going to get that in there?

Yup....each wand should have a feather inside it, I would carve a feather on the handle...

[David DeCristoforo]

"...where are you going to get a Phoenix feather, and how are you going to get that in there..."

Magic... duh!

[Jim Underwood]

spiral, or crosshatch, or dimples, or scorch and turn, or rough up with a skew in bands.

Just make sure to "frame" the embellishments.

[Aaron Buys]

Well here is the final product. I chickened out with the carving and decided to just make some grooves. It didn't turn out quite like I had hoped but I think he will still be happy with it. Thanks for all the suggestions!

[David E Keller]

Looks good to me, Aaron! I'll bet the kiddo really likes it! Hopefully, they don't use it to turn you into a newt.

[Jon Nuckles]

If the 7 year old doesn't appreciate a wand like that, the sorting hat will put him or her in Slytherin House for sure!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Really looks good Aaron.