52 Weeks of Pinterest: Guest Post: Behind the Scenes wandmaking by GipsonWands

My husband Scott, and owner/creator of GipsonWands wrote this post on the steps to make one of his custom magic wands. Check it out!

I'm sure most people who buy a wand from me don't realize the work that goes into making a GipsonWands wand so I thought i'd take a moment to go through step by step to show you, curious reader, how it's done.

From this...

to this

The Black Walnut I use was harvested more that 5 years ago, allowed to air dry in a climate controlled environment before it is split. On larger pieces (such as this) I use a mini-sledge and wedges. Once I get a manageable piece I square it off with a table saw.

It takes many passes to cut off the rough edges.

I end up with wand blanks that are 3/4th of an inch square. These are now ready to be mounted on the lathe.

I'll begin by rounding off the blank.

It will take multiple passes to slowly take off the edges to get a completely evenly round dowel.

Once the blank is rounded, I start to carve the final shape, this can take hours.

Once the final shape is done it's time to begin the long process of sanding.

First I start with a rough grit and after multiple passes progress to a finer and finer grit.

I've worked my way down to a fine sand paper.

Once the sanding is done I switch to 00 steel wool to get the wood ready for it's finish.

The Wand's shape is done and the sanding is finished, now I move on to a coat of linseed oil.

Now for a final buff while it's on the lathe.
With a coat of linseed oil completed, the last thing left to do is cut the wand free.

First, I start with the wand tip.

Once the tip is free and with the lathe still on I sand the rough end. Next I'll focus on the hilt.

It's free! the last step is to hand-sand the hilt end to it's final smoothness and give it another coat of oil.
With the wand now done all that's left to do is to show you a pretty picture of it complete.