# Wood turning



## SuperflyStudios (May 27, 2014)

Hello,
I would love to learn how to make hair sticks out of wood & acrylic. Could someone please help me on how I would go about doing this... I have attached a photo of some hair sticks in acrylic & would like to do the same with wood.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thank you,
Rochelle


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## DaveTTC (May 25, 2012)

Do you have a lathe.

If you want to start out cheap you are probably looking at about $500 set up for new stuff you might get a second hand lathe and chisels for about $100.

How many do you want to make?

Dave The Turning Cowboy


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## SuperflyStudios (May 27, 2014)

Hello Dave,
Thank you so much for responding to my post. I know my father has many tools I could ask him if he has some turning tools. Would I need the same turning tools for wood that I would for acrylic...? Haven't thought about how many I would like to make just thought it would be really cool to learn.
Again, Thanks so much,
Rochelle


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## john lucas (Sep 18, 2007)

My suggestion is to find a local turning club. They are all over. Let us know where you are and we'll try to help. You only need a couple of tools for things like that, a good way to sharpen them and probably a mini lathe. Mini lathes can be found from about $150 to $600 depending on the quality. A spindle gouge and maybe a parting tool would be all you would need to turn them. YOu can sharpen with an oil or diamond stone although most turners use a grinder or disc sander. I can show you how to make a disc sander for the lathe to cut down on the expense. 
I would not use a scraper such as the EZ woodtools for those. I know some will recommend them because they are easy to use but they would create a lot of chatter marks on the work that would be a bear to sand out.


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## DaveTTC (May 25, 2012)

As John said, a club is your best start. There may even be someone on the forum here who would be willing to give you some lessons and let you learn on their equipment. 

I am guessing you are in the states. I have a good friend in PA if that is anywhere near you. I am sure he would be more than happy to give you some lessons. Hang around here long enough and plenty of blokes will be jumping up and down for a chance to give a 'sheila' (Aussie slang for broad or gal) some lessons in turning.

If your ever down under be happy to give you some lessons either in my workshop or at my club.

Same tools turn acrylic and wood.

Dave The Turning Cowboy


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## SuperflyStudios (May 27, 2014)

Hello John,
Thank you so much for taking the time to respond to my message. You & Dave both gave a lot of good information. I came across these acrylic hair sticks & thought they were really pretty & that it would be fun to educate myself on how they are made. So I spent some time looking into, what I have come to learn, acrylic blanks. However, the blanks seem to be mostly used for pens... even the wood blanks seem to be used for pens. I watch a video on the turning process & it seems the drill goes through the medium to make a hollow hole... which of course I don't want... So I was wondering how the turning tools would be able to hold on to the medium without making a hollow hole into the acrylic or wood. Anyway, I, obviously am complete new at what I'm talking about but I figure the more I talk the more I'll learn...  I will look for more youtube videos. By the way, I am in the Los Angeles, CA area. I kindly Thank you again, Rochelle


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## DaveTTC (May 25, 2012)

turning between centres is most likely the way you would do it, especially for timber.

When you part off you would hand sand and buff - easiest way for a beginner

You could use a scroll chuck to hold your work at the headstock (drive/motor end) but you would likely want to use a live centre at the tailstock.

Timber would be the easiest in my opinion. the acrylic may have a tendency to want to bend. I have only used acrylic for pens and the brass tube glued in the hole helps stiffen it.

Best is if you have someone show you. There are alsorts of terms like riding the bevel which may not make a lot of sense until you see it and are shown.

If you say where you are I have no doubt there will be someone who will offer help, even start a new thread 'wanted - woodturning lessons' If you have where you are and how far you are willing to travel someone will offer for sure.

This time next year I hope to have a guest room to offer as a B&B package with lessons.

Dave The Turning Cowboy


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## DaveTTC (May 25, 2012)

though I have tried to keep it simple I am sure some terms likely make little sense if you have never done it before.

Try looking up 'spindle turning'

There are a number of other helpful turners on here, hopefully some of them may chime in and might no of some good links for what you want. If I have time later I will have a look myself but I have an extremely slow internet conection so dont do much youtube.

On another note I may be getting into an online turning store soon so may be able to help you out with some acrylic blanks cut to whatever length you like. Can also do timber but you would get it cheaper locally unless you specifically want Aussie timbers

Dave The Turning Cowboy


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## Alchymist (Jan 2, 2011)

A few youtube videos - (turning drumsticks isn't a whole lot different than hair sticks).


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## Gary Beasley (Jan 21, 2009)

Go to the Lee Valley site and look for the Veritas Dowel Maker. Thats a very easy was to create dowel rods to start the hair sticks from. Then you can chuck the dowels in a lathe or drill and shape with turning tools or sandpaper to the desired dimensions.


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## DaveTTC (May 25, 2012)

why didn't I think of drumsticks ... I've turned a few sets of them

Dave The Turning Cowboy


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## SuperflyStudios (May 27, 2014)

Hi Dave,
Thank you thank you thank you.... I believe you should have a B&B & give classes.... I know for sure I would be your first customer/guest/student...  That is such a good idea... Thank you for the tips & video... I truly appreciate it...
Love,
Rochelle


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## SuperflyStudios (May 27, 2014)

Hello,
Thank you very much for taking the time to send video info... This is very helpful..!!!
Rochelle


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## SuperflyStudios (May 27, 2014)

Alchymist,
My last thank you reply was for you... Thank you for the great videos.... 
Rochelle  Very Helpful.... !!!


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## SuperflyStudios (May 27, 2014)

Thank you Dave,
I appreciate your advice & knowledge... 
Rochelle


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## SuperflyStudios (May 27, 2014)

Thank you John,
I appreciate your message.
Rochelle


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## DaveTTC (May 25, 2012)

out of interest what length and diameter are these hair things you want to make?

Dave The Turning Cowboy


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## SuperflyStudios (May 27, 2014)

Hi,
I'm not sure.. I posted a picture of the hair sticks in my first message. I will try & find the ad I found the sticks for sell & see if the maker put the measurements.
Rochelle


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## DaveTTC (May 25, 2012)

Thinking more about the application and your first choice of work I would strongly recommend that you get a lathe with a 2 Morse Taper (2MT in head stock and tail stock) and that you would be best off starting with a spur drive, live centre & scroll chuck. Probably a cheap beginner set of chisels would be fine.

My choice would be a continental roughing gouge with a slight 'thumb nail' grind, a skew and a parting chisel.

Definitely more bang for your bucks if you buy second hand and get some included chisels etc.

Try and get someone to demonstate and give you some lessons before you go out and buy anything

Dave The Turning Cowboy


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## Alchymist (Jan 2, 2011)

Looks like the majority are around 6 inches long:

http://www.beautyencounter.com/buy/...076116812424&gclid=CKGmmZHV074CFchFMgodT1YATA

http://www.amazon.com/Wooden-Sticks...515&sr=1-2&keywords=hair+sticks+for+long+hair

If the shorter lengths work, a good source of wood might be the blanks for pens:

http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/c/2/Pen-Blanks

I would also look around for cabinet shops, wood flooring contractors, etc to see if they would have some scraps/cutoffs available, either cheap or free.


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## Gary Beasley (Jan 21, 2009)

Hair sticks don't have to be round, I've seen enough of them cut square and tapered and sanded the sharp edges off. My guess these things will be around 1/8th inch thick, thats a challenge for experienced turners to handle. It may be way easier for a novice to cut thin sticks and sand them to shape as needed rather than turn a tiny stick round.


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## SuperflyStudios (May 27, 2014)

Hello,
I really appreciate all the advice. Yes, it looks like the hair sticks are around 6" in length. I'm going to watch all the videos you all suggested & go from there. 
Again, Thank you all so much... 
Rochelle


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