Making a Hair Stick

  1. Image of uncut wood Raw Wood David gets wood from mail order suppliers, at woodworking shows, from stores, from friends, and sometimes cuts it himself. Many of the exotic woods he works with are covered in a thick layer of wax to prevent them from drying too rapidly and splitting or cracking. Even in this rough form, the colors and grain patterns are easy to see.
  2. Image of an assortment of cut wood turning squares Cut Squares Wood for hair sticks and shawl pins is cut into square lengths to be turned on the lathe.
  3. Image of initial turning on the lathe with a story stick Turning a Hair Stick David turns the wood square to a cylinder and then uses a "story stick" to lay out and cut the length of the shaft for a hair stick.
  4. Image of chocolate-like shavings from Gabon ebony Cutting a Design David uses a number of different tools to cut out the shape of the shaft. Once the shape has been fully cut out, he sands and applies finish to the shaft.


    5. Assembling Beads to Shafts

  5. Image of cutting sterling silver wire Making a Sterling Silver Pin After the bead and shaft have been matched up, David cuts a length of 10 gauge sterling silver wire that goes through the glass bead and into a hole in the end of the shaft to join the glass and wood together.
  6. Image of a stamped pin. Putting a Head on the Sterling Silver Pin David hammers the end of the silver wire to form a flat top that he sands and polishes and stamps with our logo.
  7. Image of a collection of glued up hair sticks and shawl pins Hair Stick and Shawl Pin Final Assembly Final assembly requires four hands working together to connect the glass beads and wood shafts using the silver pins. David cuts threads on the silver pins and secures them into the wood using a very strong adhesive.