Apologies to Mel Brooks for using one of his lines from
Blazing Saddles (Madeline Kahn spoke the lines). But it
is true that practice at least gets you better, if not perfect.

After someone asked about hair sticks and someone
provided a couple of examples along with some basic
dimensions, I decided to try and turn a few. Cut some
1/2" square by 10 or so inches long blanks from maple,
rosewood, cherry and walnut - claro walnut to be exact
- and started turning.

Took me 5 or 6 before I decided to forget turning
between centers and use a 4 jaw chuck on the
drive side. Initially made the mistake of using
a 1/2" steb center but when you turn a taper
from just under 3/8th to 1/8th over 8+ inches,
the live tale center pressure required to engage
the teeth on the steb center put the stock under
compression. Any pressure in the middle of
the piece start getting it to deflect, even with
two fingers behind it. Much, much easier with
a chuck.

Used a half in roughing gouge to get the taper,
sanded with 120 to 320 then skewed in beads,
bevels, V-grooves and tear drops. For coves
I did have to resort to a spindle/detail gouge.

Discovered than walnut is not fun to turn - the
open grain perhaps, or maybe that it's pretty
soft. Even difficult to turn smaller diameters
with very sharp tools.

Now having turned 25 to 30 hair sticks, I
can bang them out in about 15 to 20 minutes,
not including dry time for wax or Mahoney
Walnut Oil. Can do anything I want to do
with a half inch skew - coves being an exception.

Now every female with long hair in the
neighborhood has a hair stick or two. Three
girls at the local Quiznos are sporting
hair sticks, as is a helpful woman at Barnes
and Noble, a couple of women at in the
deli section of Albertsons and three girls
at a record store up the road. If I don't
keep giving them away I'll be up to my
ass in hair sticks.

Might be time to break out the 3/4" and
1" skews and do some short legs for
something. I HAVE to get back to non-
turning projects - turning generates
too much debris.

Fun this woodworking thing.

charlie b