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carved hairstick 1

squiggy's place

a nice project.  this page is under construction!

you will need:
***a half inch thick by 36 inch long dowel. (i will explain later why the long ones are better than the short bagged ones)
***a thin cylindrical rasp file thingy
***a few other rasps... i use a tool that's 4 rasp file thingys in one
***coarse medium and fine sanding paper.
***320 or higher grit sandpaper... i use 320 because no stores around me carry higher grits.
***some kind of saw... i use a coping saw that i bought for a few bucks at home depot.
***gloss poly spray... i'm using design masters brand
***your hands... lol
***liquid watercolors or wood stain
***permanent marker

 
ok now take your cylinder type rasp file thingy and SLOWLY carve out the areas that i've shown in the picture, turning the dowel as you carve to get it even on all sides. with the 36 inch dowel you can hold it still mostly with your feet while one hand turns it and the other hand carves. now i'm sure that you noticed that i outlined the edge of the area that's going to be shaved down completely..that is to keep that edge a clean line which you can't really do with the bigger rougher rasp thingys.

carve2.jpg

now using the bigger rasp file thingy shave down the long part of the stick until it's hairstick thickness. (only you can decide what thickness is good for your hair, i like mine a bit on the thick side because it holds my hair better).. remember to turn the dowel as you shave it down so that its even all the way around... now take that coarse sand paper and round off the top of the stick. then use it to gradually fade the initial carve out of the top part like in the picture.. remember to turn the dowel! now there is a small half inch segment of the stick that hasn't gotten carved at all.. draw a line around the middle of it going all the way around

carve3.jpg

now take that cylindrical file rasp thing and carve following the line you just drew. REMEMBER turn the dowel as you carve it and try to get it as even as possible

carve4.jpg

sorry this pic is blurry...  take you medium grit sandpaper and smooth out the top and round down the edges of the area that you just carved out

carve5.jpg

now it's time to get out the saw and cut the hairstick from the long piece of wood.

carve6.jpg

now shave down the end to a point...(only you can decide how pointy you want it) use sandpaper going from coarse to fine to get the stick part just the level of smoothness and pointyness that you want it. ok now onward to color!

carve7.jpg

ok now it's time to apply color! yay! i used liquid watercolors to produce this blue stain... you can stain it any color you want if you use watercolors.
heres how i apply watercolor... dilute a very small amount of liquid watercolor with a few drops of water.. paint onto the stick and wipe off with a rag or paper towl. you may have to do this a few times to get the desired color.
 

carve8.jpg

now for the part i hate (i find it to be tedious and i mess up alot of stuff in this step because i have no patience)... putting the shiny smoothness on it that i expect from all my toys.. spray the creation with poly... (with sticks it's easier to spray half of it, wait for that to dry and then spray the other end.) wait for it to dry completely (a fan makes this happen so much faster... never use a blowdryer or the poly will bubble up and you will destroy your creation) then spray it with another coat of poly... let dry... now take out your extra fine 320 or finer grit sandpaper and lightly go over your creation being careful not to take the color off it. now spray again and wait for it to dry completely and go over it again with the extra extra fine paper and spray again... now it should be smooth enough... if it's not, keep spraying and sanding with the extra fine paper... wait 24/36 hours before putting this stick in your hair

carve9.jpg