Band Director Wand

http://www.banddirector.com/productguide/category/505
This might give you a few ideas. It looks like the baton itself is separate from the handle.

-- Go STARS!

You can turn a baton but you need strong wood to start and a light touch. Make sure the lathe is at a very slow speed and that you use a face shield and protective clothing because it can break and throw pieces of wood at you.

-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop Southern Oregon

I turned a wand for my son recently that I would assume is about the same length as a director’s wand. He is into the roleplaying like Harry Potter though, so it’s an entirely different approach. I used black palm, and the shaft itself is about 3/8 in diameter with the handle more around 5/8 or so.

-- San Diego, CA US Navy

Interesting web site, I had no idea some one could make a living on such an esoteric item, but I digress. I found an old directors baton in the house I bought a few years ago, it doesn’t look a bit like the ones on the web site but it is stamped with a makers mark. it is not turned either, it appears to have been shaped by hand, this might be a safer route than trying to turn something so thin.

-- Dave- New Brunswick

Curious subject.
I looked at tbone’s web site suggestion and it appears that only the handle is normally made of turned wood. The shaft for most the quality batons was fiberglass. I bet suitable shafts can be acquired from some place like Cabela’s who sells fishing rod making components. I would stay away from the “graphite” shafts because they can be brittle and break when hit against a hard edge, like the conductors stand. I know because I have broken a couple of graphite fly fishing rods that way.
It looks like getting a good balance between the shaft and the handle is the trick and might require adding some weight to the shaft. The balance point seems to be right at the joint between the handle and shaft.

-- Les B, Oregon

MrsN

Coincidentetly, my brother is the Director of Sales and Marketing for “Premier Batons”. Whio deal exclusively in hand made conductor’s batons.

http://premierbatons.com/Default.aspx

According to him, their batons all feature a fiberglass blank, with a variety of woods availalble for the handles. If you are interested in hand making your own baton, perhaps you could contact them and buy just the blank, and attach your own turned handle (and custom display case?)

Good Luck
Trev

-- Trevor Premer Head Termite and Servant to the Queen - Heirloom Woodworking

Here is another website for you. http://www.texasbatons.com

I seem to remember seeing a fiberglass shaft part on ebay at one time.

Is the baton going to used at all, or just for presentation/display? If it’s going to be used, I think you really need a fiberglass shaft. I say this because all the directors I’ve ever had, and my kids directors, bang their baton against the edge of the stand. Kind of like a metronome, sometimes just plain old mad, but they all do it. Don’t think a wooden shaft will hold up to that abuse.

-- a little bit of stupid goes a long way

My band director used to throw his baton at us (and of course we did not deserve it). Please don’t make it too sharp!

-- Kent Shepherd * The goal is-----More Tools!