The Elder Wand is easily one of the COOLEST wands in all of Harry Potter, and with just a little work you can make one for yourself!

I just finished this magical build of the Elder Wand from Harry Potter. For those of you who don't know, this is the most powerful wand in the series and is held by Dumbledore for the majority of the story. This entire build is made out of one wooden dowel and a small piece of paper, so it is relatively inexpensive to make as long as you have the tools necessary to build it.

So join me on this magical journey and see if you have what it takes to be a wizard too!

Supplies

This is a simple yet intricate build that doesn't require many tools or materials. Many of you might have what you need just lying at home.

Materials

¾" Wooden Dowel
Paper
Brown Paint
White Paint
Yellow Paint

Tools

Sand Paper
Belt Sander
Dremel
Paint Brush

Step 1: Cutting the Dowel

With a little research, it can be found that the Elder Wand is exactly 15". Using the 3/4" wooden dowel you are going to want to cut off a 15" piece. This is going to form the main body of the wand.

Its okay if you are a little bit off, but if you want to make the wand as movie accurate as possible then you'll want to be exact.

Step 2: Drawing Out the Design

For this step you are going to want to pull up a reference image of the original wand from the movies. With this side by side comparison, you want to sketch out the pattern as closely as possible onto the wooden dowel. Be sure to use something easy to see like a sharpie because you are going to be sanding this later, and the more visible it is, the easier you job will be. Remember for the parts of the wand that bulge out you will want to draw to the very edge of the dowel to maintain as much of the wood as possible.

Step 3: Start Sanding

For this step I mostly used the belt sander I have. I started sanding away at the pattern until it started to be shaped similar to how I drew it out. I found it was easiest if I started by just sanding one side of the dowel instead of trying to make it a perfect cylinder immediately. This allowed me to focus on perfecting the shape of just one specific region.

Make sure you aren't too rough or you might break the wood. The wooden dowel isn't that strong especially after you have sanded away most of the wood.

You are going to want to do this until you have a rough shape that you can refine more in the next step using a Dremel and sand paper.

Step 4: Smooth Out the Design

For this step you are going to want to use a Dremel and sandpaper. Since you already have the basic shape from using the belt sander, its time to smooth everything out. I first started with a sanding tool on my Dremel and carefully worked my way around the wood to get rid of any parts that weren't symmetrical. I basically just sanded it until I felt that that all of the parts were sanded out into the correct shape.

I then did a once over with the sandpaper to to give it a nice finishing touch. This step is really up to you as to how much you want to sand. Use your imagination to decide the shape you want!

Step 5: Start Drilling the Holes

Part of the Elder Wand's design is that at each area where there is a lump in the wood, there are lots of little holes there. I accomplished this effect by using a small circular drilling bit in my Dremel. This allowed me to make detailed designs.

If you don't have this specific tool, you could probably use a regular drill bit as long as it is small enough. You might have to get creative with it by hey thats part of the fun!

Step 6: Cutting the Design for the Bottom of the Wand

By using reference pictures of the original wand, it can be seen that the bottom of the wand has almost triangle like patterns cut out of it. I first used a sharpie to draw out the design I was going for. Once I had this done, it was on to the next step. I then used the circular cutting bit on my Dremel once again to cut out this pattern. I'm sure there are other ways to do this that are much more effective than what I did, but I think I did the best I could with what I was working with :)

Step 7: Start Painting

For this I used a brown called "Burnt Umber" from the company Art District. I was going to try and mix it with either black or white to get a different shade of brown but it turned out to be exactly what I was looking for. I used a paintbrush to apply an even coat of paint all across the surface. I just used a regular sized paintbrush for this outer part.

Then it was on to painting the inside over every little divot and hole in the wand. I used a very small paintbrush and it took forever to do this, but I'd say it was well worth it in the end! I held it up to the light so that it was easier to see which parts inside of the holes still needed to be painted.

It's totally up to you if you want to used a different shade of brown. I just went with what I thought would be closest to the colors of the movie.

Step 8: Making the Inscription

To make the inscription on the handle, I first started with a small piece of paper that wrapped around the handle of the wand nicely. Yours might be slightly different in size depending on how thick you make your handle.

I then combined white and just a tiny bit of yellow paint to get a sort of off white color. I painted the small piece of paper with this paint to give the appearance that the inscription is older. Make sure to do an even coat on the whole piece of paper and be sure to let it dry completely before you start to draw out the actual inscription.

Once the paper was dry, I looked up a reference image of what the inscription looked like. This can be seen above in the pictures. I first traced out what I wanted to draw with a pencil. Then I moved on to a fine point sharpie to finish it off. Then BOOM just like magic your inscription is finished!

Step 9: Attach the Inscription to the Wand

For this part all you need to do is wrap the inscription around the handle of the wand. Then, just use a little bit of super glue to hold it in place. This should keep it from falling off when you are preforming your magic tricks!

Step 10: You're Ready for Hogwarts!!

And before you can say "avada kedavra" your wand is done! This is a great project for anyone who's a fan of the books and movies or if they just want to experience what it's like being a wizard themselves. This project is relatively cheap, especially if you have some of the items just laying around your house like I did.

So you better figure out what wizarding house you belong to before you head off on a magical journey with your wand ready to go!