Winding Stick

In woodworking and carpentry, a pair of winding sticks is a tool that aids in viewing twist in a piece of lumber by amplifying the defect. Winding sticks can be as simple as any two straight sticks, or they can be elegant and decorated, made from dimensionally stable wood such as mahogany; a pair of framing squares may also serve the purpose. They are traditionally 16 to 30 inches long and tapered in height, and the longer the pair, the more they amplify the wind, so a woodworker commonly makes a matching pair for the purpose, with contrasting colors of wood improving the visibility of the difference in level between the two sticks as they are compared.