The hardest thing is getting a consistent matching set. Both in symmetry and weight. If your dad is an experience spindle turner he can probably turn out closely matching sticks.

The easiest way would be to have a lathe with a lathe duplicator attachment. You put your original in a special jig and a blank piece of wood in the lathe. the duplicator follows the stick with a pin or stylus and a matching cutter cuts the stick profile into the blank. You could turn them out all day long with a duplicator. using a duplicator does not involve any real knowledge of how to turn on a lathe.

I've been doing some fiddling with this----and the duplicator is the best way to get a matched pair.-----but------I was trained as an Orchestra percussionist and many of you started out that way or in Marching bands and hold the sticks classicly(instead of both like hammers). Even if you don't hold the sticks classicly, your wrists and arms are different strengths and different flexibilities. Sure there are some out there that pride themselves on having an equivalent attack or sensitivity with both hands but in reality ,playing with two different sticks helps balance you. So, if you are making pairs for sale , well of course the rules of commerce prevail ; but for yourself? this is an opportunity to make some much needed adjustments.

On to the wood-----there are so many non-commercial woods out there to be played with. I've got Beaver working the shore of the river behind my place. We were having a discussion the other day.----trying to swap labour for food.

I can see it now Castor drumsticks. " made from naturally harvested wood"

,wild caught, fair trade, sustainably harvested. Probably, I should stay away from Beaverskin drumheads.

I ran a metal lathe one summer,...no different than the wood lathe except the guage the metal lathe is made of. (and the oil drop/collection)

I`ve used the wood lathe too many times on jobs but could never afford to buy one. I got a friend up the street that turns furniture and I`ve given him demo wood, picked tree branches, old furniture pieces ect. ect.

Any wood you use should be as knot free as you can. Fruit tree wood will break at the tip but is the best looking by far !!

You will get used to the wood lathe fairly quick, just turn your stock to one inch dowels and put your favorite stick on the other side and the lathe does the work!!

If you want very rare, 1000yr. old redwood, find a house built in the 20`s and use the Redwood gutters on the house, if you come across a construction job like that. The back of the gutter can turn one and a half inch dowel, even on old rotted out un-useable ones !!

Those were my favorite sticks and will be again !!

Back in the 80's when I played hard rock I turned a set out of hickory that just had a slight taper on the end instead of a tip. I use that those sticks for about 3 years before someone took one. As far as making sure they'rre the same size a couple of pairs of calipers are probably cheaper than an attachment that can duplicate. It's not a hard project. Just don't get hung up on thinking they have to be matched in every aspect.