Jaager

If it is your ambition to manufacture and sell ship model kits, buying a laser cutter might be something to consider.  For a one-off proposition, a laser cutter seems to me to be an extravagance - a really huge extravagance.  The computer portion is an immense time sink.
 
I am going to guess about your experience and skill level.  For what you wish to do,  You might consider treating yourself to a high quality but low tech and old school tool.
A fret saw -
 
  Knew is expensive,  but the joy of using a well made precision tool is .... especially when a laser is the alternative.
 
Also a proper support surface -  the picture is for the general shape  - this is an easy enough DIY using a piece of 1/2" or 3/4" AA or Birch plywood.
 

 
If you do much of this, you will come to know if you need an electric scroll saw or a 1/8" blade on a benchtop bandsaw.

This just put me in mind of an alternative.
If you have more money than time:
 
Micro-Make™ / MicroLux® Palm-Size Belt Sander  - will eat wood fairly fast.  mine wants to throw the belt immediately - I hold a square of wood on the side of the housing that overlaps the belt which keeps the belt at home.
 
Micro-Make™ / MicroLux® Heavy-Duty Right Angle Disk Sander / Drill
with
3-Jaw Keyless Chuck, 1/64 Inch - 1/8 Inch Capacity
There are a number of available disk attachments 1" / 2" / 3" diameter with 1/8" shanks
 
These are DC machines and require a proprietary transformer power source.  The manufacturer seems to be a German company Kaleas.
MM appears to be the US agent..
Now, if they would also make a 45 degree Angle Disk Sander, - for contour sanding inside a hull.

Needle files are a bit small for what you need.  You could take a look at luthier tool suppliers - they have medium range files with a range of bite.  StewMac  is not economy but you can get a lay of the land as far as some possibilities for what is available.  A lesion  that I can't seem to learn - when filing - apply downward force directly above the surface being cut.  Applying it between the hold point and the cut point tends to make a small file into two pieces - even the expensive Swiss ones.
 
That Basswood is going to fight you all the way.  The fibers are going to want to roll.  You might consider starting over with Yellow Poplar.  It is easy to cut. but holds a sharp edge.  It is also about the least expensive hardwood and  10/4 and even 12/4 lumber is available.

Needle files are a bit small for what you need.  You could take a look at luthier tool suppliers - they have medium range files with a range of bite.  StewMac  is not economy but you can get a lay of the land as far as some possibilities for what is available.  A lesion  that I can't seem to learn - when filing - apply downward force directly above the surface being cut.  Applying it between the hold point and the cut point tends to make a small file into two pieces - even the expensive Swiss ones.
 
That Basswood is going to fight you all the way.  The fibers are going to want to roll.  You might consider starting over with Yellow Poplar.  It is easy to cut. but holds a sharp edge.  It is also about the least expensive hardwood and  10/4 and even 12/4 lumber is available.

If it is your ambition to manufacture and sell ship model kits, buying a laser cutter might be something to consider.  For a one-off proposition, a laser cutter seems to me to be an extravagance - a really huge extravagance.  The computer portion is an immense time sink.
 
I am going to guess about your experience and skill level.  For what you wish to do,  You might consider treating yourself to a high quality but low tech and old school tool.
A fret saw -
 
  Knew is expensive,  but the joy of using a well made precision tool is .... especially when a laser is the alternative.
 
Also a proper support surface -  the picture is for the general shape  - this is an easy enough DIY using a piece of 1/2" or 3/4" AA or Birch plywood.
 

 
If you do much of this, you will come to know if you need an electric scroll saw or a 1/8" blade on a benchtop bandsaw.

I am not going to look at the units involved, but I guess that it is force per square inch or something similar.  For most of a ship model joinery the surface area involved is pretty small.  So that reduces the bond exceeding force when the equation is applied to the individual situation.

If it is your ambition to manufacture and sell ship model kits, buying a laser cutter might be something to consider.  For a one-off proposition, a laser cutter seems to me to be an extravagance - a really huge extravagance.  The computer portion is an immense time sink.
 
I am going to guess about your experience and skill level.  For what you wish to do,  You might consider treating yourself to a high quality but low tech and old school tool.
A fret saw -
 
  Knew is expensive,  but the joy of using a well made precision tool is .... especially when a laser is the alternative.
 
Also a proper support surface -  the picture is for the general shape  - this is an easy enough DIY using a piece of 1/2" or 3/4" AA or Birch plywood.
 

 
If you do much of this, you will come to know if you need an electric scroll saw or a 1/8" blade on a benchtop bandsaw.

Up thru the hull planking stage, we are building in different worlds,  POF vs POB. 
A frame that is overlapping  timbers is mainly subject to sheer forces while being shaped.
The same while being planked.
For deck components being knocked in a lateral direction seems more likely than their being levered up.
For planking itself,  I see at least two possible stress sources.  If a plank is not pre-bent  to sit on the hull, if it has to be held down until the bond cures to keep it from going back horizontal, it will pull up on the bond forever (noemal stress).  If it has been bent thru the thick dimension instead of being spilled,  It will exert a lateral force (sheer) and a twist  (normal) even if it has been pre-bent and is a push fit at assembly.  Nature never sleeps.
 
I think it was Underhill, that imprinted this at my beginning of this, but the belt and suspenders philosophy ( chemical and mechanical bonds for as much as possible ) but it has stuck like an obsession.

Up thru the hull planking stage, we are building in different worlds,  POF vs POB. 
A frame that is overlapping  timbers is mainly subject to sheer forces while being shaped.
The same while being planked.
For deck components being knocked in a lateral direction seems more likely than their being levered up.
For planking itself,  I see at least two possible stress sources.  If a plank is not pre-bent  to sit on the hull, if it has to be held down until the bond cures to keep it from going back horizontal, it will pull up on the bond forever (noemal stress).  If it has been bent thru the thick dimension instead of being spilled,  It will exert a lateral force (sheer) and a twist  (normal) even if it has been pre-bent and is a push fit at assembly.  Nature never sleeps.
 
I think it was Underhill, that imprinted this at my beginning of this, but the belt and suspenders philosophy ( chemical and mechanical bonds for as much as possible ) but it has stuck like an obsession.

From a practical perspective, should not the force arrows on normal stress (sigma) be at 180 degrees?  What I would call prise resistance (because I have not seen the technical data before now.)
To stack the deck against CA a bit more, most of the stress that wood to wood bonds encounter on a ship model tend to be sheer.
 
When the bias and any criticism is arbitrary or from a traditionalist position,  snobbery and elitism is a valid accusation.
For wooden ship models, that would apply if the elitist preference was hot pot hide glue.
When the suggestion to avoid CA is based on demonstrated, and unnecessary failures inherent with the material, ( often experienced first hand) ,  it is more of a flashing warning light that is apparently unsuccessful in resisting the power of modern product advertising, and illusory convenience factors.

Up thru the hull planking stage, we are building in different worlds,  POF vs POB. 
A frame that is overlapping  timbers is mainly subject to sheer forces while being shaped.
The same while being planked.
For deck components being knocked in a lateral direction seems more likely than their being levered up.
For planking itself,  I see at least two possible stress sources.  If a plank is not pre-bent  to sit on the hull, if it has to be held down until the bond cures to keep it from going back horizontal, it will pull up on the bond forever (noemal stress).  If it has been bent thru the thick dimension instead of being spilled,  It will exert a lateral force (sheer) and a twist  (normal) even if it has been pre-bent and is a push fit at assembly.  Nature never sleeps.
 
I think it was Underhill, that imprinted this at my beginning of this, but the belt and suspenders philosophy ( chemical and mechanical bonds for as much as possible ) but it has stuck like an obsession.

Up thru the hull planking stage, we are building in different worlds,  POF vs POB. 
A frame that is overlapping  timbers is mainly subject to sheer forces while being shaped.
The same while being planked.
For deck components being knocked in a lateral direction seems more likely than their being levered up.
For planking itself,  I see at least two possible stress sources.  If a plank is not pre-bent  to sit on the hull, if it has to be held down until the bond cures to keep it from going back horizontal, it will pull up on the bond forever (noemal stress).  If it has been bent thru the thick dimension instead of being spilled,  It will exert a lateral force (sheer) and a twist  (normal) even if it has been pre-bent and is a push fit at assembly.  Nature never sleeps.
 
I think it was Underhill, that imprinted this at my beginning of this, but the belt and suspenders philosophy ( chemical and mechanical bonds for as much as possible ) but it has stuck like an obsession.

I was able to source some Holly that was on the hoof.  In order to defeat the competing Blue Mold invasion I immediately cut it into 1" billets and removed to bark, and sealed the ends with a thick coating of leftover latex house paint.
I purchased a 4' x 8' sheet of 1" foil faced house insulation foam. I cut it into 4 x 4' pieces to make the 4 sides of a box.  It does not need to be either strong or tight fitting.  I fit it into an open shelf in my garage.  The ends were made from the 2 x 2 x 1" project Styrofoam that Home Depot sells.   The foil was on the inside face.   A couple of ceramic surface mount light fixtures and a  200W and a 100W incandescent light bulb generated enough heat - often 200W was enough.  A surplus computer muffin fan on one end was sufficient to exhaust the heated humid air.  I had a digital - remember the highest temp thermometer - to make sure it did not get too hot.   I stickered the billets.  A probe moisture meter sufficient for our needs is not expensive.  3 months was more than enough time.  For a temp, I just guessed about a temp that was above what the mold could survive.  Too much heat and the wood may case harden instead of allowing the water in the middle of a billet to migrate out.  There is probably a Zen type factor in all this.
 
You may be able to stay ahead of the checking with your "Lilac" by using a similar setup.  It will still be a month or so before the sap starts rising, if you wish to try this year.  Washington state appears to have a significant Apple growing base.  You are maybe not too far north for there to be Apple trees?  Apple wood is King.  But the only real way to get it is to harvest your own.  The hot box might save you the best part of year in getting a dry supply to use.  
 
Not far south of you is a supplier of Pacific Madrone. (Portland).  The wood reads like it can easily substitute for Pear or Black Cherry.  It is a bear to season.  It requires a specialized kiln operation.  It is not a DIY species per my reading.  It also wants to be picked over in the yard to get the color and grain that is desired.  

From a practical perspective, should not the force arrows on normal stress (sigma) be at 180 degrees?  What I would call prise resistance (because I have not seen the technical data before now.)
To stack the deck against CA a bit more, most of the stress that wood to wood bonds encounter on a ship model tend to be sheer.
 
When the bias and any criticism is arbitrary or from a traditionalist position,  snobbery and elitism is a valid accusation.
For wooden ship models, that would apply if the elitist preference was hot pot hide glue.
When the suggestion to avoid CA is based on demonstrated, and unnecessary failures inherent with the material, ( often experienced first hand) ,  it is more of a flashing warning light that is apparently unsuccessful in resisting the power of modern product advertising, and illusory convenience factors.

I was able to source some Holly that was on the hoof.  In order to defeat the competing Blue Mold invasion I immediately cut it into 1" billets and removed to bark, and sealed the ends with a thick coating of leftover latex house paint.
I purchased a 4' x 8' sheet of 1" foil faced house insulation foam. I cut it into 4 x 4' pieces to make the 4 sides of a box.  It does not need to be either strong or tight fitting.  I fit it into an open shelf in my garage.  The ends were made from the 2 x 2 x 1" project Styrofoam that Home Depot sells.   The foil was on the inside face.   A couple of ceramic surface mount light fixtures and a  200W and a 100W incandescent light bulb generated enough heat - often 200W was enough.  A surplus computer muffin fan on one end was sufficient to exhaust the heated humid air.  I had a digital - remember the highest temp thermometer - to make sure it did not get too hot.   I stickered the billets.  A probe moisture meter sufficient for our needs is not expensive.  3 months was more than enough time.  For a temp, I just guessed about a temp that was above what the mold could survive.  Too much heat and the wood may case harden instead of allowing the water in the middle of a billet to migrate out.  There is probably a Zen type factor in all this.
 
You may be able to stay ahead of the checking with your "Lilac" by using a similar setup.  It will still be a month or so before the sap starts rising, if you wish to try this year.  Washington state appears to have a significant Apple growing base.  You are maybe not too far north for there to be Apple trees?  Apple wood is King.  But the only real way to get it is to harvest your own.  The hot box might save you the best part of year in getting a dry supply to use.  
 
Not far south of you is a supplier of Pacific Madrone. (Portland).  The wood reads like it can easily substitute for Pear or Black Cherry.  It is a bear to season.  It requires a specialized kiln operation.  It is not a DIY species per my reading.  It also wants to be picked over in the yard to get the color and grain that is desired.  

I was able to source some Holly that was on the hoof.  In order to defeat the competing Blue Mold invasion I immediately cut it into 1" billets and removed to bark, and sealed the ends with a thick coating of leftover latex house paint.
I purchased a 4' x 8' sheet of 1" foil faced house insulation foam. I cut it into 4 x 4' pieces to make the 4 sides of a box.  It does not need to be either strong or tight fitting.  I fit it into an open shelf in my garage.  The ends were made from the 2 x 2 x 1" project Styrofoam that Home Depot sells.   The foil was on the inside face.   A couple of ceramic surface mount light fixtures and a  200W and a 100W incandescent light bulb generated enough heat - often 200W was enough.  A surplus computer muffin fan on one end was sufficient to exhaust the heated humid air.  I had a digital - remember the highest temp thermometer - to make sure it did not get too hot.   I stickered the billets.  A probe moisture meter sufficient for our needs is not expensive.  3 months was more than enough time.  For a temp, I just guessed about a temp that was above what the mold could survive.  Too much heat and the wood may case harden instead of allowing the water in the middle of a billet to migrate out.  There is probably a Zen type factor in all this.
 
You may be able to stay ahead of the checking with your "Lilac" by using a similar setup.  It will still be a month or so before the sap starts rising, if you wish to try this year.  Washington state appears to have a significant Apple growing base.  You are maybe not too far north for there to be Apple trees?  Apple wood is King.  But the only real way to get it is to harvest your own.  The hot box might save you the best part of year in getting a dry supply to use.  
 
Not far south of you is a supplier of Pacific Madrone. (Portland).  The wood reads like it can easily substitute for Pear or Black Cherry.  It is a bear to season.  It requires a specialized kiln operation.  It is not a DIY species per my reading.  It also wants to be picked over in the yard to get the color and grain that is desired.  

It is to scream in frustration!  The use of jargon with this causes confusion about which agents to use.
A stain - the noun - applies to a semi transparent paint. It does not penetrate wood. It sits on the surface.  It is largish pigment particles in a binder.
A dye - is near single molecule pigment.  It actually enters into the wood and becomes part of it. As commonly found, the pigment is either dissolved in water or alcohol.
The water based version penetrates more deeply but also can swell surface wood fibers (raise the grain).
The alcohol based version penetrates not as deep, but does not affect the wood surface.
 
Small boxwood blocks  - depth of penetration is not something that can be seen, so alcohol is probably the more efficient version.
If you buy a small quantity of red and black dye.  An endless variety of shades of brown is possible by adjusting the relative ration of the two solutions.
Even more variety is possible if a brown pigment is in the mix.  In any case, a little black goes a long way.
Test on scrap.  This is both more tricky than is first imagined and messy - gloves - skin will dye too and it takes a few days for dyed cells to be shed.
Once you have the desired shade, the intensity can be less by adding more alcohol.
To finish, use a coat of clear shellac on the dyed blocks.
 
Or you could leap to the final stage by doing what the original Navy Board modelers did.  Use garnet color shellac on the raw boxwood.  First coat, 1/2 strength, second coat full strength.

You do not provide a geographic location for where you are at, but in the US most local hardware stores stock Birch dowels.
 
Now, using commercial dowels for spars is a risky but common option.  A cork borer type cutter is used on a board.  The straightness and parallel orientation of the grain is a pure chance factor.
A dowel with grain that is not dead straight will tend to take a dogleg bend over time.  A way to avoid this is to start with a board with straight grain and is of a species of wood with scale appropriate grain and absence of visible pores.  Use a froe to split out a square cross section stick and work it round and tapered.
 
Not germane to this particular problem:
 
We all probably started with plastic kit models of whatever.  If a part is missing or malformed,  it is probably necessary to interact with the kit manufacturer to get a replacement.
Wood kits of ships use a material that is available from many sources.  The cast metal and PE parts are get back to the manufacturer parts, but for the wood, finding outside sources will probably gain you better quality wood to start with and it is the usual way to cross the barrier over into scratch building.
 
There is a fundamental  difference in the mien behind plastic and wood in respect to kits.   Because so much on a wooden ship is basically the same over the wide range of vessels in its slice of time - varying only in size depending on ship size - I suspect that some kit instructions are loosey goosey in the HOW in their instructions because it is like describing water to a fish.  It probably seems redundant when you know what sort of information is generally available.  Plastic is subject specific assembly  and each needs specific instructions.  Wood is fabrication from raw materials and the instructions are a trade set of skills.

While I prefer yellow PVA with water resistant additives -  Titebond II for wood to wood, it dries amber, so mixing it with wood flour for a filler will produce a patch that is a darker shade.
White PVA dries clear. So for homemade filler, this is a better choice.
No water.  Fresh PVA.  Too much wood - it is stiff and crumbly - it needs a workable consistency -  too little wood and it is just a clear plastic with wood salted in. 
A more interesting variable is the particle size of the wood flour.  220 grit is probably about small enough and 80 grit is probably a size too large. I suggest  wood flour in the 100-220 range. 

An efficient way would be to scab on pieces of wood veneer and sand it to shape.
A question that I have from time to time = If it is a first layer of planking on a POB built and the gaps being filled are between planks, Why even use a filler?  The real planking will cover the gaps.  If there is a significant hollow,  the molds being too widely spaced, scabbing wood there would provide a more secure surface for the real planks.

Just setting up at beginning?
 
Is a lot to spend on a machine with limited application in POF.
The up/down action wants to move my work.
 
Instead, consider:
a 14" bandsaw
with an 1/8" blade and a Carter Stablizer - tight cuts can be scrolled
It is true that the blades have more set, so there is more work for
a drum/spindle sander to do ( tilting table here is mostly useless)
to finish to the line.
as well as a good quality disc sander.
 
If you get a bandsaw with a 2 HP motor, you have saw mill / resaw
resources that can save wood costs   You will need a thickness sander though.
It is probably more work than it is worth to try to adapt a spindle sander to
replicate a thickness sander = a fence problem.
 
A first rate like Victory will require a model scale forest at 1:64 / 1:48
 

Quite true! If Jim Byrnes made drawplates with a range of larger diameters, I'd buy them in a hot minute. (Hint... Hint... Hint!)
 
The Byrnes drawplate is a great tool and well worth the price, but it covers a range of very, very small holes. I haven't used mine as much as my larger drawplates because I don't have much call for trunnels and pegs the diameter of a human hair!  You'll need a larger-holed drawplate to get down to the diameter where the Byrnes drawplate even begins. The drill gauges are a good option for the larger diameters and double as... well, drill gauges. 
 
 
 
The short answer is "as little as possible." The less of a "bite" you take on each draw, the less resistance to the pulling and therefore the less breakage and problems holding on to the wood you are pulling through it. A drawplate for metal wire compresses and draws (stretches) the wire (making it longer, actually,) which is why metal wire drawplates have conical sides with a "big hole" side and a "small hole" side. Drawplates for wood scrape wood from the sides of the wood as it passes over the sharp edge of the parallel sides of the holes. This is a big difference between the two. You can flatten the back "small hole" side of a metal wire drawplate and, putting the wood in from the back "small hole" side, use them to fashion wooden dowels, but their conical sides promote breakage of the wood when the wood "wobbles" in the conical hole when being pulled through. 
 
(Note that there is also such a thing as a wooden drawplate which is used by jewelers to size and flatten metal chain links. Wire is wound round a mandrel and the links cut with a jeweler's saw parallel to the mandrel. The resulting round links are slid off the mandrel and linked and soldered individually. The chain is then pulled through the holes in the wooden chain gauge to flatten them into ovals of uniform size. These are great for making chain, but no good for anything else.)
 
The problem is, I don't know of anybody who makes drawplates for wood in a hole diameter range larger than the Byrnes drawplate. Sharpening the back of a drill gauge is apparently the only option. Making your own is possible, but, as said, the cost of the high quality small sized drill bits necessary to drill the required small sized holes is going to set one back far more than the cost of a couple of good drill gauges and a Byrnes drawplate, assuming, even that one can get the job done without breaking a lot of expensive tiny drill bits.

I think:
This will cost more in time and tool wear than any perceived savings from DIY.
The Byrnes is on balance economical.
You can also use two tools that you will otherwise need to have anyway:

 
General Tool #15 1-60 drill gauge.
 

 
General Tool #13  61-80 drill gauge.
Both are SS and can be rubbed on a stone to renew the edge. 
Drill bits go astray and the gauge is needed to identify the size. 
 
If the alternative ready made option is an actual jewelers draw plate - a bad choice - expensive and made for actually drawing wire.  The sizes do not match wire gauge sizes.  They must be used from the wrong side, the taper does not help in grasping the bamboo and using a stone on the small size will enlarge the holes because of the taper (although that would take several lifetimes of rubbing). 
 
In my experience:
There are a blue million species of bamboo - which one is used in any particular bag of bamboo skewers no way to know.
Some are soft and draw easily, but are fragile.  Some are hard and fight being pealed into ever smaller diameters.
The interval between each drill number is often too wide.  Going back thru the same hole more than once but at an ever increasing angle might keep a stick from freezing up in the hole and being the devil to push out.  The harder species are worse at this.
It is not easy to get a grip on the stick.  It is difficult not to crush the tip too much to even get back thru a second pass without shaving a new point.  It is about an every pass step - long skewers help make it provide enough final length - after a tedious, frustrating, and time consuming process.
I have yet to find an ideal gripper.  I have the gripper used to pull wire - scissor action - coarse teeth - wants to crush - even with a piece of sandpaper between the surface and the stick.
I bought parallel grip pliers to try and something else featured here that is waiting for testing.  Something with a groove for the stick may reduce crushing.
 
A bag of plastic test tubes and a test tube stand is a way to store the variety of finished trunnels sorted per diameter.  Some sticks are not going to let you draw them down as small as you want.  They are still useful.
 
 

I think:
This will cost more in time and tool wear than any perceived savings from DIY.
The Byrnes is on balance economical.
You can also use two tools that you will otherwise need to have anyway:

 
General Tool #15 1-60 drill gauge.
 

 
General Tool #13  61-80 drill gauge.
Both are SS and can be rubbed on a stone to renew the edge. 
Drill bits go astray and the gauge is needed to identify the size. 
 
If the alternative ready made option is an actual jewelers draw plate - a bad choice - expensive and made for actually drawing wire.  The sizes do not match wire gauge sizes.  They must be used from the wrong side, the taper does not help in grasping the bamboo and using a stone on the small size will enlarge the holes because of the taper (although that would take several lifetimes of rubbing). 
 
In my experience:
There are a blue million species of bamboo - which one is used in any particular bag of bamboo skewers no way to know.
Some are soft and draw easily, but are fragile.  Some are hard and fight being pealed into ever smaller diameters.
The interval between each drill number is often too wide.  Going back thru the same hole more than once but at an ever increasing angle might keep a stick from freezing up in the hole and being the devil to push out.  The harder species are worse at this.
It is not easy to get a grip on the stick.  It is difficult not to crush the tip too much to even get back thru a second pass without shaving a new point.  It is about an every pass step - long skewers help make it provide enough final length - after a tedious, frustrating, and time consuming process.
I have yet to find an ideal gripper.  I have the gripper used to pull wire - scissor action - coarse teeth - wants to crush - even with a piece of sandpaper between the surface and the stick.
I bought parallel grip pliers to try and something else featured here that is waiting for testing.  Something with a groove for the stick may reduce crushing.
 
A bag of plastic test tubes and a test tube stand is a way to store the variety of finished trunnels sorted per diameter.  Some sticks are not going to let you draw them down as small as you want.  They are still useful.
 
 

I think:
This will cost more in time and tool wear than any perceived savings from DIY.
The Byrnes is on balance economical.
You can also use two tools that you will otherwise need to have anyway:

 
General Tool #15 1-60 drill gauge.
 

 
General Tool #13  61-80 drill gauge.
Both are SS and can be rubbed on a stone to renew the edge. 
Drill bits go astray and the gauge is needed to identify the size. 
 
If the alternative ready made option is an actual jewelers draw plate - a bad choice - expensive and made for actually drawing wire.  The sizes do not match wire gauge sizes.  They must be used from the wrong side, the taper does not help in grasping the bamboo and using a stone on the small size will enlarge the holes because of the taper (although that would take several lifetimes of rubbing). 
 
In my experience:
There are a blue million species of bamboo - which one is used in any particular bag of bamboo skewers no way to know.
Some are soft and draw easily, but are fragile.  Some are hard and fight being pealed into ever smaller diameters.
The interval between each drill number is often too wide.  Going back thru the same hole more than once but at an ever increasing angle might keep a stick from freezing up in the hole and being the devil to push out.  The harder species are worse at this.
It is not easy to get a grip on the stick.  It is difficult not to crush the tip too much to even get back thru a second pass without shaving a new point.  It is about an every pass step - long skewers help make it provide enough final length - after a tedious, frustrating, and time consuming process.
I have yet to find an ideal gripper.  I have the gripper used to pull wire - scissor action - coarse teeth - wants to crush - even with a piece of sandpaper between the surface and the stick.
I bought parallel grip pliers to try and something else featured here that is waiting for testing.  Something with a groove for the stick may reduce crushing.
 
A bag of plastic test tubes and a test tube stand is a way to store the variety of finished trunnels sorted per diameter.  Some sticks are not going to let you draw them down as small as you want.  They are still useful.