When varnish them, I dip one tip first about 3/4s the way down and put it on a rack made out of chicken wire to dry for 24 hours. Then I repeat the process with the butt end. And tommorrow, I'll finish up the current batch by dipping them tip first again then they'll checked on monday for anything odd and left to dry on the rack until wensday. I use oak tone shellac, that way I can tell at a glance is there is a spot that was missed.

And DougM, I know all about the funky fumes. Wheeeeee..... :P Not really. I do this on a room with windows on both ends. One window has a fine in it suck air in from the outside, the other is set up with an exhaust fan. And a third fan is behind me, to vent fumes away.