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First brush completed

Wanted to share. I've been turning for a few months now and completed my first brush today. The wood is Matai I believe, dyed with Kiwi boot polish and finished in CA. It has a 28mm Synthetic knot.

Feedback would be great, thanks in advance.
 

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Interesting choice of die, it looks good. Almost looks lightly burnt and reminds me of a wine barrel. I like it.
 

Graydog

Biblical Innards
Interesting choice of die, it looks good. Almost looks lightly burnt and reminds me of a wine barrel. I like it.

How long did you let the boot polish dry before go over it with the CA ?
Did you use it yet :) How does it feel in your hand when you make a Lather ?
 
Thanks for the feedback :)

How long did you let the boot polish dry before go over it with the CA ?
Did you use it yet :) How does it feel in your hand when you make a Lather ?

Not long at all, maybe 30 seconds, i'm a bit impatient with the finish. Actually, i need to go back and watch how to do a CA finish again. Still not quite getting uniform good results as you can see in the photo below with the duller areas on the handles.

I did use it this morning. It's quite large but feels good, my thumb sits very comfortably in the lower cove. The knot has a lot of backbone. Probably too much for me. Given the loft is quite long at 58mm i suspect its the knot.

Two from today, both the same finish and dye. The one on the left is Totara, which is very nice to turn with its dense grain, on the right is a mystery wood. Both synthetic knots.
 

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I always like seeing the shapes people choose for their handmade handles. It's cool that everyone can put their own touch and vision into a handmade handle.
 
A few more from today. Still figuring out the finish as you can see. Knot on the left is a high mountain badger, the rest are synthetic. Woods are still NZ locals, Rimu and Matai. Rimu is terrible to work with, won't be using it again. I think the one on the right is my favorite, reminds me of a cartoon character like Foghorn Leghorn with an over sized chest and tiny legs.
 

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For CA finish I have found that putting on several thin coats then sanding smooth then several thin coats and sanding to final finish. I am really new to CA finishing so if there is a better way I'd like to know. Also a thread I found very informative on brush making is Brush Knot Depth?
 
New one today, happy with the shape. Not the wood and I'm still having trouble getting the finish good but there was some improvement. I wish it was as easy as it looks in the guides. Finding the fumes burn my eyes.

Also, pro tip, wear glasses. I forgot to lower mine when applying a sanding pad today and ended up with CA slurry in my eye. Thankfully it was mostly set and a trip to the emergency department flushed the rest out.
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ajkel64

Check Out Chick
Staff member
What sort of wood did you use? It looks okay to me. Glad that your eye is okay too. We need them.
 
What sort of wood did you use? It looks okay to me. Glad that your eye is okay too. We need them.

Thanks, we sure do, me in particular as it got in my one good one.

That picture is pretty dark now i look at it, will do better next time. The wood is Matai.
 

Graydog

Biblical Innards
Very nice Larry . I always stand off to the side when applying CA and make sure that the lathe is at it's slowest speed
 
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