Molten Bronze Handle for WD 16 mm

[Big Jim]

I had some lathe time today as well as help from the lathe owner.

I had originally planned on using the Marinara Sauce turning blank, but finally landed on the Molten Bronze one, mainly because the different colored swirls were more pronounced. I still have the Marinara Sauce and Snowball blanks for future projects. I also had a titanium blank that I gave my lathe owning friend out of gratitude for his help and equipment. Titanium still seems it would be too heavy. In normal light the end product looks a lot like a beautiful piece of burl wood. In more intense light the true fire in the colors shows up. Unfortunately, photographs don't do it justice.

#1 Finished handle

#2 Finished handle with camera flash exaggerating the fire in the color

#3 Finished handle alongside it's silvertip brethren - The intent was to have a smaller diameter but taller handle than the WD 16 complete brush next to it - The diameter is close to the Erskine that I re-knotted a while back, with the approximate shape and height of the Water Buffalo Horn 23 mm - I couldn't be happier with the results

#4 Knot in place but not yet glued and next to WD 16 mm complete brush - Since the same knot is used, it is expected that the new brush in bloom will be as full it's black handled sibling - I'm trying to gain a little loft in the process - I'll post a picture in full bloom in a few days

The finished product feels as good as it looks

 

[Jimbob]

Beautiful work!

 

[GDCarrington]

Very nice indeed!

 

[alpster]

Sweet handle and a beauty of a brush. Great work!

Ronnie

 

[Big Jim]

And here it is in full bloom. I set it yesterday and shaved with it this morning. In use it is pretty much exactly what I was after. This is a rarity, a small travel brush in silvertip. I had no trouble getting three passes out of it this morning. Both the handle and the knot is comfortable and performs very well. I did succeed in setting the knot with just a touch more loft. I gained about 2 1/2 to 3 mm. This shot was taken with a different camera and it seems to better show the brush off.

 

[MeanGene]

The color looks great, nice work.

 

[tomcj2]

What is the actual diameter of the knot now that you have it mounted?

 

[Big Jim]

Of course, the base is 16 mm. I'll need to measure the bloom and get back to you. I'm about to go out the door for work right now but I should be able to get back on that this evening.

 

[tomcj2]

The reason I ask is that I have bought 2, black 16mm knots, and 1, ST 16mm from WDog. Both bottom plugs measure 16mm but the Black would require 18.4mm and the ST is a whopping 20.3 mm diameter hole in the handle if I wanted to mount them 13mm or deeper.

 

[Big Jim]

The diameter of the knot where it emerges from the handle is 18 mm.

When machining the handle, I bored the hole 16 mm and 6 mm deep. I quit measuring at that point and increased the diameter until there was a little room for the glue line and the depth until the plug was barely fully inserted. Unlike you, I was after loft so I set it as high as I could.

For anyone else's curiosity, here are the rest of the dimensions:

Handle height 52 mm
Handle diameter at base 31 mm
Handle diameter at widest spot on the barrel 29 mm
Handle diameter at narrowest spot 21 mm
Knot diameter when not in bloom 45 mm
Knot diameter in bloom 53 mm
Knot loft 46 mm
Total height 97 mm

For comparison, the WD complete brush dimensions are:

Knot diameter where it emerges from the handle 20.5 mm
Handle height 46 mm
Handle diameter at base 33 mm - 35 mm (base is oval)
Handle diameter at widest spot 36 mm - 37 mm
Handle diameter at narrowest spot 29 mm - 30 mm
Knot in bloom and not in bloom the same as above
Knot loft 43 mm
Brush total height 87 mm