Oops I bought a lathe....

[bud crekorn]

Dave, I have a friend in the printing business, he has a laser that can engrave. You might want to look in your phone book for print shops near you who may use lasers, you could set up with him to put on logos and even custom engravings.

BTW, gorgeous work you got going on there!

 

[Batman9402]

Very nice what knot size was the first brush looked massive

 

[Mr Moustache]

First brush is a 28 I believe, this one is 24

 

[mrlandpirate]

What could be in this box you ask?

View attachment 418478

A nice vintage unimat, I already had the resin stock waiting.
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Turning it down...
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Seeing what it looks like polished up.
View attachment 418482

Now I'm only getting started here but there will be plenty more to come. I'm open to suggestions on shapes to try and cool things. I will be trying to make a razor handle soon as well.

I can't wait until my supplier has the moonjava resin back in stock!

Regards
Dave

This has nothing to do with the lathe or the beautiful handles you've made. in the back round is that inside you home? if yes your my hero!

 

[Dave Colangelo]

Very nice what knot size was the first brush looked massive

Yup its a 28 and yup its quite massive. Although I love the brush its bordering on a bit to big. I think 24 is that really sweet spot for me. I have another fun one coming soon ill post pics tonight.

This has nothing to do with the lathe or the beautiful handles you've made. in the back round is that inside you home? if yes your my hero!

Yes it is the inside of my home, any specific reason I am your hero? I will admit it makes quite a mess...

Regards
Dave

 

[Captain Murphy]

It seems as though the large majority of threads and posts in this section are contributing to brush restorations. I have seen but a sliver of people who make their own brushes. With this, I wanted to post my inquiry:

I am going to make my first brush when my knot gets here. I have a lot of experience with wood working and turning on wood lathes so this aspect of my process is all set. I will be making my brush handle out of curl leaf mountain mahogany, it's a northwestern hardwood...I'm talking hard stuff, makes black walnut look like a sponge. It's not porous and it polishes up like metal. I plan on finishing it with a high grade Polycrylic or polyurethane. For the knot, I ordered a 24mm finest two band badger knot from the golden nib. This brings me to my first question: for those of you who make brushes, how do you go about boring the hole for the knot to set in? My first thought was a forstner bit. I then thought, well I can just do it on the lathe but I think I can be more precise with the forstner and my drill press. My second question is about that small metal ring that you see on some brushes...I am not familiar with its technical name but I wanted to get some input on that. Is it necessary? If so, what's it's purpose? I personally do not find it appealing to the brushes appearance. Thanks in advance for the help, gents. Take care.

-CAP

 

[Dave Colangelo]

Ill answer your questions with the methods I use ymmv.

For the hole I use a boring bar and cut the resin to fit. I do this all by feel, bore a bit, test fit, bite again. You can use a Forster but but since knots are generally random size you run the risk of drilling a hole to big or to small and will have to sand it out after. To the best of my knowledge wood lathes do not have the capability to put a boring bar since they don't have a carage to mount to. If you can get a Forster bit set that has every thing going up 1mm at a time, the bits will be fine.

The ring helps to tighten the knot if you desire. There are many brushes that do not have these bands and they are you choice to put on or not. I think they serve mainly for looks.


Regards
Dave

 

[Captain Murphy]

Ill answer your questions with the methods I use ymmv.

For the hole I use a boring bar and cut the resin to fit. I do this all by feel, bore a bit, test fit, bite again. You can use a Forster but but since knots are generally random size you run the risk of drilling a hole to big or to small and will have to sand it out after. To the best of my knowledge wood lathes do not have the capability to put a boring bar since they don't have a carage to mount to. If you can get a Forster bit set that has every thing going up 1mm at a time, the bits will be fine.

The ring helps to tighten the knot if you desire. There are many brushes that do not have these bands and they are you choice to put on or not. I think they serve mainly for looks.


Regards
Dave

Hey thanks for the reply, Dave. I thought the same thing about the forstner bits not matching the knot base but I think I can go a tiny bit bigger and compensate with epoxy if needed. My lathe has a custom made carriage (made by yours truly) that allows me to bore horizontally ;-) as far as the ring, I'll probably leave it off. Thanks again Dave, take care.

-CAP

 

[Dave Colangelo]

I got a nice big chunk of zebra to play with. This one is a bit longer than the other pieces I have ordered so I'm going for a longer more slender brush.




Regards
Dave

 

[Captain Murphy]

Looking good, Dave. I can't wait to show you and everyone else this mahogany. It's one of my favorite hardwoods to turn. What do you use to glue in your knots? And what do you seal the brush handle with to protect against water/steam?

 

[Dave Colangelo]

Looking good, Dave. I can't wait to show you and everyone else this mahogany. It's one of my favorite hardwoods to turn. What do you use to glue in your knots? And what do you seal the brush handle with to protect against water/steam?

Generally speaking any 2 part epoxy will do. I have used a variety of them all with great success. The only thing to keep in mind is that when epoxy (well large amounts) of it set there is an exothermic reaction so make sure all the materials can handle that.

As for protecting against steam and water, the resin brushes I make are not covered in anything. They are all just polished up and left as is. For your wood you have a few options, any kind of wax that you would use on say wooden eating things or wooden bowls, will work. You can also use a few coats of polyurethane applied as you like and sanded to the desired finish. The water will eventually hit the wood, the only thing you can do at this point is mitigate the issue.

Regards
Dave

 

[Dave Colangelo]

The zebra polished up really well, this may be one of my new favorite brushes.





Regards
Dave

 

[VerbaVolant]

...And what do you seal the brush handle with to protect against water/steam?

Stabilize the wood in a vacuum chamber. Plenty of videos if you google. You can use a manual vacuum pump (for bleeding brake lines) and build a really cheap setup.
Coating will not help at all.
I am no expert so do a bit of research before you decide for yourself.

 

[gdgeorge]

C/A glue makes a pretty resistant finish.

 

[California Cajun]

That is stunning work. Are you new at handling a lathe or are you experienced at this?

 

[Dave Colangelo]

That is stunning work. Are you new at handling a lathe or are you experienced at this?

This is somewhat of a loaded question. These brushes are the first thing I have ever turned using files and chisels in a more wood turning style. I did have limited experience turning metal pieces on a lathe in college. All in all before these brushes I have spend maybe 25 hours behind a lathe.

Regards
Dave

 

[Mr Moustache]

The zebra polished up really well, this may be one of my new favorite brushes.

View attachment 432514
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Regards
Dave

that is a sweet handle style there, I like how there is a dip in the midsection. Much like the fat bottom girl but so much different.

 

[craig lorence]

You are sure turning some beautiful brushes Glad your having all sort of fun.

 

[Dave Colangelo]

Played around with the southwestern moon java today. Came out very well with only one issue. I was so aggressive when boring that the stock heated up to the point it was soft as rubber. It did harden back up but I was a bit worried. This is actually a makeup brush for the misses but similar in both shape and size so I figured I would share it.



Regards
Dave

 

[BSAGuy]

That zebra is amazing. Great thread.