This my first hand made brush. First of all, I want to thank Jim (@Jayaruh) for his inspiration and pointers. I could not have done this without him. I decided to go "free-form" and not do a turned version. I cut the base shape using a band saw and then a whole bunch of sanding. I have a table top drill press so I cut the knot hole using a Forstner Bit. The wood is Cocobolo; the knot is a TGN Finest (20mm). I finished it with eight coats of Watco Danish Oil (Natural) and several coats of Minwax Wood and Furniture paste polish. I am pleased. I have several more on the queue. This is fun.
Jim, The one thing that made me a little nervous was when I epoxied in the knot. Too much and you ruin the knot and the handle, although the handle could be re-sanded and re-finished. I put about an 1/8th inch or so of epoxy in the bottom of the knot hole, pressed in the knot, and then gave it about half a turn under pressure to work the epoxy up the side of the knot. I also roughed up the bottom of the knot with some 80 grit sandpaper hoping the knot would grab a little better. I made the tolerance between the brush and knot pretty tight so it should hold.
It sounds like you thought it through pretty good. After I dry fit, I go back and coat the whole inside of the knot with epoxy. That is to basically water proof the inside. I then put some epoxy on the bottom and press the knot into the hole. So far, no ooze. That is a fine looking brush, my friend.
All, Thanks for the kind words. I have several more in the queue. Gotta figure out what to do with some of my store bought brushes. Also, the knots you can purchase are as good as the ones used in commercially produced brushes. Jim gave a pointer to Virginia Sheng. Great prices and decent shipping. There are some sites that offer free shipping.
