As some of you know we lost our fox terrier awhile back and ended up with a rescue dog. He's quite the character. Last night he turned his first brush handle. Not bad for a little guy with no thumbs. His finish work is a little weak but he'll work on it.
Very Nice Sparky! I need to get a mini lathe. If a fella was looking at making brushes with 28-30 mm knots, what size stock does he need to start with? Where would he locate such blanks?
I wouldn't want to have a diameter less than a 1.5" and that will depend on your design. Wood isn't an issue, but for acrylics look for game call blanks and bottle stopper blanks. Penn State Industries has a decent supply of stuff and look for any place that sell wood turning supplies. Ebay even has a fair amount. You'll have figure out how to keep your tools sharp and some of the acrylics I use will eat up an edge quickly. I can usually get 2 to 3 handles before going back and having to sharpen them again. On wood, when your tools get dull you get grain tear out, a dull blade on acrylics will cause chipping. The acrylic above is a piece of cake compared to the clear stuff.
Man, his turning ability is better then mine can I borrow Sparky ??? is he available for hire I really like the slight little flair he did on the knot entrance.. Let him know I would pay in any type of biscuits he likes
Would you mind training my dog? I can get him to come when it is dinner time and the occasional high five, but that is some impressive work by the little guy.
Soon ol' Sparky will be chugging out brushes faster than you! Great job, I really like the coloration on that one!
Thanks everybody, just having a little fun with this post. He just might be a shop rat, he likes to hide his chew sticks in the shavings on the floor. Of course he doesn't chew any of the chew sticks he just hides them. He has them stashed all over the house. I'm pretty sure there's a good dose of Jack Russell "terrorist" in his bloodline somewhere.
Lol just as long as he doesn't suddenly go nuts and chew up his creation or hide it down the toilet..
Great Job !! I think I may have my winter time project lined up ,,, wish I had time this summer to knock the dust off the lathe but have to much to do at the moment.
Sparky is really cute. And the brush is very nice also. What size bit did you use to drill the hole in that handle? I'm looking to start turning my own handles and wondering what size to use to drill the blank.
