Screwin around on the lathe

[spanx]

I was messin around on the lathe trying to get to know it.I decided to try and recreate some popular handle shapes.Not too bad or good for only using a parting tool and an easy finisher.

[spindlecone]

Looks great, am On my lathe at least 4 hrs a day.
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b328/spindlecone/makinchips.jpg

[Kirby]

Gorgeous work to you both!

My grandfather is also a wood turner but I think he might look at me a little funny if I start asking for custom shaving brush handles. Actually... maybe he'll just take it as something new he hasn't done before! :)

[bowlturner]

Spanx, nice shapes on the first handles. Spindlecone, is that a friction fit between the knot hole and the tube? Kirby, grandpa will make you handles because he will enjoy the challenge.

[beginish]

Very nice work, guys.

Spanx, what kind of wood did you use? I love the grain/ring pattern.

[weenerdog3443]

I love the one on the far left. If I only had a lathe

[slpknt10l03]

very nice work, guys.

Spanx, what kind of wood did you use? I love the grain/ring pattern.

+1

[spindlecone]

Spanx, nice shapes on the first handles. Spindlecone, is that a friction fit between the knot hole and the tube? Kirby, grandpa will make you handles because he will enjoy the challenge.

Use sockets that are close in size, wrap tape around them if needed to get a friction fit, thats the way I do my final sanding and polish.

[spanx]

Thanks fellas.Although there made from pine, the diagonal cut makes the sap lines really stand out.Do any of you use diagonal cuts on your turnings?

[PozzSka]

List those in the BST and you might have a good market. :).

[bowlturner]

Spindlecone, thank you.

[skipnord]

Neat trick, Spindlecone - why didn't I think of that. What tools do you use when you turn plastic? I'm just starting to mess with home-made butterscotch polyester, and I haven't got the chatter under control yet.

[spindlecone]

Neat trick, Spindlecone - why didn't I think of that. What tools do you use when you turn plastic? I'm just starting to mess with home-made butterscotch polyester, and I haven't got the chatter under control yet.

I use carbide on everything EXCEPT Plastic (the two do not work).
For plastic I use HSS at 1250 RPM,stanley sureform rasps also work well for plastic on the lathe.

[Walker]

I love the one on the far left. If I only had a lathe

Sung to the tune "If I only had a Brain" from the Wizard of Oz lol

[Gamma]

Those are awesome! - I really like the one that's standing second from the right.

[skipnord]

I use carbide on everything EXCEPT Plastic (the two do not work).
For plastic I use HSS at 1250 RPM,stanley sureform rasps also work well for plastic on the lathe.
Interesting - Thanks. I was just messing around, squaring up a blank, and I had my best luck with a parting tool, 90 degrees to normal use. I thought perhaps a minimal point of contact worked best. I'm just a beginner with plastic, so any suggestions are welcome. I wish I had a small metal lathe to try with it. The worst chatter seemed to come when I didn't have solid contact with the tool rest. Here is one I did with TGN plastic.

[spindlecone]

looks great:)

[bob.e]

love that last brush really nice looking:thumbup1:

[Darjeeling Express]

Spanx, outstanding work. I too like the chubby one on the left with the Falstaffian belly, but the base on the next one over looks like a more comfortable grip. Who cares. Beautiful work!

[Scrom]

Great work, Spanx. After seeing your handles, the urge to get a lathe is powerful.

[spanx]

Thanks for the kind words fellas.These were my first attempts at any of these shapes. i only had pictures from the reviews section to go by. Left to right;kent, edwinn jagger, shavemac, le08. The kent like shape came closest I think

[spanx]

Well I got to messin around again.This time with cocobolo.Although it's not a brush it is brush related because i am going to use the wood for a handle the next time I get my hands on a knot.What do you fellers think of cocobolo.I love the colors of this wood.Black, brown, purple, tan, even a couple spots of orange.

[Drybonz]

Here is one I did with TGN plastic.

That is AWESOME! :w00t:

[scg1981]

Those look really nice. Have you tried rosewood yet?

[Walter Sobchak]

Spanx, looks awesome. Those are some nice handles. I can just picture them under some stain and lacquer. Love the look of natural woodgrain. The grain looks great on those.

[skipnord]

Nice work on the pizza cutter! Where did you get the black metal kit? I've only seen stainless!

[spanx]

Those look really nice. Have you tried rosewood yet?

Not yet, this was my first time working with an exotic wood.


Nice work on the pizza cutter! Where did you get the black metal kit? I've only seen stainless!

It's a stainless kit.The flash just makes it look black.


Spanx, looks awesome. Those are some nice handles. I can just picture them under some stain and lacquer. Love the look of natural woodgrain. The grain looks great on those.

Thanks I like the diagonal grain too.Id like to use a nice exotic such as wenge or kingwood or cocobolo but a large enough blank to get the cut from is a little pricey.

[spanx]

Here's one I just finished today.I went with a shavemac profile and decided to busy it up a little.I sanded it thrugh 2000 grit wet.Finish is minwax finishing paste.The knot is a 24mm superbadger set at 53mm loft.I will make a bold statement her by saying that I believe the treated sivr tip hair used in this knot is the same treated hair used by rooney in their super silvertip brushes.The hair is identical in appearance and feel both wet and dry.I do think that this brush head is a little denser but that may be due to the shape of the head. I'll get some pics up later comparing the two side by side.

[Mack]

Very pretty!

[spanx]

here are a few pics of the gnib super next to a t-h branded rooney super. The first pic with t-h on the right, following pics the t-h is on the left.After useing the brush I'm convinced that the har is the same.

[CharlieTN]

Spanx,

Beautiful looking work.

I love cocobolo. Use it for knife handles quite a bit. The dust doesn't seem to irritate my sking like it does a lot of folks. Have you had any luck getting a finish to work on it? Most everyone I've talked too said that nothing will. However since it is so oily I bet it wouldn't matter much anyway.


Charlie

[CharlieTN]

Wanted to post this separately:

Are there any brush handles out there that are not symetrical in design?

Has anyone tried usine any of the modern resin laminates such as Micarta, G10 or such?

I've used them for knife handles and they work very well in and around water/blood/oil. remain quite grippy.

Charlie

[spindlecone]

have made alot of brush handles out of Micarta and G10,is nasty stuff to turn but great handle material.

[spanx]

Spanx,

Beautiful looking work.

I love cocobolo. Use it for knife handles quite a bit. The dust doesn't seem to irritate my sking like it does a lot of folks. Have you had any luck getting a finish to work on it? Most everyone I've talked too said that nothing will. However since it is so oily I bet it wouldn't matter much anyway.


Charlie

After reading lots of material on finishing cocobolo mostly about how oily this wood is and how it interferes with finishes I decided not to put a finish on it.I'm just begining to learn to work with wood.

[grump]

Great job Spanx!

It is very satisfying using something you created with your own hands.

[spanx]

Well, so much for believing what others say about cocobolo being highly water resistant or waterproof.My handle I turned a couple of shaves ago cracked in 3 places.Good thing I only used a dab of epoxy, just in case this happened.The knot is safe so I'm not terribly heartbroken.

[California Cajun]

I was messin around on the lathe trying to get to know it.I decided to try and recreate some popular handle shapes.Not too bad or good for only using a parting tool and an easy finisher.

Wow, don't stop there. You could probably make some stunning and space saving holders for your razors, brushes, and other shaving needs. :thumbup1:

[skipnord]

Well, so much for believing what others say about cocobolo being highly water resistant or waterproof.My handle I turned a couple of shaves ago cracked in 3 places.Good thing I only used a dab of epoxy, just in case this happened.The knot is safe so I'm not terribly heartbroken.

Could be the cocobolo was not dry when you turned it. I get my blanks from Rockler, and they are waxed to keep them from drying out - they are easier to turn when the wood is still wet - but, it will dry and shrink after you turn it. The plastic plug on the bottom of the knot will not allow the wood to shrink, hence the crack you got. I've heard you can quick dry wood in a micro wave - maybe that would be a good step to add. Personally, I've never had a problem with cracking, but maybe next time. Thanks for bringing this up.
PS - try tung oil on the oily hardwoods.

[cooncatbob]

Some wood are more prone to cracking then others.
Snakewood and Black and White Ebony can be especially difficult in this regards.
I bought a large blank of Amboyna burl off e-bay, when I received it it was sealed with varnish.
When I cut the wood into smaller blanks I found that the wood was soaking wet.
I cut wood into small blank and weighed the wood and wrote the weight on the blank.
I kept the wood inside and weighed it until the weight had stabilized, about 6 weeks.

[spindlecone]

both these Coco handles are no less than 3 yrs old,zero cracks.
When you buy grade A exotic wood, the seller should know the water content (if a major dealer) easy to do, takes 30 secs.
I won't buy wood to turn unless it is 10% or less moisture content,on the other hand I have large resawn pces that are waxed and will take a couple yrs to dry.
Yes you can dry wood in your microwave,you can also have a major explosion that will break the glass door (been there done that)
Another way to remove moisture is to cut your wood into your handle blank size, soak the wood in denatured alcohol for 5 days and air dry for 30 days.
Tung oil is not a good finish on any wood IMO.
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b328/spindlecone/coco.jpg

[Gary Young]

Interesting - Thanks. I was just messing around, squaring up a blank, and I had my best luck with a parting tool, 90 degrees to normal use. I thought perhaps a minimal point of contact worked best. I'm just a beginner with plastic, so any suggestions are welcome. I wish I had a small metal lathe to try with it. The worst chatter seemed to come when I didn't have solid contact with the tool rest. Here is one I did with TGN plastic.

Cat amongst the pigeons time again.....!!

If you ever want to know the Simpson family 'tricks of the trade' for handle turning drop me a PM. Here to help you guys!!!

[spanx]

Could be the cocobolo was not dry when you turned it. I get my blanks from Rockler, and they are waxed to keep them from drying out - they are easier to turn when the wood is still wet - but, it will dry and shrink after you turn it. The plastic plug on the bottom of the knot will not allow the wood to shrink, hence the crack you got. I've heard you can quick dry wood in a micro wave - maybe that would be a good step to add. Personally, I've never had a problem with cracking, but maybe next time. Thanks for bringing this up.
PS - try tung oil on the oily hardwoods.

That sounds reasonable although Rockler said that it was kiln dried.Also on their website they say it is waterproof. B.S. When I found the cracks I decided I may as well get one more lather out of it before I unknoted it. The wood swelled enough that you could no longer feel the cracks even though they were still visible.

I got another done out of walnut. just waiting for the spar to set up. we'll see how well that holds up. i may just have to break down and get my hands dirty with some synthetics.

[spanx]

Some wood are more prone to cracking then others.
Snakewood and Black and White Ebony can be especially difficult in this regards.
I bought a large blank of Amboyna burl off e-bay, when I received it it was sealed with varnish.
When I cut the wood into smaller blanks I found that the wood was soaking wet.
I cut wood into small blank and weighed the wood and wrote the weight on the blank.
I kept the wood inside and weighed it until the weight had stabilized, about 6 weeks.


both these Coco handles are no less than 3 yrs old,zero cracks.
When you buy grade A exotic wood, the seller should know the water content (if a major dealer) easy to do, takes 30 secs.
I won't buy wood to turn unless it is 10% or less moisture content,on the other hand I have large resawn pces that are waxed and will take a couple yrs to dry.
Yes you can dry wood in your microwave,you can also have a major explosion that will break the glass door (been there done that)
Another way to remove moisture is to cut your wood into your handle blank size, soak the wood in denatured alcohol for 5 days and air dry for 30 days.
Tung oil is not a good finish on any wood IMO.
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b328/spindlecone/coco.jpg

Thanks for the tips fellas, much appreciated.Hopefully I can remember them next time I get an exotic breed to use on the old SS.