Garage Brushes

[fornio]

After reading a few threads on this board where various people have gone ahead and either re-built vintage brushes or turned their own handles, I decided to try my hand at it. Not having a lathe, I ended up using a router and various other hand tools to accomplish it.

I made three, but only had one knot so I ended up epoxying in my knot -- a 22mm silver tip from The Golden Nib -- to the bocote wood one after applying a few coats of polyurethane.

What do you think?

[redgrandam]

Something fun to play around with eh?

time to get a lathe I think. Something that really makes a nice brush handle is the polish and shine you can get with a spun handle on a lathe. and ofcourse nice fancy exotic woods.

[Jim]

Very nice job, enjoy your shave!

[fornio]

Something fun to play around with eh?

time to get a lathe I think. Something that really makes a nice brush handle is the polish and shine you can get with a spun handle on a lathe. and ofcourse nice fancy exotic woods.

I think a lathe is probably going to be my next purchase. I just have to find time to learn to use one, so until I'm done with grad school, it's probably just going to be geometric versions for now.

[SRock]

Well done! Who says every brush has to round?

[Spivey]

That looks great!

[ginhud]

My favorite would be the green one with the dark base. Will be quite nice with a few coats of hi-gloss sealer. Way ta go! Enjoy!

[fornio]

My favorite would be the green one with the dark base. Will be quite nice with a few coats of hi-gloss sealer. Way ta go! Enjoy!

At this point, I've put a couple of coats of a satin polyurethane on it and it's really starting to look nice. I like it quite a bit -- now just have to get a knot to put into it.

[The Nid Hog]

Good job! I think that you'll really enjoy the feeling of using a brush that you made yourself too.

[kingfisher]

Nice looking! Who knew a person could make a brush without a lathe? I kind of like that the shape is different.

[kzoo1]

Nice!

[roughneck]

great job! if the bush works for you then it is a succesfull build.

[fornio]

I used my new brush this morning and was really impressed with it. It's a lot larger than my tweezerman brush I had been using, but still felt pretty firm. I'm curious how it will change over the next couple of shaves.

I was pretty nervous when I first started this morning. I put plenty of poly on the brush handle, but was still nervous that water would somehow penetrate the finish. It seems as though it made it okay though. Now that the first one is complete, it's time to get a few knots and make a few more. I'm thinking maybe boar for the black and green handle?

[cooncatbob]

I used my new brush this morning and was really impressed with it. It's a lot larger than my tweezerman brush I had been using, but still felt pretty firm. I'm curious how it will change over the next couple of shaves.

I was pretty nervous when I first started this morning. I put plenty of poly on the brush handle, but was still nervous that water would somehow penetrate the finish. It seems as though it made it okay though. Now that the first one is complete, it's time to get a few knots and make a few more. I'm thinking maybe boar for the black and green handle?

I used to use Minwax wipe on poly, now I'm using a mixture that I got from a wood turning site.
1/3 Man of War Spar Varnish.
1/3 Tung Oil
1/3 Turpentine

[-Devil-]

looks nice ... i would personally rather have a handle that is not round ... for a better grip on it.

[fornio]

The squarer shape was pretty nice to shave with and really felt good in the hand. I have a few other shapes in mind I want to try out, so hopefully I'll find time to try them out.

[Darjeeling Express]

Great work Fornio.

[domino]

Very nice!