The MacGyver Brush

Roderick said:

Did I miss the rest of the story on the "life saving baton"?

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Haha No you didn't miss it, I just never told it here. Long story short, the crack you see at one end of that baton is in fact a crack that happened on the side of a Shotgun that was pointed at me long long ago. I have kept that baton every since that day because although I was taught to cooperate with armed folks, if I had cooperated instead of acting that day I found out later I would be dead because that person had already killed 2 or three other folks.

Here is the progress I have made today, kinda "Steam Punk-ish" look to it thus far LMAO:




Hope it ultimately comes out okay

My only question is where is a good place to get a nice Knot to put into this thing when I am done with it and what should I use to secure it in there?? Never done this before so I am kinda lost after getting the wood work done.

What is the OD of the baton? What will be the largest home you can drill in it. I like the brass and wood look. Can you fit another brass on the òpposite end and fit the knot in there? Common knot sizes are 19, 20,and 22 mm. There are a lot of threads dealing with knot attachment.

The baton is a 30 or 31mm diameter, I do not have a caliper to measure it with but I put it up against a 30mm Ecig Mod I have and it looks to be right about the same diameter. The hole I bored out for the Knot is right at 21mm as I have a 20mm atomizer so that one is definitely spot on at 21 or 22 mm. I have to say, this is a very tedious process with just a drill, a dremmel, a four sided file and some sand paper LMAO However it is somehow very relaxing and therapeutic as well for me.

Here is the progress thus far:

Side view, (I will be taking the waist bevel in a bit more, just had to take a break since my hand were killing me and I almost dropped it):


And here is the top view of the bore for the knot, it is about a half inch deep. I used progressively larger drill bits to open it up and then used the dremmel with a flat ended turbine shaped bit to bore it out to an even flat bottom to the desired diameter.




I bought some Marine Lacquer to coat it and make it resistant to the wet environment it will ultimately be in as a shaving brush. That should seal it up really well to avoid it drying and cracking with use. Once I get the knot I will get some Marine Epoxy to set it in place and have myself my very first home made Silvertip Badger Brush

Looking good!

That's looking great, Devon!

Big Jim said:

Looking good!

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fordfather said:

That's looking great, Devon!

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Thank you very much, this is my very first attempt at anything like this, therefore of course it will always be in my collection. I do however hope to be able to make more of them to share at some point. I am very much enjoying this project. Although quite tedious without certain unauthorized machines, it is far more intellectually challenging and will mean much much more when I am done and using it in my daily shaves. As I am Navy and this is the very first Brush I have made, it is only fitting that it be named. That Name will be Constellation. Not only the very first Frigate ever to set sail in the U.S. Navy, it is also the name of the very first ship I myself ever served on.

Sincerely;
Nate

Okay, almost time for Marine Lacquer!!! Just waiting for the wood conditioner to be fully absorbed by the handle then I will lacquer it. I am using 100% pure organic coconut oil to condition the wood as it is also an antibacterial as well as a moisturizer I also decided to do a two fingered grip for the handle as well instead of the standard concave hourglass shape or the outward pudgy fat belly type. Something new and interesting in my opinion

The color is REALLY coming out in the wood now, I love the red and black tones in this. they really compliment the brass:


Now I gotta find a 22 mm Silvertip Badger Knot that is worth a darn to put into this bugger

Nate

Loooooking good.

I like the color coming out of that wood.

Will the coconut oil prevent your lacquer from adhering, though?

redrider_99 said:

I like the color coming out of that wood.

Will the coconut oil prevent your lacquer from adhering, though?

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Thank you very much, I am really loving the color myself. The wood for this project comes from a security baton that I have had for over 25 years. It is so dried that the extremely thin layer, (thin as in I dabbed about 1 drop of coconut oil on my finger and rubbed them together to coat both), that I rubbed on the wood was almost immediately absorbed completely. So the lacquer should stick nicely as I intend to do one last fine sandpaper once over on this prior to applying the first coat of lacquer in order for it to have a slightly rough surface for the lacquer to grab on to and work it's way into the pores of the wood. Once the first coat dries I will apply a second coat for thickness and longevity and then piece everything together completely once that coat has time to dry totally. This way I have a very long lasting seal over all of the wood. Once the brass base ring is installed and the screws are set flush I will then apply one last coat of lacquer over the whole thing for a watertight seal around the entire length and set of parts. By the time I finish all of that I should have settled on a brush head to use and it should be here so I can set the head in there and give it a week or so to cure fully.

Tagua nuts arrived

Mike H said:

Tagua nuts arrived
View attachment 585297

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Hurry up and carve! I'm excited to see the outcome!

I see a wee scot in my future


These things are ridiculously hard. Belt grinder dremel and files will be ticket here.

Taking shape now...

What dimensions are you at now?

23 x 36

That is a wee scott! It'll make for a good travel sized brush!

First coat of lacquer is done and it is looking quite nice thus far. I will sand it and put the second coat on tomorrow. Once it is dry I can install the brass collar and then seal that together with another coat of lacquer as well.

Mike H said:

Taking shape now...

View attachment 585314

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Looking good Mike, that promises to be an excellent little Wee Scott

Looks good Nate, what knot are you going with?