Thread: First attempt..with long story!

I got my Dad's wood lathe and had NO IDEA what I was doing.
I did know that when I tightened the stock in between the points that the pulley system should NOT move.
So the FIRST problem I had was to fix that issue.
LONG story short the bearings and snap rings were in the wrong place....

So now the turning could begin!
So what do these tools do?
Took a couple scrap pieces and just started playing around:


Watched a couple vids to get an idea of what I actually should be doing.
Got some lignum vitae and went to town.
Man is this stuff HARD!!!!!!!!!

So I got my basic shape and started sanding to smooth it all out.
Well my 4 jaw chuck is in the mail so I had to find a way to drill the knot hole.
Bought a set of forstner bits and figured I will just drill it out in the wood vice.
That worked out pretty well except I needed a 15/16" and I didn't have one in the set I bought!
Off to the bay to order one!

Out comes the dremel and the drum sander.
This also turned out pretty well to my surprise.

Bought a 24mm Silvertip Premium from TGN.
NICE knot!

So how deep do I drill the hole to set the knot in?
Off to the advanced search feature because I KNOW that someone has asked this before....

After MUCH searching and reading I saw the post that said to try it at 52mm.
Out come the calipers and the forstner bit and the drum sander again....

Once again this went pretty darn well.

My cousin raises bees and I saw him today and I got some wax from him.
Took it home and put the brush blank back in the lathe and polished it up with that.
I think it turned out pretty well, what do you guys think?

YES it is a L O N G handle on it... I wanted to try that out as I have pretty big hands and long fingers so I wanted some more room.

Here it is:





ps... I still have not glued the knot in yet in case I wanted to or need to shorten it up.

Keep dinkin around,will all come to you down the road

Originally Posted by pixelfixed

Keep dinkin around,will all come to you down the road

It is a LOT of FUN to do!
Hope I don't get another "disorder"

That is the Empire State building of brushes. Cool design to it. Would work like brass knuckles if anybody dare walk into the bathroom while your shaving. You know I favor the long type brush even though the majority of brushes are short. Puts my hands farther from the mess so my hands are clean on the razor. Nice work Chev hope it works for you as good as it looks.

Originally Posted by Chevhead

It is a LOT of FUN to do!
Hope I don't get another "disorder"

trust me, you will my tooling has cost at least ten times what a lathe costs.

Thanks 10pups... I have the same problem. I would like to keep my hands clean... This should do it..lol

Oh great pixelfixed... I see what you are saying! Some of the tools are CRAZY MONEY!

I agree with 10 pups. Longer better. I like them a tad longer also. But as you are working with your lathe always keep your mind on the job at hand and stay safe! I know you will, but just a friendly reminder.
Like Pixel said about tooling, you can put down a lot of scratch for just tooling.
I have owned many machines in my time. Buying the machine is one thing. Tooling it is much much more of a cost when said and done!!
Anyway, great start, great handle!! We will be expecting more of the same from you then!!!!!!

Ray

Case in point about tooling,I just ebayed my complete set of hardinge 3C collets,Closure and nose pce for alot more than my lathe is worth.

Thanks Walleyeman (Ray)!
Safety is important... Although it seems pretty common sense....s sometimes we tend to forget....especially when working with something New and Exciting! It is a good reminder!

Thanks for the kind words, I hope to do some more and I have a couple people here to look up to for inspiration!

Originally Posted by pixelfixed

Case in point about tooling,I just ebayed my complete set of hardinge 3C collets,Closure and nose pce for alot more than my lathe is worth.

If I can make brushes 1/2 as nice as you do... It might be worth it!