Rubberset #3 clone, strike two...

[MikeB52]

Had the pleasure of restoring a rubberset 3 in aluminum for a friend and copied all the dimensions as well as traced out the profile so I could, in theory, make my own on the lathe.
Tried in faux tortoise polyester and I couldn't control the splintering of the material at my slower speed so made something else with the remnants of the material.
So this time I stayed with wood thinking, in my comfort zone for turning and I should be in a better place to succeed.

Went with a nice hard babinga and got to the profile I wanted and just had to get the flutes run @ 60'.

Transposed my lines carefully and all that and clamped the handle in the mill to use my 7/8 round nose end mill.

Was happy until my third flute, then things went sideways fast.
Basically once I was clamped up, the height and grip changed slightly and it was impossible to recapture my centerline reference.

So I need to take a step back and figure a jig that will reference the brush centerline and still allow for rotation between the degrees and lateral movement of the mill without any drift of the brush..
Should be easy,, lol...
Going to turn this one down and see if I can turn it into something still..
Just sharing the challenge, they aren't all wins, but they aren't complete failures if we learn something from the process..

[HARRYWALLY]

Hey that's a good first attempt Mike. I really don't think this is an easy project, but if anyone can do it, it's you. I really want to try this too, but have too many ideas in my head. Ha! All I can say is good luck with it.

[sharptonn]

I would sand it on the lathe a bit, then sit and hand sand things somehow with rough stuff.
Get it looking smooth. Slather the sucker in bartop epoxy. Hell! It's so close!

I say learn from this, but use something more consistent, cheap to learn with? It was SO CLOSE!

[HARRYWALLY]

I got a ton of 2x2 soft maple here Mike you could practice with. too bad were not closer to having a meet. I could ship you 4 at..... what length?

Fun info, I'm actually trying to force spalting into some of these blanks, I have them sitting beside my shed. I got some others that you could have.

[sharptonn]

Meh! Just chuck it in Tom's box!

[HARRYWALLY]

You need some soft maple Tom? You know you can't tap dead maple for syrup right?

I mean, tiss the season...

[MikeB52]

Thanks for the offer Andrew. I've still got a load of mahogany to practice on. That lil chunk of babinga was close to the right starting diameter so I grabbed it, and I naively thought the flutes would be an easier factor than they were.
I was quite happy with the overall shape replication and felt as Tom mentioned, I was close!!! Will see if I can save this handle still even if it gets a little smaller.
Think I figured out my jig issue so will try another one in wood and hopefully be ready to make one out of that gorgeous green acrylic you gave me last year. Been saving that stuff for something special...

[HARRYWALLY]

Thanks for the offer Andrew. I've still got a load of mahogany to practice on. That lil chunk of babinga was close to the right starting diameter so I grabbed it, and I naively thought the flutes would be an easier factor than they were.
I was quite happy with the overall shape replication and felt as Tom mentioned, I was close!!! Will see if I can save this handle still even if it gets a little smaller.
Think I figured out my jig issue so will try another one in wood and hopefully be ready to make one out of that gorgeous green acrylic you gave me last year. Been saving that stuff for something special...

Hey, I got lots of that too!

[71L]

You were almost there!
Put me in the interest list for one of these when you've mastered the technique!
Love me some Rubberset#3's !

[MikeB52]

Love me some Rubberset#3's !

Me too!
Really liked the flute configuration and the finger feel of the authentic one so am stubborn enough to muddle through the challenge to try to replicate it accurately. . I enjoy the challenge actually.
The rubberset is a nice flowing combination of lines and curves that really isn't as easy to copy as it looks.
I appreciate the votes of confidence gents, thanks.

Prototype 2 is in the Tom box..