Knotilus

Howdy gentlemen, thought I'd post my work process on this one.
The Knotilus, first of the "20000 Leagues Under the Lather " series.
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Definitely the most challenging brush I've attempted, as technical hurdles quite often mocked the virility of my imagination and will, yet I triumphed none the less!
To start, I had two candlesticks to work with.
First I made The Faberge Brush (pipe brush thread). With the spare parts I made the latest piece.
My first step after conception, is the sketch. Though there's always deviation from the initial drawing.
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At first it was to be more simple, but soon took a life of its own.
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The materials:
Bog oak 8k yr old, from Ireland.
Candlestick parts.
22 F knot. (Can't remember specifics)
Strong magnet.
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The rim extension was an add on. Very happy with it! I took some measurements, marked it with a sharpie, and went crazy with the dremel. Specifically using the cutting discs and sanding drum. The flex-shaft is a significant game changer!
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Here is a pic of the wood bottom piece and middle rim.. The wood was too thin to simply cut and use, I had to attach 3 pieces, glued and clamped. CA works great for this. Make sure to align the wood grain.

*When cutting wood, always think about the grain direction with regard to the design for strength and looks.*
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When I glue things, I make sure to create "structural adhesion". Not just with sand paper but (when I can) I'll make deep scratches with a razor. I think it helps.
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Here's those two pieces glued on. In the confusion that happens when not perfectly planned out (is it ever?) I did not align the bottom wood grain to the top, thankfully not really noticeable. One of the notches for the rim extension can be seen.
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And a couple pics getting the ribs sized and notched onto the rim and base.
Serious tinkering. Long time! Will do a little different on the next one to speed it up.
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I got them all attached with Bog-Epoxy before doing the final shaping. Always leave some meat to work with when carving and detailing. The rib extension NOT glued in yet, just to get a look.
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A mistake I made was not wiping away the excess epoxy that squeezed out. This created hours of sanding work when it hardened!
Here's a pic: a picture frame with glass, wax paper, epoxy 330, old bank card, tip flattened chop-stick, cool little clamp (love those things), thin CA.
Did a little work on some scales while it was all out.
I like to mix the bog dust with the resin and hardener before mixing the two part epoxy with a bank card, plenty of experience with a card in such a way! Works great!
Always remove epoxy from tools while wet.
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And for the shaping! Man I gotta say that I really really like those little drum sander bits for the dremel.. That with the flexshaft and your gold! Just don't take too much off.
Finished the sanding with a scratch pad to "dig out" the wood grain and then some fine sand paper. Wish I had some micro-mesh.
Don't forget an eraser with sandpaper, excellent tool.
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On the rim extension, I coated the inside with CA after scratching it up. This is because it is brass making contact with the wet fur.
Here is a pic with it attached.
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Also a pic of the knot. I used a cork, and two strong magnets to attach to the knot. In the pic you can see the wax paper used while it dries.
Now the knot can be removed. Not necessary, but allows for a change, the new owner of this fine piece of insanity can choose to change the knot, or glue it in, but I think it should hold strong.
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And the final piece! The new owner opted out of the brass candlestick base. Though the brush is designed to use one, as it does not stand well on its own, he thinks it looks more like the Nautilus while resting on its side. Which I can agree with.
I put a magnet in the base for good measure, just in case he wants to hang it.
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It's very sturdy, and strong.
Works great! Many positions available, once your fingers become accustomed to the feel of the contours.
So I'm glad that it's not just a display piece, but functions quite well.
Thanks for looking, I hope to make and see more strange projects! It was a fun one!
Cheers Gents

That's far-out, MikeT!

I can see Nautilus in that :cool:

Thanks man, this is a special project for me and it's good to know the Nautilus design shows in this rendition.

I think Jules Verne had a beard, but he’d shave it off in a minute if he got to use that brush.

Spectacular!

Very creative and very cool!

Pete <:-}

Really nice.
It reminds me of Game of Thrones :)

Well dang, I hadn't thought of the possibility that my addiction to GOT has influenced the style.
Very likely. I take it as a compliment for sure.

Wooooooowwww!!!!!

That is incredible work and TRULY unique. Hats off sir!!

:chapeau:bow:bow:bow:bow:bow:chapeau:

It's cooler in person! Solid as a stone!

My thanks to MikeT for this great creation! :tu

Thank you, it was a very interesting project to work on, and after it was all done I was surprised how sturdy that bog oak is.
Gonna make some more like that after I'm done with these projects that have been sitting for a while.

Some lessons I've been learning:
-use better tools.
-speed up the process.
-work on better project planning.

Otherwise it's hours of toil! And time is precious.

Totally awesome, Mike.
I can only imagine what someone will say about it, a hundred years from now. Should it still exist.!

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Originally Posted by outback

Totally awesome, Mike.
I can only imagine what someone will say about it, a hundred years from now. Should it still exist.!

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So he should sign his work!
(Registered trademark wouldnt hurt) ;)

Thanks for sharing. You have quite the imagination and the skills to back it up. That qualifies as a sculpture worthy of an art gallery.

My concern with actually using the brush would be cleaning out all the soap scum that get on my brushes due to hard water. I hope you do not have that issue.

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Originally Posted by RayClem

Thanks for sharing. You have quite the imagination and the skills to back it up. That qualifies as a sculpture worthy of an art gallery.

My concern with actually using the brush would be cleaning out all the soap scum that get on my brushes due to hard water. I hope you do not have that issue.

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Not an issue.! If you read back, the knot is held in by a magnet, which makes it removeable from the handle.

Super build mike!
Looks awesome and really unique as well.
Love the union of brass and bog, flows beautifully..

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Originally Posted by outback

Not an issue.! If you read back, the knot is held in by a magnet, which makes it removeable from the handle.

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Thank you Sir! That is one of those design details that one hopes will be noticed only if it turns out well.
I'll wait for feedback on it, he may decide to go with a different knot and glue it in.

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Originally Posted by MikeB52

Super build mike!
Looks awesome and really unique as well.
Love the union of brass and bog, flows beautifully..

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That means a lot coming from a builder of many things, master of many trades, a myth to some, a legend to others, such as yourself. Thank you.
I try to design classic styles, but then I look at the result and it is not that at all. Just gonna have to go with it!
:beer1:

I seem to vaguely remember reading about (or pondering) how well a knot with a magnetic base would work. If it was stable enough that would be awesome changing knots when the mood struck you. Or if you wanted try something different and still use a really nice handle!

After using this brush this morning, I can say the magnet/knot thing caused no issue.
I purposely used SDM, which takes some stirring, to see.

TBH, I attribute the success here to the 'rim extension' providing support. Not certain how it would work without it?
I lean toward retaining the magnet setup as it would help in cleaning the knot and the handle of lather with the rim extension considered. The double-sticky tape holding the magnet to the handle will need to be replaced with epoxy as it came unstuck when I removed the knot. Perhaps a larger diameter rare earth magnet would stick better?
All in all, a cool feature of this brush. I really like the knot as well..

It looked fantastic in your SOTD Tom.

Awesome! Thank you Tom for the feedback.
I considered placing a few magnets because I purchased the small ones, the larger diameter would be better.
I was not sure if you would keep the removable knot feature and I was unsure about it, so I used double sided tape (something that would irritate me normally).
I think you may want to replace the small magnets given that you will already be taking the cork out to epoxy it in.

The knot was set as high as it would go, so the rim extension is necessary, and sets the loft very short, so I was going for a firm loft.
Good to know the knot is high quality. I purchased a bunch of expensive knots a while back and know little of what to expect. I'm not an expert at all.

That was so cool to see it next to Shauns art, and a sweet blade too. Cool theme!

Just a beautiful design and execution, Mike-Jules Verne himself would have been proud to shave with it. You are truly an artist. Just curious what part of SC you're from? Sparkle City myself. I might have to sell some razors and commission a brush from you at some point.

And yeah, Tom, that nautical-themed SOTD was one for the books. You guys do some jaw-dropping compositions with your SOTD's, very artistic all the way around.

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Originally Posted by ScoutHikerDad

Just a beautiful design and execution, Mike-Jules Verne himself would have been proud to shave with it. You are truly an artist. Just curious what part of SC you're from? Sparkle City myself. I might have to sell some razors and commission a brush from you at some point.

And yeah, Tom, that nautical-themed SOTD was one for the books. You guys do some jaw-dropping compositions with your SOTD's, very artistic all the way around.

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Thank you for the compliments, much appreciated!
It's a strange process, I set out by thinking about technical, designs or themes, then just smooth out the edges of the idea so that it's a little more presentable. Then there's the morphing that occurs between drawing and final result, and that's often unintentional.
I'll put you on the list. In a couple month's I'm gonna make a batch of these. Also will be making some other cool designs, several are waiting for life.

North Chucktown, for about two years now. I've got two brothers in the area and there's a warm ocean, good food, terrible drivers, all the good stuff! Almost forgot, an alligator in the pond down the street, so that's cool.
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Cool-My niece and her husband, not to mention a few teacher friends live in the Charleston area. It's a beautiful old city; y'all can keep that humidity, though I guess the ocean breezes help if you're close enough.