Thread: My first turned brush handle

I just thought I'd post my picture in the right place. Some I know have already seen this as I did it last week. I will try to turn a couple more things in the next day or two.

The wood is Marblewood and I bought the blank at Woodcraft. This was my first attempt at turning anything on my new lathe. It is finished with a few layers of C.A.
I hope to get a few knots in the future and set a few at one time.

That's really good Jerry, especially for a first attempt.

Nice handle Jerry. Some day I’ll get a lathe too. Not many guys making brushes anymore. It’s good to see some action in that department.

Excellent work ! Really like the Marblewood

Looks nice and erganomical ..

yep, good job Jerry! Looks like your having fun! (and that's what matters )

Nice job, Jerry-I plan to turn some more handles once I can afford some more brush knots. Getting that lathe and all the accessories has totally wiped me out! I too like the ergonomics of a fat bottom, narrow waist and then bulging out more up top for better handling.

Though we both did our first handles in CA, I hope to experiment some with finishes depending on the wood: maybe some friction polishes for oily wood like the BLO/beeswax mixture I have on hand, wipe-on poly, and I'm certain TruOil would be a beautiful finish if thinned enough to turn a bit with each coat. The various recipes of "shine juice" using shellac, DNA and linseed oil seem promising, too-recipes abound online

Probably the most beautiful finishing method for wood ever devised is a true french polish using shellac, but I understand it doesn't hold up to frequent handling or water.

I've used CA on some of my handles and haven't had any problems but HarryWally told me that he had some problems with cracking especially when shipped over seas. He recommended using Hyper Bond thin flex . I had been using the cheap stuff from the dollar store before he told me about it.
Finishing has never been my favorite part so if you find something that is easy to use let us know.

Finished the brush.
Bought a 24mm 70/30 mixed knot for it. I found the knot a little on the stiff side so i left the loft a little bit higher than i normally do. This time its at 54 where i would normally go less than 48. All in all it works and looks good. At this time its just been cleaned and glued not shaved with but i will soon fix that. It has a nice amount of backbone and soft tips.

Looks good! I hope to see many more.