Miscellaneous Small Turnings

January 25, 2023

two turned shaving brushes flanking three bottle stopper / pourers

I took some time off from bigger projects in the shop lately to play with my lathe.

Pictured above, from left to right:

A eucalyptus and ash shaving brush. The brush is silvertip badger, and is pretty nice. The eucalyptus was cut and the kerfs replaced with pieces of ash microlumber the same size as the kerf of my table saw, and then I turned the resulting piece to make a Celtic knot. This was the second shaving brush I made in the past week.
A russian olive bottle stopper / pourer. This was the third of three bottle stoppers I made. I had a little fun with the shape, trying to enhance the look of the grain of the wood.
A maple and pernambuco bottle stopper / pourer. My second of the three, and first attempt at a two ring celtic knot. The pernambuco tends to chip out if I’m not super-careful in my turning. Lesson learned…
A maple bottle stopper / pourer. This was my first attempt, and I was mostly concerned with getting the hole for the stopper the right depth. I decorated the maple a bit with a Henry Taylor Decorating Elf which uses a spiral bit to make different patterns depending the angle you hold it in relation to the moving wood on the lathe. I also used some markers to add black and red rings.
A mimosa shaving brush. My first attempt, and I didn’t get too fancy, just letting the wood do the talking. I think it came out pretty well. Mixing the very small amount of epoxy needed (about 7.5ml total) to glue in the metal cap and the knot of the brush is tricky, but I did discover that if I wax the wood really well first, it’s easier to clean any slop off afterwards.