Why Do This?! - The Hand Tool Effect
This is perhaps one of the silliest things that I have done recently. I needed a dust brush to keep with my Moravian workbench to sweep away shavings and sawdust. I found one at the home center for only a few bucks. It was obviously cheaply made but at least it was made of wood and had the appearance of natural bristles.
The handle is poorly shaped and finished. It is basically just a flat piece of wood in the shape of a handle with the corners eased a bit. Very little effort was made to finish the surface, it is quite rough. I was surprised how much the feel of the handle bothered me, but I tend to use old, refurbished, wood handled tools where the manufacturer put more effort into the shape and feel of the tool handle. It was rather jarring to use the rough, clunky handle on the dust brush. Also, I noticed the difference compared to an old 50 year dust brush that I keep with my joiners bench, which is one I got from my grandfathers garage many years ago. There was much more attention given to the shape and finish on the handle.
Now for the silliness. With a spare hour one day, I decided to fix up the handle on the dust brush. Using a spoke shave, I rounded off the body of the dust brush to give it a similar look and feel to the old one. I worked along the grain and I worked the end grain as well to reshape it. I really enjoy the spokeshave work.
I think the wood is ash and it worked easily by hand. Next I reshaped the handle, working by eye with the spokeshave and rasps and files. I used the old brush as a model, but I did not try to match it exactly. I just want a comfortable shape for my hand. I worked it from the top and the bottom.
Next was sanding with 120, 220 and 400 grit sandpaper and I finished it with a few quick coats of clear shellac and polished it with steel wool and furniture wax. The handle felt totally transformed in my hand.
Was this a waste of time? Maybe, but not for me. I got to practice shaping wood which is not really my forte. And the brush feels wonderful to use. I can hang it from my workbench with a bit of pride, I suppose. Also, it is good practice if you want to make a saw handle someday.
This is perhaps one of the silliest things that I have done recently. I needed a dust brush to keep with my Moravian workbench to sweep away shavings and sawdust. I found one at the home center for only a few bucks. It was obviously cheaply made but at least it was made of wood and had the appearance of natural bristles.
The handle is poorly shaped and finished. It is basically just a flat piece of wood in the shape of a handle with the corners eased a bit. Very little effort was made to finish the surface, it is quite rough. I was surprised how much the feel of the handle bothered me, but I tend to use old, refurbished, wood handled tools where the manufacturer put more effort into the shape and feel of the tool handle. It was rather jarring to use the rough, clunky handle on the dust brush. Also, I noticed the difference compared to an old 50 year dust brush that I keep with my joiners bench, which is one I got from my grandfathers garage many years ago. There was much more attention given to the shape and finish on the handle.
Now for the silliness. With a spare hour one day, I decided to fix up the handle on the dust brush. Using a spoke shave, I rounded off the body of the dust brush to give it a similar look and feel to the old one. I worked along the grain and I worked the end grain as well to reshape it. I really enjoy the spokeshave work.
I think the wood is ash and it worked easily by hand. Next I reshaped the handle, working by eye with the spokeshave and rasps and files. I used the old brush as a model, but I did not try to match it exactly. I just want a comfortable shape for my hand. I worked it from the top and the bottom.
Next was sanding with 120, 220 and 400 grit sandpaper and I finished it with a few quick coats of clear shellac and polished it with steel wool and furniture wax. The handle felt totally transformed in my hand.
Was this a waste of time? Maybe, but not for me. I got to practice shaping wood which is not really my forte. And the brush feels wonderful to use. I can hang it from my workbench with a bit of pride, I suppose. Also, it is good practice if you want to make a saw handle someday.