Walnut Ostrich Feather Duster Handle

walnut ostrich feather duster handle

1.The completed ostrich feather duster with walnut handle, measuring 430mm (17in) long, with a 150mm (6in) exposed feather head

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Dust never sleeps in my house! No matter how many times I clean, dust seems to magically redeposit itself on every surface in sight. Fortunately, there are numerous products that can be used to keep dust at bay. Two traditional cleaning tools are feather dusters and dusting brushes. Most commercially produced feather dusters have plastic handles that often break easily. Although some dusters are available with wooden handles, their mass-produced ‘no-frills’ style is visually unappealing. Luckily, if you have a tuft and a bit of timber, you can turn your own unique duster handles.

Turning duster handles is a great way to sharpen your spindle turning skills. The handles can be simple functional designs made from scrap timbers, or more elegantly executed artistic styles turned from exotic timbers inlaid with alternative materials. Dusters are fun projects to turn and can serve as a creative springboard for explorations with new materials and techniques; they also make great gifts for family and friends.

Typically, two types of ostrich feathers are made into tufts: grey and black. The black feathers come from male ostriches and are softer and more expensive than grey feathers. In recent years, the availability of ostrich tufts has been limited. Since I still have lots of requests for custom dusters, I located an online supplier for the higher quality black feather replacement heads. If you prefer you could purchase a feather duster at a local merchant, remove the handle and insert the tuft into the handle of your choice.

Chinese hog’s hair bristles come in various sizes and are prized for their ability to sweep surfaces without producing static electricity. They are used widely in industrial cleaning.

Step 1

The completed ostrich feather duster with walnut handle

Step 2

Turning dusters is a good way to use up scrap turning squares, such as juniper, mesquite, walnut and ash. You can use any of these blanks mentioned, or a blank of your choice. Take a walnut blank which measures 38mm (1/5in) x 38mm (1/5in) x 305mm (12in) before turning

Step 3

Round over the square blank at 3000rpm with a 15mm (3/4in) roughing gouge, cutting towards the headstock. I used a revolving ball bearing centre in the tailstock, fitted with a cone centre tip. Once the blank is turned to a cylinder, use a micro skew chisel to turn a slight dovetail on the lower end of the blank

Step 4

Mount a scrap piece of white ash in the chuck and use this to turn a recess with an interior dovetail to hold the blank during turning

Step 5

Thick set Cyanoacrylate is used to secure the blank into the turned recess and is set with an aerosol activator. Brush tufts can vary in size, so it is handy to have a set of Forstner bits on hand to ensure a properly drilled hole. Drill a 17mm (11/16in) hole into the end of the blank, 20mm (3/4in) deep with a Forstner bit at 500rpm. This socket will hold the end of the tuft when the project is finally assembled

Step 6

Perform the initial rough out of the outer tuft receiver socket with a 10mm (3/8in) Irish ground spindle gouge

Step 7

To define the beads behind the socket use a 6mm (1/4in) Irish ground micro spindle gouge

Step 8

Remove bulk waste wood with the 20mm (3/4in) roughing gouge, ground with a 45° front bevel. Keep going until you remove the last of the waste wood on the end of the handle with the 20mm (3/4in) roughing gouge

Step 9

Turn the middle bead with a 6mm (1/4in) Irish ground micro spindle gouge. The Irish wings allow excellent visibility when you are turning delicate beads

Step 10

To define the top of the handle turn three graduated small beads and a round ball terminus using 6mm (1/4in) and 5mm (3/16in) Irish ground micro spindle gouges

Step 11

Hand sand the piece using 600 grit in the direction of the grain, and then apply Myland’s cellulose sanding sealer to the surface. Remove extra waste around the top of the ball terminus with the 6mm (1/4in) micro spindle gouge, leaving a small nub which will be removed after finishing

Step 12

Use aluminium oxide paper backed abrasives to sand the handle using 240, 320, 400 and 600 grit abrasives at 3000rpm. Then, apply three coats of spray lacquer 15 minutes apart. No sanding is necessary between coats

Step 13

To cut back the surface of the cured lacquer and increase its lustre, I use EEE-Ultrashine, but you can just as well use an equivalent product. This is a fine abrasive suspended in a wax base and is applied to the handle at 3000 rpm. Once the handle finishing is complete, apply Renaissance microcrystalline wax (or a similar product) and buff. The next step is to part a small nub using a 1.5mm (1/16in) parting tool

Step 14

Use a small coping saw to remove the last 1.5mm (1/16in) of nub, which will allow you to free the handle

Step 15

Feather and brush tufts can be secured into turned handles with PVA, epoxy, or thick set Cyanoacrylates. Do not use polyurethane adhesives since they foam during curing. Use Titebond II adhesive, if this is available to you, to secure the brown drab ostrich feather tuft into the receiver socket

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