UN-AARGH!

[davidrei]

Thanks to all for the great ideas, here's what I ended up with:

This is gold string with flecks of gold foil embedded in the string. I just wrapped it and carefully put a few drops of thin CA to hold it. This was a silly simple fix and looks pretty good to me, and certainly the kid getting this won't see it as a cheesy fix

Though I liked the leather idea best, the stuff at the Local craft store was just too big. The PMC would have looked better too, but that was just too much of a learning curve for a simple project like this. I also considered making a corian ring, but in thinking about it, I'd have to make 2 rings exactly the same size, then cut or sand them in half to get 2 round halves to glue together. Just making 1 and cutting it in half wouldn't work because the saw kerf would take too much material away.

Thanks again to all who offered suggestions, it was a big help.

 

[ahoiberg]

nice save dave. i like what you ended up doing.

when you glue the pieces to the handle, did you drill holes in the handle (if so, prior to or after turning it?) and then glue the dark pieces in or did you turn the recess to match the tenons from the dark pieces?

hopefully you can figure out what i'm trying to ask.

 

[davidrei]

Actually, I drilled all the way through the curly maple handle with a 23/64 bit and turned it on a pen mandrel using the lower barrel bushings for the baron. The hole was just the right size for the bushings without a brass tube. The blade (pointy end) an the finial (both paduak) were turned separately, the blade between centers and the finial in a scroll chuck. I just turned the tenons to slightly thicker than 23/64 using calipers and hand sanded to fit.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Neat.

 

[R2]

Neat Job. I think the overall unity of the piece would have been helped if th Maple part had been rounded over more at the top and not ended so abruptly.

 

[davidrei]

I agree, the shape of the handle ain't so great. In addition to the end being too abrupt, I think it's too ornate. It looks more like a Star Wars light saber handle than a Harry Potter wand handle. But considering I did zero planning about the shape, it's good enough. Kids aren't picky about that kind of stuff anyway.