DIY Tap Handle?

Boston813 said:

I've found that engineers tend to collect hobbies that inherently lend themselves to needlessly over complicating systems in pursuit of perfection....

...and things that involve drinking :cross:
Not that I wold know anything about either of those things.

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If it ain't broke, it doesn't have enough features yet.

Homercidal... Jealous are we?
Just an idea, but can you get a small pipe with internal threads and then core out wine corks and put the corks on the pipe? I don't have a tap to try it on

Homercidal said:

I would expect everything coming out of the one on the right leaves a bad taste in your mouth...

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LOL, hoping to make history tonight!

One I made a couple weeks ago just for kicks. I'm a South Park fan, what can I say...

The_Brewzer said:

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One I made a couple weeks ago just for kicks. I'm a South Park fan, what can I say...

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That might be the "crappiest" (is that a real word) one on here yet!!
No really ..that's pretty cool

Here are mine. Nothing fancy, but a nice novelty.

CGVT said:

Here are mine. Nothing fancy, but a nice novelty.

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Cool handles. Did you burn the names in or is it pen? Can't really tell from the pic, but I like the look

Thanks. I used a wood burner. I made the Princess handle out of a pressure treated board I had left over from building my deck so I had to stain it. I had to paint inside the burned letters to make them show up. The White House handle was made out of three rail posts from the old deck that I glued together. I shaped all of them with hand tools, a jigsaw, a hand planer, an angle grinder and a finishing sander. I'm not much of an artist, so I knew they weren't going to come out to be anything special. I just screwed around in my garage and free handed everything. They were cheap and they were fun to do

I just got my fridge a couple weeks ago and was looking for a tap handle. This is what i come up with. Hood rocket of a '57 Chevy.

Sweet. I love how well it matches the gm fridge

Does anyone have information on the size and pitch of the threads used on the tap handle mount? I want to make a tap handle out of a dirt bike piston so I need to find out the size so I can tap a hole.

3/8-16

Here's the one I made to replace the basic plastic one that came with my kegerator. I had a spent 25mm casing from an AC-130, stripped the paint off, repainted it black, glued the Ordnance/Ammo pin on, glued a wooden dowel inside to have something to drill for the tap handle insert from Northern Brewer.

My Android pours beer can your Apple do that?


DSC00682 by Ludahchris, on Flickr

Here's mine...not quite as classy as some of yours, but it works. The left is a dragon on some 1/8" plywood, glued to a candlestick holder- all from Michael's. The center is my first attempt turning on a lathe, and it came out pretty well. There's some things I'll change when I try again but I have to get a lathe first. To mount it I cut the base off a black handle like the one next to it, 'turned' it thinner on my drill press with a round file and then glued it in.


Kyle

Old tap tap handles

The dragon is cool- it looks like he's surfing.

I havent even built my draft system yet, but in preparation, i have started on the tap handle.
This is an Illinois State University redbird (to be). I have to have my draft system up and running by May for a graduation party for a family member from there, so i decided it would be fitting.

What does everyone think...would love to hear your opinions. It still needs quite a bit of sanding and smoothing and painting, but that will come. I think i will just find a dowel or chair leg to complete the handle part.

Catfish said:

With one of these:
View attachment 2011

and an drill you can make anything into a tap handle (well, not anything, meat wouldn't work, or a cat, but lots of things).

I'm just using oak, though.

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Can you get this at Home Depot? or is it something you have to get from kegconnection or something?

yes, lowes and HD both have 'em.

yeah, thanks! i was that guy that didnt read the entire thread. I did now, lots of really good stuff out there,

Thanks,

My neighbors don't like my tap handles so they have been donating things to turn into tap handles....

Looks great 50's style

Well here is my first. Didn't turn out just like I wanted but still is cool. Do you know what it is?

It looks like either an animal call/hunting call or part of a bong not sure which.

It's a goose call. Figured I'd donate one of mine that has kill many honkers for the cause.

Duck Dynasty will be selling tap handles now....

MidTNJasonF said:

It looks like either an animal call/hunting call or part of a bong not sure which.

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this was my exact thought.

This is my Sunbeam Beer Mate keg dispenser tap. I was inspired by seeing all these cool taps.. So I glued an old resin skull onto a spare tap handle.. What do you think?

I made these, I glued on a magnet and when I switch out my beer I change the cap. I have almost all custom caps for bottling so it makes it easy to just switch a cap.

bambam26 said:

I made these, I glued on a magnet and when I switch out my beer I change the cap. I have almost all custom caps for bottling so it makes it easy to just switch a cap.

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Cool idea man

I LOVE THAT IDEA

you could also put almost any small lightweight item on a magnet, to customize it even more ...

bambam26 said:

I made these, I glued on a magnet and when I switch out my beer I change the cap. I have almost all custom caps for bottling so it makes it easy to just switch a cap.

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Great creativity on this post! Love it!

suddsy83 said:

This is my Sunbeam Beer Mate keg dispenser tap. I was inspired by seeing all these cool taps.. So I glued an old resin skull onto a spare tap handle.. What do you think?

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nice idea to dress up the boring black handle

pannell77 said:

nice idea to dress up the boring black handle

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Thanks man.. Next tap is a resin Spider-Man head from a bobble head toy.. Looks awesome!

Here is my first tap handle! I don't have a tap setup yet so i'm jumping the gun a little! I have put the threaded insert in but i'm not certain if it's perfectly straight... Tell me what you think!

ok, i borrowed a scroll saw, and made another redbird head, i think this one came out better. I need some ideas on how to transfer the design onto the wood so i can paint it. I am not artisitic enough to just freehand it.
Here is the logo...


and the head.


thanks for the ideas in advance

beercity23 said:

ok, i borrowed a scroll saw, and made another redbird head, i think this one came out better. I need some ideas on how to transfer the design onto the wood so i can paint it. I am not artisitic enough to just freehand it.
Here is the logo...


and the head.


thanks for the ideas in advance

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How about some sort of sticker ..with lacquer or some type of clear coat over it

beercity23 said:

ok, i borrowed a scroll saw, and made another redbird head, i think this one came out better. I need some ideas on how to transfer the design onto the wood so i can paint it. I am not artisitic enough to just freehand it.
Here is the logo...

and the head.

thanks for the ideas in advance

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One technique you could try is tracing it on. I did this for my mash paddle I made with sports team logos.
Hit up a Jo-Ann's fabric store or similar type, and grab a pack of double-faced wax free tracing paper. It'll cost less than $5. The packs have multi colored sheets, blue works best.
Take your Redbird design and tape one side to the wood with some painter's tape, slip a sheet of of that blue tracing paper in between, and trace over your design in pencil. A magnifying glass was really helpful for me for some of the more intricate lines.
Not sure how effective it will be with a lot of little lines, but for a few bucks its worth a try.

drob said:

One technique you could try is tracing it on. I did this for my mash paddle I made with sports team logos.
Hit up a Jo-Ann's fabric store or similar type, and grab a pack of double-faced wax free tracing paper. It'll cost less than $5. The packs have multi colored sheets, blue works best.
Take your Redbird design and tape one side to the wood with some painter's tape, slip a sheet of of that blue tracing paper in between, and trace over your design in pencil. A magnifying glass was really helpful for me for some of the more intricate lines.
Not sure how effective it will be with a lot of little lines, but for a few bucks its worth a try.

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I would actually start with this before you cut out your shape. Size your logo to the size you want your handle, then trace it onto the wood. Use that to cut out your shape, then it will be the exact size and shape of the logo.

To get the lines and colors, I would use a Dremel or some sort of rotary tool to engrave the black areas for the lines, then it's just a matter of painting carefully. To put it on a handle, just make sure the block you're using is as thick as or thicker that a dowel large enough for a threaded insert. Use a hanger bolt to attach the dowel to the Redbird logo and put the insert in the other end to screw it down onto your tap. You'd probably have to alter the bottom part of the logo so that you have a flat area to attach the dowel or to put an insert directly into the logo, so keep that in mind when you're cutting the bird head out.