DIY Tap Handle?

doublesimcoe said:

These were made from stuff from work. My friend help me weld the nuts for the taps.

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Arent most prosthetics made out of titanium? Is that difficult to weld?

You may be a homebrewer if you make tap handles and you don't even have a kegerator LOL. I totally stole these from EDWORT. I guess the moral of the story is don't let me get bored when there is a soldering iron around :rockin:

So I have a question. What size of wood drill do you need to insert the wood 3/8 insert ? I got a 3/8 size drill bit to make the hole, but the insert wont go in.....so what size would work ? 1/2 ?

I turn my own. These are maple but I have some coco bolo on the way.

abbot555 said:

So I have a question. What size of wood drill do you need to insert the wood 3/8 insert ? I got a 3/8 size drill bit to make the hole, but the insert wont go in.....so what size would work ? 1/2 ?

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1/2" for most woods. I have to use 9/16" for some to prevent the insert from stripping the wood out.

-Joe

nostalgia said:

1/2" for most woods. I have to use 9/16" for some to prevent the insert from stripping the wood out.

-Joe

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Thanks !

CanadianQuaffer said:

I think this might make a pretty cool tap handle...what do you guys think?
(battery and mouse shown for scale)



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Bugman's Brewery!

What a Great idea!

Here's another set I did for a customer - she said "use your imagination'. This is what I came up with.



-Joe

^ wow .. those are amazing!!! What type of wood is the second from the left?

jusware said:

^ wow .. those are amazing!!! What type of wood is the second from the left?

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Thanks! Left to right we have ebony, bigleaf maple burl, Australian myrtle burl, and bocote.

-Joe

Joe,
Where do you get that fancy looking stuff. I don't think my lumberyard carries anything like that.

Some lumberyards carry exotics, but not too many. I buy online from vendors like Exotic Wood Suppliers - Buy Exotic Wood Turning Blanks, Squares, Blocks & Stock - Online Sale.

-Joe

Here's another pretty for y'all. This guy is from Tulipwood with a loose, 'captured' ring on it. It's all made from one piece - the ring is turned right in place.





-Joe

EdWort said:

For about 3 bucks each you can get these lovely wooden mini table legs from Lowes.

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Ha, I saw these at menards the other day and thought," Wow they sell tap handles at menards?"

Joe, your stuff is fantastic - I wish I had a couple hundred spare lying around, to get five handles for my keezer. (Instead I spent it on another utilikilt, haha!)

I guess I should show what the fruits of my labor have yielded thus far:
Bullet bill and Bill blaster!


So here is what they both look like together with my brand new perlicks:

timbudtwo said:

I guess I should show what the fruits of my labor have yielded thus far:
Bullet bill and Bill blaster!

So here is what they both look like together with my brand new perlicks:

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Drool. That's a Homebrewing, Nintendo Fan-boy's fantasy.

Wife just surprised me with these hand craft femo handles. 3 out of four were requests I made, she surprised me with the pumpkin one after I made my pumpkin ale.

Here is one of my future plans....Its a casing from the 30mm cannon of an A-10.

beng said:

Here is one of my future plans....Its a casing from the 30mm cannon of an A-10.

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that is what I wanted to do too. finding them for a decent price is the hard part, since I'm a civilian.

bionicbrew said:

that is what I wanted to do too. finding them for a decent price is the hard part, since I'm a civilian.

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I leave Afghanistan in a few months, you keep in touch, and I manage to grab a bunch of casings...we can work a trade. I only need 3 or so.

beng said:

I leave Afghanistan in a few months, you keep in touch, and I manage to grab a bunch of casings...we can work a trade. I only need 3 or so.

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Please be carefull on what you pick up. Some of the most interesting things are meant to mame and kill over there.

Talking about booby traps.

Schlenkerla said:

Please be carefull on what you pick up. Some of the most interesting things are meant to mame and kill over there.

Talking about booby traps.

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The casings stay in the jet when they are fired. So id grab them from the pilots.

beng said:

Here is one of my future plans....Its a casing from the 30mm cannon of an A-10.

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Pleeeeease think about what was shot out of that casing... it was a depleted uranium round. not exactly the safest thing to have laying around the house not to mention around an open beer glass.

I ordered medium Ferrules and just got done putting togeather the White Labs vials filled with grain. I am very happy with these tap handles.

here are my custom handles

Mysticmead said:

Pleeeeease think about what was shot out of that casing... it was a depleted uranium round. not exactly the safest thing to have laying around the house not to mention around an open beer glass.

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Thanks for the concern....but do you REALLY think they would hand out casings that held DEPLETED URANIUM???? These casings had HEI rounds, AKA high explosive incendiary, and I assure you, they will be cleaned.

Zamial said:

I ordered medium Ferrules and just got done putting togeather the White Labs vials filled with grain. I am very happy with these tap handles.

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If they feel a little flimsy, put a metal washer in the cap, if you haven't already. Makes them solid as a rock.

masonsjax said:

If they feel a little flimsy, put a metal washer in the cap, if you haven't already. Makes them solid as a rock.

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Already done, the washer makes the handle very solid! and mine is stainless. I also found some stainless dome head shaped hex bolts at my local True Value Hardware. I thought it would look a little cleaner if/when I ever cram a bunch of hops in one I think. FWIW those vials will screw into any standard 20 oz or 2L soda cap. That is good info if you do not like the standard black cap.

Funny thing is those vials are actually what 2 liter soda bottles start life looking like before they stretch them into their final shape.

Awesome handles timbudtwo! What are they made of? I have a NES controler handle floating around somewhere in this thread.

ThatOneGuy said:

Awesome handles timbudtwo! What are they made of? I have a NES controler handle floating around somewhere in this thread.

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The piranha plant is made from sculpey and painted with acrylic. Tube is pvc and a pipe fitting cut in half. I filled the bottom with body filler and drilled it out for a threaded insert. Bullet bill I got off ebay; he was injection molded. However, I did glue a piece of pvc pipe on to the back of him so he would fit into the T fitting and be removeable / moveable. I painted both with rattlecan paint. 3-4 coats to get a nice gloss then I baked in the oven at just under 200 for an hour and then turned it off and left it in there until the oven cools. I just put a bolt in the threaded insert and hang it from the oven grating. This is the only way I have been able to get uncatalyzed rattlecan paint to cure properly. I have some pvc parts that I didn't bake and the paint is soft forever. I have a piece from 2007 that is still soft!

I don't have any new pictures but these are just too good not to share again.
They aren't DIY by me at least but someone did indeed carve them by hand.








I got these custom tap handles from wildvine carvings and used at least one of them every day since I got them and they still look brand new.

She's even got a display at my lhbs so I guess some other brewers probably have some by the same artist by now.

Mysticmead said:

Pleeeeease think about what was shot out of that casing... it was a depleted uranium round. not exactly the safest thing to have laying around the house not to mention around an open beer glass.

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Open beer glass or closed bottle I don't think it makes a difference when it comes to radiation. But in this case I wouldn't worry about it
They used depleted uranium for aileron counterweights in the C141. Just kept the spares in a parts locker, no special shielding. They are depleted after all. Only slightly radioactive. But much heavier than lead.

Berniep said:

Open beer glass or closed bottle I don't think it makes a difference when it comes to radiation. But in this case I wouldn't worry about it
They used depleted uranium for aileron counterweights in the C141. Just kept the spares in a parts locker, no special shielding. They are depleted after all. Only slightly radioactive. But much heavier than lead.

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its not a question of it being radioactive. it's a question of not getting any DU in a beer glass or on the skin. just look up the side effects of DU in the human body.

If anything it will just help get your buzz goin lol

not quite as cool as most of the others on here, but here's my first attempt at home made ...



going to mount a putter head to go along with it for my second tap in the near future

rcook73 said:

not quite as cool as most of the others on here, but here's my first attempt at home made ...

going to mount a putter head to go along with it for my second tap in the near future

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juice

banik said:

Bugman's Brewery!

What a Great idea!

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Fellow Warhammer enthusiast, I presume?

I worked for Games Workshop for almost 12 years....had a few pints at the real Bugman's Tavern in Nottingham on a few occasions.

rcook73 said:

not quite as cool as most of the others on here, but here's my first attempt at home made ...

going to mount a putter head to go along with it for my second tap in the near future

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I made basically the exact thing. I clamped a golf ball in a vice and drilled a shallow 5/8" hole in it, then used JB weld to anchor a 3/8" nut in the hole.

Great job!