Turning Old Brooms Into a Giant Toothbrush

by Mattie_Ford in Workshop > Woodworking

460 Views, 2 Favorites, 0 Comments

Turning Old Brooms Into a Giant Toothbrush

IMG_8414[1].JPG
toothbrush.png

Making an instructable and entering a contest by May 19th is the final project for my engineering class so I decided to enter Big and Small. When thinking of what to build my science teacher suggested a giant toothbrush; here is how to make a 5-foot-tall toothbrush.

Supplies

For this project, you'll need a plank of wood over 5 feet tall, sandpaper(I used 120 grit), ducktape, spraypaint, Loctite HY 4070, flat broom heads(2), and various power tools such as a band saw, and a belt sander.

Trace

IMG_8338[1].JPG

Trace out the shape of your toothbrush onto your plank of wood.

Cut

IMG_8434[1].JPG
IMG_8436[1].JPG

Using a band saw cut out the shape you traced on your wood.

Sand It Down

IMG_8390[1].JPG

Using 120-grit sandpaper sand all your sharp cut edges until smooth.

Preparing Your Brooms

After removing the outer part of your old broom heads cut the excess plastic off using a band saw. Once mostly flat smooth the back of your brooms with a belt sander.

Gluing on the Bristles

IMG_8384[1].JPG
IMG_8365[1].JPG

Using Loctite HY 4070 you will apply a decent amount of glue to the back of your freshly sanded brooms onto the head of your toothbrush. The glue should cure in 10-15 minutes.

Filling in the Holes

IMG_8392[1].JPG
IMG_8393[1].JPG

Using the same glue you just used you're going to fill in all of the holes of your wood(if you have any). Take the glue and gently fill in your holes. You want to make sure the glue comes out of your hole a little bit so you have room to sand. Once cured take 120 grit sandpaper and sand down the excess glue until smooth.

Preparing for Paint

IMG_8388[1].JPG
IMG_8387[1].JPG

Once you have your bristles on and all the holes filled in it's time to take your ducktape and tape off the parts of the toothbrush you don't want paint on.

Spray Painting

IMG_8395[1].JPG

After you've taped off what you don't want paint on using the spray paint you're going to spray paint your brush. Once dry feel free to do as many coats as you want. Be sure to paint one side then let it dry and then do the other!