A brush with serendipity

I was getting low on flesh-colored paint, so I referred to Al Stevens' helpful primer called "The Fred Project". I recall that he gives instructions on the colors and ratios required to get the right shade. After refreshing my memory about paint, I decided to meander through some of the other sections, specifically the chapters on control stick preparation and levers. You may recollect my recent whining about making levers in an earlier blog entry.

So I'm reading about drilling holes and gouging out wood and using power tools that I don't have. And then I get to the paragraph on levers. There's a nice photo of a lever made from wood. Yeah, I suppose I could do that. Maybe it would be easier than dealing with the brass. And then I notice this sentence in italics "One prominent figure maker makes levers from plastic toothbrush handles."

Suddenly bells and lights go off in my head like I've just scored 500,000 in a pin ball machine. Toothbrush handles!

So today, I went to the Dollar Store and bought this 5-pack of toothbrushes for a buck. I get 'em home, rip 'em from the package, measure an inch and a quarter from the end, saw it off and stick the thing in the channel I gouged out for a brass lever. And PERFECTO! The toothbrush handle even has a little opening for tying a string!

Tomorrow, I'm going back to the Dollar Store and buy every 5-pack of toothbrushes they have in stock.

I'll tell 'em I'm a dentist.