The Nimbus 2000 has a lovely name stamp on the head of the broom which can be achieved by printing off the logo in the middle of a piece of paper sized according to your broom. I dowsed the bands in superglue for extra solidity. Cut the "wire" to a long taper at the end and glue it down for a smoother finish. Superglue the "wire" to the bristles and then to itself as well. Something like stripped bicycle brake cable would be ideal, but I didn't have any so I used cotton twine instead. The bands are actually braided wire wrapped tightly and evenly around the broom. To my scale, the first band is 20mm wide (which is wrapped over the aluminium band, hiding it) then a 15mm gap, the second band is 15mm wide then a 10mm gap, and finally a 10mm band. The Nimbus 2000 has three golden bands which "hold" the bristles to the broomstick. Overall, your broom should look pretty convincing by now! Mask the stick off and spray all the bristles a nice shade of medium or maroon brown. Cut off the excess bristles with a saw so you have a clean, flat tip. Dowse the band of thread in superglue to permanently fix it in place. Bind it as tight and even as you can and tie it off. Wrap brown thread at the point where all the bristles gather, just a smidge past the pointed stick beneath. Pull and shape the bristles nice and tight against the foam or cardboard former and secure the point end with tape to hold it. Arrange all the strands so that they run straight from root to tip and use hot glue to hold them to the former at the widest point (where the layer is thinnest to ensure constant coverage). Gather all the strands at the end and tie it off with some wire for now. I used 5 layers of bristles which, when evened out, had a little over one layer of coverage at the widest part. As the strands taper to the end, you'll need a few layers to cover the whole shape. The top layer of strands will have the tape replaced with an aluminium band for finishing. Keep the bristles nice and tight and strap it down with a band of clear tape. Use the strip of tape to wrap around the shaft and hold them in place. Lay down a strip of sticky tape the circumference of the shaft, sticky side up, and lay the thick end of the strands down side by side so you have a single layer of bristles. Sift out the strands that are too short so you don't have a surprise later on. You'll need about 150 strands to cover the broom. Willow or other types of thin wicker would be ideal as it is round, long and a good thickness. I found them in a shop for £2.50 each with bristles 700mm in length which is perfect for my needs. The bristles themselves are actually from an Asian-style broom consisting of reeds or grass bound together. Layering up the bristles is a long and lengthy task. Your broom will be a lovely dark colour and look great as a walking stick if you wanted to stop now. If it dries and you run the brush over again, it will become darker with successive coats, so be careful. I mixed up some French Enamel Varnish (FEV) to the right shade and brushed it on swiftly as one coat. If you can find a mahogany wood varnish, that is good too as it adds a lovely shine to the wood but takes days to dry and is difficult to apply evenly. So stain the wood with a mahogany wood stain. My piece of pine is very light in colour, the Nimbus 2000 is mahogany. Clean the wood with a slightly damp cloth to remove all debris and allow to dry. Finish it with some 240 grit paper for a nice smooth finish. And wear some goggles, as the dust goes everywhere. Then crack out an electric sander with some 60 or 80 grit paper and get shaping the wood so that it is nice and round and smooth. If you don't have a router, you could use a jack plane for the more traditional feel. Put on a dust mask, then take off the corners with a radius router bit to save on sanding later.
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