Painting Handle with Magnets

I wanted to make a comfortable handle for painting small models, but something I could easily turn and lock into place. I wanted the top to be removable and still stable to put on a desk mat and switch to painting a different model instead.

I designed this handle to incorporate up to eight 6mmx3mm circular magnets, so it would pivot in 45-degree increments, but you can use as many/few as you like as long as you get the polarities lined up correctly. The more magnets you use, the more effort will be needed to turn/spin the model while you paint. One idea would be to insert magnets in all positions on the base, but only one on the top.

By having a removable top, it's easier to take the top off and set it down while a model dries and then pop a new top on the handle and resume painting.

Depending on your printer tolerances, you may not need supports on the “top” model if it's placed face-down with the magnet holes facing the print bed. There's a “ring” along the top of the handle forcing the magnets apart, so be careful with your layer height – at some layer heights that ring will disappear completely, it's only 0.2mm thick.

With 2 perimeters and 20% grid infill, it takes about 2 hours to print the handle on a Bambu X1C, and about 20 minutes for the top. I printed the top with varying scales between 100% and 104% to get the tolerances correct for the magnets I have.

I welcome remixes, especially on more of the “bulb” handles, and I'd love to hear any feedback. I wanted a handle that I knew would sit flat on a desk, so I copied the “top” piece as a base on the handle.