Dragon Climbing Tower - Beer Tap Handle

thingiverse

This tap handle features a dragon perched on the side of a small tower, proudly displaying a shield (paint it with the name of your brew, or chalkboard/dry erase paint) and holding a mug in one of his claws. The full tap handle measures just short of 9" tall, 2" wide, and 2.5" deep. Instructions I've included several versions of the tap handle to hopefully make things a bit easier to customize. A few notes: This uses brass thread fittings which can be purchased from Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/E-Z-Threaded-Insert-Internal-Threads/dp/B0026GZU0Q/ref=pd_bia_nav_t_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=1N5V76Q1G5MT4JBV9DSY). If you'd like to model your own threading, I've included a hole-free version; I just felt this way is easier. This was printed in ABS - I highly recommend taking some scrap ABS pieces (leftover supports, or from failed prints) and melting them in acetone in a sealed glass jar. This slurry makes an excellent glue/touch-up material after supports are removed. I've included a few manual supports for the head and right arm, since meshmixer's support generator didn't handle that area well. There are also versions without any support, and one that is fully supported (ready to slice and print). Top piece is 7.5" tall, which may not fit in everyone's build area without splitting the model. Print the bottom piece (no supports needed), and attach the brass threaded insert - I used my ABS slurry to slightly melt the textured interior so the brass could screw in, and so that the plastic could conform around the threading when the acetone finished evaporating. Try to make sure it's going in straight as you screw it in. The top piece was a fairly difficult print; I had a number of print failures while iterating on the design, and it ended up being around a 9 hour job. After it finishes and supports are cut away, glue the top to the bottom piece with ABS slurry.