The gentle back scratcher

My son complained about having an itch that he couldn't scratch on his back, so instead of being immediately helpful, I made him this “mace” with an extendable handle, because nothing says you love your family more than ignoring them for 2 and a half hours to make a tool rather than just scratching the damned itch for them!!

Rather than a simple back rake, a stick, or a hand-shaped device that I could print flat, I settled on this extension pole design just to try my patience learning to get the bed adhesion strong enough to keep everything from getting knocked over mid-print.  I only had to make three balls of filament spaghetti before I got it right, all while wishing I had one of those fancy new ultra-adhesive build plates.

I also wanted a design that doesn't actually scratch the skin but is textured enough to feel like it is able to attack an itch.  That's what all of those little bumps are for. It works well, won't damage your skin, and won't snag your clothing. The back scratcher should extend to about 36cm (or a smidge over 14 inches if metric ain't your thing).  The “mace” screws onto the handle, so if you really want to design a different shape, it shouldn't be too hard to replace the business end with something more to your own liking.

The model should print well as is and doesn't require supports, however, I recommend using a both an inner and outer brim, and if your build plate hasn't been cleaned in a while you'll want to add a light layer of glue stick.  I've also found that adding a modifier to slow the print down for the top 20-30 layers reduces the chance of the print being wobbled loose and wasting a load of filament.  The end cap is a snug fit but would benefit from a little CA glue to hold it in place.

Hopefully this will help my son in future to scratch his own damned back when he is itchy, without resorting to jamming his back up against a door frame like a heifer wrecking a fence post… now there's an image I can't unsee.