Making Brushes by Robert Shelton
An expanded version of an article originally appearing in the World Famous CAG Newsletter. Note: this information is intended for personal use only. It cannot be redistributed in any way without prior consent from the creator of the article.
For less than $ 20, and in a few enjoyable hours, you can craft custom glaze brushes that
will be the envy of your fellow ceramicists. If you have a fly tying fisher person in the family
or neighborhood, the cost might be even less. This article will tell you what you need
and how to go about it.
After you have materials in hand, these are the steps:
- Cut hair from supply piece.
- Fasten hairs together with thread wrapping.
- Cement butt of the hair bundle together.
- Make a handle from bamboo or dowel.
- Epoxy the hair bundle into bamboo handle.
Materials and Tools
Animal hair patches of your choice: buck tail($4.50) is the most versatile; elk mane($1.50),
moose mane($1.50), or antelope($3.50) work well also. Buck tail comes in a much larger
piece, so it’s the least expensive. Prices and sizes vary widely. In selecting a patch, look at
the length of the hairs, remembering that 1/4 to 1/2 inch forms the butt and goes inside the
handle. Also look at the thickness of the hairs where they meet the hide. The thinner, the
better in order to avoid “spinning”, the flaring out of hairs when you tighten the thread. If
you won’t use a lot, try to trade with others so all have more variety.
- Pair of small scissors from toiletry or sewing stuff. Use what you have.
Spool of sturdy fly tying or sewing thread ($ 2). Black seems to work best, but it is up to you.
- Fly tying or other liquid cement ($2). You need a cement that is thin enough to flow between
the hairs and glue them together. Better too thin than too thick.
- 5-minute epoxy to hold hair bundle into handle. No, you won’t need the 2000 pound stuff.
- Single edge razor blades.
- Dry bamboo for handles; hardwood dowels will work well also.
- A fine comb to clean fluff from the straight hairs. Source: steal one from the baby or from the electric shaver kit bought to trim your mustache.
- Access to fine toothed saw and small electric drill & bits. A fine coping saw blade may do
the job, but a hobby saw is better. Try the hobby shop across from Diablo Valley College.
Fly tying bobbin holder ($ 7 to 9) - optional. It is possible to run some rubber bands
around the spool of thread so that it does not go running across the floor when you drop it. - Bobbin holders, thread, and many kinds of animal hair are available at Creative Sports, 1924C Oak Park Blvd. in Pleasant Hill, a couple blocks west of the County Central Library and at other fly fishing shops. Pay little attention to color as it will probably wash out anyway.
- Pieces of bamboo can be obtained from gardener friends, nurseries and Orchard Supply Hardware. I like black bamboo best, but it is hard to find.
Construction
Now that you are surrounded by your equipment and are ready to make brushes, consider
two things:
- Will you be happy to have odd pieces of animal hair littering this area?
- Will you be happy if you spill cement on your table?
A “no” to either question should move you to find a new work space.
Cut Hair from Supply Piece
Select a piece of animal hide. Cut a squarish chunk away from the supply. For small
brushes, it is easiest to cut out a small piece of hide with desired amount of hair still attached.
Wait to cut away the hide until you have thread wrapped tightly on bundle. First
brush? Start with a piece 1/2 to 3/4 square. Larger brushes can be made of several smaller
bundles. More delicate brushes can be made by combing out the fluff, leaving the guard
hairs, but it will take more hide to make a brush. Try some of each. Larger brushes may
require that you first grab a bunch of similar length hair and cut it from the hide.
Fasten with Thread
If using a bobbin holder, put the thread through the tube on the bobbin holder and the
bobbin between the round knobs. Without a bobbin holder, just hold the bobbin in the
palm of your hand with your little finger and control the thread between thumb and forefinger
and have someone else nearby when you need a third hand. :-} It may also be possible
to fashion some wire and rubber bands to keep the spool from unraveling.
Start wrapping the butt ends of the hair firmly
but not super tight. To start the wrap, hold
the thread end with the same hand as the hair,
then wrap over the thread end to lock it in
place. Thirty turns around the bundle is not
excessive. How tight? If you wrap too tightly,
the hairs will splay out in every which direction.
Try to wrap as tightly as you can without
causing the hairs to splay out -- unless you
want that shape brush. Tie off by making a
loop in the supply thread and dropping it over
the butt end, pull tight. Here is where the
bobbin holder really pays off because you can
let it hang in mid air without the thread coming
unrolled.
Cut Away the Hide
Cut the hide away from the bundle now. Then make some more wraps with the thread and tie the thread off as above. Trim the butt ends of the hair neatly so that the stub will fit neatly into the hole you will drill in the handle. Avoid cutting your wrapped thread!
Cement the Butt of Hair Bundle
Fly tying cement is quite liquid, so it will flow between the threads and into the butt of
hairs to cement them to each other and to the thread. Use a toothpick, nail, or needle tool
to dip drops of cement from the bottle to the hair bundle butt. Also cover the thread completely
with cement, using two or three applications. You don’t need to use a huge amount,
but the threads should be well covered to seal them together for long brush life. Set the
bundle aside to thoroughly dry on waxed paper.
Make a Handle
Select a piece of bamboo for the handle. It is most attractive to
use a piece with a knot on both ends. Bamboo pieces between four and eight inches are the
most useful. Select a section whose length and diameter seem in good proportion with the
size of your hair bundle. Remember, the bundle of hair must fit into a hole you drill in the
end of the bamboo. Cut your handle section out of the larger bamboo spear using as fine a
saw as you can get your hands on. A fine hack saw blade may work, but do work gently to
avoid tearing wood fibres. Adjacent bamboo sections may not be useful, depending on
how you would like the handle ends to look. I use a saw from the hobby store across from
DVCC. Sandpaper the bamboo ends as needed or if you have a grinding wheel, use that
lightly. Want to get fancy: stain the cut portions to match the outsides.
SAFETY NOTE!
Holding the bamboo while you drill is NOT a trivial issue. Drill slowly and you MAY be
able to hold it by hand. Try to “hot dog” it and you may whip the bamboo out of your
hand, perhaps injuring yourself if you have a tendency to be extraordinarily unlucky. I
have a work bench vise equipped with a rubber jaw insert which works nicely, but I still
drill slowly so that I don’t split the bamboo. If you have a vice, but no “soft jaws”, find
some cork, felt, canvas, or rubber pieces to cushion the grip of the vice on your precious
bamboo handle. Again, take it slowly so you don’t mess up your handle. A MotoTool
works particularly well due to its excellent speed control, but ordinary drills will work also.
There are various kinds of drill bits available, but since you are drilling into end grain, you don’t need “brad point bits”, in fact they are less effective. Good, old fashioned carbon bits are just fine. If you are planning on a BIG brush, consider drilling out a small hole and working up to the size you need. Use a round rasp or burring bit to make the hole larger.
Glue Hair Bundle into Handle
The hair bundle should slide into the hole without excessive force and far enough for most
of the thread to be hidden inside. Check for fit before you apply epoxy. Epoxy the hair
bundle into bamboo handle. 5-Minute Epoxy works best, especially for impatient folks like
you and me. Follow the safety precautions on the tube and mix a small amount per the instructions.
Mix the epoxy with a large nail, popsicle stick or such. Smear some epoxy inside
the hole and a bit on the outside of the hair bundle stub (the wrapped part). It does not
take a lot. I usually squeeze out half an inch of epoxy and same of hardener. Wipe off and
wash your hands after use, epoxy in the mouth or eyes is a definite NO NO and the best
way to avoid that is to keep your fingers out of it. After the first epoxy has set, examine the
junction between hair bundle and handle to see if there are any voids to fill with some more
epoxy via a toothpick -- this is mostly cosmetic, but may make your brush easier to clean.
Wow Mom! My Very Own Brush!
So, now you have a brush. Congratulations. You can make some more to expand on what
you have learned. When the epoxy is fully hardened, get out some glaze and give it a try!
If you want to get fancy about appearances, here are some ideas:
- Design a way to put your initials or mark on the handle.
- Use a black marking pen to touch up cut ends of black bamboo.
- Drill a small hole at the back end and glue in a loop of black or gold cord.
- Paint the handle lightly with some DEFT wood finish or equivalent.
Now What?
So far we have not talked about how the individual hairs are lined up end-to-end. We just
took them as the animal grew them. But it is also possible to build a different shape brush
by aligning the hairs so that the points are together; such a brush may not trail as fine an
ending to a stroke as before. But it will yield a brush with more control. There is a fishing
fly tying device called a hair stacker ($15 and up) which is helpful in lining up the points.
You can make a substitute with brass tubing per my example.
We used hair thickness as we found it, but it is possible to pick out hairs of similar thickness, points aligned or not, to make other styles of brushes. Consider that narrow, long bristled brushes will make snakey lines, short stiff ones will make more precise lines, and full, robust brushes will create broad, heavy lines. Which is best? Depends on what you want! Several of each would be nice. ;-}
After your first dozen animal hair brushes, you may want to explore other materials that can be used for bristles. Try one made with straws from a broom. You might use pieces of rag or artificial hairs from the Fly Tying Shop. If you have a house painting brush whose bristles look interesting but it’s not in the right shape, try them.
What else?
Enjoy your brush crafting and make a few extra for gifting your potty friends!