broken brushes

[chandrarules]

I have spent all night looking for this on here so if it's been answered already I'm sorry.

I have three broken 1 inch lining fitches. I believe that the brushes have been left in water too many times and the bristles are expanding so much that the metal ferrule is splitting. The bristles have expanded so much that the ferrule wont go back to it's original form, but I think that if maybe I wrap them with something or solder something to the ferrule I can save them. The bristles are still in great shape and the brushes are less than a year old.

I got these brushes from my school and if I can fix them, I can keep them. Many of you may know that these are expensive brushes and I would love to add a few to my kit without shelling out my life savings.

Any help would be awesome.

[gafftapegreenia]

Actually, I don't think we talk about brushes that often. This is both interesting and new to me. The learning continues here on CB.

[Spikesgirl]

Originally Posted by chandrarules

I have spent all night looking for this on here so if it's been answered already I'm sorry.
I have three broken 1 inch lining fitches. I believe that the brushes have been left in water too many times and the bristles are expanding so much that the metal ferrule is splitting. The bristles have expanded so much that the ferrule wont go back to it's original form, but I think that if maybe I wrap them with something or solder something to the ferrule I can save them. The bristles are still in great shape and the brushes are less than a year old.
I got these brushes from my school and if I can fix them, I can keep them. Many of you may know that these are expensive brushes and I would love to add a few to my kit without shelling out my life savings.
Any help would be awesome.

Okay, this is what I would do. Wet the brushes and then wrapp them in something (like muslin) to make them dry back in shape. Tighten the wrapping as the bristles and cloth dries until you can get them back into a workable shape. Apply pressure if possible to do without damaging them more. I've used a wafer for weight as i've wanted my bristles totally flat, but I'm not sure that will work for a liner.

Once you've completed the drying process, I would attack the ferrule issue. I've never had a ferrule crack on a brush I was trying to save, but I would check to see if after the bristles are dry to see if it will take solder (some won't). if it will, then I'd rig a jig to hold it in place while you solder it. If not, you might check with your local hardware store. They should have something called liquid solder(glue section), which isn't exactly that, but works really well. I've used that route a couple of times before my TD came in, yelled, threw the brushes out and bought new ones...but I really lvoed the old ones. Could never cut a line decently after that.

Hope that helps a little.

Char5lie

[chandrarules]

Thanks Charlie.

I thought that I saw somewhere, some time that if you should wrap the ferrule in solder and then use more solder to attach the wrap to the existing ferrule. I don't remember exactly where I saw it, so I wasn't sure if I dreamed it or not.

[Spikesgirl]

That certainly would work, but make sure you test your solder before hand. It doesn't always work on the ferrule. Good luck - I know what it's like to get your hands on certain brushes. I have some that you'll have to pry from my cold dead fingers...

Char5lie