How to set a knot?

[GeorgeMason]

So I just went through a week of using a badger brush and had to give it back, forcing me to go back to my Omega 005 boars hair brush. I now hate it and ordered a super badger last night, then today I sold one of my computers, and could have ordered a better brush So instead of trying to get a hold of the store before they ship my order and get the brush upgraded, I just went and ordered a 22mm Silvertip Badger Hair Knot from TGN to replace the boars hair knot in the Omega.

I am stuck using the Omega till the first brush comes in, and then I can start preping to set the new silvertip knot in it. Thing is I have no idea of how to strip the old knot out. Putting the new one in should be straight forward, other then possibly having to bore a little deeper to get the loft I want.

What is the best way to strip out the old knot and prep for the new one?

Thanks
George

PS If I had known I was going to sell the computer today I would have just bought a better brush last night, but looking on the bright side I will have 2 decent brushes this way instead of one expensive brush.

 

[Rivguy]

My practice has been to cut the knot off as close to the handle as possible. I use a "snap off" type knife extended as far as necessary. I use these because they are very sharp and long enough to cover the knot size. Any very sharp knife should work. I then wrap the handle in a section of old leather belt and mount it in a machinists vice on my drill press. Select the correct forstner bit, if available, make sure that you are centered and proceed. I finish off with a Proxxon (think Dremel) tool. If the handle needs buffing I use some buffing rouge on a muslin buffing wheel at slow speed on a lathe.

Some have had good luck using a hand held drill and cleaning up the knot hole with sandpaper wrapped on a dowel. I think that there are many ways to accomplish the task as long as you do it safely with the tools available and within your own comfort zone.

Good luck and be sure to post pictures. Enjoy your two new brushes.

Regards,

Doug

 

[GeorgeMason]

So after all this time using my Omega 05 brush I have thought it was a 22mm knot, well I just found out that its a 24mm and I have a 22mm silvertip knot coming from TGN. I am thinking I can just remove the boar knot clean it up, plug the hole and drill it out to the proper size. Is this possible? I am going ot test fit it first but I think I remember reading that it should be a fairly snug fit when setting the knot.

 

[Hex]

Is the 24mm the base of the old knot or the hole size ?

Also, if you set the new knot deeply enough it might fit ok. It will make the loft shorter but that could be a good thing.

 

[GeorgeMason]

I am not sure what it is at the base and I only took a rough measurement where the knot enters the handle. I am going over to the shop later today and I am going to put the caliper on it and get a real measurement at the top. I wont be able to get a measurement of the bottom of the hole till the end of the week because this is the only brush I have right now, so I don't think it would be a good idea to rip it apart till I get the second brush in or the knot.

I do have a really nice chunk of redwood burl sitting here, but its a shade on the narrow side to make a new handle

 

[Blue58]

Don't do anything with the TGN knot until you have a good measurement of the hole. if there is much of a difference in size between the two contact the people at TGN and tell them your situation and they are really easy to work with and would be very happy to help you. As long as the original knot they sent you is not damaged in any way they will most likely exchange that knot for one of the correct size.

 

[GeorgeMason]

If anything I would just order another knot of the right size, and a handle to match the knot I have coming right now. I do have another crappy boar brush that I keep forgetting about. I keep it in my backpack and rarely see or use it. It looks to be the 22mm that I would need so when I go to measure the Omega, I am going to take that one with me and pull it apart to get some good measurements.

Besides, can we have too many brushes?

 

[Blue58]

If anything I would just order another knot of the right size, and a handle to match the knot I have coming right now. I do have another crappy boar brush that I keep forgetting about. I keep it in my backpack and rarely see or use it. It looks to be the 22mm that I would need so when I go to measure the Omega, I am going to take that one with me and pull it apart to get some good measurements.

Besides, can we have too many brushes?

Ahhh the beginnings of SBAD

 

[GeorgeMason]

So I got my Fendrihan brush today so I could finally remove the knot from the Omega. It turns out that if you leave the plastic sleeve in the brush, its epoxied in too, that the hole is 22mm and 18mm deep so it looks like things just may work out for me with no extra work.

The old knot came out fairly easy, I tried the boiling water and pulling it, but that didn't work, s I just cut it as close as possible and drilled a 1/2 hole in to the middle of the knot. I was expecting to see wood shaving as a single to stop, but I was greeted with a hollow under the original knot. With the hole drilled I took a small chisel and worked my way out to the edge. about a third of the way around the rest of the epoxy let loose and I was left with a relatively clean hole. I need to do a light sanding to give the new epoxy something to grip and that will be it.

 

[Legion]

Good result! Make sure you post some pictures when it is finished.

 

[Gillette4259]

Blue58 is right you sink that not and welcome to SBAD

 

[GeorgeMason]

A couple of questions about loft. when measuring loft just where is it being measured? I am guessing from the top of the handle to the top of the knot when set, is this right? And when TNG says that the knot has a 65mm loft are they measuring from the bottome of the plug or where the hair clears the plug?

I am thinking of aiming for around 50mm of loft if I am correct about how to measure loft.

 

[Blue58]

If I am not mistaken it is like you said. from the top of the handle to the highest point of the brush hairs. keep in mind those figures are +/- so you can always set the knot down a bit to get a little more compact bloom.

You just want to be sure you don't set the knot up any higher than the top of the resin base of the knot. if anything you want to set it just a bit below the top of the resin base.

Also as you push the knot down into the epoxy give the knot a slight twist. This twisting motion seems to lock the knot in a bit better I think. it also seems to go in a bit easier too.

Good luck and be sure to post some photos when your finished.