Thread: how deep do I seat the knot?

Hey all,

I ordered a couple brush knots today for my daughter to make up for me.
It all seems pretty straight forward but I do have one question. When she drills the hole for the knot how deep should she drill it?

Also do you guys paint an epoxy or other water barrier in the whole to let it soak into the wood before glueing the knot in?

Thanks in advance,

Ray

Sink the hole just enough to cover the band, I epoxy the whole thing(the last time I did it) and used a marine epoxy to glue the knot into the handle. Be sure to post pics!

i used a hot glue gun to seat the plug. It's been in place for a year now, and still holds perfectly.
For a finish, I used tung oil.

Originally Posted by nun2sharp

Sink the hole just enough to cover the band, I epoxy the whole thing(the last time I did it) and used a marine epoxy to glue the knot into the handle. Be sure to post pics!

Thanks nun2sharp I had no idea how deep they were supposed to set.

I have both System 3 marine epoxy and Rod Bond fly rod building epoxy. Both are supposed to be waterproof but I think the rod bond stays a little more flexible once cured.

Rachel has been getting pretty good on the wood lathe. She has been after me to get a set of micro turning tools so I ordered her a set of tools in trade for making dad a couple brushes.

I recomend you do not bore anything until you have knot in hand as they varie quite a bit.
With all due respects you set a knot just below the base your going to have one floppy brush with a loft well over 60mm.
For a face lathering brush you want a loft of about 47/52mm max,Bowl lathering maybe 56/58.
Any two part epoxy well work,when cured they are all waterproof.

Originally Posted by MinATX

i used a hot glue gun to seat the plug. It's been in place for a year now, and still holds perfectly.
For a finish, I used tung oil.

I never thought of this. I use RTV silicone. Epoxy just gives no room for error. I would drill the hole a little deeper than you think you want it. Then if you decide you need the knot to sit higher glue the appropriate sized washer in the hole and set your knot. With RTV silicone you can very easily experiment with different lofts by placing a small dab of it on the bottom of the knot and try it out for a few days. If you don't like it remove the knot gently and add/remove some spacers and try again. I have set at least 10 brushes with this method and it is truly and easy way to have a full custom brush at exactly the right loft.

Matt

What size knot and what type of hair?

Originally Posted by pixelfixed

I recomend you do not bore anything until you have knot in hand as they varie quite a bit.
With all due respects you set a knot just below the base your going to have one floppy brush with a loft well over 60mm.
For a face lathering brush you want a loft of about 47/52mm max,Bowl lathering maybe 56/58.
Any two part epoxy well work,when cured they are all waterproof.

I read at least 40 pages of posts about brushes yesterday, I thought my head might explode. Just now I had to look through a bunch of them again to find the word I was looking for. Backbone -> the relative stiffness of the brush?

So, if you put the knot in the handle shallow you get more loft. If you place the knot deep you get more backbone, correct?

basically,yes

OK gents I have the knots in hand now. They are both 21MM knots. One is a A Grade Mixed Badger and the other is a AAA Pure badger. I bought both from Pen State.