Shopsmith Forums

Has anyone used these new silicon glue brushes that Rockler and others are selling? Are they any good? Do they have a down side?

I have always used acid brushes but with the price increases we see across the board that is getting expensive. Also it seems foolish to try to reuse these brushes as the usual result is brush fibers stuck all over the next project.

I have been using the old shop stand by thin scraps of wood but I wondered about these new brushes.

Yep! I bought the original brush from Rockler. It has the whiskers on one end and a spatula/spreader on the other. It works as advertised! I left glue all over the whiskers for a week and was able to pull it off. Thought I was going to pull out some whiskers, but they all stayed firmly attached. The resulting glue looked like a honeycomb.

Good point - it spreads glue like one of those toothed floor spreaders used for mastic. Gives an even spread with ample, but not excessive squeeze out.

Bad point - Since I am cheap, it hurts me to pour out enough glue to be effective on the spreader. I'd rather use my roller attachment to the glue bottle.

P.S. All experiance is with Titebond 2.

Ed,
I have a brush coming from Rockler on Tuesday(?) for a project I am currently working on. I will keep you posted.
Dick

I have a couple. I generally like them. However the fine bristles even though flexible with certain glues are difficult to clean. For example, I ripped a couple of bristles out cleaning up after Godzilla glue had set. It can sometimes take as long to clean up after things like titebond 2. I don't feel comfortable leaving little flakes of dried glue to set into the next job. The spade end however, is great for mixing and applying epoxy. A quick twist after the epoxy sets generally cleans it up perfectly.

I was telling my lovely bride about the new brushes one day. a couple of days later she came home with a "dollar" brush from one of the dollar stores........works great and cleans up just like they advertised.
one day i'm going to get a real Rockler brush so i have the spade bit to work with.

take care, bill

More information from before:

https://forum.shopsmith.com/viewtopic.php?t=11210

Ed

I bought a set last year. A set being round and square brushes. I've used them on several projects, large and small. They are great. Glue doesn't stick to them. I used to use bristle brushes, forget to place them in a tupperware water bath and come back later and found them ruined. These brushes can't be destroyed that way. They also have a flat spatula on the other end which is nice for certain applications. Worth the price!

I bought some fro the dollar store and some from the kitchen store for a 1.00 and I think they work great. They clean up easy to

How well does the brush clean up if the glue is not completely dry? Many times I will glue something and the about 20 minutes later I'm ready to glue something else. Seems like the glue on the brush will have started to set on the outer surfaces but still be gooey on the inside.

mountainbreeze wrote:How well does the brush clean up if the glue is not completely dry? Many times I will glue something and the about 20 minutes later I'm ready to glue something else. Seems like the glue on the brush will have started to set on the outer surfaces but still be gooey on the inside.

I haven't had that problem, or noticed it to be a problem. I still use a tupperware bowl with water to drop them into between uses. And, they are cheap enough that I have several of each and would just grab another if needed. What is great, is if the glue dries it peels right off - no ruined brush.

I see Rockler has just come out with a silicon brushes mounted to the top of a glue container, as well as a centering jig and roller type. I guess what is new with the roller is it is grooved to help dried glue come off. I'm not certain if the centering jig is necessary as I usually want a thin even layer the width of the surface. I have several rollers of the old style which is good enough for me. anyone out there tried these newest items?