In the Studio: The Right Tools for the Job David Gamble

Appears in the Sept/Oct 2021 issue of Pottery Making Illustrated.

Using the right tool for the job is always a good idea, but in ceramics, using the right brush is critical for creating certain marks on your pots. You’d have a difficult time trying to use a short flat brush to create a long thin line, yet when using the right brush, you can create that line without any effort at all.

Brushes are made from a wide variety of either animal hair or synthetics. The bristle material affects how the brush loads and disperses a medium. For example, red sable hair is the best choice for watercolors and washes even though less expensive brushes can be made from camel, squirrel, or horse hair. Stiff boar or hog bristles are good for oil paint, while in ceramics we tend to use hairs that load a lot of glaze, so we choose goat and china bristles (the industry term for hog hair). China bristles are normally longer and stiffer than goat hair. By making your own brushes, you can control the qualities that are important and unique to you.

Process

To begin making your brush, select the hair you’re going to use and get an extra long piece of dental floss to wrap the bottom of the hairs. Four hands work best for this, so get someone to hold the hairs as you tie them (1). Do not trim the floss yet. Next, cut the hairs at the base (2). Start with at least one inch of hair. If you want a longer brush, deer-tail hair can be 3–4 inches in length or longer if you use most of the tail. Remember that you’ll need to leave about ¼ to ½ inch of hair to glue and wrap together, so if you want a 1-inch-long brush tip, cut the hair to 1½ inches. Dip the cut end of the brush hair into a puddle of white glue (3). Allow the hair to soak up the glue. Wrap and tightly tie the rest of the floss, forcing the base of the hairs together into a tightly bound tube-like shape (4). Allow to dry before gluing into the handle.

Choose a piece of bamboo that your brush hair will fit into tightly. Hold the bamboo behind a node like a brush to make sure it’s comfortable. Bamboo is hollow between the nodes so decide how long you want the handle, and leave about ¾ inch before you reach the node to create a natural ferrule you can fill with glue.

Wrap masking tape around the end of the bamboo where you plan to cut and use a fine-toothed hacksaw or jeweler’s saw to cut the bamboo (5). The tape keeps the bamboo from splintering. Sand both ends smooth (6).

Test fit the brush hair in the handle, then fill the ferrule space with glue (7), and force the brush hair into it. Use a needle tool to shove it in tight so that the dental floss wrapping cannot be seen (8). Let it dry.

Drill a hole through the bamboo at the end of the handle using a small drill bit so you can add a thread to hang the brush up (9). You can also sand flat a section at the top of the handle so you can write your name on the brush with a permanent marker. Tung oil can be used on the handle for a finishing touch. No other finishing or waterproofing is needed. Over time, the oils from your hand will give the brush handle a nice patina.

As an alternative, you can also split the bamboo ferrule with an X-Acto knife deep enough for the brush hair to fit in (10). This works well if the opening in the bamboo is a bit too small for the brush hair to fit in. Place glue inside and insert the brush hair. Wrap the end tightly then place the end of the thread through the loop you have left at the top and pull the bottom thread until the end is pulled into the wrapping (11). Trim off excess thread and add a thin amount of white glue over the wrap. I’ve also heard of thin copper wire being used.

With either method, once you’ve secured the brush hairs into the ferrule and the glue has dried, thread a piece of ribbon, twine, string, or a leather strap through the hole at the end to create a hanging loop (12). This finishing touch is just one more way to create your own special brushes.

This article originally appeared in the March/April 2012 issue of Pottery Making Illustrated.