Structuring Brushes

[Roo]

Recognising that maggots have a ghetto workaround for almost everything, I was wondering if there were any brushes that work especially well for structuring bases yet which cost less than the $32 it costs over here for a Toko/Swix item.

Any winners?

[Conundrum]

Tognar.com. Their house brand stuff is quality and a lot less $ than Swix or Toko.

Are you jumping a giant turd in your avatar?

[pechelman]

i suppose you could also look for a welding brush at home depot
should be pretty cheap, but the shape is more long and narrow.
good news is that its long enough for even the widest ski.
maybe 7$? (been a while since ive bought welding supplies)

might also check online at some welding places

[Voltron]

Artech

$10 for house brand brushes.

[L7]

Are you jumping a giant turd in your avatar?

It's an Ibex carcass that apparently someone named DrWhat had ripped the head and hooves from and drank the blood. (He was out of wine and desparate)....... Try to keep up.

[Damian Sanders]

I don't think you can effectively structure with a brush or sandpaper. Tears up the base too much. I use the side of a mill bastard file to "rill" in a structure on skis I'm not stonegrinding. Either linear or crosshatch.

[Mulletizer]

The one sitting in my toolbox in my kitchen is free to borrow. You just need to pick it up - and you might get the Swollen Members album I've had kicking around waiting for you at the same time.

[INDY GS]

I don't think you can effectively structure with a brush or sandpaper. Tears up the base too much. I use the side of a mill bastard file to "rill" in a structure on skis I'm not stonegrinding. Either linear or crosshatch.

What he said, but your better off using a Rilling bar, so you can Press the structure in, rather than cut like you would with the side of a file. Plus a rilling bar has course tooth on one side and smaller tooth on the other.

Structure brushes are best left to the pros.

But I assume you are just looking for brushes for cleaning wax out of your structure rather than structuring with the brush. You "can" use a stiff nylon kitchen brush for cleaning wax out of the structure after you have waxed, however a ski specific one will do you better.

I suggest a Brass or Bronze Brush, A Horsehair Brush and a Nylon Brush. I can get you any of these at a great price, but that will get quickly negated by shipping to the UK.

[Dexter Rutecki]

What's the consensus on using the brass brush after scraping (before scotchbriting) instead of a nylon brush? Is there a downside to this? It seems to more effectively remove excess wax.

[iceman]

It's an Ibex carcass that apparently someone named DrWhat had ripped the head and hooves from and drank the blood. (He was out of wine and desparate)....... Try to keep up.

Seriously. Who wouldn't know this stuff?

[runethechamp]

What's the consensus on using the brass brush after scraping (before scotchbriting) instead of a nylon brush? Is there a downside to this? It seems to more effectively remove excess wax.

No scotchbriting needed. First brass, then nylon.

[INDY GS]

I usually only use a scotchbrite after a grind to help smooth the base, or after waxing with a cold hard wax.

Brass Brush before waxing to open up the base. Wax. Scrape, Wax Scrape, Brush with Nylon. If using a harder wax go ahead and use a brass or bronze brush. I actually like the combi brush for this.

[dipstik]

What's the consensus on using the brass brush after scraping (before scotchbriting) instead of a nylon brush? Is there a downside to this? It seems to more effectively remove excess wax.

I find the nylon brush to be the most useless of them all.

I usually use the brass before waxing, then bronze + horsehair afterwords.

Like others have said, I only really use fibertex/scotchbrite pads after a grind or after p-texing.

[Damian Sanders]

What he said, but your better off using a Rilling bar, so you can Press the structure in, rather than cut like you would with the side of a file. Plus a rilling bar has course tooth on one side and smaller tooth on the other.

I've used a rilling bar, and find that the side of the file works better, because it cuts. But you basicly use it like a rilling bar. I typically do a 20-30 degree crosshatch on my powder skis....

[Damian Sanders]

I find the nylon brush to be the most useless of them all.

I usually use the brass before waxing, then bronze + horsehair afterwords.

Like others have said, I only really use fibertex/scotchbrite pads after a grind or after p-texing.

Currently, I go steel brush -> scotchbrite -> nylon brush, after scraping. Quick and effective.

The steel brush removes the excess wax and gets into the structure most effectively, the scotchbrite removes the roughness the steel brush leaves, and the nylon brush polishes it up to finish it off. I've used bronze and horse hair also, but I like the steel and nylon combo better.

[INDY GS]

I've used a rilling bar, and find that the side of the file works better, because it cuts. But you basicly use it like a rilling bar. I typically do a 20-30 degree crosshatch on my powder skis....

Where do you ski? Typically pow is cold and dry snow, and a linear structure would be preferred in this instance. especially as agressive a cut as you would be putting in with the side of a file.

Now, if you are in a Maritime snowpack, this may be preferred as the snow is a lot wetter and a more agressive structure could help glide. But i would still say cutting rather than pressing is too much.

[Damian Sanders]

The east....linear like this doesn't pivot well, the crosshatch does and still glides great. I scotchbrite it pretty hard to flatten it out.