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[Steve Patterson]

So, I have a turkey beard and some muley antler laying around and I was thinking of making a pan brush. Any advice on how to attach the two once the hole is drilled in the antler. I was thinking epoxy at first then thought it'd be nice to replace the beard with another when the first one wears out. Been thinking on it a while but thought I'd see if anyone had any brighter ideas then mine.

[Nordnecker]

I made a panbrush like this. I just used beeswax to hold the bristles in. It has held up so far. I'd use hide glue now, but I didn't have any when I made my brush.

[Greg Pennell]

Steve, I’ve just used Titebond II wood glue on the ones I’ve made. It’s about as easy to just make another brush if the bristles ever need replacement...but those bristles are pretty strong. I’d imagine you could use a little heat from a heat gun and a sharp scribe to dig them out if you needed to.

Greg

[Tim Crosby]

  I have found that if you use a 1/4 to 5/16" hole maybe 1/2 to 3/4s deep and fold your brush material in half and force it in you don't need any glue or whatever. Start with more, thicker and longer than you need, use a little dish soap to get it to get it to slide in easier, wash it good, let it dry and trim it.
 Never used Turkey beard, mostly horse tail.

   Tim C.

[Tim Crosby]

 Since I posted the above I figured I'd make one to show. Antler base, horse hair, no glue. Quarter inch hole, first pic untrimmed second trimmed. It can be trimmed shorter to make it stiffer and is easily "reloaded."

  Tim C. 

[hawkeye]

I made me one in the past, also with turkey beard, Wich is stiffer as horsehair and I glued with bone glue to

[Tim Crosby]

 Yes horse hair is not the best stuff unless it is cut short. I used to braid it and still have more than I'll
ever use.

  Tim

[Clark Badgett]

If you glue the bristles in, you can easily remove them when needed with the same size drill bit.

[Steve Patterson]

Thank you all

[alacran]

There was some discussion on this in the black powder shooting section. I use javelina bristles for mine .
I gave a bunch to Carl Williard and he made me a set. He used antler tips. The one I had made was made totally different. I liked the antler tip method so I made a set  with bristles from a javelina I shot on New Years day. Like Carl I epoxied the bristles in.
 Javelina bristles are real stiff. I found that using a small wire tie to hold the bundle together, makes everything easier.

This is the set that Carl made


This is the set I made. Looking for the right size chain. Have a lot of bristles so I will make more. Next ones I hope will come out better.

[Hungry Horse]

 I use pine pitch that has gently been brought to a boil. Once its been boiled it loses it stickiness, and hardens into a true resin.

  Hungry Horse

[Hungry Horse]

 I prefer pig bristles for pan brushes. A good source other than the obvious (pigs) is modern copies of old fashioned shaving brushes. The really good old ones, will be made from badger bristles, which are too soft for a good pan brush, but the modern copies are made from pig bristles which are pretty rough for a shaving brush, but just fine for a pan brush. They can usually be picked up in junk stores, or yard sales cheap. Each shaving brush will make four or five pan brushes.

  Hungry Horse