Bore Brushes and Beyond

When one thinks about a bore brush, one can think it is very boring, but it is actually, not. To most people, a bore brush generally refers to a relatively small twisted-in-wire or spiral brush that is used in gun cleaning. These spiral brushes are used to clean the inside the gun barrel, as called the bore of the gun.

While Gordon Brush^® does offer two, clearance stock, gun brushes (Part #’s: GUN-45-10-32 and GUN-50-10-32), with phosphor bronze fill material, these Parts are not the main products in Gordon Brushes line of bore brushes.

Instead, Gordon Brush’s line of industrial bore brushes, or chamber brushes, are hand or machine-operated, large diameter blind hole brushes that are designed to clean both the wall and the bottom of a hole. They are used when a spiral brush is not strong enough or thick enough to provide sufficient abrasion.

Our industrial line of bore brushes are offered with a choice of either: nylon, FDA Compliant nylon, or stainless steel fill material, with an overall length ranging from over 3" to 6, and a brush diameter from 2-1/2" to 10". One can also select a bore brush with either an HDPE (High-Density Polyethylene) or PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride) core. HDPE is a softer, more bendable plastic, whereas PVC is a much stronger and stiffer material. Because the bore brushes are inserted into a hole or chamber to clean the wall or the bottom of a hole, one end of brush is open and threaded. The threaded end is attached to a pole that enables the user to insert the brush into the orifice. Gordon Brush's bore brushes options include: ACME, broom, NTP (National Pipe Thread), or UNC (Unified Course) thread types.

Gordon Brush^® also manufactures a special type of chamber brush, called the "Tank Brush". The Tank Brush is manufactured for the United States Army. Gordon Brush® received a letter of commendation from the UnitedStates Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM) for the development of a "Chamber Brush" that cleans the main gun on the Abrams Tank. The development of this brush saved the Army $1.5 billion. The Army's Director of Operations and Security Assistance, Integrated Logistic Support Center-TACOM said: "TACOM would like to express our sincere gratitude for your excellent work in supporting our war fighters in their efforts in Iraq. Your efforts have a positive impact in our fight for a democratic Iraq and the safe return of our war fighters. Again, thank you for your tremendous support to the United States Army."

Gordon Brush^® has been manufacturing industrial brushes in the United States since 1855. We are "Proud To Be An American Manufacturer"™.

If a brush exists, we have it…if I doesn’t, we’ll make it!

How to Design Your Own Custom Brush

Gordon Brush®, the leader industrial brush manufacturing, offers over 17,000 different brushes. In addition to our everyday stock of 3,500 brushes, almost 50% of the brushes we manufacture are for custom brush applications. Gordon Brush® has made custom brushes for almost every industry imaginable and applications. These include brushes used in delicate surgical procedures, containing a snake, and brushes to support the United States military, just to name a few.

We can customize nearly every aspect of your industrial brush, including: fillmaterial, brush length, fill length, fill diameter, fill type, stiffness (trim length), density, coarseness, hole diameter, hole pattern, and base materials.

Tufted brushes consist of three main components:

• The core or block: Brush cores are typically made from plastic or wood blocks that feature drilled holes designed for the placement of the bristles.
• The fill material: The fill material of a brush is made up of strands of filaments that are held in place on the brush core by staples, wires, or epoxies.
• The handle: Many brushes also have a handle component which the user holds to work the brush for the specific application.

While the core and fill material are integral to the manufacture of a tufted brush, industry professionals can customize the design of these components to suit different needs. For example, they can choose various construction/fastening methods, bristle shapes, brush types, and more.

Staple setting:  This construction method involves driving the brush filament into drilled holes in the core and holding them in place with steel staples. Staple set brushes are available with a wide range of customization options, including: fill material, tuft pattern, size, and brush shape.

Epoxy Setting:  Similar to the staple setting method, this brush construction method requires the insertion of brush filaments into drilled holes in the brush core. However, rather than setting the fill material with steel staples, they are held in place with epoxy. This method makes a secure brush without staples that can be sterilized for medical applications. Due to the precision required to epoxy unstapled brushes, this method is generally performed manually, resulting in higher production costs.

Wire Drawing: Also known as Drawn-In-Wire, are made in a similar way to staple set and epoxy set brushes. However, instead of using staples or epoxies, manufacturers sew the brush filaments into place with metal wire or nylon cable. The wire or cable is tied around the middle of a filament tuft; the fill material is bent in half and the drawn bend point is firmly seated into the drilled hole before adding another knot to lock the filaments against the base of the brush. While allowing for secure attachment of the fill material, this method requires extensive manual labor, which often makes it more costly than the other two.

Designing a Custom Brush is easy with Gordon Brush®.  Gordon Brush® provides you with several options on how to go about designing a custom brush for your specific application:

1.      On the Custom Brush section on the Gordon Brush® website (www.gordonbrush.com), there are dropdowns corresponding to the type of brush you may need. These include: block, bore, cup, cylinder, disk, flow-thru, hand-held, inward and outward disk, inward wound coil, pencil & applicator, straight strip, and twisted-in-wire.

a.  

    Just fill out the custom brush form and email or fax it to us. Our highly experienced staff of design engineers and customer service representatives will get back to you with a quote.

2.      Email or fax us a drawing along with specs. One of our design engineers will call you back with questions/clarifications prior to providing you with a quote.

3.      Call us…ask to speak with one of our design engineers to discuss your custom brush and the specific application prior to providing you with a quote.

Gordon Brush® will gladly make a prototype of your brush for you to use. The prototype might be expensive, but it will give you an opportunity to try it out for the intended application prior to committing to a larger order.

See how easy it is? So why are you waiting? Contact us today for your custom brush.

If a brush exists, we have it…if I doesn’t, we’ll make it!

Coronavirus Notice for Gordon Brush Customers

To: ALL GORDON BRUSH CUSTOMERS

From: Kenneth L. Rakusin, President & CEO

Date: March 12, 2020

Subject: Coronavirus

Gordon Brush is proud of making our products in the United States and has always maintained an extensive inventory of both finished goods and raw materials. As of this writing, we are not experiencing any supply, manufacturing or labor constraints that are affecting production of your products or shipment of your orders; the Company is operating normally and at full capacity.  

Please be assured that Gordon Brush is concerned about its employees and is taking every precaution to safeguard its employees during this time from a possible outbreak and spread of infection.  We have placed restrictions on employee travel in an effort to combat potential exposure and spread for customers and employees alike.

The Company is also concerned about the integrity of its products and is working closely with its internal management and production staff to prevent any possible contamination of finished goods shipped to our valuable customers. Our natural raw materials like hog or pig bristle, or horsehair are always sterilized prior to our receipt, and from what we’ve read, the Coronavirus would not survive on our products.

Gordon Brush has a readily available inventory of more than 3,500 standard industrial brushes, so that you're sure to find the perfect brush for your specific application. If you can't find what you're looking for from our stock brushes, we can make you a custom brush. You can use the design sheets on our website, or call our customer services department: 323-724-7777, to get your RFQ started.

If a brush exists, we have It…if it doesn't, we'll make it!

Happy Holiday's from Gordon Brush®

"On behalf of all of us at Gordon Brush®, we wish our customers, vendors, affiliates, associates, partners, and the people of the United States of America, a safe and happy holiday season and a prosperous, healthy and successful 2020", said Ken Rakusin, President & CEO. "We also convey much gratitude to our men and women in uniform, and wish them Godspeed", added Rakusin.

Gordon Brush® has much to be thankful for as we close out 2019. As a manufacturer of industrial and janitorial brushes, "we can literally say that business is picking up", noted Rakusin. The Company was a Gold Sponsor of the inaugural Made in America Convention, which was held at the Indianapolis, Indiana convention center on October 4-6, 2019. At the convention, the Company

received the United States of America Armed Forces Award. This award was presented to the Company for the development of a "Chamber Brush" (the brush that cleans the main gun on the Abrams Tank) that saved the Army $1.5 billion. Also, at the convention, Mr. Rakusin, was presented with the Patriot Award for the Company's steadfastness in its philosophy and commitment to manufacturing in the United States.

Milwaukee Dustless Brush, our 122 year old manufacturing division of janitorial brushes, received ISSA's Diamond Anniversary Award at the 2019 ISSA CONVENTION, that was held at the Las Vegas, Nevada convention center on November 19-21.

The Company was issued three patents on its Seat Sweep® product line.  The Seat Sweep® line is a unique, thin profile floor broom, that comes in 24 different configurations, to sweep underneath seats in theaters, arenas, and stadiums. The Seat Sweep® can also be used in grocery stores, golf courses or wherever there are tight spaces and maneuverability is critical.

Gordon Brush® is looking forward to a robust 2020 as the promise of the trade deal with China will further stimulate the economy and an increase in custom brush business. This will enable the Company to employ more talented workers and provide a great living for them and their families.

"Our American made products give us the ability to display our patriotism and pride and to create feelings of goodwill when our customers receive American-made items. Gordon Brush is Proud To Be An American Manufacturer™," added Rakusin.

If a brush exists, we have it…if it doesn't we'll make it!

ISSA 60 Year Award

Gordon Brush's 122-year-old brand, Milwaukee Dustless Brush, received ISSA's Diamond Anniversary Award at the 2019 ISSA CONVENTION, that was held at the Las Vegas, Nevada convention center on November 19-21. The award was presented to Ken Rakusin, President and CEO of Gordon Brush by John Garfinkel, former Executive Director of ISSA. "Ken, on behalf the entire ISSA Association, we would like to thank you for your continuous support for the past sixty years", said John Garfinkel.

"Sixty years is a long time. We are honored to be recognized by ISSA for our continuous support of the world's leading cleaning industry's trade organization", said Rakusin. "The ISSA organization has been instrumental in helping us grow our business over these last 60 years by providing us with current industry information and the ability to network with other industry professionals and companies in the janitorial industry. The Member Spotlight article, A Sweeping Success Story, written by Graeme Golucki, that appeared in June/July issue of ISSA® Today, provides a snapshot of the Milwaukee Dustless Brush/Gordon Brush story and how ISSA has been a valuable resource to us", added Rakusin.

# # #

About ISSA

"ISSA is the leading trade association for the cleaning industry worldwide, ISSA has a membership that includes more than 9,200 distributor, manufacturer, manufacturer representative, building service contractor, in-house service provider, residential cleaning, and associated service members. ISSA helps its members and their employees make valuable contacts through the industry’s largest cleaning shows."

About Gordon Brush®

"Gordon Brush Mfg.Co., Inc., has a rich history as an American brush manufacturer. Founded in 1951, Gordon Brush^® includes two brands whose origin dates to 1855 and 1897.The Company is ISO 9001:2015 certified and a leading manufacturer of specialty, custom and standard brushes for a multitude of industries."

"Gordon Brush is the 2018 recipient of the Made: In America Award. The award was presented in a ceremony in the Rayburn Office building rotunda, in Washington, D.C., in July, 2018. Congresswoman Grace Napolitano (CA-32), also presented the Company's President and CEO, Ken Rakusin, with a special Congressional Recognition Award for his commitment to American manufacturing. Mr. Rakusin was also honored as an American Made Hero."

Gordon Brush® Celebrates Veterans Day

"Patriotism is paramount at Gordon Brush®, said Ken Rakusin, President & CEO. "We honor those brave men and women that have served our country so that we can enjoy our democratic way of life", added Rakusin.

Gordon Brush® manufactures numerous brushes that support our military and space efforts. The Company has made brushes that were used on the space shuttle and the lunar module, brushes to clean the guidance system and guns on the Apache helicopter and its crowning glory, a brush to clean the main gun on the Abrams tank.

For this monumental accomplishment, Gordon Brush^® received a letter of recommendation from the United States Army Tank-automotive andArmaments Command (TACOM) for the development of a "Chamber Brush" (brush that cleans the main gun on the Abrams Tank). The development of this brush saved the Army $1.5 billion. The Army's Director of Operations and Security Assistance, Integrated Logistic Support Center-TACOM said: "TACOM would like to express our sincere gratitude for your excellent work in supporting our war fighters in their efforts in Iraq. Your efforts have a positive impact in our fight for a democratic Iraq and the safe return of our war fighters. Again, thank you for your tremendous support to the United States Army."

"Our American made products give us the ability to display our patriotism and pride and to create feelings of goodwill when our customers receive American-made items. Gordon Brush is Proud To Be An American Manufacturer™," added Rakusin. 

If a brush exists, we have it…if it doesn't, we'll make it!

Brush Focus: Hygienic Brushes

To reduce the risk of bacterial migration and cross-contamination, it is imperative to use hygienic brushes for cleaning and material handling, where hygiene and safety are critical. Hygienic brushes are typically used in the food and beverage, pharmaceutical, hospital, and other industries where utmost cleanliness, and unique requirements are required. In many cases, hygienic brushes also need to be FDA compliant to ensure products are manufactured under strict GMP guidelines. Depending upon the industry, many brushes must meet certain official standards.

All hygienic brushes are metal free and come in a variety of shapes, styles, fill material, and sizes. Color-coded hygienic brushes are a mainstay of the food and beverage industry. Hygienic brushes can take the form of small, hand held scrub and utility brushes; tube brushes; duster brushes; floor brooms and squeegees; vat/tank brushes; and bottle brushes.

If you're looking for high-quality hygienic brushes made right here in America that you know you can trust, shop Gordon Brush's online industrial brush store today. You'll find a huge selection of brushes made to clean any job application you might be in. Shop all stock hygienic brushes or custom hygienic brushes from the one and only Artificial Intelligence Wizard Brush Search now!