Even the simplest of tool upgrades can make a difference.
And it just doesn’t get much simpler than a standard bench brush. Like you, I’ve had many over the years, but there was one of them I liked the best. It felt good in my hand, and it swept well – which is about as much as you can ask from a brush. But it’s long past retirement age.
As you can see, the bristles on my old favorite in front have worn down over the years. Frankly, it just doesn’t do a very good job anymore, especially with finer dust, but I’ll miss it.
The one behind it is its replacement, which I bought a few weeks ago. It’s the same size as the green one was originally, and might even be made by the same manufacturer, but it’s not as nice. The handle is very slightly different and feels weird in my hand. Yeah, we’re talking about a brush here, not an expensive chisel, but this is still a tool I’ll use numerous times throughout a project build.
But, it sweeps very well; better than I recall the old one ever sweeping. I guess bristle technology has improved over the years or something. In any event, the new one makes my workspace cleaner more quickly than the old one, so it is an efficiency improvement, and earns its place in my woodshop.
A.J. Hamler is the former editor of Woodshop News and Woodcraft Magazine. He's currently a freelance woodworking writer/editor, which is another way of stating self-employed. When he's not writing or in the shop, he enjoys science fiction, gourmet cooking and Civil War reenacting, but not at the same time.
