Has anybody tried mounting a small wire brush on an
oscillating multi-tool for cleaning deeply-contoured
or pitted surfaces?
The inspiration comes from oscillating-head electric
toothbrushes.
I've looked on Amazon for wire brushes that fit oscillating
tools and found nothing. There's one for a Sawzall, but that's
long stroke, which defeats the purpose, and it's too big.
I've given some thought to mounting a small drill chuck or pin
vise on the tool I have, a Dremel MM35. The intent would be to
use a small wire cup wheel. It doesn't look trivial, with cannibalizing
a sanding pad mount being the least difficult starting point.
It's hard to believe the idea hasn't been tried already.
There's a Reddit thread here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Tools/comments/zi6hch/anyone_make_a_scrub_brush_attachment_for_an/
but it died without resolution.
Thanks for reading, and any ideas.
bob prohaska
Has anybody tried mounting a small wire brush on an<snip>
oscillating multi-tool for cleaning deeply-contoured
or pitted surfaces?
Has anybody tried mounting a small wire brush on an
oscillating multi-tool for cleaning deeply-contoured
or pitted surfaces?
The inspiration comes from oscillating-head electric
toothbrushes.
I've looked on Amazon for wire brushes that fit oscillating
tools and found nothing. There's one for a Sawzall, but that's
long stroke, which defeats the purpose, and it's too big.
I've given some thought to mounting a small drill chuck or pin
vise on the tool I have, a Dremel MM35. The intent would be to
use a small wire cup wheel. It doesn't look trivial, with cannibalizing
a sanding pad mount being the least difficult starting point.
It's hard to believe the idea hasn't been tried already.
There's a Reddit thread here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Tools/comments/zi6hch/anyone_make_a_scrub_brush_attachment_for_an/
but it died without resolution.
Thanks for reading, and any ideas.
bob prohaska
On Tue, 28 Oct 2025 22:26:24 -0000 (UTC)
bp@www.zefox.net wrote:
Has anybody tried mounting a small wire brush on an<snip>
oscillating multi-tool for cleaning deeply-contoured
or pitted surfaces?
Curious, did a bit of searching in likely places for something like
this and found nothing...
IMO you'd need really short and stiff bristles. Otherwise they'd just
wiggle back and forth but not on the surface involved.
Leon Fisk <lfiskgr@gmail.invalid> wrote:grab a little hand wire brush - one of those 1/2" by 2" or whatever
On Tue, 28 Oct 2025 22:26:24 -0000 (UTC)
bp@www.zefox.net wrote:
Has anybody tried mounting a small wire brush on an<snip>
oscillating multi-tool for cleaning deeply-contoured
or pitted surfaces?
Curious, did a bit of searching in likely places for something like
this and found nothing...
IMO you'd need really short and stiff bristles. Otherwise they'd just
wiggle back and forth but not on the surface involved.
On a not-smooth surface I suspect "the wiggle does the work" 8-)
Imagine a rough surface with the brush moving continuously across it.
The bristle tips will scrape over the high spots and leave the low spots >untouched. Now imagine the brush reversing direction at the end of the >stroke. The bristles straighten, then slope in reverse. While straightened, >they're effectively longer and can probe into the low spots, rather like
a needle scaler. On a rough surface, the reversal does the crevice cleaning >while the stroke cleans the high spots. The area cleaned is probably no >bigger than a bristle end, but with a fast oscillation that adds up.
I was trying to clean a very compact stain out of a shirt and tried using
an electric toothbrush. It worked surprisingly well, which set me to
thinking about how oscillating bristles move in contact with a surface. >Doubtless my mental picture is wrong in some respects, but it may be
"right enough" to be useful.
The motivation was my other question about painting rusty gutters.
In that case a rotating wire brush will leave little or nothing to >patch/paint. An oscillating brush that follows the surviving metal
contours might leave enough behind to support a coating.
I have an oscillating tool and am trying to come up with an easy way
to fasten a wire brush to it. A cup brush seems most appropriate,
all that's needed is some sort of interface to the drive flange.
The forces on the brush are likely to be relatively small, just
enough to wiggle the bristles. The connection has to be quite stiff
to transmit the motion, but likely not very strong. Plastic might work.
The fact that nothing is commercially available makes me wonder
what I've got wrong.
Thanks for writing!
bob prohaska
grab a little hand wire brush - one of those 1/2" by 2" or whatever
brushes with a 4 to 6 inch handle - you know what I mean?? Cut off the
handle and cut a slit lengthwise in the handle. Epoxy it to a a
oscillator blade with the teeth ground off and give it a try.
brush like 4067500 Carlisle. Google it.
---------------------------------------
My HF right angle air grinder with a 2" fiber pad did a fine job removing paint and rust from the inside and outside of six 3" x 8' and four 4" x 8' steel channels, cleaned the leaky rims of the sawmill motorcycle wheel, and most recently scrubbed rust spots and scratches on the truck for refinishing. If the gutter has more than pinhole leaks it might tear off the thin weakened metal but that's useless anyway.
"Bob La Londe"-a wrote in message news:10dtrv6$35oa2$1@dont-email.me...
I've been known to chuck up a gun cleaning brush in a cordless drill to
clean running light sockets.-a I also have 1/8 shank brushes in other
useful brush configurations for rotary hand pieces.
-----------------------------
There's this, too expensive for the short life of a spun brush: https://www.mscdirect.com/product/details/88553599?
That reminds me of a college prank, replace a light bulb with a pinch of steel wool. Briefly it gives light, heat, sound, and a shower of sparks.
I didn't have to do much like that to deter others from pranking me with
the usual lighter fluid squirted under the door and lit.
In this case the state of the gutter is quite fragile; I'm fairly sureI've eyed this stuff for sealing the gutters but the price always seems
that any planing action will destroy it completely. If you think I'm
grasping at straws trying to save a bit of rusted-out gutter, you're
correct 8-), but I'm trying to learn something in the process.
"Jim Wilkins" wrote in message news:10e4o02$16h62$1@dont-email.me...
Gorilla tape lasts several years on holes in the hanging tarp walls of my woodsheds.
---------------------
The white gorilla tape I put over holes from falling acorns in a weathered plastic roof overhang last fall still looks new and the edges aren't peeling. I used white instead of clear to make it easier to identify and inspect.
"Jim Wilkins" wrote in message news:10e4o02$16h62$1@dont-email.me...
Gorilla tape lasts several years on holes in the hanging tarp walls of my woodsheds.
---------------------
The white gorilla tape I put over holes from falling acorns in a weathered plastic roof overhang last fall still looks new and the edges aren't
peeling. I used white instead of clear to make it easier to identify and inspect.
At this point I'd be replacing that section, or the whole gutter. Any remaining solid areas might be useful later as patches.
Jim Wilkins <muratlanne@gmail.com> wrote:
I finally climbed up for a hands-on look and found I was very
At this point I'd be replacing that section, or the whole gutter. Any
remaining solid areas might be useful later as patches.
wrong about the state of the gutter and the likely leak.
The gutter is _not_ rusting through, and the leak appears
to be at a seam a foot or two from where the drips were
landing. The bumps I took to be rust blisters are just
moss stuck to the gutter (convincingly near the point of
drippage) and the seam, which looked crude but functional
from the ground is clearly cracked in what looks like caulk.
The gutter is rusty enough that I'll have to do some cleaning
but fear of breaking it completely has largey subsided. It'll
have to be cleaned some, but a conventional wire brush will
do the job well enough for the immediate term. The idea of
using roofing cement, perhaps thinned a little with mineral
spirits, looks promising. Rain is expected by tomorrow night
and I'd like to be done beforehand.
Apologies for the wild goose chase to everyone who responded!
I glanced at the problem, decided I understood the situation,
and didn't check until much, much later.
bob prohaska
On 11/3/2025 9:33 PM, bp@www.zefox.net wrote:or just use scraps of non-metallic window screen
Jim Wilkins <muratlanne@gmail.com> wrote:
I finally climbed up for a hands-on look and found I was very
At this point I'd be replacing that section, or the whole gutter. Any
remaining solid areas might be useful later as patches.
wrong about the state of the gutter and the likely leak.
The gutter is _not_ rusting through, and the leak appears
to be at a seam a foot or two from where the drips were
landing. The bumps I took to be rust blisters are just
moss stuck to the gutter (convincingly near the point of
drippage) and the seam, which looked crude but functional
from the ground is clearly cracked in what looks like caulk.
The gutter is rusty enough that I'll have to do some cleaning
but fear of breaking it completely has largey subsided. It'll
have to be cleaned some, but a conventional wire brush will
do the job well enough for the immediate term. The idea of
using roofing cement, perhaps thinned a little with mineral
spirits, looks promising. Rain is expected by tomorrow night
and I'd like to be done beforehand.
Apologies for the wild goose chase to everyone who responded!
I glanced at the problem, decided I understood the situation,
and didn't check until much, much later.
bob prohaska
Reinforce your patch by embedding some fiberglass drywall tape in the
roofing cement .
On 11/3/2025 9:33 PM, bp@www.zefox.net wrote:
Jim Wilkins <muratlanne@gmail.com> wrote:
I finally climbed up for a hands-on look and found I was very
At this point I'd be replacing that section, or the whole gutter. Any
remaining solid areas might be useful later as patches.
wrong about the state of the gutter and the likely leak.
The gutter is _not_ rusting through, and the leak appears
to be at a seam a foot or two from where the drips were
landing. The bumps I took to be rust blisters are just
moss stuck to the gutter (convincingly near the point of
drippage) and the seam, which looked crude but functional
from the ground is clearly cracked in what looks like caulk.
The gutter is rusty enough that I'll have to do some cleaning
but fear of breaking it completely has largey subsided. It'll
have to be cleaned some, but a conventional wire brush will
do the job well enough for the immediate term. The idea of
using roofing cement, perhaps thinned a little with mineral
spirits, looks promising. Rain is expected by tomorrow night
and I'd like to be done beforehand.
Apologies for the wild goose chase to everyone who responded!
I glanced at the problem, decided I understood the situation,
and didn't check until much, much later.
bob prohaska
Reinforce your patch by embedding some fiberglass drywall tape in the roofing cement .
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