Hair

[scooter]

Can anyone describe (or point me to some instructions) how to insert hair plugs into a hole drilled in a carving?



Thanks in advance.

S~

[real good]

trythis ,get the amount of hair your putting in the hole put a little wood glue on the end of the hair take a small nail and push the hair in the hole, hold the hair in place and remove the nail hope this helps

[Dicky]

For individual hairs, puncture the surface where you wish the hair to be with a straight pin or thumb tack or push pin (needle nose pliers are handy), then take the hair (paint brush bristles are great), dip the bristle end in white glue and with tweezers place the hair in the hole. I find it easier to do them one at a time. This really works great for critter whiskers (mice etc.). Then trim to length. Hope you find this helpful.

[Marci MN]

Another way to put hair in is to snip off the end of a needle.. so you have a Y at the thread end. I then put a dap of glue on top of the hole, lay the hair across and press in with the needles Y end that you made. You will need to wipe the end of the needle off with a damp cloth each time so the glue dont build up in that Y.

Marcia.

[scooter]

Thanks, this is good information. The needle trick sounds like a good idea.

Any thoughts on larger plugs of hair? The holes I've got are between 1/8" and 3/16". What do brush manufacturers do? How do they get those bristles in (and get them to stay in)?

S~

[steveh]

"How its made" tv program once showed how brush hairs ar installed. The process was similar to what Marcia described above, except automated....a dab of glue is placed in the hole, lengths of bristle placed across the hole, with mid-point on the hole, then a punch pushed them in. The bristles are folded as they are pushed in and are securely held in with the glue.

[redhand rik]

pull some bristles out of a toothbrush. you'll find there's a small rectangular piece of metal in the center of each folded in half plug of bristles. now look @ the hole in the toothbrush. there's a hole big enough for the bristles and a slot that the piece of metal friction fits into and locks the bristles in place. just drill holes and poke a small blade in there to make a slot. shear off a 1/16th" strip of 20 ga metal and snip it into little rectangles to hold your hairs in. if you sieze the hairs in two places with thread then push the hairs in with the rectangle using fine needle nose pliers and tapping in with a small hammer and punch...(this almost sounds like an old monty python sketch, doesn't it?)... if you use longer strands than you need, there will be enough length to cut and style the hair... much easier than trying to install a hairdo one plug @ a time. btw, what wood are you intending to put hair in? it's hardness might determine the type of metal to use...

[scooter]

Thanks... I'll let you know how it turns out.

S~