Wire End Brushes

Benchmark Abrasives Wire Wheel End Brushes for Metalworking and Welding

Wire wheel end brushes, also known as power brushes, are essential tools in metalworking and welding. These versatile brushes are designed to handle tough cleaning and surface preparation tasks, ensuring optimal results in various applications. Whether you need to remove rust, paint, or weld spatter, wire wheel end brushes are your go-to solution.

What Are Wire Wheel End Brushes?

Wire wheel end brushes are composed of a wheel or cylindrical-shaped hub filled with wire bristles, typically made from steel, stainless steel, or brass. These bristles can be either crimped or knotted, depending on the desired aggressiveness and surface finish. The brushes are mounted on power tools such as angle grinders, bench grinders, or drills, allowing them to spin rapidly and provide effective cleaning and surface preparation.

Common Uses of Wire Wheel End Brushes:

• Rust and Paint Removal: Wire wheel end brushes excel at removing rust and old paint from metal surfaces, restoring them to their original condition. This is crucial in metalworking and welding projects, ensuring a clean surface for optimal adhesion and welding quality.
• Weld Cleaning: After welding, wire wheel end brushes are used to remove weld spatter, slag, and oxides from the weld area. This not only improves the appearance of the weld but also ensures structural integrity.
• Surface Preparation: Before applying coatings, primers, or adhesives, wire wheel end brushes are used to prepare the surface by removing contaminants and creating a roughened texture for better adhesion.
• Deburring: Wire wheel end brushes effectively deburr sharp edges and remove burrs from metal parts, reducing the risk of injury and improving the part's overall quality.

Choosing the Right Wire Wheel End Brush to meet Your Needs:

When selecting a wire wheel End brush for your metalworking or welding needs, consider the following factors:

• Wire Filament Material: Choose the appropriate wire material based on the type of metal you are working with. For example, stainless steel wire brushes are suitable for stainless steel surfaces to avoid contamination. More info on wire materials below.
• Wire Diameter: The thickness of the wire bristles, known as wire gauge, determines the aggressiveness of the brush. Select the right wire gauge based on the intensity of the cleaning or surface preparation required. See our Wire Size Guide for more info on this.
• Bristle Type: Picking the right bristle style is very important.  Crimped wire brushes are great for light/medium applications and are used in a broad range of applications. Knotted wire brushes are better for heavy duty applications like burr removal and removing multiple layers of scale, rust etc.  
• Brush Size: Consider the diameter and width of the brush to ensure it fits your power tool and can reach the desired areas effectively.

Wire Size Guide:

Benchmark Abrasives provides all our wire thicknesses in inch sizing on our website.  If you are familiar with wire products listed in mm or wire gauge thicknesses, check out our crossover chart.

• Larger diameter wires are more aggressive but fatigue and break quicker than smaller diameter wires.
• Small diameter wires are more flexible, are better at resisting fatigue and breakage but are far less aggressive than larger diameter wires.

Wire Materials

• Carbon Steel Wire: Carbon steel wire is the most commonly used wire filament.  It is durable and great for heavy-duty cleaning applications.  Benchmark uses heat treated, high-tensile steel wires to provide one of the highest quality power brushes on the market.
• Stainless steel Wire: We only recommend using the stainless products when brushing corrosion resistant (stainless steel) or non-ferrous metals (aluminum).
• Nylon Wire: Nylon is the most durable synthetic wire material used in power brushes.  Its flexibility, high fatigue strength and resistance to abrasion, heat and acids allow them to be used in a variety of applications.

Crimped vs Knotted

Crimped

• Light/medium applications
• Fairly flexible
• Used on a broad range of applications
• Individual wires are crimped to provide rigidity and strength of the wire
• Parts that are more prone to damage by the impact of a knotted brush should use crimped wire

Knotted

• Heavy Duty applications
• Wires are twisted like a rope or cable, providing unmatched rigidity and strength of the wire compared to crimped
• Far less flexible compared to crimped brushes
• Best for high impact action and heavy corrosion/surface coating removal

Useful Tips for Brushing with End Brushes:

• Pressure: More pressure doesn’t always mean faster brushing action.  Excessive pressure can lead to excess heat build-up, which can cause wire filaments to break early, faster dulling and overall reduced life of tool.
• Wear Protective Gear: Always wear safety glasses, gloves, and appropriate clothing to protect yourself from flying debris.  We suggest picking up a Grinder Hood, Full Can Hearing Protection and an N95 Respirator from our PPE section.
• Secure the Workpiece: Ensure your workpiece is securely clamped or held in place to prevent movement during brushing application.
• Inspect the Brush: Regularly inspect the brush for any signs of damage or wear. Replace the brush if necessary to maintain optimal performance and safety.
• Follow Manufacturer's Instructions: Adhere to the manufacturer's recommendations for speed, pressure, and usage to ensure safe and effective operation.

Maintenance Tips:

• Clean the brush regularly to remove debris and prevent clogging.
• Inspect the bristles for wear and replace the brush when the bristles are worn out.
• Store the brush in a dry and clean environment to prevent corrosion.

End Brushes Available at Benchmark Abrasives

End Brushes, also known as stem brushes, are usually employed in constrained spaces. They are suitable for deburring holes, polishing molds, cleaning castings, removing flash, spot facing, and getting a metal surface ready for welding. With a smaller container for their filaments that can range in cup diameter from less than an inch to four inches, end brushes sometimes resemble cup brushes in appearance. End brushes' filament design, which might be crimped, twisted, flared, or have a hollow center, is a crucial component. Standard steel, stainless steel, brass, and bronze filaments are used.

• Filaments Available: Carbon Steel and Stainless Steel
• Outer Diameters: 3/4” and 1” 
• Wire Style: Crimped and Twist Knot
• Wire Gauges: 0.014” and 0.020”
• Available Arbors: ¼”

Tool Compatibility: Die Grinders, Electrically Powered Rotary Drills and Impact Drivers

Machine Brands that are compatible with Benchmark PSA Discs

• Black & Decker®
• Bosch®
• Ridgid®
• Ryobi®
• Porter Cable®
• Mirka®
• Cobalt®
• Dewalt®
• Milwaukee®
• Makita®
• Craftsman®
• Norton®

Troubleshooting Your Wire End Brush

Unhappy with shortened brush life?

Possible Solutions:

• Try reducing the pressure applied to the work piece.
• Pick a brush with a small diameter wire gauge than you’re currently using.
• Brushes with a higher fill density will have longer life.

Breaking wire filaments?

Possible Solutions:

• Try reducing the pressure applied to the work piece.
• Pick a brush with a small diameter wire gauge than you’re currently using.
• Brushes with a higher fill density will have longer life.

Brushing action is too slow?

Possible Solutions:

• Increase the operating speed (RPM) of your machine.
• Pick a brush with a larger diameter wire gauge than you’re currently using.
• Brushes with a higher fill density will have longer life.
• Choose a larger diameter brush for your application.
• Try a brush with a wider thickness or a higher fill density.

Brushing action is too fast?

Possible Solutions:

• Decrease the operating speed (RPM) of your machine.
• Pick a brush with a small diameter wire gauge than you’re currently using.
• Brushes with a higher fill density will have longer life.
• Choose a smaller diameter brush for your application.
• Try a brush with a thinner thickness or a lower fill density.

If you desire a finer finish.

Possible Solutions:

• Increase the operating speed (RPM) of your machine.
• Pick a brush with a small diameter wire gauge than you’re currently using.
• Brushes with a longer trim length are less aggressive and leave more fine finishes.
• Swap out the metal wire for a less aggressive nylon product.

If you desire a more coarse finish.

Possible Solutions:

• Decrease the operating speed (RPM) of your machine.
• Pick a brush with a larger diameter wire gauge than you’re currently using.
• Brushes with a shorter trim length are more aggressive and leave more coarse finishes.

When your deburring action isn’t deburring   

Possible Solutions:

• Increase the operating speed (RPM) of your machine.
• Swap out the crimped product for a more aggressive knotted brush.
• Pick a brush with a larger diameter wire gauge than you’re currently using.
• Brushes with a shorter trim length are more aggressive and leave more coarse finishes.

Explore our wide range of wire wheel End brushes tailored to meet your metalworking and welding requirements.