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Posted by DT on May 16, 2008, 10:57 am
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During a discussion a year or so ago, when I posted that I was working in the
same area as his company, Tom said to drop on in for a tour. I didn't make it
then, but found myself in the area once again, so I decided to take him up on
the invite. Surprised him, but he cheerfully showed me around the place, Ohio
Brush. Ohio Brush is in an old industrial area of Cleveland, called the
Buckeye-Woodland area as I recall. Judging from the buildings being torn down
in the same area, it may be one of the last companies on the block.
It was quite interesting, and a real contrast to the ultra high-speed brush
machines shown on "How it's Made". Ohio Brush has been family owned since 1879,
and some of the machines are nearly a century old. One machine is the first one
he designed, when he was 16! It had what looked like a giant chain saw blade,
and each tooth grabbed a bundle of wires as it came by and moved them into
position. It's pretty neat watching the machines drilling holes and stuffing
bristles in them, all done by mechanical cams, no electronics.
The wooden brush heads are made from polished select maple, not a blemish in
sight. Tom explained that his market is primarily specialty brushes, since the
cheap imports have taken over the common brushes. Many of the brushes being
made I have never seen before, such as the double sided brushes (one side with
flattened scraper wires, the other with standard bristles) with 4' long wooden
handles for reaching deep into commercial grills or ovens to clean them.
They machine their own tooling on site, with several vintage lathes. One Warner
& Swasey turret lathe was dedicated to roll engraving and threading some small
parts. There were two more lathes in the tooling area, one was Reed-Prentice. A
Brideport stood a short distance away. Machinery is tucked into every available
corner. The air is filled with the smell of freshly cut wood, and a steady
chung, chung, chung from the machines.
Tom is a very nice guy, and I certainly hope that he and Ohio Brush continue
making quality brushes in the good ol' US.
--
Dennis
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Posted by Tom Gardner on May 16, 2008, 11:48 am
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> During a discussion a year or so ago, when I posted that I was working in
> the
> same area as his company, Tom said to drop on in for a tour. I didn't make
> it
> then, but found myself in the area once again, so I decided to take him up
> on
> the invite. Surprised him, but he cheerfully showed me around the place,
> Ohio
> Brush. Ohio Brush is in an old industrial area of Cleveland, called the
> Buckeye-Woodland area as I recall. Judging from the buildings being torn
> down
> in the same area, it may be one of the last companies on the block.
>
> It was quite interesting, and a real contrast to the ultra high-speed
> brush
> machines shown on "How it's Made". Ohio Brush has been family owned since
> 1879,
> and some of the machines are nearly a century old. One machine is the
> first one
> he designed, when he was 16! It had what looked like a giant chain saw
> blade,
> and each tooth grabbed a bundle of wires as it came by and moved them into
> position. It's pretty neat watching the machines drilling holes and
> stuffing
> bristles in them, all done by mechanical cams, no electronics.
>
> The wooden brush heads are made from polished select maple, not a blemish
> in
> sight. Tom explained that his market is primarily specialty brushes, since
> the
> cheap imports have taken over the common brushes. Many of the brushes
> being
> made I have never seen before, such as the double sided brushes (one side
> with
> flattened scraper wires, the other with standard bristles) with 4' long
> wooden
> handles for reaching deep into commercial grills or ovens to clean them.
>
> They machine their own tooling on site, with several vintage lathes. One
> Warner
> & Swasey turret lathe was dedicated to roll engraving and threading some
> small
> parts. There were two more lathes in the tooling area, one was
> Reed-Prentice. A
> Brideport stood a short distance away. Machinery is tucked into every
> available
> corner. The air is filled with the smell of freshly cut wood, and a steady
> chung, chung, chung from the machines.
>
> Tom is a very nice guy, and I certainly hope that he and Ohio Brush
> continue
> making quality brushes in the good ol' US.
>
> --
> Dennis
>
I was on good behavior that day! Next time, come for lunch! There are a
few nice hole-in-wall restaurants in the area that have good food and
vintage atmosphere. I'm glad you enjoyed your visit and you were lucky to
see the cats awake...a rare sight, unless they are hunting.
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Posted by Ivan Vegvary on May 16, 2008, 5:04 pm
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> I was on good behavior that day! Next time, come for lunch! There are a
> few nice hole-in-wall restaurants in the area that have good food and
> vintage atmosphere. I'm glad you enjoyed your visit and you were lucky to
> see the cats awake...a rare sight, unless they are hunting.
Hi Tom,
Too bad I was not aware of your company when I visited Cleveland in 2004.
Came to Cleveland to see if there were any remaining remnants or the
Hungarian immigrant community. The answer was no. Like good Americans they
had assimilated, married others and moved away. I'm sure part of it was the
'urban flight' phenomena seen throughout the country in the 50's and 60's.
My parents (and others in the 50's) always spoke of Hungarian friends and
the great community in Cleveland.
We did visit the Hungarian museum, found three restaurants and 4 bakeries.
All had to be tried. Visiting you brush factory would have been a lot more
interesting than the Rock and Roll Museum.
Tom, keep on making brushes. One day I will also come and visit.
Ivan Vegvary,
(stuck in Oregon where most of the residents think that a Deli is where you
play lottery games).
Oh, the wonderful ethnic foods and Delicatessen's in Cleveland!!!!!
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Posted by Errol Groff on May 16, 2008, 4:11 pm
Please log in for more thread options On Fri, 16 May 2008 09:57:21 -0500, dthompson4389@wowway.com (DT)
wrote:
>During a discussion a year or so ago, when I posted that I was working in the
>same area as his company, Tom said to drop on in for a tour.
Lasst summer my pal Norm Jones and I visited Tom also. Photos are
here:
http://neme-s.org/Oshkosh_2007/Ohio_Brush/ohio_brush_company.htm
Regards,
Errol Groff
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Posted by Lew Hartswick on May 16, 2008, 9:18 pm
Please log in for more thread options Errol Groff wrote:
> On Fri, 16 May 2008 09:57:21 -0500, dthompson4389@wowway.com (DT)
> wrote:
>
>
>>During a discussion a year or so ago, when I posted that I was working in the
>>same area as his company, Tom said to drop on in for a tour.
>
>
> Lasst summer my pal Norm Jones and I visited Tom also. Photos are
> here:
>
> http://neme-s.org/Oshkosh_2007/Ohio_Brush/ohio_brush_company.htm
>
> Regards,
>
> Errol Groff
Thanks Errol. Those are great, it's nice to be able to put a face
on another one of the names here in RCM.
...lew...
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> the
> same area as his company, Tom said to drop on in for a tour. I didn't make
> it
> then, but found myself in the area once again, so I decided to take him up
> on
> the invite. Surprised him, but he cheerfully showed me around the place,
> Ohio
> Brush. Ohio Brush is in an old industrial area of Cleveland, called the
> Buckeye-Woodland area as I recall. Judging from the buildings being torn
> down
> in the same area, it may be one of the last companies on the block.
>
> It was quite interesting, and a real contrast to the ultra high-speed
> brush
> machines shown on "How it's Made". Ohio Brush has been family owned since
> 1879,
> and some of the machines are nearly a century old. One machine is the
> first one
> he designed, when he was 16! It had what looked like a giant chain saw
> blade,
> and each tooth grabbed a bundle of wires as it came by and moved them into
> position. It's pretty neat watching the machines drilling holes and
> stuffing
> bristles in them, all done by mechanical cams, no electronics.
>
> The wooden brush heads are made from polished select maple, not a blemish
> in
> sight. Tom explained that his market is primarily specialty brushes, since
> the
> cheap imports have taken over the common brushes. Many of the brushes
> being
> made I have never seen before, such as the double sided brushes (one side
> with
> flattened scraper wires, the other with standard bristles) with 4' long
> wooden
> handles for reaching deep into commercial grills or ovens to clean them.
>
> They machine their own tooling on site, with several vintage lathes. One
> Warner
> & Swasey turret lathe was dedicated to roll engraving and threading some
> small
> parts. There were two more lathes in the tooling area, one was
> Reed-Prentice. A
> Brideport stood a short distance away. Machinery is tucked into every
> available
> corner. The air is filled with the smell of freshly cut wood, and a steady
> chung, chung, chung from the machines.
>
> Tom is a very nice guy, and I certainly hope that he and Ohio Brush
> continue
> making quality brushes in the good ol' US.
>
> --
> Dennis
>