Street Sweeper Bristles??

[edsmiley]

Ok, I hear all about these great Street Sweeper Bristles for use of all kinds of stuff. Question is, how common are these to find? We have a Street Sweeper that runs weekly from April to Oct and we live on a corner, so we get 2 different days a week and I have yet to see anything resembling a bristle in my 3+ months of looking.

I have since moved onto wiper blade inserts, but would be interested in comments. I can hardly imagine that our town is using some sort of super duper, advanced bristle-less system.

Ed

[barbarian]

All the ones around here seem to be plastic bristles.

I've looked at construction projects etc. They will have an old worn out sweeper that looks like it was built 50 years ago with new plastic brooms..

[awol70]

i suggest skipping them entirely.
they are no where near the quality steel found in wiper inserts. they tend to be brittle, dont bend well and i have also seen them separate themselves,
like plywood does when its wet.
not to mention they are used, rusty, fatigued,and dirty,unless you buy a whole sweeper head, just for the bristles.
they are great in a pinch, though.
just my two cents.

[the lockpickkid]

I agree with Awol, there fine in a pinch but by the time they fall out onto the road the metal is so fatigued that they are brittle, the weakness in them is what made them break and fall off in the first place. I have had great luck making tension wrenches with the windshield wiper inserts as well, and you can find them in junkyards and autoparts store trash cans. The metal in them is much better and cleaner, I think they are stainless steel as well because I have never found a rusted one.

[edsmiley]

Ok! Thanks for the tips and suggestions barbarian, awol, and Kid. I'll still keep an eye out when I walk the dogs, but will stick to WW inserts. Nice to know I wasn't losing it!

Ed

[LocksmithArmy]

I only use the new bristles I get off the brush... I found some one time... they are crappy... but if yo can get some good ones off the brush the are great in my openion... Ive snapped one pick once but I knew t would happen cause I cut it to thin... i have not had any issues from properly made picks made from good bristles...

Imade picksfrom the crappy bristles I found... they did not last long lol

[magician59]

Bicycle spokes are far better.

[edsmiley]

Thanks for the replies and tips. Maybe will look into some of the music wire from Awol's post too: viewtopic.php?f=102&t=3750