Shop Made Polissoir - $6

[Kyle DuPont]

Today I decided to make a polissoir to see what it was about. I didn't follow any exact measurements but used the broomcorn I had in one broom head as my limiting factor. It was quite easy and works very well.

I picked up a hand broom at the box store. I looked around and found one at Home Depot that was made with broomcorn for about $5. It is important to note that they are changing out this broom for one that is made with straw. This one is tan and the straw one was a sage green color. I wanted a wrap that was presentable, so I picked up whipping twine from the marine (boat/sailing) store. The lashing is way more that I need and was $9. I used maybe $0.75 of twine.

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The end of the hand broom looked like this. The broom is 100% broomcorn.

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I didn't take pictures of the entire process but this is what I ended up with.

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This is a No 3 for size comparison. The polissoir is 1 1/4" in diameter and 5 1/4" long.

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After use on about 1/2 of a square foot and no wax.

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This was a few strokes with moderate pressure on walnut. This board was planed smooth with the No 3 prior to burnishing.

Overall there are a couple of things I would change. I would use 1 1/2 to 2 hand brooms of material in the next one, maybe 2" in diameter. I would use the middle area of the broomcorn for the end. The middle area is the thickest solid core area in the plant. The fine ends and open core bottom seem to be a little less desirable and not as solid. The whipping twine is waxed and works quite well. It has a little stretch that helps keep things under tension when making. I used 2 hose clamps to keep the broomcorn compressed as I wound the twine.

I can do a more in depth DIY if people are interested. It wasn't too bad to do myself and would recommend it for those who enjoy making their own tools.

[Ted Calver]

Very creative, Kyle. I wonder if some of the brooms with large diameter synthetic fibers would serve the same purpose and last longer? I picked up a couple of pointers to use on a totally unrelated project, so my curiosity to see what a polissoir was paid off. Thanks for sharing.

[Nicholas Lawrence]

I am not familiar with this tool. How do you use it? From the pictures it looks like it did a nice job. How does it compare to a cabinet scraper for a finished surface?

[Brian Holcombe]

I wouldnt mind a bit more detail. These things are awesome, and I'm looking for one to try out. I'd like to wax like this for some of my furniture which does not see heavy use.

[Bryan Robinson]

I bought one last year and it is great to use. I made one of a different size and it is okay, but not nearly as good as the one I bought.

[Frederick Skelly]

I am not familiar with this tool. How do you use it? From the pictures it looks like it did a nice job. How does it compare to a cabinet scraper for a finished surface?

Me either. Can someone please add a little background?

[Chuck Hart]

Kyle could you explain how you wrapped it?

[george wilson]

Do you mean a polisher? Or is this a French term?

[Kyle DuPont]

Plastic might do a similar job, but I think that the ends of the natural material fray to make a fine, hard textured surface. This surface has small ends smashing the wood fibers and I think that the larger diameter plastic would be more of an abrasive. I think the large diameter plastic would remove the soft late wood, making a raised grain surface. I do not know this for sure, but it seems like it would be similar to using a stiff bristled brush to raise the grain pattern. Now if you had the plastic fibers with the flagged ends... that might be good.

You can use it with or without wax to burnish the surface. Hold the tool by the corded body and press the prepared end onto the board to be burnished. Move along the grain with moderate pressure. This will smash the wood fibers as opposed to shaving them. I also suppose that this would make finishing different, similar to stopping at 220 grit or going to 1500 grit. The burnished surface is very smooth.

Bryan, what do you not like about the one that you made? Were the ends not as compressed as the purchased one?

I will do a more detailed DIY tomorrow. I anchored the spool end of the twine around a fixed object by wrapping it around itself. This way I was able to keep the spool under normal tension and max tension on the end being wrapped. So the twine went from spool to vise pop-up bench dog to bundle being wrapped.

The name "Polissior" is the french term. It is a polisher but they are now being made under the "Polissoir" name due to being described by Roubo.

[Noah Wagener]

I was wondering about that term. I thought maybe it was evening polish.

In a French movie "Amelie" a woman attaches something to her feet to polish the floor. I can not recall if it was similar to the polissior/polissoir.

[Kyle DuPont]

She polished the floor with her slipper feet.

[Jim Matthews]

It's the latest craze from research into older practices and the subject of a recent article.

Similar techniques with reed 'rush' are used on cane reeds for woodwinds. The abrasive aspect
is limited - it primarily works as a grain filler. The wax is force into the voids below the surface
and burnished to a high sheen at the level of the outermost surface.

You're burnishing with a mild abrasive, and filling grain with mild wax that melts under the heat generated by pressure.
Similar results can be achieved with scratch pads and elbow grease.

https://youtu.be/5al4CtLFebU

[Mel Fulks]

The Horsetail reeds, (rush) is around 600 grit. Was used both in bundles and parallel with surface. It will scratch metal.

[Warren Mickley]

It's the latest craze from research into older practices and the subject of a recent article.

Similar techniques with reed 'rush' are used on cane reeds for woodwinds. The abrasive aspect
is limited - it primarily works as a grain filler. The wax is force into the voids below the surface
and burnished to a high sheen at the level of the outermost surface.

You're burnishing with a mild abrasive, and filling grain with mild wax that melts under the heat generated by pressure.
Similar results can be achieved with scratch pads and elbow grease.

https://youtu.be/5al4CtLFebU

As mentioned by Mel, the rush used by clarinet players is horsetail rush, Equisetum hyemale. It is not a true rush and is not closely related to the rush family. It is abrasive.
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The rush mentioned in Roubo for the polissoir is a true rush. It is common rush, Juncus effusus. It is soft and has hollow stems with pith.
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[Kyle DuPont]

Hmm, makes me wonder if the hollow portions of the broomcorn would be fine? The hollow portion of the broomcorn does not have pith. I am following what I can gather from the images of the Don Williams sourced polissoir. The used end appears to be the larger solid core area of the plant. Don had done some R&D for the size and material. The broom corn was said to be more durable.

I wonder if the rush would make a less burnished surface, for the amount of work done, but be more sensitive to finer grain structure?