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The Pressure-Fed Fountain Paint Brush: Air Pushes the Paint, a Finger Stops It
Gottfried Meyer and Charles G. Braun, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania · Public domain (expired patent)
Emma

Created by

Emma

6. October 2026SE
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The Pressure-Fed Fountain Paint Brush: Air Pushes the Paint, a Finger Stops It

Painting from a pot means stopping every few strokes to reload the brush. Gottfried Meyer and Charles G. Braun of Philadelphia received US 821,879, patented 29 May 1906, for a fountain paint brush: a reservoir pressurised through an air pipe with a check valve sends paint along a hose to a tube in a recess of the brush head and out through a flattened flexible web among the bristles; a spring holds a plunger open, and the forefinger pushes its knob to cut the paint off. This rung works out how paint thickness and pressure set the flow, then builds the tank from a bottle and a tyre valve, feeds a brush, and measures the flow.
Intermediate
About 3 hours

Instructions

1

Flow through the hose

Loading Jupyter Notebook...
2

A one-way valve before it

The embedded blueprint lets flow pass one way only. Meyer and Braun put one on the air pipe so the pumped air stays in the paint tank.
3

Read US 821,879

"The knob 35 is disposed in convenient position for the fore or index finger of the hand which holds the brush, and the valve or plunger 33 can thus be easily maintained in its closed or inward position and the supply of paint cut off when not required." "The air-pressure causes the paint to flow to the brush no matter in what position the latter may be held and the flow is under complete control of the operator, as above noted."
4

Fit the cap

Drill a 1.5 L PET bottle's cap for a tyre valve and for vinyl tubing. Seat the valve, and push the tubing through until it touches the bottom. Seal both with epoxy.

Materials for this step:

PET Bottle (Carbonated Drink)PET Bottle (Carbonated Drink)1 piece
Tire ValveTire Valve1 piece
Clear Vinyl TubingClear Vinyl Tubing1 piece
Two-Part EpoxyTwo-Part Epoxy1 piece

Tools needed:

Cordless DrillCordless Drill
Drill Bit SetDrill Bit Set
Craft KnifeCraft Knife
5

Feed the brush

Drill a 6 mm hole down through the stock of a 70 mm brush from the set, beside the handle. Push silicone tubing through it into the bristles and flatten its last 30 mm with a cable tie.

Materials for this step:

Paintbrush SetPaintbrush Set1 piece
Silicone TubingSilicone Tubing1 piece
Cable TiesCable Ties1 piece

Tools needed:

Bench ViseBench Vise
Cordless DrillCordless Drill
Drill Bit SetDrill Bit Set
6

Make the finger valve

Screw a hardwood block to the handle over the tubing. Fit an M5 screw through it with a spring under the head, so the screw rests off the tube and a press of the forefinger pinches it shut.

Materials for this step:

Hardwood DowelsHardwood Dowels1 piece
Machine ScrewsMachine Screws1 piece
Compression Spring SetCompression Spring Set1 piece

Tools needed:

HacksawHacksaw
Cordless DrillCordless Drill
Drill Bit SetDrill Bit Set
Screwdriver SetScrewdriver Set
7

Join and pressurise

Join the bottle's tubing to the brush's with a 1.5 m length. Half fill the bottle with acrylic paint thinned with water, cap it, and pump to 0.2 bar on the gauge.

Materials for this step:

Acrylic Paint SetAcrylic Paint Set1 piece
WaterWater1 piece

Tools needed:

Bike PumpBike Pump
Pressure GaugePressure Gauge
8

The patent drawing

US 821,879 drawing sheet, public domain (expired patent).
Step 8 - Image 1
9

Measure the flow

Hold the brush over the measuring cylinder for 30 s and read the paint. Repeat at 0.4 bar, with the brush upside down, and with the button pressed.
Step 9 - Image 1

Tools needed:

Measuring CylinderMeasuring Cylinder
StopwatchStopwatch
Pressure GaugePressure Gauge
10

A brush that floods, starves or will not stop

Pressure-fed fountain paint brush troubleshooting.

Flow

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11

History and honest limits

**Gottfried Meyer** and **Charles G. Braun** of Philadelphia filed US 821,879 on 22 November 1905; it was patented 29 May 1906. Their reservoir has a valve casing with a detachable plug valve; a pipe reaches the bottom with lateral apertures; a sheet-metal band closes the recess in the brush head; all parts detach for cleaning when the colour is changed. **Honest limits.** A pinch on silicone tubing stands in for their plunger in a tube, and a PET bottle at low pressure for their reservoir. The notebook treats paint as a simple liquid. Your flows are the result.

Materials

12

Tools Required

10

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