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The Tube-in-the-Back Fountain Brush: Turn the Tube and the Jets Become a Soak
Annie B. Landreth, Bristol, Pennsylvania · Public domain (expired patent)
YourGrandma

Created by

YourGrandma

6. October 2026IS
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The Tube-in-the-Back Fountain Brush: Turn the Tube and the Jets Become a Soak

A scrubbing brush dipped in a bucket runs dry in seconds, and a hose beside it floods the floor. Annie B. Landreth of Bristol, Pennsylvania, received US 757,628, dated 19 April 1904, for a fountain brush "of great simplicity of construction": a recess bored lengthwise into an ordinary brush's back with openings to its face, and a perforated tube on a cock that slides in; a square plate on the tube sits in a square depression, so the holes can face the openings or be turned a quarter turn against the recess walls. This rung compares the jet with the turned-away flow, then bores a scrub brush, fits a tube and tap, and measures both settings.
Intermediate
About 3 hours

Instructions

1

Jet against soak

Loading Jupyter Notebook...
2

A scrubbing brush improved before it

The embedded blueprint holds two brush heads on a sprung holder. Landreth leaves the brush ordinary and feeds water through a bore in its back.
3

Read US 757,628

"Thus the perforations may register with the openings a² a², as indicated in Fig. 5, or the fountain-tube may be turned to an angle of ninety degrees, so that the perforations C' face the lateral sides of the recess A', as indicated in Fig. 6, and in this way the force due to the pressure of the water-supply is broken and the water will pass out of the openings without force."
4

Bore the back

Clamp a scrub brush with a back at least 22 mm thick, bristles down. Drill a 12 mm hole 160 mm deep along the back's centre from one end, keeping the bit level.

Materials for this step:

Scrub BrushScrub Brush1 piece

Tools needed:

Bench ViseBench Vise
Cordless DrillCordless Drill
Brad Point Drill Bit SetBrad Point Drill Bit Set
RulerRuler
Clear Safety GlassesClear Safety Glasses
5

Drill the openings

From the bristle face, between rows, drill seven 3 mm holes into the bore, 20 mm apart.

Tools needed:

Cordless DrillCordless Drill
Drill Bit SetDrill Bit Set
Permanent MarkerPermanent Marker
6

Cut the square depression

Round the bore's mouth, chisel a 30 mm square 2 mm deep.

Tools needed:

Chisel Set - WoodChisel Set - Wood
HammerHammer
RulerRuler
7

Make the tube

Cut 160 mm of 10 mm copper tube. Squeeze one end shut in the vice and solder it. Drill seven 1.8 mm holes in a line to match the openings.

Materials for this step:

Copper Tube 10mmCopper Tube 10mm1 piece
Lead-Free Plumbing SolderLead-Free Plumbing Solder1 piece
Plumbing FluxPlumbing Flux1 piece

Tools needed:

Tube CutterTube Cutter
Bench ViseBench Vise
Propane TorchPropane Torch
Cordless DrillCordless Drill
Drill Bit SetDrill Bit Set
Heat-Resistant GlovesHeat-Resistant Gloves
8

Solder on the square plate

Cut a 28 mm square of brass sheet, drill it 10 mm in the centre, slide it on 160 mm from the closed end with one edge square to the holes, and solder it.

Materials for this step:

Brass SheetBrass Sheet1 piece
Lead-Free Plumbing SolderLead-Free Plumbing Solder1 piece
Plumbing FluxPlumbing Flux1 piece

Tools needed:

Tin SnipsTin Snips
Cordless DrillCordless Drill
Drill Bit SetDrill Bit Set
Propane TorchPropane Torch
Heat-Resistant GlovesHeat-Resistant Gloves
9

Fit the tap and button

Fit the ball valve and a hose connector to the open end with brass fittings and PTFE tape. Screw a 10 × 40 mm brass strip beside the depression as a turn-button.

Materials for this step:

Ball ValveBall Valve1 piece
Brass FittingsBrass Fittings1 piece
PTFE Thread Seal TapePTFE Thread Seal Tape1 piece
Brass SheetBrass Sheet1 piece
#8 x 1" Wood Screw#8 x 1" Wood Screw1 piece

Tools needed:

Adjustable SpannerAdjustable Spanner
Screwdriver SetScrewdriver Set
10

The build in 3D

FreeCAD model of this build, not of the patent: a 200 × 60 × 26 mm back with a 12 mm bore 160 mm deep, seven 3 mm openings, a 30 mm square depression, the perforated tube with its square plate, valve and turn-button.
Design FileBLENDCC0 - Free
Download Model
11

Compare the two settings

Connect the garden hose. With the holes facing the openings, hold the brush face-up and measure how high the jets rise; time a litre into the jug. Turn the tube 90°, lock it, and repeat.
Step 11 - Image 1

Materials for this step:

Garden HoseGarden Hose1 piece
WaterWater1 piece

Tools needed:

RulerRuler
Measuring JugMeasuring Jug
StopwatchStopwatch
12

A brush that sprays, leaks or will not lock

Tube-in-the-back fountain brush troubleshooting.

Flow

Loading...
13

History and honest limits

**Annie B. Landreth** of Bristol, Pennsylvania, filed US 757,628 on 1 April 1902; it is dated 19 April 1904. The nozzle carries a cock and the usual hose coupling; the square plate and depression may be any shape that holds the tube at the chosen angle, and a turn-button holds it in use. The attachment can be inserted and withdrawn instantly, leaving the sides and back free to hold the brush in the ordinary way. **Honest limits.** She gives no sizes; ours are examples. The notebook ignores the loss in the bore. Your jet heights and times are the result.

Materials

11

Tools Required

17

Design Files

1

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CC0 Public Domain

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