High speed wire brushes

In an apparatus for brushing a predetermined surface, a substantially cylindrical wire brush comprising a plurality of parallel disc shaped elements molded into a compact unit and mounted for rotation about an axis, each of said elements comprising a supporting disc having a plurality of openings adjacent the periphery thereof, wire bundles extending through said openings with the ends of said bundles extending radially beyond the periphery of said disc and terminating in wire ends for contacting said surface, said holes being substantially larger than the cross section of said wire bundles supported therein to permit radial movement of said wire bundles relative to said disc, the openings of adjacent discs facing each other in linear alignment to assume simultaneous positioning of the wire ends during their radial movement, each disc being coated with an elastomer material which further coats the wire bundles at least to the periphery of the disc and fills said openings and positions said wire bundles in a central portion of said openings when said brush is in a stationary position, the elastomer coating permitting radial movement of said wire bundles with respect to said disc when said brush is rotated, means for adjusting the position of the axis of said brush, and means for rotating said wire brush to apply pressure under control of said elastomer.