Broom making apparatus

A broom making apparatus for securing the gathered cut ends of a bunch of branches together to form the brush portion of a broom, said device comprising:

• a base plate adapted to lie flat on a supporting surface;
• an upwardly opening U-shaped holder attached to the base plate and having a U-shaped surface;
• a continuous groove formed in said U-shaped surface and dimensioned to receive therein a U-shaped tie wire having legs extending upwardly beyond upper ends of the U-shaped holder;
• a lever arm hingedly attached at one end to the base plate with a hinge pivot axis parallel to said U-shaped surface, said lever arm adapted to pivot downwardly to an operative position along and generally parallel to the base plate and to overlie the U-shaped holder;
• a forming block attached to the lever arm to face downwardly in the operative position, said forming block having a semicylindrical forming surface disposed to open downwardly in said operative position;
• an open slot extending through the forming block and lever arm to divide the forming surface in two surface halves, such that the upper ends of the U-shaped holder and upper ends of a tie wire pass through said open slot, and the forming surface halves straddle said holder, when the lever arm is pivoted to the operative position;
• whereby the gathered cut ends of the bunch of branches are laid across the U-shaped surface and within the U-shaped tie wire, the lever arm pivoted to the operative position to compress the ends of the branches between the U-shaped surface and the forming surface, and the upper ends of the tie wire twisted together within said slot to secure the compressed branch ends around the handle.