Something nobody brings up is the brush shape itself, not just the size. A 1 inch flat brush and a 1 inch round brush are totally different animals on a 6 inch flue. The flat one lets you drag the side down the wall and keep the tips where you want them, but a round one of the same size will blob out and grab way more than you meant. So when guys argue about size they might actually be arguing about shape without knowing it. Measure your actual brush head too, because a "1 inch" from one brand can be closer to 1 1/4 once the bristles splay. That half inch is the whole ballgame on a narrow flue.

Nine hours, huh? At that point the bolt won and you just kept it company.

Baskets became a graveyard for me too, open crates fixed it.