Some burnishers I made

[Dominic Greco]

Hi Gang,
A week or so back I posted a question on another forum regarding some scrap steel I had come across at work and was planning to use as scraper stock. During the discussion it was suggested to me that I should use a harder burnisher, one that is also polished.

At this point enter Harry. A fellow woodworker who happened to have some hardened piston rods laying about. He kindly offered them to me because he didn't have the time to make burnishers out of them. I accepted his generous offer and promised to save one of them for him.

Several days ago these hardened steel piston rods arrived in the mail and I decided that I would make new handles for them right away. I needed a break from my ongoing projects. So I selected some Ash and Walnut from the scrap bin. I used 1/2" copper pipe for the ferrules. I was surprised how quickly the process went. I managed to rough the blanks, drill the holes, mount the ferrules and turn all the handles all in about 1 1/2 hours. That includes giving them several coats of BLO allowing them to dry.

I the chucked the steel rods into my lathe and sanded them all the way up to 2000 grit. You could see your reflection in them once I was done. After that I glued them into the handles and buffed the completed burnishers using a Beall Buffing System.

http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z287/DominicGreco/burnishers1.jpg

Like I said, one of these is going back to Harry, and I'm keeping one. The other two will be sent to two other deserving (fledgling) Woodworkers.

Thanks for viewing.

[Dave Samborski]

Very nice!
Making tools is so much better than buying!

[Brian Kent]

Beautiful job Dominic!

[George Clark]

Nice job, Dominic. I really like projects like these. Great shape and finish!

George

[Steve Clardy]

Looks great!!!!

[Justin Green]

Those are really nice! I like the shape of the handle and the stripes. Very nice.

Are the handles just polished, or did you apply a finish as well?

[Jarrod McGehee]

Those are some pretty spiffy looking tools Dominic. Nice Job! I really like the design on those handles. I'm pretty jealous. :D Those tools do look really good. and I know I probably sound dumb but all you did to keep the steel rods in is use a little ca or epoxy in the hole you drilled and tap the ferrules down with a mallot?

[John Keeton]

Dominic, I see a future for you - Greco's Burnishers!! Those look as nice as any I have seen, and I am sure those rods will work extremely well. Can you mark the ends of the handles with your initials or in some manner to show the craftsman?

[Don Dorn]

I purchaed one that I think is pretty nice, but it doesn't compare with yours - very nice.

[Berl Mendenhall]

Dominic,
Those are great! They'll be so much better than trying to use a screwdriver shaft or chisel back to roll a burr. You'll get a good feeling every time you use one. Very nice design on the handles.

Berl

[Tony Zaffuto]

Dominic,

Are you headed to the Patina tool sale this Saturday in Damascus, MD (about 20 miles north of DC)?

T.Z.

[Dominic Greco]

Those are some pretty spiffy looking tools Dominic. Nice Job! I really like the design on those handles. I'm pretty jealous. :D Those tools do look really good. and I know I probably sound dumb but all you did to keep the steel rods in is use a little ca or epoxy in the hole you drilled and tap the ferrules down with a mallot?


Thanks for the compliments!

And it's not a dumb question at all!. The holes were drilled just a tad smaller (I thin I used a 7mm drill) and then rods fit in so well I had to use force to pull them out. However, to make sure they never come out, I just used just a touch of thick CA glue. These valve stem rods (not piston rods as I originally mentioned) had a groove in one end. This was PERFECT for giving it more holding power with the glue. It gave the glue some place to grip.

[Dominic Greco]

Dominic,

Are you headed to the Patina tool sale this Saturday in Damascus, MD (about 20 miles north of DC)?

T.Z.

Probably not Tony. I got too much stuff to do around the house. Thanks for asking anyway.

[Dominic Greco]

Dominic, I see a future for you - Greco's Burnishers!! Those look as nice as any I have seen, and I am sure those rods will work extremely well. Can you mark the ends of the handles with your initials or in some manner to show the craftsman?

John,
Thanks for the kind words!

I usually sign and date all the stuff I turn using a Woodburning pen. I'll sign mine (after I choose which one it is!). But I wasn't really sure that the wood worker who got these would want MY name on them. Maybe I'll just put my initials and the date on the end of the handle.

[Dominic Greco]

Those are really nice! I like the shape of the handle and the stripes. Very nice.

Are the handles just polished, or did you apply a finish as well?

Thanks!

I like to keep the finish simple on tools. I used BLO followed by buffing with a Beall Buffing System (sans the White Diamond). After that I gave then entire burnisher a coat of Renaissance Wax

[Bob Easton]

Hey, I'm fledgling!
Probably not deserving though.

Very nice burnishers Dominic!

[Dewey Torres]

I will comment on your ferrules. They look great others have said all there is to say about the product as a whole.

[Clay Thigpen]

I had no idea what was all it took to make a burnisher. I could have made dozens of them in automotive class back in '03. They had ( and I'll bet still do) bins of valve stem rods that they had collected over the years. I may be able to come up with one at my shop sometime.

[Doug Hobkirk]

Dominic -

They look great. How did you cut the valve off the stem? I've never tried, but they're hard steel - does a good hack saw or saws-all work?

[harry strasil]

Beautiful Work Domonic, my Burnisher is a spur of the moment job, a 1/4 inch diameter 3 inch long solid carbide die grinder burr with the burr end destroyed and driven into a cheap factory wooden file handle. Just can't see anything go to waste. LOL But, talk about tough and hard.

[Dominic Greco]

Dominic -

They look great. How did you cut the valve off the stem? I've never tried, but they're hard steel - does a good hack saw or saws-all work?

Thanks for the compliments! I'll be honest with ya' Doug, the valve stems came to me pre-cut.:D But if I had to cut them I sure wouldn't be using a hack saw! I'd turn to my trusty Dremel and an Abrasive Cut-Off Wheel. I'd probably go through a couple of those discs but at least I'd be able to work on something afterwords!