On buffing and vise location

[Curtis Niedermier]

Three questions. Perhaps they aren't strictly neanderthal questions, but as I've said in the past, you all seem to work wood in the same manner as me, and so I feel like I get the most applicable responses to my questions from the folks on this page:

1. I picked up a pair of buffing/polishing wheels for my bench grinder and I intend to use them to buff/polish some old tools in the process of restoring them. Namely, I have a couple drawknives I plan to restore. My question is, what kind of compound do I use? I have a white bar of stuff that I rub onto my strop. I got it from the same company that sold me a couple of spoon-carving knives (can't remember the name now) and it works great for polishing knives and plane iron bevels, a la the Paul Sellers sharpening method. Can I use this on the powered buffing/polishing wheels too?

2. Can a guy use a similar or same setup to buff out wooden parts? For instance, I just shaped a couple of drawer pulls with some nice curves. I need to do final clean-up with scrapers and sandpaper, but I wondered if I could polish them up with buffing wheel.

3. I've decided to build a Nicholson/English style of workbench because I want something that can be broken down easily and that doesn't require a lot of expensive materials. I also like the work-holding capabilities of the apron and top when used with holdfasts. I have a nice vintage quick-release vise that I plan to install on one side. The other side gets a crochet (it'll sit off the wall, not against it). For the vise, is there a good reason for installing it inside or outside the leg? I was going to install it inside the leg - between the two legs, more accurately. But I'm wondering if it really matters. Any thoughts?

[Curt Putnam]

You have not said what kind of buffing wheels you have. All the reading I've done (no actual experience) suggests that anything softer than hard and heavily stitched muslin or leather is not suitable for edges. I use horse butt leather with green compound (0.5 micron) on my edges. YMWV

[Kees Heiden]

No idea about nr 1. Only that I don't polish old tools, apart from the tiny bit on the bevel that is the cutting edge.

I wouldn't use a polishing buffer on wood. I suspect you end up with a very dirty piece of wood!

And I would put the vise outside of the legs, but why not look at the Paul Sellers bench? I think he has a good grasp on this type of bench.

[Robert Engel]

I have one grinder dedicated with a buffing wheel and wire wheel.

I turned it around and remounted on base.

Wheels turn other way seems to work better for me.

As for polishing wood, do you use compound? If so, how does that impact finishing?

[Curtis Niedermier]

The polishing I had in mind for tools was not for the edge, but for the body of the tool. I wanted to make one of my drawknives gleam. That's not my normal restoration procedure, but I figured why not try. I saw one of Greg Pennington's blog posts at some point recently, and he had polished up an old drawknife. It looked pretty sharp (not edge sharp, but sexy sharp (; if you know what I mean). Maybe I'll just email him.

As for polishing or buffing on wood, I really have no idea how it works. That's why I asked. Maybe some wax instead of an abrasive buffing compound? I don't know.

Regarding the comment on the Paul Sellers bench, what I've sketched up is a bench that combines some aspects of the Sellers bench, Schwarz's recent knockdown Nicholson and the Naked Woodworker/Siemensen bench. Sound complicated, but in actuality I've grabbed the simplest parts of each one and rolled them into one design. I'm liking it so far, just unsure about vise location.

[george wilson]

I NEVER buff edges to get them sharp. All it does is round the edge over. It WILL get the edge sharp to a certain degree,but the edge will be sharpened to a more blunt angle.

I strop cautiously on a piece of MDF with LV green compound on it. This way,the edge cannot sink into the surface and blunt the angle I want. Using a leather strop,it can sink into the leather. By the way,I used to use a leather strop,BUT hair side out,NOT flesh(or suede) side out. At least the hair side of oak tanned leather isn't as soft as the suede side,rounding the edge less. Now I just use MDF,and keep the strop where it cannot get dusty,or pick up stray sanding particles.

Yes,I often have buffed WOOD,even ebony,rosewood,and other hard woods. USE A CLEAN WHEEL! Been doing that for over 50 years. More like 60. It is a good way when making missing wooden pieces on antiques,to give a surface that closely resembles ages worn handling. I use only white compound for this,and sparingly. The white color seems to vanish,even on the dark woods. I always buff guitar bridges which I make from rosewood. I don't want to lacquer them-it hurts tone.

Now,red,or tripoli compound makes a horrible mess on wood,so never use that!!! I will caution you that you should never get water on a wood buffed surface. It will go to looking flat,and have to be re done.

Buffing has its drawbacks. It seems that most buffers will buff till the surfaces are sluffed over,and essentially ruined. If you want to buff tools,I suggest AT LEAST use a hard felt buffing wheel. They aren't cheap. They will,if carefully used,permit buffing without rounding everything like edges and holes over. The screw holes on guns that have been over buffed before re bluing will have been smeared,and are no longer crisp. The writing on guns will also get smeared. If you buff in one direction too long,tracks will start to appear.

Buffing is a real art that takes experience to learn. I can't emphasize this enough. We had professional buffers in the silversmith manufacturing facility that we used to have in Williamsburg. They knew how to do good buffing,and I often hung around to get tips on how to buff,and how to use the SEVERAL types of buffing compound they used.

I get my best,sharp cornered,crisp all over surfaces by using successively finer wet or dry type papers tightly pulled over backing sticks. Final buffing is MINIMAL,the surfaces having been finished to a high degree already.The Bowie knife,pocket knife,and 18th. C. amputating knife below were finished this way. The ebony handle of the amputating knife was buffed carefully AFTER making as fine a surface as possible .The other handles were carefully,lightly buffed too. More work to be sure,but quality takes effort.

[Mike Brady]

The best buffing system for wood is the Beall system, but you need 1650 rpm for it, not the high speed. It comes with separate wheels and three compounds, one of which is carnauba wax. I have used it dozens of times to finish tool handles. I'm not like a friend of mine, who finishes every piece of furniture he makes with the Beall buffer; in fact, I dislike high luster on wood.

For metal polishing, there are compounds made for each type of metal. You can buy sticks of it by DICO at larger hardware stores. I find the one for stainless steel to be good for metal tools. It is used with muslin wheels on any bench grinder.