I'm making a buffing station.

[Sam Beagle]

SO...... LETS SEE PICS OF YOURS. thanks. Sam

[Peter Blair]

Here's my latest.
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[Sam Beagle]

That's great. Did u make that setup

[Peter Blair]

I bought it slightly different than it is now and adjusted the 'mops' so they allow me easily to get to them.

[Leo Van Der Loo]

I made a polisher that is free standing on any flat surface not occupied by my other stuff :D, as the shop I had at that time wasn’t big enough for another piece of equipment taking up space, I made it so I could set it away wherever.

Also as most of my pieces where/are bigger I didn’t have enough room between the ways of the lathe and buffing wheels, not to mention bumping and damaging the surface that I had spend so much time onto get it nice and smooth.

So I took a drill that had died an untimely death, and used the chuck that was still fine plus part of the shaft and fitted that to a small motor, that way I can mount and change buffs quickly and easily, plus these buffs I also use in my sanding and buffing drills.

So if I have a turning all sanded and finished en mounted on the lathe, I’ll buff the piece right there as it is spinning, and can change the speed to what I like, as both the drill and lathe are variable speeds, and reversible, the motor is not, but at 1725 rpm it is quite a good speed for most buffs and te Tung Oil finish I use.


So this is what I have and use, easily placed on a bench or other place, and removed as wel, and the drill is of course movable ;)
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Here are most of my buffs, some extra large are home made, the other bought wherever and used for metal or wood.
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[Adam Petersen]

I've been thinking of making a buffing station too with my Nova 1624 motor. It's been sitting in a box since I did the DVR upgrade and this would be a good application for it.

Leo, do you find any buff works for you, or is there a specific brand out there that you'd recommend? I know a lot of folks like the Beall sets so....

[Leo Van Der Loo]

I've been thinking of making a buffing station too with my Nova 1624 motor. It's been sitting in a box since I did the DVR upgrade and this would be a good application for it.

Leo, do you find any buff works for you, or is there a specific brand out there that you'd recommend? I know a lot of folks like the Beall sets so....

Adam I have made the big wheels, they are made with different materials, I used linen with cotton, cotton , and cotton flannel mix.

But most are bought at automotive supply stores and at Lee Valley, they have different sizes and hardness, and one can change that also by spinning them faster or slower.

They don’t need to be expensive to work well like the Beall Buffs are IMO.

[Richard Dooling]

I'm sure Leo is right about buffers other than the Beall and I imagine I'll be looking into that more. But since I'm new to the materials (linen, cotton etc.) and I wanted to get up and running, I just went with a plug-and-play system. Plus my local Woodcraft had a 15% off sale.

Leo suggested using a hacksaw blade as a wheel dresser and I have found that to work very well. Thanks Leo!!

I mount the mandrel to the lathe some but I primarily use an old ShopSmith. That works very well since it has a 5/8" shaft and variable speed. I just need to hang a curtain protect some stuff behind the buffer.

[Marvin Hasenak]

I buy my buffing wheels from Caswell plating. They have big ones, little ones and every size in between. The materials range from cotton to flannel and some that look like denim. Sewn wheels and not sewn wheels. Their compound selection is second to none. If you have questions, they have the answers. If you are I IAP look up "Step up your buffing" by Tex at Durango, he did a great thread on buffing.

[Adam Petersen]

Excellent info everyone! Thanks!

[Bill White]

Just as an aside......I use some band saw blades as a buffing rake. Cut them (4 or 5 pcs.) to the length needed, tape the cut ends, and dip in Plastidip to coat the ends for smooth surfaces. Sure does help to keep the "buffs" well surfaced.
Bill

[Adam Petersen]

Does anyone have a source for an adapter for a 7/8" motor arbor? I'm wearing the Google out looking and all I can find is 5/8 and 1/2 inch adapters for mounting buffing wheels on. I'm trying to repurpose the motor I have for this.

Thanks!

[Marvin Hasenak]

Does anyone have a source for an adapter for a 7/8" motor arbor? I'm wearing the Google out looking and all I can find is 5/8 and 1/2 inch adapters for mounting buffing wheels on. I'm trying to repurpose the motor I have for this.

Thanks!
Get a block of maple or Osage orange, 2x2x6. Mount on your lathe chuck, drill a 7/8" hole 3.5" deep, then drill through with a 7/16" bit. Turn the blank round, to about 1.5 diameter. You will have part that was in the chuck that is still square, will take care of that later. Now drill and tap 2 holes for set screws that hit the shaft of the motor. I would use 1/4-20 set screws, so I would drill with a #3 bit. On the end that has the 9/16" hole, tap that with a 1/2-13 tap. This will be your buffing wheel end. You will need a washer and a 1/2-13 bolt.

The saved square end, it will help you when you drill and tap for the set screws. On them, I drill all the way through and tap both sides and use 4 set screws. To tap wood like this I first drizzle a little CA glue in the drilled hole. Then let it dry, REAL dry and then tap the hole. I then drizzle CA again in the tapped hole and wait for it to dry, REAL DRY, then run the tap through it again, same for the tapped 1/2-13 bolt hole.

Now you can sand the square end off with a belt sander or use a chisel or any method you are comfortable with. You are now ready to mount on your motor shaft using set screws. Mount the buffing wheel with a 1/2-13 bolt, about 3" long, use a washer on the head end. I recommend roughing up the wood, when you change wheels it gives you a better hand hold to break the bolt loose.

[Leo Van Der Loo]

Does anyone have a source for an adapter for a 7/8" motor arbor? I'm wearing the Google out looking and all I can find is 5/8 and 1/2 inch adapters for mounting buffing wheels on. I'm trying to repurpose the motor I have for this.

Thanks!

Adam you could make one yourself from a bar of Aluminium, drill a undersized hole and then use the right size drill and open that up to the size needed.

What are you going to use on the outside ?, if you have a drill motor that is dead you could take the chuck with the spindle out of the drill.

If you then fit that in the outside part of the sleeve you make, then buffs with a mandrel in them can easily be mounted and changed.

something like this.

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[Marvin Hasenak]

This is one of mine that screws on to the spindle of my lathe. I also have 2 that are mounted on motor shafts, the difference is explained in my previous post. With this one a piece of all thread is glued into the mandrel and the end screws off, the reason for the "knurled" handle. This one is my travel "model" for my Taig lathe.

http://i45.tinypic.com/2uqdsid.jpg