Buffing wheel shedding

[Kurt Rosenzweig]

Anyone have any problems with there buffing system shedding. Is this normal? It did say in the instructions to expect some but this seems a little excessive. I have been using this wheel for a month or so and I didn't think I would have to wear a respirator when buffing. It's choking the heck out of me and my shirt looks like I just walked in from a blizzard! Is this normal or did I get some bad wheel's. Thanks In advance. Kurt

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l317/rubberhook/Picture193.jpg?t=1166110817

[Keith Burns]

Yup Kurt, get used to it. It will decrease the more you use it though, but you will always have some. Instructions do say to wear a mask.

EDIT: Just went back and looked at your pic. Man, that looks like you have been buffing saw blades or something. My wheels are basically smooth and are not torn up like yours is.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

My Beal does it too! IIRC...they also recommended take a coarse grit sandpaper on a piece of wood and dressing the buffing wheel periodically.

[Jim Bell]

I'm assuming you are refering to a Beale system. Mine was awful the first few times I used it. I still use a full face shield when buffing. Which actually is probably is a good idea. I keep the rpm at about 1800.

[Kurt Rosenzweig]

It's not the Beal, but from a very well respected tool maker/supplier. It just seems to me that it's unraveling at a fast rate. I guess I'll just wear a mask and see what happens. Thanks guys.

[Jeff Myers]

Keith, I've got to agree with Kurt,,,I've got the Bealle system too and used the heck out of them for over a year and they're no where near as unraveled as your picture is showing,,,mine let off some fibers at first but after dressing them with sandpaper on a flat board and using them a few times, the loose fibers/shedding pretty much stopped and all three of my wheels have only unraveled maybe 1/4",,,nowhere near what yours has.

[Bob Opsitos]

I agree with Kurt and Jeff, mine looks nothing like that (it is a Beall). It really doesn't look that significantly different from new. It would shed fibers, but it didn't effect the shape of the wheel.

What kinds of peices are you buffing? I suppose if the peices were of the right shape, say bark inclusions or holes, you might experience faster wear.

Bob

[Andy Hoyt]

I too have the Beall. Yup, in the beginning the first wheel shed stuff like a banshee, the second one not so much, and the third hardly at all. Once they were worn in a bit it pretty much stopped.

But my third (last) wheel now looks a lot like yours Kurt and that's after two years of use. I've decided to live with it and continue using it. Eventually it will get smaller and become more useable on smaller bowl interiors. That's when I'll pick up a new one.

[Ron Ainge]

All buffing wheels shed to start with but yours appears to be abnormal and I would contact the people you purchased it from and see what they say about the condition. I always use the edge of a saw blade to rub against the new buffing pads to take the initial break in fuzz off of the wheel before I start loading the wheels to use. You will get a lot of the fuzz off of the buffing wheels/pads fast and not be bothered with is so much later on.

[Kurt Rosenzweig]

What kinds of peices are you buffing? I suppose if the peices were of the right shape, say bark inclusions or holes, you might experience faster wear.
Bob

Just bowls and such and haven't done more then maybe a dozen or so. I''ll drop them an email and see what they say. Maybe they received a bad batch. Thanks again Guys!

[Steve Schlumpf]

Kurt, just figured I would chime in also after looking at the picture of your buffing wheel. I have the Beall system and after about a month of heavy use they still look fairly close to new. Shed like crazy first couple of times and then almost quit. Today when I used them I was actually surprised when I watched one small string come off the wax wheel. Just looking at your buff wheel - has to be some kind of manufacturer defect. At least worth checking into.

[Lee DeRaud]

Kurt, just figured I would chime in also after looking at the picture of your buffing wheel. I have the Beall system and after about a month of heavy use they still look fairly close to new. Shed like crazy first couple of times and then almost quit. Today when I used them I was actually surprised when I watched one small string come off the wax wheel. Just looking at your buff wheel - has to be some kind of manufacturer defect. At least worth checking into.Kurt, I'm pretty sure I have the same buffer system you do (the one from "Wood'n'Things" right?), and I agree with Steve: there's something seriously wrong with yours.

[David Fried]

Kurt, I'm pretty sure I have the same buffer system you do (the one from "Wood'n'Things" right?), and I agree with Steve: there's something seriously wrong with yours.

I'll agree with Steve and Lee that something is wrong. Mine doesn't look like that.

They do shed. I think it was Lee who described it as "shearing a sheep with a weed whacker". It's true.

[Richard Madison]

Man, that's a gnarly lookin' wheel. You gotta quit buffing the lawnmower blades with the mower running.

[Dennis Peacock]

Hey....go to Caswell Inc and get your buffing supplies. Cheaper and the wheels wear GREAT!!!!! I'm still on my first set of buffing wheels. If you watch their site, you can catch them with a buy one get one free deal and stock up on the buffing wheels. I believe I paid something like $12 for a pair of 8" flannel buffs when I bought my wheels. These folks are an industrial supplier and I've had nothing but excellent products from them. NAJASC. :D

[Jack Savona]

Kurt, I looked at my wax wheel and the inside and outside layers look like yours. The rest of the layers look fine...like yours. It is, after all, the softest wheel and will have the most irregular edges of the three.

While the wax wheel shed the most, all my wheels did shed a lot during early uses, and they still shed a bit each use. This is evident from their greatly reduced diameter (I've used them a lot over the past two years) and the amount of 'stuff' I see at the mouth of the dust collector.

You also mentioned hoping NOT to have to wear a respirator when buffing. I strongly encourage you and anyone else who buffs to wear some kind of respiratory mask when buffing. The buffing compounds of tripoli, and especially the white diamond, should not reach your lungs. And, if you can, use your dust collector. As I mentioned the amount of gunk on my DC hood opening reminds me each time how much fine fiber and compound this process produces.

Safety is more than a face shield.

Off the safety soapbox...Do many of you buff before finishing? I've gotten in the habit of buffing all my bowls with both the tripoli and white diamond before I apply any finish as well as after. I can see a difference because the real 'finish' is what's underneath the outer finish.

Jack