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Thread: “Beall” Type Buffing Wheels

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Houston, Texas
    Posts
    274

    “Beall” Type Buffing Wheels

    Hello All. I have the Don Pencil buffing system and wheels, and need to get a second buffing setup. Maybe I was under a rock or something when it happened, but I just found out that the Beall folks have closed the business. Bummer! I had no idea! Anyway, I have a ‘mandrel’ type extension piece, similar to the DP system, that threads on to my spindle, so I need the three wheels, and the spherical buffs, that thread into the 3/8” end of the mandrel. None of the wheels I have are sewed (sewn?), and I see lots of wheels out there that are sewed, at least partially.

    Can someone in the vast and quite knowledgeable Creek World tell me where I can purchase wheels and buffs similar to what I already have and am quite familiar with — layered cotton material, not sewn, with 3/8” hole in the center?

    Thanks in advance for your help with this.
    Don't let it bring you down,
    It's only castles burning,
    Just find someone who's turning,
    And you will come around

    Neil Young (with a little bit of emphasis added by me)

    Board member, Gulf Coast Woodturners Association

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2015
    Location
    Little Rock, AR
    Posts
    42
    Check with Lee Valley

  3. #3
    Unstiched buffing wheels are easy to find, you'll just need to find some center flanges that fit your 3/8" arbor. This might help

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
    Location
    New Hampshire
    Posts
    324
    I very recently when through this same issue as I needed to replace one of Beall buffs. I found a replacement at Penn State Industries very reasonably priced.

    Screenshot 2023-05-26 183342.jpg

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    NW Indiana
    Posts
    3,078
    EBay has a huge number of buffing wheels and good prices.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Location
    Peoria, IL
    Posts
    4,443
    Lee Valley worked a deal with Beal to market the product. I don't know if they will do the entire line. No idea of the quality, but Peachtree Woodworking Supply carries a generic system. https://www.ptreeusa.com/turn_finishing_buffing.html

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Location
    Colby, Washington. Just across the Puget Sound from Seattle, near Blake Island.
    Posts
    931
    I've often said "The Beall Wood Polishing System is the best $49.95 I ever spent." (That was a long, long time ago, obviously. The system is about $80 today.) I'm a fan, so let me add a couple of observations.

    WoodturnersCatalog.com still offers Beall products, so I'm skeptical that the company is no longer doing business. Perhaps they're selling exclusively through a limited number of distributors.

    Don't underestimate those Beall polishing wheels. One is composed of linen, one is cotton, and the other is made of alternating linen and cotton sheets. Years ago I replaced one of them with a generic polishing wheel, and it wasn't the same.

    Russell Neyman
    .


    Writer - Woodworker - Historian
    Instructor: The Woodturning Experience
    Puget Sound, Washington State


    "Outside of a dog, there's nothing better than a good book; inside of a dog it's too dark to read."

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Houston, Texas
    Posts
    274
    Richard, Russel, thanks so much. That was just what I was looking for in a reply. Russell, I knew they aren’t all cotton, I just couldn’t remember the other similar fabric that is used. I don’t remember what I paid for my Don Pencil system many years ago, but I’m in the same camp as you regarding best money spent. My DP wheels are of the same construction.

    I’ll be checking those sources this weekend.
    Don't let it bring you down,
    It's only castles burning,
    Just find someone who's turning,
    And you will come around

    Neil Young (with a little bit of emphasis added by me)

    Board member, Gulf Coast Woodturners Association

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Location
    Peoria, IL
    Posts
    4,443
    Quote Originally Posted by Russell Neyman View Post
    I've often said "The Beall Wood Polishing System is the best $49.95 I ever spent." (That was a long, long time ago, obviously. The system is about $80 today.) I'm a fan, so let me add a couple of observations.

    WoodturnersCatalog.com still offers Beall products, so I'm skeptical that the company is no longer doing business. Perhaps they're selling exclusively through a limited number of distributors.

    Don't underestimate those Beall polishing wheels. One is composed of linen, one is cotton, and the other is made of alternating linen and cotton sheets. Years ago I replaced one of them with a generic polishing wheel, and it wasn't the same.
    You might want to check Beall's website. They closed the business at the end of Dec 2022. https://www.bealltool.com/

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Sep 2013
    Location
    Wayland, MA
    Posts
    3,654
    I'd be very surprised if they were making these buffs themselves; I expect that they are still obtainable from the original manufacturer. I'm guessing that if Lee Valley has picked up the brand they will continue to offer the same product.

  11. #11
    Have like new Beall sytem for sale in Victoria, Tx

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Location
    Peoria, IL
    Posts
    4,443
    Quote Originally Posted by roger wiegand View Post
    I'd be very surprised if they were making these buffs themselves; I expect that they are still obtainable from the original manufacturer. I'm guessing that if Lee Valley has picked up the brand they will continue to offer the same product.
    Good assumptions, but that doesn't help someone find out where to buy an identical set like a Beal set.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    586
    Since Lee Valley is mentioned in the Beall notice I'd call Lee Valley and ask them if they will be getting the items into stock.

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