Baldor Polisher Purchase Advice

[gregaz]

Friends,

I am on a hunt for a polisher / grinder. I reckon that 90% of the time I will have a polishing wheel and a wire wheel mounted on one - I don't really see the need for any kind of grinding. Maybe some sharpening?

I've settled on a Baldor, and found one locally (have NOT purchased it yet) that is a dental polishing lathe (353T). Now that I am shopping for wheels I am second guessing myself.

This would be my first bench polisher, so this might be a total n000b question ...

From what I gather, the shaft on the 353T is 3/8". However, all the 6" wheels I am seeing on Amazon (polishing and wire) are 1/2" or 5/8" arbor. The question is - is the Baldor I am looking at simply too weak for what I want? Should I be looking at smaller wheels?

Here are a couple of photos of the polisher I am after.

THANK YOU IN ADVANCE!

 

[zkling]

That's technically a polishing lathe, designed for small and delicate items. Used by jewelers and yes dentists/orthodontists. You'd be much better off with a traditional buffer or even converted bench grinder for general shop use.

 

[1982fxr]

^^^what zkling said.

Baldor is the king but 1/4 horse is on the light duty end. An old USA 1/2 hp grinder with the guards removed would be better.

 

[torqueman2002]

I like to keep grinding, wire wheeling, separate from polishing and buffing.

Polishing and buffing require more horse power, also.

Baldor is an excellent, although expensive, choice.

I bought this 2-speed Baldor from TP Tools.

http://www.tptools.com/BALDOR-3and4HP-2-Speed-Bench-Mount-Buffer,6136.html?b=d*12983

TP Tools is a great source for buffing and polishing supplies/kits.

Also, Caswell Plating is a good source for information and supplies.
http://www.caswellplating.com/contact-us.html

 

[gregaz]

All -

Many thanks for your feedback. It was very instructive.
As a result, I did the only reasonable thing and bought two. The Baldor I mentioned and a mint 1974 CM 1/2 hp block.
The CM is getting converted to a buffer shortly.

Cheers,
Greg