Buffing Wheel Questions

[JCMTools]

(I originally posted most of these questions in block grinder thread, but this isn't aren't specifically block grinder questions.)

Now that I have finally found an interior-threaded buffer taper adapter for my 5/8" arbor, I need to get some buffing wheels and could benefit from the collective experience.


Center hole
I've found leather-center pinhold wheels on ebay, but I can only find them from one source, kiren on ebay:
Leather center buffing wheel

I've also read that one can use up to a 1/2" hole. They'll run up the spindle farther but otherwise work. Applying some krazy glue to the fibers around the hole will make it last a lot longer. Since there are a lot more wheels available at a lower price this would seem to be a preferable solution. Has anyone tried this?

Plies
kiren has a number of different ply counts from 40 to 70 plies. Is it a case of more plies are better?

Wheel types
I've seen loose, concentric, spiral, sisal and more types. Should I get one of each?

Compounds
I've got black (emery), brown (tripoli), red and white rouges. Do I need any others?

DVDs
I'd also like to try buffing out some scratches on cds and dvds. Does anyone have experience doing this?

 

[drivesitfar]

JCM: i'll be watching your new thread and helping you as i find out information too. i have 2 Baldor 3/4 HP 3600 RPM buffers and would also like to know where to buy buffing wheels and compounds.

also would like to know which compounds and which brands work better for specific metals.

thanks for taking the time to start this thread

 

[woody 73]

Compounds Wow you have not even (Scratched the surface=pun for buffing jokes):

http://www.eastwood.com/autobody/buffing/buff-compounds.html

 

[JCMTools]

Nice looking buffers! Have you thought about/looked into using a taper adapter? I am attempting to go this route since I have limited space and budget, so I hope to have one grinder fitted with a wire wheel and a taper.

 

[ZRX61]

Everything you need:
http://www.caswellplating.com/

 

[JCMTools]

Compounds Wow you have not even (Scratched the surface=pun for buffing jokes):

http://www.eastwood.com/autobody/buffing/buff-compounds.html

That's what I'm afraid of! I'd like to keep it simple, since I don't do a ton of polishing and I'm not trying to get fancy finishes. My current compounds are from a box of four from Sears 30+ years ago.

 

[JCMTools]

Everything you need:
http://www.caswellplating.com/

Great link, thanks!

They don't appear to have leather pinhole center wheels. Do you know if 1/2" center holes would work on a taper adapter?

 

[torqueman2002]

Nice looking buffers! Have you thought about/looked into using a taper adapter? I am attempting to go this route since I have limited space and budget, so I hope to have one grinder fitted with a wire wheel and a taper.

X2

I bought a 'starter' kit from TP Tools. They have a good range and explanation of products.
http://www.tptools.com/Bench-Mount-Buffer-Supplies.html

 

[woody 73]

Sounds like a fun post:

1-Jewelers Spindle.

2- Jewelers ring spindle.

3- 3 & 4 Different ways to attach the wheels to the grinder.

4- 5 & 6 Different size wheels.

5- Larger Buffing machine for big jobs.

 

[Movin/on]

Drivesitfar and others I build my own buffer about 8 years ago and have great results with it.

Compounds are available from Caswell Metal Finishing (Caswellplating.com). I've bought 2 to 5 lb. blocks from a Tool company in Medford Oregon and from what I have found some Marble, Granite shops have compounds as well. Caswell has a really detailed description on their web site on how to polish and what occurs. ZRX61 I missed your link.
HF has 4 stick polishing kits so you get all the steps.

I'm in the process of building another buffer so I don't have to change wheels when going to finer compounds. I like to use 4 steps in polishing. Most of the things I've polished are aluminum valve covers or aluminum wheels.

Clean and file/sand either smooth or flat, Soft wire wheel, 3 or four compounds, clean with mineral spirits or lacquer thinner

 

[woody 73]

Different buffing wheels guide:

http://schaffnermfg.com/buffingwheels-typesbw.php

 

[woody 73]

Movin/ on how long did it take you to build your own buffer?

 

[drivesitfar]

MovinOn: great posts. any chance you can post a few more pictures of your homemade buffer. also can you take up a few posts of the stuff you polished?

ALL: great stuff guys. i just keep learning and will continue to do so as long as i'm a member here.

 

[Movin/on]

Woody73: I built the buffer in 1 day since I had all of the materials. The shaft is 1-1/2 inches and the arbors are 1". I had a machine shop thread the right and left hand threads.
The base is 2" square tube and the legs are 3" pipe. The table is a section of 12" mobile home frame from a scrap yard. I bought about 10 12 ft. sections of it. I made the base larger and I stand on it while buffing so I don't push it around. All together It weights about 100#
Pillow blocks are from the closed down ship repair place I basically "plundered" when they sold out.

I'm going to make my second buffer out of a ATV solid rear axle assembly from ? what brand and slow the rpm down through pulley sizes. I calculated that the 1760RPM motor would spin the ATV shaft at the equivalent of 100 MPH so I'll need to decide on pulley sizes.

Movin/on

 

[2oolhound]

Wow you have not even Scratched the surface

Good one Woody! lol

It won't matter how many plies your wheel has as you can gang them together, 2 - 40 ply = 80 plies. It's not uncommon to see 5" of wheels on a powerful buffer. You should have dedicated wheels for each type of compound you use (don't get different compounds on the same wheel). Since you have 4 types of compounds you should have 4 of each type of wheel basically.

The Caswell links above should have all the info on speeds, hp., and compounds and for which metals etc.

Can you post links for your interior-threaded taper adapters?

Here are some examples of what you can bring back from the dead with buffers:

40 years of corrosion:



Ever seen acme this bad? Does clearasil make buffing compounds?



After filling down to clean metal (old machinery had thick metal, today's parts would have been eaten right through in this case.



Coarse emery cloth treatment to round off the file patterns.



Voila:

 

[torqueman2002]

Great thread and v. timely for me - I'm learning.

2oolhound - that is a remarkable transformation. Nice work.

Can I ask how long you have been using a buffer and in particular, how long it took to polish the pieces above?

Thanks.

 

[PCO6]

Everything you need:
http://www.caswellplating.com/

I agree. And for the Canadians ...
http://www.caswellcanada.ca/shop/

 

[2oolhound]

torqueman2002 Thanks! and cool avatar!

I did these about 4-5 years ago as a learning exercise. I bought a big kit from Caswell's and used a 3/4hp grinder with 8" wheels. I don't remember how long exactly it took but I know I could have bought good used rocker covers off ebay cheap enough that I probably worked for $5.00 an hour on these ones. But that wasn't the point, the timing cover and other parts all added up to making it worthwhile plus I wanted to see what could be done. The convenience of doing this work immediately when the need arises as opposed to ordering parts (that will need some cleaning up anyway) and waiting for them to arrive counts for something. In hind sight these parts could be taken another level of shine yet.

Buffing is dirty work, be sure to wear eye protection as the buffing compound mixed with fine fibers from the wheels float around and is thrown right at your face. I'm not talking about projectiles but a vapour like mist that builds up in the corners of your eyes and will cause problems if you buff for long periods of time. Commercial buffers have fan driven vents on the wheel guards that remove a lot of this effluent and blow it outside. A breathing mask or good filter is also required. I roll my buffer right outside for this work and wear all the protection, even ear muffs. I wear terry cloth type gloves because they insulate from the heat that builds up on the parts so you can hold them longer and they don't scratch the surfaces. They get black fast but last a long time. Just don't get them caught in the wheel.

 

[JCMTools]

That's impressive! My neighbor is into Norton's and I went to an owner's group meeting with him recently. Great bikes.

 

[JCMTools]

Good one Woody! lol

It won't matter how many plies your wheel has as you can gang them together, 2 - 40 ply = 80 plies. It's not uncommon to see 5" of wheels on a powerful buffer. You should have dedicated wheels for each type of compound you use (don't get different compounds on the same wheel). Since you have 4 types of compounds you should have 4 of each type of wheel basically.

I thought that I'd just need 4 wheels total for the 4 compounds, and I'd start off with Black and proceed to white, essentially. Not sure I can swing/justify 16 wheels.

 

[JCMTools]

Here are the details on the taper adapter:

Inside threaded taper adapter for a 5/8" arbor. $18.55 + $9.16 shipping, total $27.71.

Stuller Jeweler Supplies

They carry both a right and left threaded adapater for 5/8" arbor, but nothing similar for a 1/2" arbor, at least as far as I can tell. As you can see from the pictures after I mounted it, it's a nice extension as well.

 

[2oolhound]

I thought that I'd just need 4 wheels total for the 4 compounds, and I'd start off with Black and proceed to white, essentially. Not sure I can swing/justify 16 wheels.

I'm not sure how you mean start with black and proceed to white. The compounds are each for different metals so if you only do aluminum you need black and white is ok to finish but many metals only work with one compound. I did a lot of reading on the web when I got started and a pro was saying how for example using rouge on aluminum will make it a dark shine. I tried it and you could see what he meant. In his eyes you'd never do that with aluminum, the bright shine is what you are after. I think there is some room to break a few rules but it's good to know them 1st.

Thanks for that link. Caswell has wheels that either aren't punched at all or they only have a 1/2" hole in them, I can't remember how that is. You have to specify what size hole you want with some of them and they'll punch them to your specs. I found the spiral stitched sisal to be a good wheel for aluminum after I went at it with 400 grit emery. Then a soft cotton to polish afterward. I just got enough wheels to do my aluminum at first but I've picked up a dozen or so others at sales and flea markets since.

 

[Swan]

Take a look here: http://www.englishcustompolishing.com

 

[pepi]

(I originally posted most of these questions in block grinder thread, but this isn't aren't specifically block grinder questions.)

Now that I have finally found an interior-threaded buffer taper adapter for my 5/8" arbor, I need to get some buffing wheels and could benefit from the collective experience.


Center hole
I've found leather-center pinhold wheels on ebay, but I can only find them from one source, kiren on ebay:

Several years ago I ran into this guy @ the Turkey run down in Daytona

http://www.tarheelparts.com/

Bought wheels and polishes from him several times, very informative sends out a catalog that also explains the products and the usage of such.

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