Buffing/Polishing Finish Question

[xmaddchillx]

Could I use my dremel with buffing attachments and buff/polish on the lathe instead of buying a benchtop buffing wheel??

Just curious before I try it lol

Also what compounds are recommended?!

 

[fiferb]

I think you would have to be very careful not to stay in one place. I think a dremel turns faster than a buffer so you may buff the finish right off.

 

[mick]

If you're wanting to polish while still on the lathe just sand through your normal grits and then using a clean cotton cloth apply and buff whatever your choice of buffing compound or polish is.
After all the blanks are already on a spinning rod.....:biggrin:

 

[ldb2000]

Save yourself the trouble of finding out . You can buff very cheaply by going to your local BORG and buy a couple of the Ryobi buffing wheels and an arbor and a stick of tripolli (Ryobi letter "D") and a stick of white diamond (Ryobi letter "H") and buff on your dirll press . Total cost will be less then $30 . If you micromesh first you can get away with only one wheel and the white diamond , but both works better .

 

[David M]

but it does work on bullet casings ..... use slow speed on dremel

 

[TellicoTurning]

Save yourself the trouble of finding out . You can buff very cheaply by going to your local BORG and buy a couple of the Ryobi buffing wheels and an arbor and a stick of tripolli (Ryobi letter "D") and a stick of white diamond (Ryobi letter "H") and buff on your dirll press . Total cost will be less then $30 . If you micromesh first you can get away with only one wheel and the white diamond , but both works better .

You could also go into the tool department of your local borg and look for their 6 or 8 in buffing wheels... they aren't the same quality as the beall system, I think they are a little harder, but they have a hole in the center of the arbor, in the hardware department, get a piece of all thread about 12 or 14 inches long, a set of washers and nuts that will fit the all thread, you'll need two for each wheel, I put mine in my little PSI chuck and I have a tailstock that has a cup just the size of my allthread... it's a poor man's bealle 3 wheel system and works very nicely on my Jet1014... you will need some way to hold the ends of the all thread on the lathe.. at both ends... if you have any kind of cup for your tailstock, make sure the allthread will fit into it. Then get your tripoli/white diamon/carnuba as suggested by IDB2000. You'll have the advantage of being able to adjust your speeds on your lathe and having both hands free to hang on to your turning...

Plus, I'm not sure the Dremel will be powerful enough to turn a buffing wheel effectively.

 

[Tn-Steve]

I did about the same thing that a few of others have suggested. I got 2 buffing wheels, a couple of arbors to mount them on a drill, and had to get a couple of pieces of spacer stock out of the "assorted Hardware" bins to go from the 1/2 inch shaft on the arbors to the 5/8inch hole in the buffing pad.

When I get done turning, I just pop the mandrel off, pop in the chuck, pop in the buffing disk, buff, change pads, buff again. Take only about 15 - 30 seconds to change over (depends how deep the chuck key gets buried in the shavings).

I know it works well for me, and my price was around 30 or so also

Steve