homemade buffing system

[jskeen]

Was out in the shop taking some pictures for another post, and decided to snap these and toss them up here for comment.

I think this thing cost me a total of about $19.00

I got the buffs from this guy on ebay, and they are totally awesome.
http://cgi.ebay.com/8-Buffing-Wheel...ryZ31485QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Threaded right onto the 1/2" allthread, spun great, and almost no fluff or thread shedding right from the start. A great deal at $2.50 each. Anybody looking to make a buffer is highly recommended to order some. I wonder if they would work as replacements for beale buffs?

A few bucks of hardware from Home Labyrinth, 2 $1.95 ea buffing compound bars from sears hardware, a little can of renwax that has lasted me for 5 years or more for the third step, and i was ready to mount to my lathe.

Cut these little bushings with a 1.5 inch hole saw, turned clean, drilled a 1/2" hole with a forstner bit, ground the ends of the allthread flat,and I was in business. There is a sweet spot for the tailstock end bushing that minimizes wobble and vibration that has to be marked and relocated each time, but the drive spur end is easy to put back in place

comments welcome
James

 

[R2]

BGI!! [][][] How would you have gone with the headstock end turned so it had a Morse taper?

 

[Randy_]

Originally posted by R2
<br />BGI!! [][][] How would you have gone with the headstock end turned so it had a Morse taper?

Not sure I understand exactly what you are saying? Guess it is the accent!! [][]

 

[Randy_]

James: Clever idea!! Are the little wooden pieces just a press fit on the allthread or are they glued on?

Just a thought. You could take both of the wooden caps and drill a small (maybe 1/16") hole entirely through the cap. Drill it from the inside of the 1/2" Forstner hole and center it in the dimple left by the tip of the Forstner bit. This should put both of those holes very close the the center of the mandrel and keep any vibrating to a minimum.

 

[Randy_]

I have almost zero experience with buffing wheels; but know that most buffing systems use different composition wheels for different compounds. The Tripoli compound is paired with a linen wheel, the white diamond compound is paired with a mixed linen and flannel wheel and the wax is applied with a flannel wheel. I wonder how much difference, if any, one might see when using flannel wheels in all three positions?