Comparison on Buffing systems

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Madman1978

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Okay, gents let's talk Buffing!

AS I try to always get a better finish on pens bottle stoppers and the knife handles. However, which one is the best or what's better?
I currently use the PSI wheels and the 3 bars sent with them. What do you like and suggest?

Mine works great, but, I hear all the old-timers liking the Beal system.
 
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monophoto

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I don't think the name stamped on the materials matters as much as the skill of the person using those materials.

My buffing wheels came from Harbor Freight, and are attached to shop-made wooden mandrels that screw onto the spindle of my lathe. I bought my red compound at Harbor Freight, my white compound at PSI, and my wax from a vendor at the Totally Turning show. And it all works just fine.
 

Madman1978

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I learned to buff items when I was 18. almost 40 years ago. yes, I feel old now. I learned about buffing on football helmets. Don't laugh. It was my first full-time job. Football helmets have to be recertified each year. Nonpianted hats are clean and polished. While painted hats are buff to remove all the crap and such, off the helmets then repainted. I was the buffer guy! The first year I was there we did around 32,000 helmets. That was the loudest job I have ever done in my life.
 

dogcatcher

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From days gone by.
 

jrista

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I learned to buff items when I was 18. almost 40 years ago. yes, I feel old now. I learned about buffing on football helmets. Don't laugh. It was my first full-time job. Football helmets have to be recertified each year. Nonpianted hats are clean and polished. While painted hats are buff to remove all the crap and such, off the helmets then repainted. I was the buffer guy! The first year I was there we did around 32,000 helmets. That was the loudest job I have ever done in my life.
Well, 32,000 will certainly build some skill! :D

I think I maybe have 20-30 items under my belt so far.... Got a long way to go, apparently!
 

mmayo

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I use the Beale system and did not like the Penn State buffing wheels. I use the first two buffs on the Beale system and never the wax. The wax results in a white haze that reappears after wiping it for months.
 

Madman1978

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Well, 32,000 will certainly build some skill! :D

I think I maybe have 20-30 items under my belt so far.... Got a long way to go, apparently!
Helmets don't take as much talent. trust me. But I was able to polish a large helmet in under a min.
 

moke

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As an "old timer" I have had a Beall system for probably 10 years or so. As the Buffs got worn, I bought Caswell to replace them. I have had mixed luck with the Caswell....I got a couple of buffs that did not have the hole completely centered and it ran terrible. but others were fine...all in all I probably had 2 that were defective. I never sent them back as it was more trouble and postage than it was worth. I like the Caswell final buffs because they are softer and I believe I get a higher shine.
Just my .02 there , sonny!
 

monophoto

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got a couple of buffs that did not have the hole completely centered and it ran terrible.


Slightly off topic question - is it possible to correct the problem of an off-center hole by spinning the buff against some kine of very sharp edge such as a straight razor?
 

howsitwork

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Slightly off topic question - is it possible to correct the problem of an off-center hole by spinning the buff against some kine of very sharp edge such as a straight razor?
NOT A GOOD IDEA ! A razor grabbed by the wheel will be very sharp and travelling very, very fast as it whips back round to catch your hand .

Buffing wheels are cheap, plastic surgery less so and takes a long time to recover. PLEASE DON'T TRY IT
 

egnald

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I bought the Rikon slow speed buffer. Then I calculated the linear speed of the 8-inch wheels that came with it and decided to reduce it a bit by using 6-inch wheels instead. For the first wheel I use a tightly sewn cotton wheel with the blue compound from PSI. The second wheel is a loosely sewn flannel that I use dry for a final buff.

I also made a few tapered wooden handles that I use to hold the blanks/tubes on one end (with my fingers on the other end) for buffing. I avoid contamination from metal. Although I have read that it doesn't hurt anything, I don't like the gray appearance that metal can impart to the wheels.

I also cut a bunch of shallow saw kerfs in a piece of blonde hardwood to use as a surface dressing "comb" -again to avoid contact with metal dressing tools.

So far I am happy with the results. Much happier than messing around with my lathe to mount the PSI wheels whenever I want to buff something.

Dave
 
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I have 2 buffing systems... one is a home made with buffing wheels from Lowe's on a 1" all thread with washers and nuts holding the buffing wheels in place... works on my little lathe just fin..... the other is from Don Pencil that he sent me by mistake when I ordered his hollowing system... I offered to send it along to the correct recipient but he told me to just keep it.... works okay, but the wax wheels tends to throw off a lot of fluff... makes me sneeze when I use it. Since I use poly urethane most of the time, rarely do much buffing any more.
 

plano_harry

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From days gone by.
This is the advice I followed years ago and I don't believe a better finish is possible. I go through all the micromesh first and then hit the buffer. May be redundant past the last few grits, but the finish is amazing.
 

sbwertz

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I don't think the name stamped on the materials matters as much as the skill of the person using those materials.

My buffing wheels came from Harbor Freight, and are attached to shop-made wooden mandrels that screw onto the spindle of my lathe. I bought my red compound at Harbor Freight, my white compound at PSI, and my wax from a vendor at the Totally Turning show. And it all works just fine.
Mine came from Harbor Freight, too, and are powered by an old washing machine motor.
 

Painfullyslow

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Out of curiosity, do any of you use Zona paper? I have not yet tried buffing CA finishes mostly because I haven't felt the need to but I might be missing out on something.

In any case, the Zona goes down to 1 micron which produces a glass-like finish. I wasn't sure if buffing could/would improve that further. My standard CA finishing process is sand axially with 400 grit to even out the finish until there are no glossy spots remaining, then wet micromesh through the grits, then wet zona paper down to 1 micron, and I finish up with the Novus plastic polish line (3,2, and 1).

Anyone with experience in this care to chime in?
 

moke

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You can round it out with a buffing rake.
Thanks dogcather...never seen one before, did some research...looks like a handy tool....got one coming!

Years ago, I found a Rikon minlathe "Econo" for 100.00 as a closeout on Woodcraft.....it is dedicated to my Beall buff....it works great....
 

Curly

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Out of curiosity, do any of you use Zona paper? I have not yet tried buffing CA finishes mostly because I haven't felt the need to but I might be missing out on something.

In any case, the Zona goes down to 1 micron which produces a glass-like finish. I wasn't sure if buffing could/would improve that further. My standard CA finishing process is sand axially with 400 grit to even out the finish until there are no glossy spots remaining, then wet micromesh through the grits, then wet zona paper down to 1 micron, and I finish up with the Novus plastic polish line (3,2, and 1).

Anyone with experience in this care to chime in?
With a buffer you can stop at 400 / 600 or 0000 steel wool and then buff. That skips having to do all the grits (and the water mess and possible discolouration at the ends of the blank from the water) and then the polishes. Whatever make you happiest is the way to go.
 

jrista

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Helmets don't take as much talent. trust me. But I was able to polish a large helmet in under a min.
Perhaps not much "talent", but there is something to the "skill" of buffing that I think 32,000 helmets would help you master. I'm still getting the feel for it, but I can "feel" when I'm buffing something that there is an optimal technique to it...how you hold each piece, how you move it under the wheel, how much pressure you use to get the best result, etc. Contrary to how modern schools are usually run these days, there is definitely something to repetition that helps build up skill. ;)
 

bradh

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I have a system that I made using an old tube lathe. I think the important thing is using fine grits. I use a Meguires car glaze as a final buff. It gives that mile-deep gloss that makes the customers say WOW!
lathe-buffer-rs.JPG
 

SteveG

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I have a system that I made using an old tube lathe. I think the important thing is using fine grits. I use a Meguires car glaze as a final buff. It gives that mile-deep gloss that makes the customers say WOW!
I had done a similar buffing setup as bradh shows in post #21 above, using an old Craftsman tube lathe (tube bed cut down to desired length), and loved it. One advantage was adjusting the RPM as desired. It was a great step forward, eliminating most of the micromesh grits as Curly mentioned, and at the same time gaining great results on the finished product. I highly recommend incorporating buffing, how ever you do it!
 

monophoto

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I have four buffing wheels - 8" tripoli, white diamond, and wax for wood, and a 6" wheel for metal. All are attached to shop-made mandrels that screw onto the spindle of my lathe.

Most of my turning is 'utilitarian' rather than display stuff, so I'm rarely interested in achieving a super-glossy surface. And so I don't necessarily buff everything I make, and when I do buff, I am really focusing on achieving a smooth feel. I find that no matter how much I sand, or how careful I am when applying finish, the surface still can feel a bit rough. My experience is that light buffing takes care of that problem very well, leaving a silky-smooth surface for things that are held in the hand.
 

MPVic

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I learned to buff items when I was 18. almost 40 years ago. yes, I feel old now. I learned about buffing on football helmets. Don't laugh. It was my first full-time job. Football helmets have to be recertified each year. Nonpianted hats are clean and polished. While painted hats are buff to remove all the crap and such, off the helmets then repainted. I was the buffer guy! The first year I was there we did around 32,000 helmets. That was the loudest job I have ever done in my life.
Who knew?? Thanks for sharing!!
 

sbwertz

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I mounted a buffing wheel on a mandrel and use it on the lathe at the blind center. At home, my husband built me a two wheel buffer with 8" wheels run by an old washing machine motor.
 

sbwertz

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I run just about everything on a buffing wheel after it is finished and assembled...no rouge, just a dry wheel, to remove fingerprints, smudges, etc from assembly. It makes it very smooth, and since my turners can't see, the smooth feel of the finish is very pleasing for them. It is a 4" wheel mounted on a mandrel with some delrin spacers on each side. I have another wheel I use with rouge to polish acrylic pens before doing a final polish on the lathe with plastic polish. So far this year, we haven't done any acrylic pens. I'm working mostly with new turners, and I only let experienced turners turn the acrylic blanks.
 
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