Hartwell85
Member
I made this tool to securely hold acrylic pen blanks during the buffing process. The inspiration for this tool came from one of Mark Dreyer's videos. I just further developed the idea.
The first photo shows the tool components consisting of a shop made handle, a 6" length of ¼-20 all-thread rod, ¼-20 hex nut, two Penn State non-stick bushings (PKDRYBU), nylon bushings: 0.5" OD, 0.253" ID, 0.5" and 1" long. The nylon bushings are available at full-service hardware stores, Lowes, Menards, or similar stores.
I drilled a hole one inch deep into the handle and glued in the all-thread rod with epoxy. The one-inch-long nylon bushing at the outboard end of the rod helps with rotation of the tool and is easier on the fingers than bare metal threads. The shorter nylon bushing next to the handle helps to keep the handle away from the buffing wheel.
The second photo shows the tool with a blank installed. The ¼-20 hex nut goes over the outboard non-stick bushing and only needs to be finger tightened. To use the tool, hold the handle with one hand and the opposite hand grips the outboard bushing. Press the blank to the buffing wheel and spin the handle to rotate the blank.
The first photo shows the tool components consisting of a shop made handle, a 6" length of ¼-20 all-thread rod, ¼-20 hex nut, two Penn State non-stick bushings (PKDRYBU), nylon bushings: 0.5" OD, 0.253" ID, 0.5" and 1" long. The nylon bushings are available at full-service hardware stores, Lowes, Menards, or similar stores.
I drilled a hole one inch deep into the handle and glued in the all-thread rod with epoxy. The one-inch-long nylon bushing at the outboard end of the rod helps with rotation of the tool and is easier on the fingers than bare metal threads. The shorter nylon bushing next to the handle helps to keep the handle away from the buffing wheel.
The second photo shows the tool with a blank installed. The ¼-20 hex nut goes over the outboard non-stick bushing and only needs to be finger tightened. To use the tool, hold the handle with one hand and the opposite hand grips the outboard bushing. Press the blank to the buffing wheel and spin the handle to rotate the blank.
