# Buffing systems



## Haynie (Jan 11, 2013)

I've looked for this answer, as I am sure it has been brought up but can't find anything.

What is the difference between the beall buffing system and the harbor freight 6 inch?  I know one is a motor the other fits on the lathe.  I also know the beall comes with the buffs and if gotten at Wood craft would come with red white and wax.  I plan on up grading the buffs no matter what I get.  A guy I know swears by Canton flannel buffs.  These were also recommended by George so That is the direction I am going.

If someone knows of a way to just make a beall type buffing system I am all ears.  

I have never been able to get the flawless finish people talk about with the MM pads and frankly, being somewhat color blind, I am tired of asking people to sort them out for me if they get mixed up.


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## Ted iin Michigan (Jan 11, 2013)

Haynie - I've got the Beall. I like it a *lot*. It's the last step in my finishing regimen. I can't speak to others as I haven't used them but I do believe the Beall is a bit larger in diam than others. 

Last year I worked to improve my finishing (both CA and acrylics). Couple pointers (in no particular order): 
1 -  Work to avoid cross-contamination of abrasicves. even the MM will sometimes shed grit so I now have separate rinses, wipers, etc. After each grit I "clean" the blank with a damp piece of paper towel reserved for that grit. I change this fairly often (daily or sooner). This also applies to the wheels. I keep them in separate plastic bags to avoid getting Tripoli on the white diamond wheel. Yeah, it's anal, but I believe it works. 
2 - As you can tell, I like to sand and polish wet. I've tried several mediums, but water seems to work best for me. I have some thick polyethylene plastic (10 mil?) that I use to protect the lathe & ways. I arrange it so the excess water drips into a bucket. 
3 - This is important. I've discovered that as I go up in the grits I need to slow the lathe down considerably and use a lighter and lighter touch. By the time I'm ready for the Beall wheels, I'm at the slowest speed and only lightly touching the blank with the paper or MM. And I don't spend much time with each grit.
4 - Another thing that has helped a great deal is to sand longitudinally at the end of each grit.

Way more info than you requested but I hope it helps.


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## Haynie (Jan 11, 2013)

I sand sloppy wet, wipe between, slow down, light touch wipe between sanding ,pretty much everything that was said except I add the steps of using 3M rubbing compound, and 3M finesse (sp) it, at the end.  We used these two items exclusively to detail boats for glass like finishes.  I use a micro fiber cloth to apply each but still get the micro scratches.  I sat down and thought about it last night and the difference was the use of the buffers.  The micro fiber cloths were not used to apply or buff they were used to dust, plain and simple, so I am going that route.  Or flame polishing.


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## CharlesJohnson (Jan 11, 2013)

Haynie said:


> I sand sloppy wet, wipe between, slow down, light touch wipe between sanding ,pretty much everything that was said except I add the steps of using 3M rubbing compound, and 3M finesse (sp) it, at the end. We used these two items exclusively to detail boats for glass like finishes. I use a micro fiber cloth to apply each but still get the micro scratches. I sat down and thought about it last night and the difference was the use of the buffers. The micro fiber cloths were not used to apply or buff they were used to dust, plain and simple, so I am going that route. Or flame polishing.


                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Are you speaking of flame polishing CA  a n d  acrilic?  Either way, I am looking forward to your report on your results.  Thank you for that too.


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## bradh (Jan 11, 2013)

Haynie said:


> ==trim==
> 
> If someone knows of a way to just make a beall type buffing system I am all ears.



To make your own, just use some all-thread, nuts and washers. Hold the rod in a Jacobs chuck on the headstock and you need a bearing holder for the tailstock end, I made a wooden holder for mine.
  Some people put some tube over the exposed threaded rod for safety
Thread on this buffer:
http://www.penturners.org/forum/f30/home-made-buffer-26632/#post26632
more info on my webpage:
Homemade Buffer; Wood-working Shop, HardingPens.com


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## brownsfn2 (Jan 11, 2013)

I created my own MT2 taper out of wood with a threaded hole for a rod in the end.  Make sure you use a sturdy wood if you do this.  My first one blew apart.


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## Haynie (Jan 11, 2013)

I do not have a jacobs chuck for my wood lathe.  I have one for my metal lathe (3mt) but that lathe is pretty slow.  Do you need super high speeds for buffing?


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## Haynie (Jan 11, 2013)

CharlesJohnson said:


> Are you speaking of flame polishing CA  a n d  acrilic?  Either way, I am looking forward to your report on your results.  Thank you for that too.



Actually I was really POed at the situation yesterday and went after the PR blank with a propane torch.  I figured it would just melt away but it didn't.  I would have kept going but one of those pesky customers showed up to pay a bill and I did not get back to it.  It had not gotten rid of all the scratches but I think it would have.  I have flame polished the edges of Acrylic sheets before to see if I could do it.  I think there is the possibility of success with PR too.

Still want to buff though.


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## The Penguin (Jan 11, 2013)

Haynie said:


> I do not have a jacobs chuck for my wood lathe.  I have one for my metal lathe (3mt) but that lathe is pretty slow.  Do you need super high speeds for buffing?


about 1800 rpm is recommended by Beall


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## Kretzky (Jan 11, 2013)

If you want to talk buffing have a look at the Caswell Plating website
Plating Kits Electroplating Kits Aluminum Anodizing Kits Powder Coating Systems Metal Polishing And Buffing Supplies - Caswell Inc
they have buffing wheels & compounds for just about anything you may want to buff, including plastics. Dig around their site there is a great " what do I use to buff this?" section, that will give you all the answers you may need.
As Brad suggested why not make your own the most difficult part would be drilling a 60deg hole in the end of the rod for your live tailstock ctr. As for the "no Jacobs Chuck" you could make a simple wooden collet to clamp onto the all thread & fit into whatever chuck you do have, or turn a wooden MT2 adaptor for your headstock. 
Hope that helps,


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## dogcatcher (Jan 11, 2013)

I used 1/2" diameter bolts, I cut the head off and using 2 nuts and 2 washers with a buffing pad.  Place one nut and washer on the bolt, then the buffing wheel, then another washer and the final nut, tighten the nut and bingo use it in a collet chuck or a drill chuck.  Cost of the nuts, bolts and washer about $1.50, plus the wheel.  You will need one wheel for each compound you use, and if you buff metal you will need separate ones for that purpose.   

Each wheel is stored in separate plastic bag with the compound that is used on that wheel.  It only takes a second to change the complete wheel, to go to the next compound.  I tried using only one bolt and just changing out the wheel, the cost of the extra nuts and bolts was worth it. 

Everything except the nuts and bolts came from Caswell Plating,  one stop shopping for the wheels and the compound.


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## Mack C. (Jan 11, 2013)

Haynie said:


> I've looked for this answer, as I am sure it has been brought up but can't find anything.
> 
> What is the difference between the beall buffing system and the harbor freight 6 inch? I know one is a motor the other fits on the lathe. I also know the beall comes with the buffs and if gotten at Wood craft would come with red white and wax. I plan on up grading the buffs no matter what I get. A guy I know swears by Canton flannel buffs. These were also recommended by George so That is the direction I am going.
> 
> If someone knows of a way to just make a beall type buffing system I am all ears.


 
Very, very easy to make your own system. If it wasn't easy, I would not have the 2 systems I have: a 3 wheeler of canton buffs, as well as a 2 wheeler of string buffs.





Each wheel contains 3 8" Canton flannel buffs. An MT2 stub arbor at the headstock end into which is threaded a 14" long ½" threaded rod. I had a machine shop drill a 60° centre in the threaded rod at the tailstock end.






The 6" string buffer constructed exactly the same way as the 3 wheel buffer.

I run the buffs @ 1920 RPM (3rd drive on that small lathe).

It was no cheaper to build than to buy a Beall system, but the real joy in it is, I built it myself!


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## Curly (Jan 11, 2013)

You have a metal lathe so it should be easy for you. Use a centre drill to drill the end of your ready rod/all thread for the live centre of your lathe to work in. The end for the headstock is put into a stub arbor that you have drilled and tapped to match the ready rod/all thread. Nuts, washers and spacers hold the buffing wheels in place. You can also use an end mill holder to grip the turned down ready rod/all thread it you chose not to use the stub arbour.

STUB ARBOR MT 2 X 1IN. - Busy Bee Tools

E.M. HOLDER MT 2 1/2IN. - Busy Bee Tools

The stub arbours are listed under different names depending on who is selling and the above is just to illustrate what I mean.

P.S. I see Mack has posted pictures illustrating what I said.


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## NewLondon88 (Jan 13, 2013)

super easy.. if you've turned pens on a mandrel, you're already
95% of the way there. Think about it.


.. we'll wait...  :tongue:


You need a spacer to keep one wheel away from the headstock, another
one between wheels and maybe one to take up slack at the end of the
mandrel. I use old 7mm pen blanks that I never got around to turning.
The wheels can be as cheap as a couple of dollars, but you can spend
good money on them too. I've got spare mandrels all over the place.
So I can set up different mandrels for different things. Metals, acrylic..
Only other thing I use were some washers to hold the wheels.
Super easy. Very cheap. and it works just fine. Or you can spend money
and have someone else put a couple of wheels on some sort of mandrel
for you..


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## dogcatcher (Feb 9, 2013)

I made one of these, I can switch out the wheels in just a few seconds.  Each wheel is stored in it's own zip bag with the correct compound or wax.


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## MarkD (Feb 9, 2013)

Here is a thread I found useful:
http://www.penturners.org/forum/f30/buffing-kicked-up-notch-55476/


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