Chestnut Buffing System

[tekno.mage]

After seeing Mark Sanger use this system at a demo, I was inspired to investigate it further.

I've used a couple of small buffing wheels on a modified old grinder in the past, but was not really be happy with the system - the old grinder was inclined to stall when applying compound to the wheel - and there was far too much risk of fouling the edge of the work against the body of the machine unless I was very careful.

Initially put off by the price of the Chestnut system - just under £50 seemed a quite lot for a buffing system to me - I did some research on the web and discovered I'd not actually save very much buying the wheels and compounds individually and I'd still have to make my own arbor(s). So I decided to order the Chestnut system anyway from The Toolpost.

It arrived about an hour ago.

Firstly, well done to The Toolpost's delivery system. I had an email this morning specifying the delivery time to the hour. The courier turned up exactly when they said he would, which was quite a surprise as here in rural Wales satnav doesn't work too well & most couriers have to ring for directions at least once to find us!

Secondly, I'm well pleased with the Chestnut buffing system. The long arbor that fits in the chuck is great - it gives plenty of room for you to manipulate the work you are buffing without risk of it fouling on the headstock. The three wheels are nice quality and the whole system is quick & easy to use, with the benefit of the lathe's variable speed too.

As a tip to anyone else who might buy this system and be looking for a suitable container to store it in (to keep the wheels clean) when not in use, I found the whole lot fits perfectly into one of those clear plastic buckets with lid that bulk quantities of fatballs for the birds come in!

tekno.mage

 

[CHJ]

Hope you have many happy hours polishing your nails TM, I've stowed mine in a little shelf unit made out of chipboard offcuts, it has a clip on cover/door to stop turning debris entering.

 

[Bodrighy]

You are so organised Chas it's scary. Only jealous, really must sort myself out

Pete

 

[Paul.J]

Haven't even got my kit out the box since i bought :roll: mainly because i have had no need yet
I like the box idea Chas.Might make one meself to store it when it starts getting used

 

[CHJ]

..I like the box idea Chas.Might make one meself to store it when it starts getting used

Don't forget to leave room for some domed mops (100-150mm) for bowl internals and smaller 100mm normals.

The domed mops are really necessary if you are to avoid the risk of fixings marking internals, I'm currently getting by on an odd domed sample and some 100mm normals but eagerly await the appearance of regular issue domed bits.

You are so organised Chas it's scary. Only jealous, really must sort myself out Pete

It's the only way I can keep an interest Pete, if I have to sort around to find stuff I tend not to bother.

 

[The Shark]

Hi Guys,

Please excuse my ignorance as I have never seen in use, or even used a buffing system of any sort.

What are the benefits of using such a system? What do they actually achieve?

Thanks in advance

Malc

 

[CHJ]

What are the benefits of using such a system? What do they actually achieve?

Have a look at this Pau Rosa item and those followiing, a blemish free shine that makes photography difficult.

 

[The Shark]

Thanks Chas,

The mists clear!

That is a lovely piece BTW

Malc

 

[tekno.mage]

Regarding domed mops - I have some around 100mm - 120mm which I bought a while back and work well mounted on a drill for the insides of bowls. I've also got a couple of tapered cylinder shaped ones which I got for the insides of boxes - they work ok if the box is large enough, but are too big to fit inside smaller boxes. I must look into similar smaller versions if such exist - maybe for dremel-type tools?

tekno.mage

 

[Paul.J]

Bodrighy wrote

You are so organised Chas it's scary.

Yep.My shop is a right mess at the moment,and i've only been cutting up some logs :shock:
Yet i used to keep a tidy shop all the time :?
CHJ wrote

Don't forget to leave room for some domed mops (100-150mm) for bowl internals and smaller 100mm normals.

Cheers Chas.
Any idea when these will be available.Not that i'm in any rush to get em

 

[wizer]

I'm also tempted after seeing Mark's DVD. For some reason I can't get decent results with normal mops. I'm not sure if it's a technique issue tho.

 

[CHJ]

Regarding domed mops - I have some around 100mm - 120mm which I bought a while back and work well mounted on a drill for the insides of bowls. ..

Maybe if you can get the drive shanks out and replace them with a suitable 8mm bolt and nut they will fit on the Mandrel.

The Sample I have was made up that way, the plain shank was just held in place by a force fit washer and came out with a smart tap from a hammer.

 

[Lightweeder]

Apologies if I've not read this correctly, but I now have the Chestnut 100m domed mop, which goes into the main arbor. Bit large for some of the stuff I do, actually, but no doubt there's something out there if I got my 'but' in gear.

I keep my wheels in deep-drawer Bisley system. I also bought a spare wheel for buffing anything treated with Chestnut spirit stains, as they will contaminate your nice clean wheels.

 

[CHJ]

Apologies if I've not read this correctly, but I now have the Chestnut 100m domed mop, which goes into the main arbor. ..

I bet you collect "Hens Teeth" as well LW, :lol:

I know they are in the pipeline ( I keep rattling it to see if they will drop out the end anytime soon) but for whatever reason UK suppliers/sources seem to be putting as many obstacles as possible in Terrys way to having a complete range to market.

Bit large for some of the stuff I do, actually, but no doubt there's something out there if I got my 'but' in gear.
..

There are a multiplicity of smaller domed, parallel and tapered small mops around, hopefully they will eventually be available with suitable shanks/adaptors to fit the system.

 

[Lightweeder]

To be honest, Chas, Terry took one to the Harrogate Show for me, and he had a problem with it. He sent me one later and it's been fine, but I wonder if there's a development issue. No doubt he'll come on and let us know :wink:

 

[CHJ]

Does the one you have look like this at the back with a rubber/plastic cup?

 

[Terry Smart]

Hi All

I've been watching this with interest, I must admit I was worrying about the first post, waiting for a 'however' and I was delighted there wasn't one!
I'm always pleased to hear about happy customers, much as we think we're getting it right it's always nice have it confirmed.

Paul, what's wrong with you? You can afford to spend £50 and then let it sit on a shelf? Shame on you!

I haven't seen Mark Sanger's demo of the system other than on his DVD, we certainly get a lot of positive feedback on it though, so thanks Mark if you're reading this.

As has been said too many times, this kit has been a nightmare to bring to market. As you might expect virtually everything in it is bought in, and the suppliers we were recommended to have been nothing but trouble. Needless to say they have been/are being kicked into touch now but the problem has been finding new suppliers to match both price and more importantly quality.
We've pretty much done this now and we are about to launch the kit properly, which will allow us to concentrate fully on the domed mops etc. We've been working on these at the same time and have got a long way with it so I'm hoping it won't take too long now to get these out.

Some, ahem, insistent people have had advance prototypes of mops etc, I'm not certain what the final ones will be like but I'll put something up as soon as I know.
And yes, I broke the one I made up for Lightweeder by being clumsy. It wasn't easy to break but I managed it!

Please feel free to fire any questions or suggestions you may have.

 

[Paul.J]

Terry Smart wrote

Paul, what's wrong with you? You can afford to spend £50 and then let it sit on a shelf? Shame on you!

I got mine a little cheaper Terry,show discount,but i just haven't beeen getting the time to do any turning,and when i do it seems to be going wrong.Rushing i think is the problem.
Glad to see you've got the supplier sorted,so hopefully i will be getting the domed mops and putting them and the rest of the kit to good use soon i hope :roll:

 

[miles_hot]

I'm afraid that I couldn't wait for the mops and bough the other system from Toolpost and have been very happy with it. Shame really as I was utterly keen to support Chestnut and even waited a year before even thinking of getting the system.

Ah well - all the best with them; I have to say that I've been very happy with buffing as a finishing technique - beats the heck out of oil etc

Miles

 

[Lightweeder]

Does the one you have look like this at the back with a rubber/plastic cup?

That's the one Chas.

Terry - sorry to hear you're still having supplier problems. Pity, as everything's fine at the user end. Thanks for staying the course - it's a smashing system.