Buffing systems

[Neil Dyball]

Hi All,

I made a winged bowl "a la Bobham" a couple of days ago (I'll try and post photos in another thread later) and wanted to give it a 'buffed' finish. However, I only have one small bowl mop which wasn't really suitable but thought I'd try it anyway. Needless to say I managed to catch a corner of the winged bowl on the chuck and chipped a corner, although fortunately not too badly - and it was only a first try. Lesson learned is get a suitable buffing wheel etc.

I'm only aware of the Beall system although I'm sure one of the demonstrators who visited our club had an alternative. A quick 'google' hasn't turned up anything else.

So, my questions are; Who owns any kind of buffing system? Would you recommend them? Where did you get them from?

Cheers,

Neil.

 

[Bodrighy]

For things with odd shapes I use an old long bristled shoe brush (sans polish) after putting the ouil, wax or whatecver on stationary. I then rev the lathe up and gently use the brush. Works fine, doesn't damage the wood and is easy on the digits.

Pete

 

[cornucopia]

hello Neil i get my 6" loose leaf wheels from here i use these with the u beaut polish's from toolpost on small items like box's- superb system

 

[tekno.mage]

Hi Neil,

I'm also a relative newcomer to buffing and so far have only used this technique to remove streakiness from the melamine finish I use for my little boxes. The first thing I tried was a 4 inch cotton stitched buffing wheel (intended for use with an electric drill) and some tripoli compound I bought on ebay. I mounted the buffing wheel in a Jabobs chuck on the lathe and it worked reasonably well but as my lathe's top speed is only 2000rpm and that is both noisy and vibrates a lot, my partner suggested mounting said wheel on a cheap small bench grinder we have (3000rpm) - which made all the difference and worked really well in removing marks from the cured melamine finish.

However, he wants his bench grinder back, so I'm intending to buy another small bench grinder and some 6" buffing mops & adapters from here http://www.thepolishingshop.co.uk to make a dedicated buffing station with one buffing wheel for the tripoli compound and another for buffing wax/oil finishes.

tekno.mage

 

[user 5053]

Never heard of buffing even though I've been turning since the 70's. If you thin down your varnish with cellulose thinners and only put a small amount on your brush you will avoid the streaky look. Also the shiny look isn't really that fashionable these days - a more silk eggshell like finish is is the sort of finish that the customer is looking for. You can cut back any excess with wire wool. Always concentrate more on the shape of you piece than the finish.

 

[greggy]

neil, why dont you get some threaded rod and make your own, like my mate did. like this.

 

[Doug B]

George.
Could i ask which of their mop(s) you use, there were quite a few.
Thanks

 

[cornucopia]

I prefer G quality loose leaf for the u-beaut system, 6"x1-1/2" is my preferd size- you can use the WDR or R quality but i prefer the G as i change my mops every so often and the G is cheaper and the extra quality you get buying the more expensive mops doesnt make any noticeable diffrence on timber in my opinion.
all the best
george

 

[Doug B]

Thank you George.

 

[cornucopia]

i've posted a thread showing part of my buffing systen here

 

[Lightweeder]

George, can I just be sure - you fit the wheel into the headstock, rather than onto a grinder ? If you have several for different applications, you'd be faffing on every five minutes with a grinder, I guess :?

 

[cornucopia]

yep a jacobs chuck in the headstock then held in the chuck you have a pigtail mandrel/mop taper 3rd one down it takes seconds to spin one mop of and another one on- i only use two mops one for eee and one for shellwax

 

[Lightweeder]

I feel a little expenditure coming on but it has to be done. Thanks C.

Just had a look at this site and, while the 'general pack' looks like just the ticket, it seems to be wholely intended for use with metal. Do we just assume wood is 'persona non-grata' or am I missing something :?

 

[TEP]

Evenin' LW.

Just like to add a little to George's bit about Jacobs chucks. I use this set-up at times myself, but be warned the morse taper on the chuck can come loose in the head. What I do is bring the tail stock with revolving centre up as a precaution in case the MT on the Jacobs chuck comes loose. Other than this point the pigtail way is really easy to use, and quick.

 

[miles_hot]

I just know that I'm being stupid here but can someone educate me here? What is buffing, what do you buff (is it a finish - like super polishing a wax or oil or is it the wood itself)?, what sort of finish do you end up with? What happens before you buff? Is this the same as burnishing the wood (sometimes done with shavings...)?

Many thanks

Miles

 

[Neil Dyball]

All,

Thanks for the suggestions/info etc.

I'm still thinking about what to opt for but at least now I have choices!

Cheers,

Neil.

 

[cornucopia]

I just know that I'm being stupid here but can someone educate me here? What is buffing, what do you buff (is it a finish - like super polishing a wax or oil or is it the wood itself)?, what sort of finish do you end up with? What happens before you buff? Is this the same as burnishing the wood (sometimes done with shavings...)?

Many thanks

Miles

hello Miles- you hold the turned item and apply a buffing wheel to it (or vice versa) to bring up a shine or remove sanding marks etc. you can buff oil finish's or you can apply wax to the wheel and buff/polish the wood look at my brief box thread to see what sort of finish you can acheive with a certain type of polish- there are dozens of alternatives

 

[miles_hot]

I just know that I'm being stupid here but can someone educate me here? What is buffing, what do you buff (is it a finish - like super polishing a wax or oil or is it the wood itself)?, what sort of finish do you end up with? What happens before you buff? Is this the same as burnishing the wood (sometimes done with shavings...)?

Many thanks

Miles

hello Miles- you hold the turned item and apply a buffing wheel to it (or vice versa) to bring up a shine or remove sanding marks etc. you can buff oil finish's or you can apply wax to the wheel and buff/polish the wood look at my brief box thread to see what sort of finish you can acheive with a certain type of polish- there are dozens of alternatives

So it's a finish (oil or wax) which is actually being "buffed" rather than the actual wood or is it a mixture of both (else how are the sanding marks removed...)?

The finish on your onion topped box is so nice that it ends up looking super imposed on the window sill - really odd! Nice finish though - joy another thing to be buying when I finally sort out the blasted lathe.

Miles

 

[cornucopia]

I just know that I'm being stupid here but can someone educate me here? What is buffing, what do you buff (is it a finish - like super polishing a wax or oil or is it the wood itself)?, what sort of finish do you end up with? What happens before you buff? Is this the same as burnishing the wood (sometimes done with shavings...)?

Many thanks

Miles

hello Miles- you hold the turned item and apply a buffing wheel to it (or vice versa) to bring up a shine or remove sanding marks etc. you can buff oil finish's or you can apply wax to the wheel and buff/polish the wood look at my brief box thread to see what sort of finish you can acheive with a certain type of polish- there are dozens of alternatives

So it's a finish (oil or wax) which is actually being "buffed" rather than the actual wood or is it a mixture of both (else how are the sanding marks removed...)?

The finish on your onion topped box is so nice that it ends up looking super imposed on the window sill - really odd! Nice finish though - joy another thing to be buying when I finally sort out the blasted lathe.

Miles

a mixture of the two- for sanding mark i use tripoli (u-beaut eee) polish

Onion!!!:: :lol: :roll: :lol: thanks ( i think :-k )

 

[Lightweeder]

Evenin' LW.

Just like to add a little to George's bit about Jacobs chucks. I use this set-up at times myself, but be warned the morse taper on the chuck can come loose in the head. What I do is bring the tail stock with revolving centre up as a precaution in case the MT on the Jacobs chuck comes loose. Other than this point the pigtail way is really easy to use, and quick.

Thanks Tam. That sounds like good advice, and it's no bother to do that. That site, The Polishing Shop, has a great starter kit, which I'll order, but it seems to be just for metal. Is there a special one for wood, or could I just use that ? What do you think Tam