Help needed re buffing

[Les Symonds]

I'm having a couple of problems with buffing my work. I have the Chestnut '3-wheel' system and several cotton drums/cones etc for getting inside smaller bowls and boxes.

1...what speed so you all buff at? I'm finding that above 1500 rpm the wheel spins so fast that it doesn't spread to the shape of the wood surface and is therefore very stiff and harsh, so I'm dropping the speed down considerably to get good results.

2...what sort of wheels do you use for the inside of small bowls? My 8" wheels are too big and all the cotton drums and mops that I've bought are stitched together. or so tightly packed that they are very hard and just not giving an acceptable finish

3...what do you do to prepare your third buffing wheel if, say, you're buffing an oil-finished item and the last time that you used the wheel you were buffing something with carnauba? What I'm getting at here is the need to avoid putting a water-vulnerable finish onto something like a salad bowl that I've chosen to oil to make it water-resistant.

All ideas will be very welcome....Les

[bodrighywood]

I can only say what I do, others may differ. I run the wheels at about 800 or less because of the reasons you give. Any faster and you are buffing with a solid wheel. If I apply oil to something for a food use I wouldn't buff at all with a polish as you will be left with a non food finish at best. I oil then just wipe over with a soft cloth a couple of days later to remove any excess left on the surface.
Hope this helps

Pete

[Les Symonds]

Cheers Pete.
One of the reasons I was buffing after an oil finish was to get a deep lustre and smooth finish on finishing-oil on the outside of burrs. I'll post a pic when I get home of an alder burr that's gone a beautiful deep, chestnut brown on the outside and has a lovely sheen to it, but I just can't match it on the inside.

Les

[Bryan Milham]

Les,

first and foremost only use each wheel for one thing, so don't use your 3rd wheel for oil and carnubra. If you want to use two different finishes on your wheels, use two different wheels. I don't even mix my Carnubra wheel with other waxes.

That said, I don't buff my oil finishes on wheels. I cut scotch pads (grey 1500 grit & white polishing) so they fit on my inertia sander and use them. This does mean that I don't take my final work off the spigot until it's finished.

If I have finished the piece then I have to use my wooden stand off (see prev post) in the chuck or an arbour in an electric drill.

[Eric Harvey]

I agree below a 1000 revs for hard mops,but softer ones you can go to higher revs,depends on the polish/wax your using to,I`d use higher revs for carnuba wax than I would for woodwax 22 as carnuba melts at a higher temp.keeping the mops clean and only use for one thing is good also,I got some dirt on a felt mop/wheel and ruined a nice white piece of wood,had to resand ,clean the felt mop/wheel then start again.cheers,

Eric.

[Les Symonds]

Thanks Bryan and Eric....it's all making sense now. Looks like I need to invest in a couple more finishing wheels.
Les

[Derek]

Would this be any good http://youtu.be/oPwXrHOaHCM

[TWiG]

I use almost exclusively Liberon finishing oil on my work , I apply it with kitchen towel ( paper ) whilst still on the lathe and then buff it with kitchen towel straight away , also on the lathe , this usually needs a few coats ( applied at least a day apart ) to build up a very nice satin sheen , if a gloss finish is required I will use microcrystaline wax as a final coat . Why do people use buffing wheels ?  I have a very small workshop and keep everything as simple as possible .

[Les Symonds]

Why do people use buffing wheels ?  I have a very small workshop and keep everything as simple as possible .

Please don't take this the wrong way, but your question is a little misguided. People use buffing wheels for many reasons; I can only assume that you don't yet use the types of turning to which it applies. You may have noticed from the gallery that many of us make natural edged bowls with extensive amounts of bark inclusions and other irregularities in shape that would deem hand-finishing on the lathe at best a bit dodgy, at worst, downright dangerous. There's also the question of finishing wet-turned timber that needs a few days to dry before they can be finished, to say nothing of the fact that your method can hold-up production in a busy workshop.

Hope this answers your question.  Les

[TWiG]

Is your buffing wheel on a separate machine ? or do you fit it to the lathe ?  I have used these at work many years ago for metal polishing , mostly aluminium . Most of my work is hollow forms , virtually all  with natural edges, bark inclusions,voids etc and would worry about " catches " if using buffing wheels, and I have no problems with my present methods but am always interested as to how others do things. Do you finish everything with buffing wheels ?

[Les Symonds]

Hi again...my buffing wheel is used on the lathe. I have an arbour that fits into my Patriot chuck, so a range of mops and buffing wheels fit onto it. I find that as long as I place any natural edges as trailing-edges and not leading-edges, they buff perfectly safely. I tend to buff just about everything, simply because it achieves a lovely lustre on my work, but also because I find that many waxes tend to dull-off a little, a few days after they are applied. I think that this is possibly a result of cellulose thinners from the sanding sealer leaching out through the wax....literally a minute or two on the buffing wheel replaces the original sheen and then they're ready to go off to the shop.

Les

[julcle]

Hi Les,  I tend to agree with you on the buffing wheel. I use mine quite a lot and I have a couple that can be changed quite quickly on the lathe. I am interested in the chuck mounted arbour as I haven't come across one of these, mine are MT arbours with the tail stock stopping it flying out.  --  Julian

[Les Symonds]

Hi Julian....I'll photograph mine tomorrow for you - I'll get bad looks if I slope off to the workshop at this time of night!

Les

[Les Symonds]

I am interested in the chuck mounted arbour as I haven't come across one of these, mine are MT arbours with the tail stock stopping it flying out.  --  Julian

Hi Julian....sorry it took me a while to reply to this....things got a bit busy towards the end of last week (see gallery posting), but I finally got around to photographing the set-up for you.

My Chestnut, 3-wheel system came with an arbor that is straight-sided, with one end bored and tapped with female thread to accept the threaded arbors of the Chestnut cotton wheels and mops. I have simply turned a piece of timber with a spigot that fits my 70mm jaws in my Patriot chuck, with a hole in the end to accept the Chestnut metal arbor. These are then held together by a hose clip, which could have a protective covering put over it, but I've never needed that and have been using this system regularly for several months.



The system is good, because it lets me get right inside concave shapes, from bowls, right down to boxes and goblets.





Another advantage of the set-up, is the ease with which it can be used. The metal arbor remains fixed into the wooden piece, which is simply fixed into my chuck. The various wheels and mops can then be changed in a matter of seconds.

Hope this answers your question...Les

[edbanger]

Hi Les

That jubilee clip looks very dangerous, would it not be safer to have the end of the arbor turned down so it fits in to a jacobs chuck.

Ed