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Knowledge You Can Build On — Est. 1998

Buffing bowls

Posts

Buffing bowls

#1

Buffing bowls

David Galloway

>I am at the tail end of finishing a bunch of bowls, and have been appreciative of your advice along the way. There are a couple that I am planning to buff. I have the Beall system that I have used in a variety of ways.

Questions:

1. Do you recommend a dedicated motor for buffing and if so what?

2. Do you have any tips about specialized bowl buffing set ups?

Thanks. My sister in law will thank you when I deliver the 20" cherry bowl on Christmas Eve.

David Galloway

GAW

Re: Buffing bowls

#2

Re: Buffing bowls

Glenn Hodges

>I have both, but prefer to use my lathe.

Re: Buffing bowls

#3

Leo Van Der Loo

Re: Buffing bowls

Leo Van Der Loo

>Hi David

David I have a dedicated polisher other than using my hi speed handheld drill, what I did was , I used the chuck from a drill that had given the ghost, I cut the shaft plus the chuck from that drill and fit it on a small electric motor, I made a pipe that fit the 1/2" shaft on the motor and on the chuck shaft, now I can change my buffing wheels in a second. I just made a picture and will include so as to give you a better Idea.


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Re: Buffing bowls

#4

My Beall System

Dave Peebles

>Hi David,

I prefer a dedicated system for my buffs.It is really easy to use without tying up the lathe.

This one is mounted on a ball bearing mandrel I bought at Woodcraft a few years ago. I use a 1750 rpm 1 hp motor with a link belt to supply the power. I do still use my lathe for the wax buff. But I am in the process of using my slow speed 6 inch grinder to hold the wax wheel.

Best wishes,

Dave


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Re: Buffing bowls

#5

Dedicated System

John McAtee

>Hello David,

I prefer a dedicated system so as to not tie up the lathe, which may be in use by others, for assembling segment rings (glue-ups) or have a setup that I don't want to change.

Never one to throw away an old motor, I dug out a 40+ year old 1720 RPM, Montgomery Ward 1/2 HP to spin the three buffing wheels. Since I tend to buff things in batches, having to change the buffing wheel when going from one compound to another isn't a big deal.

Best regards,

John (Johnsturn.com)


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Re: Buffing bowls

#6

Richard Allen

Re: Buffing bowls

Richard Allen

>I use the lathe with one of Don Pencils attachments. I like having the buff spinning away from everything. I also like to be able to vary the speed of the buff. The bowl buffs are great for the inside of bowls and I find they work better at a higher speed than the wheels.

If you look at buffing motors you will see that they have long shafts with tapered shaft houseings. That is to give free access to the buff. They also cost a LOT with the one pictured in the $600 range

Good Luck

Richard


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