Buffing instructions

[Saturno10]

Hi folks!

I have a buffing wheel to buffing my gouges and knifes.
I have never made this and I am a little lost with instructions.

I need some suggestion of you to how to aplying the abrasive compound to buffing wheel.

Thanks and good Friday!

I buy sticks of buffing compound. To apply it I just turn on the buffer and hold the stick against the wheel for a second or two. I get mine at Sears, but most hardware stores carry it also.

[mdallensr]

Ditto Ed's comments. You may have a high speed wheel, and you'll find it accepts the abrasive better at slower speeds. Just lean on it a little with the abrasive bar until it slows down and you'll see it pick up the abrasive. These buffing wheels also do a great job of polishing the inside surface of gouges, veiners and V-tools. Another poster noted recently that scratches or grinding marks on the inside surface of your carving tools will prevent you from achieving a clean edge, no matter how much you work at sharpening and honing the bevel. When you sharpen your tools, go ahead and use a fair amount of pressure, but don't leave them on the wheel until they overheat. Keep the tool moving; these wheels can be fairly agressive.

[Saturno10]

Ok thanks.

And what about dampen.
I have read this at http://www.englishcustompolishing.co...erbuffing.html
'The Ideal method is to dampen the buff wheel around its edge and then dip the compound into hot water to soften it, and rub this into the buff, loading it up with abrasive and then stand it to dry. This will make the buff cut at its best and will not waste compound.'

It is necessary to dampen?

I'm no expert in sharpening, but have found that I can charge the wheel directly with the compound stick without getting it damp and leaving it dry. Most of the sticks I have purchased have an oil base and probably wouldn't mix too well with water anyhow. Once you get your tools honed and polished you should not have to do much more than a touch up, unless you nick them badly.

Al

If your looking for a great polishing compound....go to www.leevalley.com, and get theirs. Its a green stick polishing compound, and it charges onto the wheel really good. I just turn the grinder on, let it get to full rpm's, then turn it off and ride the stick on the wheel. Doing this a couple of times works great, and the wheel is fully charged. You just have to watch out for the grease sling ( all over the walls and ceilings!). I put mine inside a cardboard box on its side, just slightly bigger then the grinder, and this keeps all of the sling right inside...no mess. I also use the cardboard sharpening wheels ( the 'stay sharp' system). I was very skeptical of these cardboard wheels at first, but I'm now on my 2nd set and they work great. If your having trouble sharpening, give them a try. I think you can buy them through Woodcraft in the States. Well worth the trouble of getting them, they won't overheat on a grinder like stone wheels will. Good Luck, Dave

[Bandaid]

I agree with AlArchie and would hesitate to mess with water. When I have problems, I use a shot of WD40 either on the compound stick or the buffing wheel (or strop). Seems to do the trick. 8)

[dart]

All good advise. I use small rubber wheels that can be purchased by mail from any Dental Supply. Do a web search for the places that sell dental tools. I haven't ordered any for a long time as they last many years. If you have one of those old rubber erasers made for erasing ink, you can use that on a Dremel tool arbor. Or you can get a rubber eraser from the Dollar store and make a hole in it for the arbor and cut it down and make it round. If you have a variable speed electric drill, chuck the arbor in it and turn it on at its slowest speed. Then make the rubber wheel round. Then after it is round you can use Jeweler's rouge on it. Lots of ways to make felt wheels too. I make my own from cloth. Then add buffing compound. Keeps the cost down. I use my older dental lathe. It's just a 2 speed motor that has a Jacob's chuck on it. Very expensive and an old washing machine motor will work just a well for sharpening carving tool or even carving wood itself. I am going to make some cardboard wheels for my electric dental lathe. I'll use the slow speed electric drill to shape the first so they are round then use them with buffing compound in the dental lathe. Hope this was helpful. Jim