Buffing Wheels and Compound

[pmel018]

Hi Guys
after much hunting I found and purchased 2 buffing wheels and fittings for my 8 inch grinder. 1 wheel is loose sewn and the other very tightly sewn. The compound is in blocks about the size of large cakes of soap. My question is how do I load the wheels with compound and not have most of it fly off and stick to the wall???
Any help/suggestions welcome.
Phil

 

[Aardvark]

I'll be interested in hearing that answer, myself. I've pretty much given up on cleanly loading up a buffing wheel. Now, I cut open one of the triangular boxes and put it under the wheel. It kind of curls up, and catches the 'dust' as it flies up. I also use it when I'm doing the actual buffing, for the same reason.

 

[Daniel Koster]

Build a "catch" for the slop - best solution I can offer. If you use "matchless" type buffing compounds, it's gonna fling....can't stop that. Find some "hard" compounds if you want to avoid the goo mess. Lee Valley's stropping compound is a nice, hard green. You can get "no-scratch pink" too - it's actually white, and quite hard. If you need a more coarse compound, then keep the matchless and deal with the mess. I've gotten used to it myself.... :barf:


Also, hopefully your wheels are spinning "down" when you use them. You didn't say, and mentioned stuff hitting the wall.....most folks' wheels spin downward and the goop hits the floor (not the fan). :footinmou


Any other buff pros out there got some ideas? I still use a mandrel chucked into my drill press. works for me!

 

[Bri in Chi]

Good point, Dan. If the wheels are rotating "up" they're gonna flip a blade into your face or chest someday. Not good. Motors can be reversed to rotate the other way. Always opt for safety!
A lot of buffers are running too fast to be efficient. If so, the centrifugal force throws the compound off, before it can do you any good. I may sound like a broken record here, but i'll say it again: Slow Is Good.

 

[pmel018]

Hi Dan
Yes the wheel do turn down, even on this side of the world. The compound does't want to "stick" to the wheel and sprays off in all directions. We are a bit limited as to selection , so have to work with what we have.
Any other ideas? Some way to softed the bars of compound?
Thanks Phil

 

[Nasty]

I've always considered the pretty patterns of slop a side benefit.

Catch trays could be used by the sort of folks that clean their chos I suppose...

My old trusty double buffer runs at 1550 rpm and is perfect. My new (maybe only 20 years old) single that my wife found at a yrad sale for $5 probably runs around 2000...much faster in inches per minute. It is good for hogging work, but much more likely to produce excess heat.

It also doesn't throw as pretty patterns of slop.

.

 

[Bri in Chi]

Hmmm... If they are wax based compounds -Perhaps they have dried out with age. Putting them in a sealed plastic bag with a small pan of mineral spirits or kerosene is worth a try.

 

[Aardvark]

There is available somewhere, I think at Lee Valley, a sizing compound. They say to apply it to a new wheel before loading it up the first time.

Anyone know what that does, or why one should use it?

 

[Yvsa]

Guys I have absolutely NO Idea if this will work but you might try warming the compound with a hair dryer or heat gun before applying it to the wheel.
Kinda seems like I recall the compound going on easier on hot days so many long years ago than cold days. :grumpy:
I generally put the compound on near the bottom of the wheel so the slop hits my wall as well. It also seems to help if the buffing wheel is dressed a bit before applying the compound, makes it spread out a bit so you have a little more area to work with too.
Your first experience at dressing a buffing wheel will let you know real quickly just how dedicated you are to the process of buffing.

My tiny workroom is in our house so I installed the roc-crete on the walls to keep the danger of fire from sparks down and keep a fire extinguisher handy when I go to grind or buff something.

 

[Daniel Koster]

Your first experience at dressing a buffing wheel will let you know real quickly just how dedicated you are to the process of buffing.

No kiddin.....


Hate to say it....but are you sure it's not sticking? My stuff does the same thing - spits off more than sticks on. But some is sticking.


Can you get a pic of your stuff?

 

[ddean]

Some way to softed the bars of compound?

I have some Dico brand buffing compound
[hard bar in tube]
that I wanted to thin for finger application.
warmed it in a ceramic dish in the microwave
& added a little mineral oil
mixed while warm
now a soft paste

the warm Dico smells like paraffin wax


~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<> they call me 'Dean' -FYI-FWIW-IIRC-JMO-M2C-YMMV-TIA-YW-GL-HH-HBD-IBSCUTWS-tWotBGUaDUaDUaD
<> Tips <> Baha'i Prayers Links --A--T--H--D

 

[Yvsa]

Hate to say it....but are you sure it's not sticking? My stuff does the same thing - spits off more than sticks on. But some is sticking.

Dan plenty sticks on, don't really have a problem with that.
Years ago when running the Humongous Buffer in the shop we had two compounds, a black coarse that was hard and didn't want to stick, and a red fine soft, jeweler's rouge compound that stuck easily. The black went on a heavy coarse wheel and the fine went on a tightly sewn cotton wheel.
The coarse wheels had two assembled together the best I can recall and the fine had about five wheels assembled together too get the width we needed.
The buffer was dedicated to polishing Toe Stops for roller skates back when they were made from cast aluminum. A true balls busting, hurting, job at times when you'd lose your grip on one and it would fly loose always hitting you in the nuts, A dirty, filthy and thankless little paying job that everyone hated.
The further the day rolled on and the more tired you got the more apt you were to lose your grip and the more you lost your grip the more you were hit in the family jewels.
I never did learn way back then that body armor in the form of several thicknesses of cardboard put together and tied in front of the waist would help stop the hits from actually reaching their target. :grumpy:

What was that that Uncle Bill said a lot? "Too soon old, too late smart" ?