In the buff?

H

Hielander

Joined
May 4, 2000
Messages
8
I'm a novice, and I'm just starting to put together a blade making shop, and I'm about to buy the buffing equipment. I could use info/recommendations re buffers and re buffing wheels. I see different types of wheels (i.e., spiral stiched, loose, sisal, etc.). What are the uses of/advantages of the various types? Also, any suggestions as to size of buffer (h.p., spindle diameter, etc.). Thanks!
 
I'll tell you what I use. I have two 3/4hp Baldor buffers, one 1800rpm, one 3600rpm. These are the most dangerous machines in my shop, especially the 3600. It will rip a blade out of your hand and throw it at you in a heartbeat, if you are not VERY careful. Wear gloves and as much protection as you can.

Since I use 8" grinding wheels, I also use 8" buffs. I polish my steel on the 3600. I use a hard (glued) buff with dark green chrome rouge for polishing. I follow that with Scratchless Pink (K&G Supply) on a loose buff to get the highest possible mirror polish. Again, WARNING, the 3600 loose buff is treacherous, Be careful.

I use the 1800 with a loose buff and white rouge to polish handles. I use a sewn buff with 400 grit Matchless Greaseless Compound (Koval) to blend handles and bolsters together and to smooth areas of the handle before and during sanding. I use a hard (glued) buff with 180 Grit Matchless to smooth and round bolster stock, better than I can do with a belt and small wheel. I use a loose buff and 400 Grit Matchless to apply a brushed finish to polished blades, prior to finishing with gray (very fine) scotchbrite.

There you have it, all of my dirty little secrets...
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Be Careful!

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Jerry Hossom
www.hossom.com
 
Being a newbie myself I can understand your confusion and reluctance to part with dollars that are hard earned (not knowing what you'll need in advance).

One of the things that scares me the most is a buffing wheel, especially loose wheels, because the smallest thread can catch an edge and rip the blade right out of your hands. The next scary thing is where does it go...if you're lucky, it slams to the floor and stays there. If you're not lucky, well this forum has horror stories galore regarding what happens. With care and some considerable practice with scrap bar steel, you should become accomplished with the loose or stitched wheels. Remember that polishing is metal removal no matter the grit and you can change a contour in the blink of an eye if your concentration strays. Stay focussed and have a plan for when the next grit is to be used. Have a good (great would be better) light source and examine each step of your polishing with a critical eye. It's better to go back one grit level than try to buff out a scratch that just won't disappear with the current grit.

Another option (and one that I have not seen used on this forum) is hard felt wheels. As described they are composed of hard felt that can have 'some' give to them and at the same time give a marvelous polish. I've run these to 1200 grit polishes on weapons with terrific results that I am not able to obtain with stitched wheels. They are really at their peak when required to polish 'flats' and blend radiius with precision. Care is still required and with the velocity that you encounter on the edge of an 8 to 10 inch wheel, you had better believe that inertia will always prevail!

If all this scares the living Bejesus out of you (it did me when I first apprenticed as a gunsmith), try polishing with smaller wheels at slower speeds...it takes a little more time but as your confidence improves (and your impatience grows) you will move on to a style and type of machine that suits your budget and bravery
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I realise that all this information is rather ambiguous but without knowing what you intend to do or what your skill level may be, I offer it with the best of intentions. If I've offended, I apologize.

All the Best

Dileas Gu Brath
 
I have been a metal polisher by trade for a long time and absolutely refuse to use loose buffs on anything smaller than 2 ft square because of the risk of it catching. I strongly suggest that you never use a loose buff on knives. This business is dangerous enough, additional risks should be avoided.

A circular sewn buff with 1/2" spacing between rows of stitching produces an excellent finish and can be used at all stages of buffing from heavy cut to the colour stage and is less likely to catch an edge.


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george
www.tichbourneknives.com
sales@tichbourneknives.com


 
George, I certainly defer to your expertise. There is no question that the 3600 loose buff is a dangerous beast.

I have, however, found the 1800 loose buff to be manageable, at least on my machines, and couldn't be without it for soft materials like some handle stock that can be eroded or undercut with anything else.

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Jerry Hossom
www.hossom.com
 
One tip for buffers is to buy the least hp instead of the high hp.This allows then to stall when your getting to the point where you might end up with the blade in you chest or leg.
:]
The best buffer is no buffer.. Hand rub!


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Web Site At www.darrelralph.com
 
Darrel may have a point there. Two weeks ago my 7 1/2HP buffer grabbed a 20 lb brass frame and smacked me right in the middle of my forehead. Luckily I was wearing my respirator which is mounted in a standard industrial hard hat, without it I would have been killed.

I do have a little 1/6 hp unit in the basement for small jobs and it works just fine if you have the time to take it easy otherwise it stalls.


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george
www.tichbourneknives.com
sales@tichbourneknives.com


 
Where do you get all this HP from, George? Before I got my Grizzly, (Which I still think is the greatest thing since sliced bread, but that shows how few good grinders I've used) I used my handy-dandy handheld power drill with some stitched buffs I got at a gun show. They're about 2 1/2" around, a different one for each compound. I'd clamp down the workpiece and go to town. I learned how and why it grabs real quick, and didn't have to eat a blade to find out. Took forever, but it eventually got the job done, and it was good to learn with.

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Oz

"I'm politically opposed to the word 'Impossible'."
http://www.freespeech.org/oz/
 
Another useful tip on safety... Always buff with the blade held below the center of the wheel. That way if it grabs and is ripped out of your hands, it is much more likely to go into the wall than into you.

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Jerry Hossom
www.hossom.com
 
One other little tidbit of advice while on the subject of safety.
ALWAYS buff alone. No one else needs to be around. Not even my four legged apprentice, Wrigley.

C Wilkins
 
don't let anyone who doesn't know how to properly use it turn it on. everybody that comes into my shop know not to touch any of my machinery, especially the buffer, without permission from me.
 
Hello all

A fellow polisher George howdy. I polished aircraft and assemblies for 9 years and I think as a beginner you should stay with the sewn buffs untill you get the hang of it.
Loose stuff will tear stuff right out of your hand fast if you are not experienced.

A couple of tips for the high rpm buffers is to keep the work piece moving especially on brass and aluminum guards and pommels.Also keep your feet a part. I still have a heavy belly pad I wear sometimes if I want to move metal fast on things other than blades.

As your sewn buff wears cut out the next row of stitches and remove them all and they wont be a problem.

I also use seperate wheels for the rougher grit compounds. Schaffner and Matchless green chrome rouge is hard to beat for final mirror polish.

Scott
good luck and becareful


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Scott Jones
Heck yea I invented it ...What is it???
I only do what the voices in my wifes head tell me to do.
It's kinda like hangin, you never get used to it.
 
Another tip: If your buffer doesn't have a shroud around it, mount a board or piece of steel on the top of your buffer above the wheel. This way, if the blade grabs, it will be less likely to travel around the wheel and come flying off the top and into your head,chest,or stomach. The board will deflect it.

Also, if you have a spare motor laying around, get one of the little motor attachments found in most knife supply catalogs that allows mounting of buffs to motor shafts. I've used one on an old 1750rpm motor for years. Does a good job, even if it's a tad slower.

Keep your mind on what you're doing and keep a good grip on your work. I can't count the number of times that I'd have lost an appendage had I not had a good grip when the buffer grabbed.
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Hope this helps.

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Craig Blankenship
Blankenship Knives
http://www.blankenship-knives.com
 
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