Why I hate buffing

Arthur Washburn

Arthur Washburn

Knifemaker and AMC Freak
Joined
Jul 15, 2000
Messages
1,653
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=414039

I was buffing a light bezel for a car I'm restoring but it just as easily could have been a knife.

It took eight stitches outside and 4 inside. I severed a tendon in my thumb and should have it repaired on tuesday. I very easily could have lost the whole thumb.

This is a good reason to ban the use of buffers in the shop. Be safe people.
 
I have never used a full sized buffer on a knife but when i worked at a jewlery shor i rember hearing the custom guy cussing because it shot a ring accros the shop while he was trying to buff it. This might sound weird but when i need to buff somthing i get the ltiitle cloth wheels that go on my dremel tool and buff my blades with that, yes its slow but so is wating for you thumb to stop herting from being allmost riped off. I hope yo get better soon. about 5 years ago i was working on an old dump truck that had a full load of gravel in the bed, the bead was stuck and would not go up or down at all. it had allredy gone up about 5-6 inches and stoped. as i was trying to get it fixed some how my hand got into the gap between the frame and the bed, well as my luck would have it i found the problem and droped the bed on my hand. i had to reach back under the truck find the hydrolic pump and ingage it to get the bed off my hand. lets just say i feal your pain and i know that hand and finger pane is the worst pain there is. Get better soon
 
Yes thery're dangerous for a fact, and then I see new makers wanting to buy 3500 RPM buffers to compound the problems by running twice as fast as most makers buffers.
The mind reels at the possibilities for harm.;)

I hope your tendon reconnect surgery is successful. :thumbup:

I had the nerves in my index finger, left hand, severed(and almost my finger too) many years ago with an out of control straight razor, the doctor didn't do the work right and now it's all screwed up.
 
well you can just see that if you where using a 3500 rpm buffer with an 8" wheel it could thro a blade at speeds upword of 7350 feet per min or around 90 miles an hr. that would go right through you.
 
NIce one ART
that's almost as good as the chain saw cut to the leg that got me when I was 15 :thumbup: :D
the danger is thinking just knives or pointy things will hurt you buffing ..
it's like a Bike.. it's not if you rack it up ,, it's when will you rack it up is the question..it's coming some time you just don't know when but be asured it's going to be when you let your gaurd down:(
nice picture, thanks for showing:thumbup: heal fast and heal well
that one will leave a mark...and not just on your hand:eek:
 
I've done more than my share of #$@**&^%:foot: monuvers. somehow it all still works. Best of luck on that surgery! Art. heres the good news. I don't have a real buffer. I take'em down to 600grit on the hermes belts and then use the 2x72 scotchbrite belts to blend it all in. you still have to be careful!Any other fine buffing I use my foredom flexshaft. the two that are the contenders are losing control of a sharp knife I was drilling a whole in without clampimg:foot: the tang to the drilling table. and dropping one of my bush whacker blades with the top of the swedge sharp as hell and ready to be taped up to put the handle on. the sick thing is the customer was so impressed with how much damage the naked blade did to my foot, that he orderd another one on the spot. I told him fine the Price just went x 2. he said it was worth the entertainment and forked over the deposit 1/2 of $750.00 while his wife patched me up so I could go to the ER,:thumbup: Laurence
 
After the fire the two buffers I had are no more and so far haven't been replaced. To be perfectly honest I haven't missed either one. Luckly the work I do doesn't require buffing. Hope the surgery is a success and healing goes well!
 
I have a buffer, but it's not my favorite piece of machinery. I have a healthy respect for it and only use it when I have to.
 
Heya Art, thanks for the reminder (at least its a reminder for me, seen other posts regarding the dangers of the evil buffer). It should be a warning for those desiring a pretty shiney finish. I saw one time a picture of a kinda guard on a buffer so that if something was grabed by the "e.b." (Evil Buffer) it wouldnt be thrown around the wheel back to the operator. Or did I? Anyone seen something like that? Well, hope the surgery and healing go well.
JM
 
A note to those who don't use a buffer all day every day - Start out with 5" or 6" wheels. They will have a much lower surface speed and will be easier to learn on.As you get better at polishing,go to 8",then 10" wheels.Only a fool would start off on a 1HP, 10", 3500RPM buffer. (many smart makers think only a fool would use such a buffer)
BE AFRAID - be VERY afraid - of the buffer.It can maim or kill easily. Even the 3/4 to 1HP units that we jewelers use with 6" wheels can rip a finger open (or off) in 1/100 of a second.
When using a buffer - NEVER - hold anything in a retained grip ( hand through a round circle like Art,or fingers wrapped around the object). Hold with a firm grip between the fingertips.Hold so that if (when) it pulls from your fingers it will go away from you and your hands.Ed Fowler piles up old belts to make a landing pad for the blades that slip out of his grip - and Ed has one hell of a strong grip.NEVER mount the buffer in front of a wall.The blade will bounce off the wall ,back into the wheel,and propel itself directly into YOU ! I have a section of 1/2" hardware mesh wire hanging 2' behind my buffer to stop (slow down) any hurled objects.It has a piece of steel bar attached to the bottom edge ( well below the path of the blades) to give it a little more mass and slow down the blades better.
 
bladsmth said:
When using a buffer - NEVER - hold anything in a retained grip ( hand through a round circle like Art,or fingers wrapped around the object). Hold with a firm grip between the fingertips.Hold so that if (when) it pulls from your fingers it will go away from you and your hands.
Click to expand...

Bladsmth my hand was not through the ring. I was holding it just as you described. I went through my normal routine of doing the job in my mind before I even stepped up to the buffer. I attempted to foresee any potential problem areas and addressed them mentally and then went through the act of buffing the item. My best guess is a thread from the buff grabbed a small tab attatched to the ring, carried it around the wheel and into my hand. I do not have an instant replay to confirm this though but trust me I am not about to put my hand through anything.
 
Art - Good point about how dangerous buffers are.Even those who do everything right can get hurt bad by a buffer. I was not criticizing you,I was pointing out how easy it is to get hurt.Hope you heal up quickly.The heel of my hand is not completely regrown yet.
Stacy
 
Art, sorry to see these things happen. Even the most attentive can have a serious injury. I had my own experience with a cutting disc on an angle grinder. Split the web between my ring finger and little finger on my left hand. Only took 3 stitches but i figure each one cost me about $175:eek: . And it cost my insurance about $750 each:D . This was the first cut could not patch up myself. Get well soon.

Chuck
 
Damn Art...you have to be more careful!! Get well and get back to making knives!

BTW, this thread is worthless without pics. :D
 
edited to add reminder picture
stitches.jpg


I'd like to add to this..
they say never to use gloves on any type of machine shop machinery, this is the only one I'd recommend gloves to be used on other than a drill press "if you use one like I do but that's for another thread"
use heavy welding gloves , I don't myself but I've done this for some time now..

I use no bigger than an eight inch wheel on a 5/8 hp bench grinder type motor..
with a death grip on the blade when getting around the grabby parts of the blade
it does get grabbed a lot but with this combination, I get by real well without getting hurt..but this is with my grip, you guys could have a totally different out come one way or the other..
I would suggest, if you use a guard, only use a top guard to keep rouge and the part out of your face .. if it was to get caught,

the angle you buff at is very important also if you buff with the tip or the butt down-ward (taking a blade here) at , at least 45deg it won't grab so hard if or when it does..
the death grip is key..a pedestal mount with the wheel clearing the side of the mount would be a good set up also, less to bounce off from if it does get away from you..

what I think happened to Art was , being a round shape with a big hole in it, it caught and wrapped itself (the wheel) into the part and then the part slapped him , what he was buffing was even more dangerous than a blade in my opinion..
.leather gloves in this case may not have helped fully but it would have lessened the severity of the wound at least.

The reason you don't want to use gloves in other CUTTING type machinery is
they tend to grab things like cloth and leather and then pull you in.
>>>> the buffer is the cloth and the cloth is grabbing "in essence" the tool..

less power is not a bad thing in this case,,

if you did your prep work right you don't need much time there anyway
you don't want to buff your nice crisp lines out that you put that so carefully

have less to bounce off from, the pedestal mount with just a top guard

something as mentioned about to catch the blade, not deflect it.
even something that would deflect it away from you would work BUT keep in mind the others that may be in the shop with you at the same time..
if I can get someone to hold the camera I'll demo a buff job as I have mine set up..


The angle of the parts edge, touching the wheel is key, if less than 90 degs pointing into the rotation of the wheel will grab the parts edge..this aria is
from 0 to 90 deg's , 0 being the most dangerous ( the edge pointing straight up)
90 deg being the least dangerous ( the edge pointing flat with the ground towards the arbor) keeping in mine as long as you do not have tabs, tits and an inside hole to catch or grab..like Art did.. keep the contact point no higher than the arbor itself..AND do not support the part from underneath, if anything you want it to pull from you not into you,,

I hope this helps the new guys starting out..

be safe guys..
Art don't be afraid to jump on the horse again but do it with wisdom and great caution.. I think you have the wisdom part down now..and I'm sure caution will follow as well..
 
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