Buffing wheel advice please?

mawnansmiff · Jun 11, 2016

Hi folks, I have just picked up a new pillar drill (drillpress) for an astonishing price and thought I might try buffing some stummels (not stems as am fearful of damaging them) and need a bit of advice.
I see an outlet here in the UK has buffing wheels of 100mm dia and either 'loose leaf' or 'double stitched' types. Which would be best for this purpose?
Also I believe the optimum speed for buffing is 1750 rpm but my drill offers only 500, 890, 1400, 1900 & 2500 speeds. I assume I should use 890, would that be correct given my options?
Any other tips would be most welcome.
Regards,
Jay.

ebklodt · Jun 11, 2016

Pick up the beall buffing kit from Vermont Freehand. Includes compounds,wax and wheels.
1750 is the max speed I would buff at but there are a lot of times a slower speed is useful.
Good luck!

fluffie666 · Jun 11, 2016

If you're using a drill press then the buffing wheel will be vertical when you are buffing, is that correct? It will be difficult to make suggestions because normally, buffing is done with a horizontal buffing wheel.

lohengrin · Jun 11, 2016

In my experience I had to try and try to find the right connection between machine and wheel. You can find it after the first attempt ( as it happened to me with an old machine now unfortunately broken) or after many attempts. The features of the wheel can deceive you on the real result. So don't be settled till the final polishing really satisfy you. For the speed I agree with Ebklodt.

mawnansmiff · Jun 11, 2016

Ebklodt, I should have made it clearer, I wish to purchase here in the UK so as to avoid hideous shipping charges. Thanks for the tip though. As for the speed, yes I know what the preferred speed is but I did state the speeds I have available to me. I was looking for a hint at which of those speeds I should use.
Fluffie, of course it will be horizontal, it is a pillar drill afterall!
Lohengrin "The features of the wheel can deceive you on the real result. So don't be settled till the final polishing really satisfy you." I'm afraid I haven't a clue what you are saying here.
All I am looking for is advice as to which type of buffing wheels to chose and at what size, given my limitations in my original post. The throat of the machine is 4" so please don't be suggesting 6" wheels

Hopefully someone who has gone this route themselves might chime in.
Regards,
Jay.

ssjones · Jun 11, 2016

1400 rpm should be fine.
For the wheels:

Loose - I like that wheel for the carnuba wax (you really aren't putting much pressure on the wood, just a layer of wax. Go easy apply the carnuba to the wheel, you only need a little. It will take a while to load the wheel, so be patient. But once loaded, very little is needed.
Sewn - I like this type of wheel for polishing rouges (White Diamond & Tripoli - those are all you will need).
Size - you need to know the diameter of your shaft. Most are universal and would accept 6" or 4" pads. For 1400, I'd use a 4" pad that should increase the RPM closer to the desired 1725. Some pads have plastic inserts to fit onto various size shafts.
Have fun!

onestrangeone · Jun 11, 2016

Disclaimer; I have no clue what I'm doing nor anyone to teach me.

I do have a modest supply of 'practice' pipes and a desire to learn. I use a drill press as well (it's what I have) Here is what I have learned so far, the dbl. stitched is a bit stiffer and generates a little more heat than the loose leaf. I have a LL denim that works well for cleaning stummels @ 1100 rpm. The soft white wheel I use for a final wax and polish. For stems, I use the micro-mesh pads up to 12,000 (by hand)I use a super soft white wheel with a polishing compound that produces that mirror finish @ 1725 rpm.

So far all I have successfully done are the vulcanite stems. I tried doing a acrylic stem with a felt wheel and it kinda melted.

I don't know what shops are available to you over there. I got the denim wheel from harbor freight and the others from H-depot.

ssjones · Jun 11, 2016

In the US, the best place for cotton wheels is Caswell Electroplating. Quality wheels, around $5.

http://www.caswellplating.com/buffing-polishing.html
They also have a buffing FAQ and a forum. I learned to polish thru these folks and Eastwood, much of which translated to pipes (which are a lot less forgiving than aluminum or stainless steel!).

mawnansmiff · Jun 11, 2016

Thanks Al and Strangeone, I am hoping to go for wheels with a spindle attached and it's looking like 4" is the way to go. All I wish to try is to apply and buff off carnauba wax at this stage. If I am happy with that (and working horizontally) then I may decide to attempt other buffing tasks but at this moment I am only interested in waxing stummels.
I shall order 2 of each wheels, ie soft and hard and see how that works. From what I have read on here and on Rebornpipes one wheel applies the wax and a different wheel buffs it off.
Regards,
Jay.

cossackjack · Jun 11, 2016

I have a similar situation using a drill press & 6 inch buffing wheels. I realized that rotational speeds near or below the recommended 1750 RPM were too slow for the 6 inch wheels as the ideal 1750 RPM is based on 8 inch wheels.
Using an RPM to Linear Velocity calculator
So for an 8 inch wheel turning at 1750 RPM, the linear velocity of the buffing face is 122 feet/second, then the RPM's would need to be about 2330 RPM to achieve the same linear velocity for a 6 inch wheel. So setting the drill press at 2200 RPM worked better for my situation. For a 4 inch wheel, the RPM's would need to be around 3500 RPM which is impractical for handheld buffing.
I suggest trying slower speeds, like 1400 RPM as suggested, and gradually work up to higher speeds if needed to achieve your desired results. Always apply the lightest pressure to the wheels.

ssjones · Jun 11, 2016

I always get those wheel rpm's wrong! Thanks cossack. With wax, you can't go wrong with either, you don't need much speed here (just enough to melt the wax slightly). A little goes a long way. I bought my carnuba wax bar six years ago, and used perhaps 10% of the bar. (same for rouge sticks). Too much of any product on a wheel never works. You'll get a feel for it.
I only use the wheel to apply product, and buff off by hand. I never found any benefit on buffing off by wheel (I'm old school, car wax or polish is applied by machine, taken off by hand, so I stick with that regimen). Some pipe makers/restorers like to do a final light buff with a untreated wheel. It won't hurt anything of course, so no harm in trying. I do like to use 100% cotten towels for any polish work (pipes, auto paint, metal). I'm sure you have already learned to apply only one product per wheel.
When I was using a drill as a motor, I mounted it on my bench vise.

mawnansmiff · Jun 11, 2016

I just realised my error

I got my maths wrong, so with a 4" throat I can after all accommodate a 6" wheel, possibly an 8" at a push.
Al, I have downloaded the buffing guide from Caswell, many thanks for the pointer : puffy

:
Regards,
Jay.

mawnansmiff · Jun 12, 2016

Update:
I went to good old St. Austell market today and bought a pile of 4" & 6" wheels plus a 'Toolzone 18 pc. Deluxe Polishing Kit' (Likely Chinese made) with all manner of wheels & odd shaped mops. Also in the box are blocks of 'black emery, brown tripoli, red rouge, green stainless, white diamond & blue all purpose' compound. I'm not sure if any of those compounds will prove useful in pipe restorations but am willing to be educated.
And yes Al I am aware of the one product per wheel rule but thanks for the reminder. I just need to get hold of some carnauba bar, all I seem to find is carnauba/beeswax blend.
Now maths was never my strong point so I would be much obliged if some kind soul would tell me which of the above mentioned drillpress speeds I should use with 4" wheels & 6" wheels.
Onwards and upwards......
Regards,
Jay.

snowyowl · Jun 12, 2016

I got a very very entry level buffer from the local Freight Tools Harbor -- $29.95USD, 3 inch, 3400rpm fixed. I didn't install the eye guides and removed the side plating to give me more angle for the pipe. While I have the nice waxes from Fine Pipes International, I went out the garage and dug up some car carnauba wax and gave it a whirl.
Well, I am having fun now! Even with the fine pipe waxes and microfiber cloth, my efforts had been marginal. But with this small powertool and car wax, plus the sage advice of SSJones (above): "you really aren't putting much pressure on the wood, just a layer of wax", I'm keeping my pipes up to snuff.
The Peterson System army pipe in the image was dulled after initial smoking. I had waxed and rubbed (and repeat) without being satisfied... don't you hate that! Now it shines, and I'm oh, oh oh, yes.

phil67 · Jun 12, 2016

^^ I would stay away from the car waxes with carnauba wax was a they contain petroleum distillates.

jefff · Jun 12, 2016

I chuck a buffing wheel in a variable speed drill and clamp the pipe down.
It works like a charm.

phil67 · Jun 12, 2016

Seems as though I somewhat messed up my previous post as I was distracted by a phone call and then simply hit 'send post'. The wax that is used for polishing a pipe (mentioned by ssjones) is pure carnauba wax which is very hard and therefore can only be applied with a buffing wheel. Car wax which contains carnauba wax should not be used as it contains petroleum distillates which could prove to be harmful to the finish and color of a briar pipe.

mawnansmiff · Jun 12, 2016

Snowyowl, yes I too could have bought a cheapo grinder and bunged on some buffing wheels but at 3400 RPM that is running way too fast. I would also agree with Phil, the 'wax' you are using isn't actually wax, it is polish and as such has lots of 'nasties' in there.
Regards,
Jay.

mawnansmiff · Jun 13, 2016

Snowyowl, I just looked at your buffing setup again and see that you have only a small portion of the wheel available to use. I believe that most folks who use converted grinders remove all the wheel guards so as to give full access to the buffing wheel.
Just thought I would mention it.
Regards,
Jay.

Buffing wheel advice please?

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