First use of buffing wheel

[ciceronian]

Hey all,
This is my first post in the forums after a long period of lurking. Love this place and am glad to finally come "out of the shadows."
I do have a quick question for anyone out there who's done restorations before. I've got a bench grinder I plan on putting to use after letting it languish in my shed for far too long. I'm using (more or less) the Beall system (http://www.bealltool.com/) for anyone familiar. It basically includes four wheels (one for tripoli, one for white diamond, one for carnuba, one empty for cleaning.)
I did have one quick question re: stems. I watched these videos here (http://www.smokingpipes.com/blog/1/2010/08/Video-Estate-Restoration-at-Smokingpipescom-Part-IV.cfm) and have done a ton of reading, but have a lingering question.
I had a few real nasty stems that I soaked in Oxi Clean and took down to matte. I'm not real clear on what the next step is on Oxi Cleaned stems if I plan on taking them to the grinder eventually. Do I skip the tripoli wheel altogether? Do I need to sand them/scrape them before I even take them to the grinder?
TL;DR--With a bench grinder and buffing compounds on hand, what's the best next step for heavily oxidized stems after they've soaked in Oxi Clean overnight?

 

[ssjones]

Welcome to the Forums! There are many folks here who restore pipes for a hobby and even a few professionally.
The Beall system is a great way to restore pipes.
Check out the Reborn Pipes Blog. There are hundreds of pipe restorations there, covering every aspect of the restoration process:

http://rebornpipes.wordpress.com/about/
The blog is owned by Steve Laug but I post there as well, under "Upshallfan". My posts can be found here:

http://rebornpipes.wordpress.com/author/upshallfan/
I usually post them here as well, the Pipe Repair & Maintenance section (in fact I'll move your thread there for you).
As for Tripoli, I don't use it much on pipes. Perhaps only for really bad deposits on the bowl top that won't come off any other way. It's too abrasive for stems, in my opinion and as member ejames pointed out recently, it often creates waves on the stem.

 

[tuold]

I read every one of those "Reborn Pipes" blog posts and have found them to be extremely helpful. Sanding with micro mesh pads, buffing lightly with white diamond compound than finishing with a hand polish seems to always work really well for me.

 

[rcstan]

Once the stem is clean internally, I remove any toothmarks and deep scratches with fine grit sandpaper and emery boards, then a few passes on the Tripoli (red polishing compound ) wheel, a few passes on the Diamond ( white polishing compound ) wheel, then off to the soft cloth wheel. That should result in a nice high gloss shiney stem if all the grime and oxidation is taken off evenly. Some here use Micromesh pads yielding similar results, although I imagine it would take longer.

 

[allan]

Welcome to the forum!
I would agree with SSJones and Rcstan. I would add that tripoli is a great polish, but it is a very hard cutter, meaning that it will remove alot of material quickly. If you use tripoli, make sure you have a very light touch because it will burn the vulcanite/ebonite. A rotating motion gently and lightly is the trick.
There are some you tube videos out there that show pipe polishing techniques.
Good luck!

 

[ciceronian]

Many thanks! I can't decide whether I want to spend my morning restoring or reading this Reborn Pipes blog--it's awesome!

 

[ssjones]

Early on, I read everything that Steve Laug (Reborn Pipes) and PM member ejames wrote about restoring pipes.

 

[brudnod]

The cardinal rule about bringing the grunge back down to the native material is working with less abrasive media. After the OxiClean (or dishwasher soap can be used) for a limited period of time (I like 12 hours or so), starting with at most 400 grit emery or sand paper. Work in steps of 200 to 1000 or so then to wet/dry paper. All of these can be purchased at an auto store since that's were folks go to get the where-with-all to bring out a new paint job to its glossy best. It is a time consuming process but well worth it. The bowl rim is the most problematic place since some bowls have been heavily scorched and take lots of patience to SLOWLY remove the burn down to fresh briar. Here is where the tripoli comes in handy, again used cautiously. Staining, which is often necessary, and the carnauba wax stuff come later and are probably beyond this particular thread...

Spencer

 

[ciceronian]

Once again, you guys have been super helpful.
Did have one other quick question.
I'm running the Beall system on a bench grinder with two shafts. The Beall system came with one adapter (right hand thread) for the right side of my grinder (their wheels have, I think, a 5/8" opening and my arbor is 1/2", so I can't just smash the wheels on there.
My question is, what can I do to mount a wheel on the left side and have it running counter-clockwise? Beall doesn't sell a left-hand thread adapter. I'm having some trouble finding one online... This seems close, but the measurements are reversed: http://www.ebay.com/itm/SPINDLE-5-8-ARBOR-HOLE-SHAFT-FOR-MOTOR-GRINDER-1-2-SHAFT-LEFT-HAND-THREAD-/200774151724?pt=BI_Tool_Work_Holding&hash=item2ebf126e2c.
Anyone have any guidance on this?

 

[skapunk1]

The bench motor I use had to be rewired, which simply means opening up the panel, and reversing the red and white.
This gave me a counter clockwise rotation.....yours may be different....but have a look..
Warren

 

[ssjones]

Jestco sells LH and RH arbor extensions (and good prices on pads, rouges)
http://www.jestcoproducts.com/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=40