Buffing kits

[Rewound]

Is something like this good value for money.
CHESTNUT PRODUCTS BWK Woodturning Buffing Wheel Kit | eBay

I occasionaly borrow a buffing wheel off another bloke, but I really should get my own. What are my options, not reaaly wanting to spend £75. But should I just bite the bullet.

BTW, I am very new to wood turning, quite enjoying it, so lots of other questions to ask.

 

[paulm]

They do give a very refined and impressive finish.

I had the Chestnut kit up for sale on here a while back, search the for sale section and message me if possibly interested if you like

 

[Jacob]

Looks overpriced for a simple bit of kit and handful of extras!
Some googling called for?
There are hundreds of offerings for metal polishing and buffing but much cheaper, so it should be possible to piece together what you need.

 

[Inspector]

Compare cost with these people. Best in Quality Buffing & Polishing Products Online
On the Canadian and US sites they have literature on buffing you should read. https://emeraldcoatings.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Buffbook.pdf

Pete

 

[mikej460]

I bought my buffing kit from Polishing Kits | Polishing Mops | Polishing Shop | Polishing Kit

 

[Rewound]

Looks overpriced for a simple bit of kit and handful of extras!
Some googling called for?
There are hundreds of offerings for metal polishing and buffing but much cheaper, so it should be possible to piece together what you need.

my thughts exactly!

@Inspector , @mikej460

thanks very much for the links, but they sell a vast array of products and i am clueless what I should be buying. I am very inexperienced on such matters. I guess it all depends on what I am trying to achieve, and since I'm not entirely sure of that either it makes the whole subject somewhat ridiculous.

So here is a couple of the possibly 4 things I have ever turned to completion . yes I am that new
On the left is a little cherry box that was finished off with sanding sealer then a mop that I temporarily borrowed, other than the mop being of soft cotton, about 8" dia and there was a wax stick involved, I'm non the wiser.

On the right is a strange little bird box that I have so far finished in danish oil, it needs a polish up, but what would be best ?

 

[niall Y]

You might be able to do it a bit cheaper, if you buy your own bits and pieces off Ebay.

I bought three 150mm cotton mops - two stitched ,and one loose for finishing. For the compounds i bought one Tripoli, one White , and one carnauba wax. This will come to about 50 odd quid. And you will also need a mandrel ( which I already had )

So, a bit of a saving. but where you will score, is having larger lumps of buffing compound than you would get in a kit. I found it useful to mark each of the cotton buffing wheels, so they did not get contaminated with the wrong buffing compound

 

[Jacob]

You might be able to do it a bit cheaper, if you buy your own bits and pieces off Ebay.

I bought three 150mm cotton mops - two stitched ,and one loose for finishing. For the compounds i bought one Tripoli, one White , and one carnauba wax. This will come to about 50 odd quid. And you will also need a mandrel ( which I already had )

So, a bit of a saving. but where you will score, is having larger lumps of buffing compound than you would get in a kit. I found it useful to mark each of the cotton buffing wheels, so they did not get contaminated with the wrong buffing compound

For this sort of buffing would you do it on a bench grinder (fast) or slower on a lathe headstock?

 

[Rhossydd]

I went through this a few years back. You can save some money certainly by buying individually from a specialist polishing supplier, but the amount you save isn't huge.
I ended up buying the Chestnut kit and have been very happy with it. One nice feature is the mandrel fits nicely in the Axminister C jaws, so setting up is quick and easy.

 

[niall Y]

For this sort of buffing would you do it on a bench grinder (fast) or slower on a lathe headstock?

The mandrel I have is for fitting on a bench grinder, but it also fits into the chuck on my lathe, which is where I have taken to doing the buffing. The triple wheel kits are designed for fitting on the lathe, but the in row arrangement is fiddly for all but the smallest items

 

[bourbon]

Where in the UK are you? I live not 5 miles from 'the polishing shop' They are very knowledgeable. tell them what you want to achieve and they will have what you need.

 

[Duncan A]

In my experience the Chestnut buffing kit is excellent, and the mops and supplied abrasives will last for ages.
The price shown on the eBay link is a little high. Chestnut themselves only ask just under £70 and cheaper deals can be found.
It's best to buy from an established retailer, ideally close to you, in order to build up a relationship.
A quick Google came up with this: Chestnut Products Buffing Wheel Kit.
No idea about delivery charges but I'm sure they'll be reasonable.
Duncan

 

[Rewound]

In my experience the Chestnut buffing kit is excellent, and the mops and supplied abrasives will last for ages.
The price shown on the eBay link is a little high. Chestnut themselves only ask just under £70 and cheaper deals can be found.
It's best to buy from an established retailer, ideally close to you, in order to build up a relationship.
A quick Google came up with this: Chestnut Products Buffing Wheel Kit.
No idea about delivery charges but I'm sure they'll be reasonable.
Duncan

ordered - free deliver so £16 cheaper - thankyou

 

[Duncan A]

That's you started on the slippery slope of tool collection

 

[paulm]

ordered - free deliver so £16 cheaper - thankyou

That's a shame, could have had mine for £50 delivered, hardly used !

 

[Rewound]

That's a shame, could have had mine for £50 delivered, hardly used !

sorry Paul - I was a liitle unsure of your earlier post as you had used the 'past' tense - "I had the Chestnut kit up for sale"

And when I did go and look in the For Sale section I come across the following which was marked as SOLD
https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/threads/chestnuts-buffing-kit.139387/
confusingly this was also sold by a Paul, a paulj rather than your paulm. I think we have both missed out on this opportunity, i would have bought them from you.

All the same , the very best for the new year

 

[Delwood]

You might be able to do it a bit cheaper, if you buy your own bits and pieces off Ebay.

I bought three 150mm cotton mops - two stitched ,and one loose for finishing. For the compounds i bought one Tripoli, one White , and one carnauba wax. This will come to about 50 odd quid. And you will also need a mandrel ( which I already had )

So, a bit of a saving. but where you will score, is having larger lumps of buffing compound than you would get in a kit. I found it useful to mark each of the cotton buffing wheels, so they did not get contaminated with the wrong buffing compound

Before the Chestnut system was available I made my own with mops from the Polishing Shop. I turned three cones, 50mm long and 70mm diameter with a central hole to take a M10 coach bolt and a couple of locking nuts, and a tenon to fit my chuck . I fitted 200mm mops, a B grade for the tripoli, G grade for the white and R grade for the wax. It is quick and simple to swap between mops.

 

[Fergie 307]

For this sort of buffing would you do it on a bench grinder (fast) or slower on a lathe headstock?

Happy New Year Jacob. I have always used a bench grinder. You can vary the effect just by using different sized mops and varying the pressure. Never tried using anything slower, like the lathe, I wouldn't have thought it would be fast enough to achieve the desired effect.

 

[Richard_C]

Never tried using anything slower, like the lathe, I wouldn't have thought it would be fast enough to achieve the desired effect.

Most bench grinders run at about 3000 rpm, many lathes go to over 2500, the other variable is diameter of the buffing wheel, its the peripheral speed that matters.

I bought a kit years ago to re-furb some 1960s cutlery, used on grinder. Now I have a lathe I use it on either. For a quick job it's the lathe, it takes a while to remove guards and a wheel and fit the mandrel on the grinder. I do have a piece of scrap MDF screwed to some 2x1 that sits on the lathe bed below the buffing wheel so you don't get fine dirt everywhere.

 

[Inspector]

The three wheel Beall Buffing system on the shaft that fits the lathe says to buff at about 1800rpm. I often buff at 1200rpm. It has the effect of making the wheels softer. Because the long shaft is held by the centre in the tailstock going much over 1800 runs the risk of the shaft popping out and bending into a club that will beat you for it.

Pete