Now about these buffing wheels

I have got my little paws on some nice black walnut and I have been considering buying the Beale (or some other) set of buffing wheels but am unsure of when to use. My bowl making procedure when I have a REALLY NICE piece of wood is:

Turn to shape. Sand to around 240 to 320. Watco Danish oil (or not) Wet sand with 320 and some Watco. Let dry. Wet sand with 400 and some Watco. Let dry. Wet sand with 500 and some Watco. Let dry. Apply shellac.

When the wood is somewhat less than ideal, I sand to 320, oil, let dry and then shellac. I am guessing that the buffing would not come in until after all sanding is complete (duh!) but before the shellac. Comments appreciated.

Reply to
Kevin
Loading thread data ...

The three wheels are: coarse polish, fine polish, wax.

If you're going to shellac, you can use the first two wheels between sanding and shellacing, but I suspect that's a waste of time - the shellac would have covered up any defects that buffing would buff out anyway, and you want to make sure you don't leave buffing compound on the wood. Plus, you don't want to get buffing compound in the pores of the wood, then seal it in with shellac.

So, IMHO, shellac then buff/wax.

Also, make sure the shellac is DRY. I mean hard dry, not finger-touch dry.

Also, you should practice on a piece of scrap wood. A flat chunk about 2" wide is sufficient.

Reply to
DJ Delorie

Actually any buffing comes AFTER the finish is applied and dried. In my Luthier (building a guitar) project, I learned that a higher quality finish is possible.

So the proceedure would be oil, let dry, scuff sand, tac, shelac then go into a series of scuff sanding, tac clothing, shelacing.

At this point you're building up layers that you'll be able to buff or polish off. On my guitar I faced with balancing finish thickness with finish quality because it effected the sound quality. But on a project like a bowl, you could get really thick.

WARNING

This applies to spray finishes. It's real easy to blow right though the finish when power buffing or polishing. You're dealing with a layer that can be thinner than a human hair. So keep the project moving or the buffer depending on your arrangement and don't press hard.

Reply to
strikerspam

I shellac and then buff. I also have buffed without any sort finish, depends on the wood. Think I read somewhere they don`t recommend shellac as it can heat up but I`ve learned go easy with it.

Reply to
Boru

When you wet sand with the Watco you're stuffing slurry and grit into the pores. Do you solvent wipe and brush this out, or just leave it there for the next event? If leaving, why bother to shellac? Use a higher-solids varnish over the Watco and get a bland, smooth surface. I'd rather have some pores visible to make it look a bit more realistic than a wood print, myself.

As most have said, polish the finish, even if you've burnished the wood. Makes shellac/lacquer a better choice than varnish, because varnish bonds mechanically, and is in distinct layers than can give some scatter, or through which you can buff and make a visible hole to the coat below. Shellac or lacquer is just one coat, chemically tied together, so it's more forgiving. Shellac does start to flow at about 150-175F, so don't spend too much time in one spot or press too hard.

Reply to
George

I got dragged, kicking and screaming, into buffing a few years ago... Now, I pretty much buff all my turnings and the only finish I use, if any, is Natural Danish oil..

I usually sand to 600.. with hardwood like walnut, as soon as the sanding is done I run it through the 3 wheels, really concentrating on the 1st wheel.. that's where the actual buffing is, the next one polishes and cleans the buffing compound off and the 3rds one applies the wax..

Most woods can be buffed without a finish, if you're applying friction polish or uu-shine, just use the wax wheel after the finish is DRY...

As someone said, practice! It's no fun to work for hours on a bowl and then have it snatched out of your hands and bouncing around the shop... DAMHIKT

For small things like pens, bud vases, etc., I use dowels to hold the work while buffing, or in the case of pens, 1/4" threaded rod with wood spacers... It's REALLY difficult for me to hold a 2 or 3" pen blank in my hand and buff the whole thing, much less keep an 8" wheel spinning at 1,800 rpm from grabbing it and launching it into orbit.. YMWV

mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

Reply to
mac davis

Hello Kevin,

My personal opinion is that Shellac is a wood sealer. I used it for years as a sanding sealer until I found that some finishes seem to not work well over Shellac. Then, several years ago, I saw Soren Berger of New Zealand doing a bowl turning demonstration in Seattle. Soren turned the bowl and sanded to 240 grit. He then applied one coat of Danish Oil. He said that he normally applied one coat, lets it dry and then applies a second coat and lets it dry before buffing. Amy way he applied only one coat that night and wiped if off, then buffed it with the Beall Buffing system. The bowl shined like it had been sprayed with high gloss lacquer. I was impressed enough to buy the Beall Buffing System.

I don't turn many bowls these days and those that I do turn I generally coat with walnut oil. When the walnut oil is dry, it takes several days, I can buff with the Beall System and get a nice looking bowl.

The most recent bowl that I finished was sanded to 600 grit and then a coat of gloss Tung Oil was applied. I let it dry and then sanded with

600 grit. I wiped it clean and then sprayed it with a light coat of Deft gloss wood finish (spray can). When dry, I steel wooled the entire surface, wiped it clean, and sprayed with a final coat of Deft gloss. The bowl turned out beautiful. I never buffed that bowl at all.

Good Luck,

Fred Holder

Reply to
Fred Holder

I'd like to thank all for their responses to my query regarding the buffing process. They have been really informative as was a illustrative of the wide range of options available.

Reply to
Kevin

Kevin..

Just a warning, like most new tools you get, it doesn't stop with the first $70 purchase... ;-]

I now have bowl/goblet buffs in 3 different sizes and still find a need for different sizes... then there was the decision to buy a 2nd kit, so I could do 2 wheels or buffs at a time....

It's sort of like getting your first scraper and realizing you need more sizes, etc... lol

mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

Reply to
mac davis

InspirePoint website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.