Fantastic Leather Edge Burnisher

[Bobby hdflame]

I just ran across this "Fantastic Leather Edge Burnisher" and wondered if anyone had one or knew anything about it. How does the price sound?

Here's a YouTube video on it:

And on eBay:

http://shop.ebay.com...sherlady/m.html

He also says he has two kinds of special wax. One is for a "High Gloss".

Let me know what you guys think. I'm thinking about ordering one but wondered if it was worth the bucks?? $159.00 plus shipping.

Thanks,

Bobby

Edited December 5, 2010 by Bobby hdflame

[buffalobill plus Ed D]

looks slick, i bought a burnisher for my drill press from another member here for i think $35 made from cocobolo wood and works great this one seems like it may be good he should give you an option to buy just the burnisher and wax i would think

[electrathon]

I have one. It works great. Get the low gloss wax, it looks best (to me at least). Half of the cost is that you are buying a motor with it.

Aaron

[Jovial]

looks slick, i bought a burnisher for my drill press from another member here for i think $35 made from cocobolo wood and works great this one seems like it may be good he should give you an option to buy just the burnisher and wax i would think

I saw the cocobolo burnishers earlier, but couldn't figure out why such an expensive wood was used. Does anyone know if theres a specific benefit from the cocobolo? I called my father (he is a cabinet maker and knows his woods) and he didn't really have anything to say about cocobolo other than to tell me the price. If I can't find any information on it I'll probably just go finish up swapping out the motor on my lathe and make a bunch of burnishers out of maple.

[Spinner]

I saw the cocobolo burnishers earlier, but couldn't figure out why such an expensive wood was used. Does anyone know if theres a specific benefit from the cocobolo? I called my father (he is a cabinet maker and knows his woods) and he didn't really have anything to say about cocobolo other than to tell me the price. If I can't find any information on it I'll probably just go finish up swapping out the motor on my lathe and make a bunch of burnishers out of maple.

The reason for using cocobolo or rosewood is that they are have natural internal oils and have very dense grain patterns which make them highly resistant to heat & heat cracking.

The process of burnishing builds up a great deal of heat in the wood and most domestic woods have wider grain patterns (meaning more spring wood which is softer) and pretty dry once cured.

This caused them to burn more than burnish and then tend to break down faster. South American exotic woods are simply better at heat resistance and dispersion and hold their shape better than say maple, ash, walnut or the other common domestics.

For me, it also helps that I have a decent sized stash of Cocobolo from my production woodturning days.

[Jovial]

Ah, cool! That makes alot of sense. I suppose for me the speed that it breaks down isn't a big deal since I have an industrial lathe in my garage but perhaps I'll put the rosewood in the garage to use from when I was building guitars with my father.

Thanks for the info!

[Bobby hdflame]

I'm curious what this guy uses for the burnisher? I don't think it's wood, because he shows using a screwdriver pressing grooves into it before doing any burnishing.

I wonder if it's tightly packed canvas? He mentions canvas a couple of times in the videos.

This is the video where he uses the screwdriver:

Bobby

Edited December 7, 2010 by Bobby hdflame

[rickeyfro]

The burnisher is wool felt. Ive had one of these for about two years and love it, and you can get the burnisher without the motor, Im pretty sure he's a member of this forum and he also sells these on ebay

I'm curious what this guy uses for the burnisher? I don't think it's wood, because he shows using a screwdriver pressing grooves into it before doing any burnishing.

I wonder if it's tightly packed canvas? He mentions canvas a couple of times in the videos.

This is the video where he uses the screwdriver:

Bobby

[gtwister09]

Bobby,

FYI. John Bianchi has been using these felt based burnishing tools (maybe not exactly like this one) for years. In fact in the video series he made in the 90's for western holsters he has information on using the felt wheels. There are plenty of others who have used them over the years as well.

Not sure what his wax compound combinations are but the wheels are felt.

Regards,

Ben

[Spinner]

Ah, cool! That makes alot of sense. I suppose for me the speed that it breaks down isn't a big deal since I have an industrial lathe in my garage but perhaps I'll put the rosewood in the garage to use from when I was building guitars with my father.

Thanks for the info!

Not a problem. You mention an industrial lathe, are you a woodturner or just have one for odd jobs? If you turn and are looking for a turning related site that is similar in style to LW.net, check out WoodturnersResource.com it's a site I started 10 years ago as an educational website and it just grew. I've passed it on to more capable & current folks, but they are a good bunch. I still turn, but on a much smaller scale. Back in the day, my 'baby' was a Powermatic 3520A and did some crazy stuff with it.

[Spinner]

I'm curious what this guy uses for the burnisher? I don't think it's wood, because he shows using a screwdriver pressing grooves into it before doing any burnishing.

I wonder if it's tightly packed canvas? He mentions canvas a couple of times in the videos.

This is the video where he uses the screwdriver:

Bobby

The thing to mention/note, one of the reasons for the price difference between wood and the wood felt wheels is that with the wool/felt, (with properly prepared edges) once you use it you're done. They are also more involved to make. With a wood burnisher, it speeds up the process by giving you a finished edge which is then quickly buffed to a shine by hand.

[Jovial]

Not a problem. You mention an industrial lathe, are you a woodturner or just have one for odd jobs? If you turn and are looking for a turning related site that is similar in style to LW.net, check out WoodturnersResource.com it's a site I started 10 years ago as an educational website and it just grew. I've passed it on to more capable & current folks, but they are a good bunch. I still turn, but on a much smaller scale. Back in the day, my 'baby' was a Powermatic 3520A and did some crazy stuff with it.

Nah, just for giggles as its part of my father's workshop. I pulled an odd job doing computer work for his boss and he had two big ones that weren't being used so I got paid for the job + a lathe. It was a pain to move though my father and I had to take the top off to move it because the thing weighs 300+ lbs. Ill be out in my workshop getting some photos together for a guide in the photography section that I am working on, I'll go check what kind it is then.

[whinewine]

Not a problem. You mention an industrial lathe, are you a woodturner or just have one for odd jobs? If you turn and are looking for a turning related site that is similar in style to LW.net, check out WoodturnersResource.com it's a site I started 10 years ago as an educational website and it just grew. I've passed it on to more capable & current folks, but they are a good bunch. I still turn, but on a much smaller scale. Back in the day, my 'baby' was a Powermatic 3520A and did some crazy stuff with it.

I REALLY like, especially #s 2,3 & 4!

[roo4u]

on the ebay listing it says if you need a replacement burnisher you contact them and they look you up and if you bought the whole thing you can get a replacement but otherwise not selling by themselves....leastways thats the way it seems to me.

[Bobby hdflame]

on the ebay listing it says if you need a replacement burnisher you contact them and they look you up and if you bought the whole thing you can get a replacement but otherwise not selling by themselves....leastways thats the way it seems to me.

I think that had something to do with getting a partial refund if you had bought something from him separately and was gonna purchase it in a kit too?? In one of the videos, he mentioned that he would sell the tool itself separately. Since he doesn't list it on eBay, I imagine you could contact him for pricing.

Bobby

[RandyScott]

The October 2010 issue of Rawhide Gazette announced the transfer of ownership of the burnisher to another person. She maintains an EBay store front and the replacement burnisher is listed as a separately available component. here is the link to the ebay site: http://stores.ebay.com/scentofleather

[Spinner]

The October 2010 issue of Rawhide Gazette announced the transfer of ownership of the burnisher to another person. She maintains an EBay store front and the replacement burnisher is listed as a separately available component. here is the link to the ebay site: http://stores.ebay.com/scentofleather

Yep, individual heads are now available: http://cgi.ebay.com/Fantastic-Leather-Burnisher-HEAD-ONLY-NEW-Even-Better-/220707670271?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item336333c8ff

(not my store, just found the link)

[Randy Cornelius]

I bought one of these when he first came out with them thinking it would speed up a large order of belts. I ended up selling it for 1/2 of what I gave for it, just did not work for me. I could make a nicer finished edge by hand with water and saddle soap faster than it could make one that I did not like. The wax supplied would darken the edge on natural leather and sometimes would burn and make it real dark.

[Bobby hdflame]

I bought one of these when he first came out with them thinking it would speed up a large order of belts. I ended up selling it for 1/2 of what I gave for it, just did not work for me. I could make a nicer finished edge by hand with water and saddle soap faster than it could make one that I did not like. The wax supplied would darken the edge on natural leather and sometimes would burn and make it real dark.

Randy,

What do you use along with the saddle soap?

I got one of those little plastic discs and use that with the Tragacanth. So far I've just used it by hand, but the plastic disc has a hole in the middle, I guess for a shaft. I thought about putting something like a 1/4 20 bolt in it and using it with a drill.

What speed should I use? Slow, med, or fast?

[Johnny B]

You can build one of these for less than $20.00. All you need to do is go to Lowes and purchase a mandrel that attaches to an electric motor. Next you purchase a 1/2" paddle bit and a 1 1/2" wooden dowel rod. Measure the threads on the mandrel and cut a piece of dowel rod the width of the threads minus the width of the nut and washer on the mandrel. Drill a 1.2" hole thru the cut piece of dowel rod and attach it to the mandrel. Now attach the mandrel to the motor that you have scrounged from a junk yard or an old washing machines you found on the side of the road. You need to devise a way to attach the motor to a work bench. Add a power cord and maybe a switch and you have a power burnisher. To get the grooves simply use either various round files or you can even use different sized bolts to cut the grooves into the dowel rod. A little imagination goes a long way.

Now I use the same principle but I have a burnisher that I put into my drill press that works basically the same way.

[Jaymack]

I just bought a 2 piece Cocobolo Rosewood burnisher from ebay. One for my drill press and one for a dremel. I got them for just over $20 plus shipping. The one for the drill press works great! I need to make a couple belts this weekend and I'll try the dremel one.

[sdkid]

He has the head listed separately now.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Fantastic-Leather-Burnisher-HEAD-ONLY-NEW-Even-Better-/220721077173?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3364005bb5

[Bobby hdflame]

He has the head listed separately now.

http://cgi.ebay.com/...=item3364005bb5

Looking at that, I don't see why you couldn't just take a bolt, cut a stack of canvas or felt with a round die cutter, stack them together between two nuts and flat washers, and tighten. Then cut off the bolt head, add collette for the motor shaft or just chuck up in the drill press. Then all you'd need is your favorite edge dressing.

I think I may try making one.

[sdkid]

Randy,

What do you use along with the saddle soap?

I got one of those little plastic discs and use that with the Tragacanth. So far I've just used it by hand, but the plastic disc has a hole in the middle, I guess for a shaft. I thought about putting something like a 1/4 20 bolt in it and using it with a drill.

What speed should I use? Slow, med, or fast?

I have a bolt in mine. Works ok, I think would be better with a drill press. Making your own would be good too. You can get a mandrell for an electric motor at the hardware store.

[kc8290]

I made one. I purchased a wool felt wheel (two actually). I mounted it on a ½” shaft arbor. It works okay. Currently I have a piece of heavy canvas wrapped around it (glued). I like the canvas a little better but really haven’t used it that much. I also made one with leather washers (instead of the wool wheel) stacked on a shaft arbor. Works well also.

Picture of a wool felt wheel and wool felt wheel on the shaft arbor with canvas wrapped around it, attached.