Finished Or Unfinished Burnisher?

[Spinner]

The problem is I'm in Germany so I'm trying to find a German website so I don't have to pay astronomical shipping charges.

Actually if you're not in a hurry you should be able to ask them to send them in a thick padded envelope via USPS First Class International Mail. It takes about 10-14 days to arrive but the cost is only about $4-$6 USD for the shipping.

Otherwise, USPS Priority Mail is 4-7 days and costs $16.95. UPS and FedEx are significantly higher. Hope that helps. If all that fails, I may still know a German woodturner or two that could help. I definitely know a few Brits that could. Whether or not they have a suitable piece of wood is another question though as Cocobolo comes from So. America so it may be costly over there negating the shipping cost difference.

[Dutch253]

Actually if you're not in a hurry you should be able to ask them to send them in a thick padded envelope via USPS First Class International Mail. It takes about 10-14 days to arrive but the cost is only about $4-$6 USD for the shipping.

Otherwise, USPS Priority Mail is 4-7 days and costs $16.95. UPS and FedEx are significantly higher. Hope that helps. If all that fails, I may still know a German woodturner or two that could help. I definitely know a few Brits that could. Whether or not they have a suitable piece of wood is another question though as Cocobolo comes from So. America so it may be costly over there negating the shipping cost difference.

Oh, that's not too bad ill give the usps international shipping a try. Thanks again!

[Tree Reaper]

My unfinished softwood cedar burnisher has a coating of trag and wax from burnishing so I can't see any kind of a finish making much of a difference .

[Spinner]

My unfinished softwood cedar burnisher has a coating of trag and wax from burnishing so I can't see any kind of a finish making much of a difference .

From my first post, I explained where it makes a difference:

By adding a friction based finish to the burnisher the maker is simply speeding up the process of "priming" the surface of the wood. Otherwise, the end user will notice it takes a few uses longer for the burnisher to perform optimally while your projects are loading & sealing the wood pores with compound & residue and then burnishing them smooth.

and from Bobby's post:

Unfinished wood works, but I don't think it works as well. I have a full set of unfinished burnishers and discovered they scorched pretty easily.

It's not to say unfinished won't work at all, they just don't work as efficiently out of the box. And while softwoods will work, they simply don't last as long as cocobolo.

[Tree Reaper]

Well my point is, if the last layer is wax and trag it doesn't much matter what's under it.

I'm not sure about the Spring and Fall wood, as growth rings are in annual layers so the Spring and Fall are essentially the same ring, at least in North America.

South America I don't think experience any seasonal change.

Growth rings are better defined by how much moisture the tree receives.

I have an abundance of cedar, I can cut them with a cheap hole saw, stack them on a bolt and shape them where they meet with a rasp and sandpaper.

If they only last for ten years I won't mind replacing them.

[Spinner]

Well my point is, if the last layer is wax and trag it doesn't much matter what's under it.

I'm not sure about the Spring and Fall wood, as growth rings are in annual layers so the Spring and Fall are essentially the same ring, at least in North America.

South America I don't think experience any seasonal change.

Growth rings are better defined by how much moisture the tree receives.

I have an abundance of cedar, I can cut them with a cheap hole saw, stack them on a bolt and shape them where they meet with a rasp and sandpaper.

If they only last for ten years I won't mind replacing them.

I totally get what you're saying Reaper, and for your particular situation of relating to a used burnisher a finish wouldn't make a difference. But the OP is looking at brand new ones and that burnished polished film you have takes a bit to build up nicely, doesn't just happen on first use. A friction finish bridges the performance gap between brand new & broken in is what I'm trying to put across.

"Spring wood" may be woodturning specific jargon, I'm not sure. It's a phrase used to describe sap wood whereas "fall wood" is the harder barrier lines that make up the grain patterns. Sorry for any confusion on the part. More power to you if you can make your own and are happy with them. I'll never begrudge someone saving money on something they can make themselves...hell, that's how I started making burnishers years ago to begin with.

[BearMan]

Hi Dutch,, Spinner (Chris) & Bob are right on the money. Beary & I have been so busy trying to get ready for the Nashville show in Oct. this is the first time I saw this post. If you haven't heard from Beary ( leatherburnishers.com ) yet, you will tonight. The shipping to Germany is just like what Chris said. If you have the time, International Flat rate is very affordable. Thanks everybody,, Ed

[Tree Reaper]

There's no doubt that the turned cocobolo's are top of the line and I wish I had room for a turning lathe here.

When a tree goes dormant for the winter and stops feeding there isn't much of a line between any two annual rings and from what I know about rain forests where there aren't different seasons the growth ring separations are next to invisible in most species.

Slower growing seasons would put the rings closer together which would translate to dense wood.

Different species also have different growth rates regardless of what the season produces.

[Trox]

Hi Ed,

can you make me a cocobolo burnisher for my burnisher motor. It has a 1/2 inch shaft and runs at 1300 rpm. The burnisher head must not be 100 % in center, some small vibrations does not matter to me.

In advance thanks

Trox

Hi Dutch,, Spinner (Chris) & Bob are right on the money. Beary & I have been so busy trying to get ready for the Nashville show in Oct. this is the first time I saw this post. If you haven't heard from Beary ( leatherburnishers.com ) yet, you will tonight. The shipping to Germany is just like what Chris said. If you have the time, International Flat rate is very affordable. Thanks everybody,, Ed

[BearMan]

Hi Trox,

Yes we can do that for you. My son Beary is actually the one making the burnishers. His email is: leatherburnishers@yahoo.com Do you know how long it needs to be? Just measure the distance between the washers. Also, which grooves do you need in it? Just contact Beary at his email, & I'm sure he can make something for you.