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Posted (edited)

I'm going to be getting myself a cocobolo edge burnisher as soon as I can and I'll be needing to get a drill press at the same time. So, my first question is this - Is there some kind of an "add on" table with a hole in it, for the burnisher to lower into, so that you can get to the desired notch in the spindle (for the various sizes of edges). This so that the leather piece is always sitting on a solid flat surface while it's edge is being rotated. Or, is everyone just suspending the piece in their hands and working it that way. Perhaps there's drill presses that have such a built in hole feature (big enough for a wooden burnisher), that I need to look for?

Second question - Is there an optimum drill speed or a minimum power rating I need to look for? Thanks.

Edited by CustomDoug

Does Anyone Know Where the Love of God Goes When the Waves Turn Minutes to Hours?

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Posted

I just hold my leather in my hands up off the table. I set my drill press to 1100 RPM's.

Posted

X2 on holding it in my hands, my drill press speed is 1200 RPM. Works well, I have one of the burnishers from Bearman and an old industrial drill press.

Chief

"Life's too short to carry ugly leather"

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Posted (edited)

Same as well, hold it in my hands with the burnisher suspended. I made my own and they worked well enough, but I also just ordered the cocobollo from Bearman. Looking forward to using it.

Unfortunatley my drill press is an old one and only has 3 speeds. 700, 1500, 3200. I usualy use it on 700 for burnishing and just go a little slower.

Edited by Heimdhal
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Posted

From the grumpy old guy: Yes, I hold my stuff in my grubby mitts, BUT I don't use a drill press - - I use a variable speed 3/8" hand held drill. It's locked into a homemade fixture, upside down so that the burnisher is horizontal. That way I can stand over my work and easily observe the burnishing process as it proceeds. It's just more comfortable to me, and I feel that I have better control. Mike

NOTE TO SELF: Never try to hold a cat and an operating Dust buster at the same time!!

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Posted

That's an interesting idea, I really like the being able to see the burnishing part. Thanks for the input guys, I suppose if there was such a table with a hole attachment (or whatever) you'd have to keep one hand on the lever to keep the burnisher at the correct height... unless there are presses with a locking feature? Sorry I've never owned a drill press before and don't know much about them.

Does Anyone Know Where the Love of God Goes When the Waves Turn Minutes to Hours?

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Posted

This is my prototype burnisher, made out of an old cotton reel and an old sewing domestic machine motor with a foot controler bolted to the table.....It does work OK and simple to make as I just glued the spool to the shaft and then turned the spool to the groove sizes that I wanted using files, gauges or anything else that was the right size.

I'm gonna replace the spool with a nice piece of hardwood when i find something suitable and then it should be very good....even if the speed can be a bit erratic!

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Posted

That seems like a great set-up Bigfoot. I like the idea of a horizontal mounted burnisher so much that I haven't made a move on getting a drill press for the job yet. I keep thinking something will pop into my head to get it mounted horizontally. Any other ideas, guys?

Does Anyone Know Where the Love of God Goes When the Waves Turn Minutes to Hours?

Posted

I use a bench top drill press from Harbor Freight and suspend my leather as I burnish. If I am working on something small, I will use my Dremel with a burnisher on it. The process for using the dremel is different in that I work the dremel while holding the leather in hand. I hope this helps. BTW, our member Bearman on here sells some beautiful burnishers if you are in the market.

Greetings from Central Texas!

The Grain Side Up blog


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Posted

Ingenious setup Bigfoot and I reckon that Ben Hur would've been proud of the end of that spindle..lol ;)

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Regards

Phil

Being defeated isn't the worst thing in life..giving up, is..

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