Power slicker questions

[UKRay]

This is turning into a bit of a saga... The polishing machine motor was waaaay too fast. Sadly, the rheostat idea didn't work particularly well either as the thing was simply not precise enough - can you tell how fast a shaft is revolving with your naked eye? No, neither can I - but I can smell leather burning... ...and I can tell when nothing much is happening too! The trouble is I don't know precisely what can be done with one of these Weaver machines and to set a few expectations. I also need to know the range of speeds that will work.

I have finally tracked down a brilliant electric motor company in Walsall - home of the British saddlery industry. They have found me the right size motor, right size shaft and even a replacement pulley wheel. The only problem is that this thing revolves a little slower than the original: 1500 RPM rather than 1750 RPM

Has anyone got any idea how much difference this small difference will actually make to the finished job? I can't see much of a problem personally but I though it sensible to throw this open for discussion. We have heard recently about how a motor that goes too fast simply doesn't work for burnishing - but how about too slow? What is too slow? Does it matter?

[K-Man]

UKRay:

My burnisher (Ryobi grinder) runs at 3600 rpms. I utilize a custom Weaver #9 on one side and a custom slicker that looks nearly identical to the wood burnisher Weaver uses on their slicker/buffer machine. I use water initially and later follow up with beeswax/paraffin wax. These are the results I get:

and I don't spend but a couple of minutes doing it.... IMO, it's just a matter of learning what your machine will do for you.

[UKRay]

UKRay:

My burnisher (Ryobi grinder) runs at 3600 rpms. I utilize a custom Weaver #9 on one side and a custom slicker that looks nearly identical to the wood burnisher Weaver uses on their slicker/buffer machine. I use water initially and later follow up with beeswax/paraffin wax. These are the results I get:

and I don't spend but a couple of minutes doing it.... IMO, it's just a matter of learning what your machine will do for you.

Your results speak for themselves K-Man, You have obviously learned what your machine can do.

I just didn't want to spend a whole lot of money I can't afford on a motor that won't work 'cos it is too slow... if someone could have spared me the pain it would have been kind. I guess I'll just shell out and see what happens. Thanks for your comments.

[K-Man]

You definitely don't want to use a reostat on the slicker machine. I have another Ryobi that I use for buffing the leather with horsehair brushes. I use a reostat on that, otherwise I'd literally be taking the dye off completely, rather than buffing off the residue. When pressure is applied to the brush, it slows the rotation. You would get the same result in an attempt to slick an edge (and you'd be there all day) with a reostat on there.

I know that the vast majority of craftsman say to use nothing other than a ~1750 rpm rotation. I'm just here to say that you can do it with a 3600 rpm, and get the results that as a professional you want to achieve.

[pepin1948]

This is turning into a bit of a saga... The polishing machine motor was waaaay too fast. Sadly, the rheostat idea didn't work particularly well either as the thing was simply not precise enough - can you tell how fast a shaft is revolving with your naked eye? No, neither can I - but I can smell leather burning... ...and I can tell when nothing much is happening too! The trouble is I don't know precisely what can be done with one of these Weaver machines and to set a few expectations. I also need to know the range of speeds that will work.

I have finally tracked down a brilliant electric motor company in Walsall - home of the British saddlery industry. They have found me the right size motor, right size shaft and even a replacement pulley wheel. The only problem is that this thing revolves a little slower than the original: 1500 RPM rather than 1750 RPM

Has anyone got any idea how much difference this small difference will actually make to the finished job? I can't see much of a problem personally but I though it sensible to throw this open for discussion. We have heard recently about how a motor that goes too fast simply doesn't work for burnishing - but how about too slow? What is too slow? Does it matter?

Ray,you can be sure to get excellent results at 1500 RPM.My motor at 1400 RPM burnishes perfect.If you go to 3500 you risk to burn the edges if you are not very careful.

I forgot to tell you that the original motor on the Weaver slicker runs at 1750 RPM.

[badger]

Ray,

I have a 1400 RPM motor on mine which works great. 1/3 Horsepower at 240 Volts.

I'd stay away from a rheostat as it's hard to judge the speed and the motor will stall easily when pressure is applied to the work.

Cheers,

Karl

[UKRay]

Ray,

I have a 1400 RPM motor on mine which works great. 1/3 Horsepower at 240 Volts.

I'd stay away from a rheostat as it's hard to judge the speed and the motor will stall easily when pressure is applied to the work.

Cheers,

Karl

Have you got a make on that motor, Karl - I'm still looking!

[scooby]

I picked up a 110V sander cheap but luckily I have a 240-110V transformer for use on building sites and the like. You can probably pick one up cheap and then it's just a case of adding a yellow 110v plug

something like this - http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/110-VOLT-TRANSFORMER...%3A1|240%3A1318

if you get one iof these then you can keep your eye out for nice cheap industrial quality tools

[badger]

Ray,

Sewing machine motors run at around 1420 RPM.

Saw some on Ebay.

Might do it for you.....

K

[Art]

Hi Ray,

You want to be running 1700 rpm (or 14,000 inches per minute) or less, If you run on 50 cycle then you will have a motor shaft running 1450 to 1500 rpm depending on the efficiency of the motor, this is of course for a 4 pole motor. You can adjust the speed by changing the pulley diameter or even the burnishing wheel diameter. You don't nearly need the 2-3 hp motor Pepin is using, 1/4 to 1/2 will do and TEFC (totally enclosed fan cooled) motor will give less trouble (protects from sanding dust and lint). The motor plate will also have the Frame Size which you will want to match if you want an exact fit. But if someone just gives you a motor, you can usually make it work.

Art

Thanks for this, Ed.

Great idea, Bruce, but I suspect he'll think it a bit cheeky as the machine is s/h. Maybe Vernon'll take pity on me... LOL

Pepin1948 - many thanks. I really am most grateful. No need to apologise for your English - I couldn't have done it in Spanish, that's for sure!

If anyone has any more thoughts on this I'd really like to hear them. Thanks guys.