I Need Some Help With A Burnisher

[KalL]

http://m.ebay.com/itm/251651035621?nav=SEARCH

Can someone please tell me if this is a good deal and something I want? I've been reading up on motorized burnishers but I'm getting thoroughly confused on the subject, the steps involved and where burnishing fits into everything is making my head spin. The new version of this is selling on ebay for about $200, but the wheel is flat?

[msdeluca]

I went to the local flea market and picked up a good used 1750 rpm motor for $7. I then found a mandrel apaptor from Lee Valley Tools and from a tack store picked up a 1/2" thick saddle pad made from 100% lambs wool and cut it into 2" circles. Drilled out the center of the circles and fitted about four on the mandrel, tightened it down, loaded it with a 50/50 mix of beeswax and paraffin wax. Perfect results. The mandrel was about $10 and the pad was about $20 shipped. The pad will make about 4 million circles, so for about $37 I built the equivalent of the machine in your link.

Hope this helps.

Edited September 25, 2014 by msdeluca

[KalL]

That's actually a good idea and a great help. I have a motor sitting at home that I bought years ago at a garage sale that has a double shaft that they were using as a buffing machine. It's got pointy things on the ends so you can just screw a pad on it. I'll have to see if I can convert it over like you did. Question though, does using the wool instead of wood or metal do they same thing from start to finish. I've read so much stuff over the last few days I'm getting very confused. And yes, I'm a newbie, lol.

Edited September 25, 2014 by KalL

[Oldtoolsniper]

http://www.durofelt.com/

These guys have all kinds of wool felt wheels already cut. I bought a 1/2" mandrel at the hardware store and the wheels from this place. If you already have the motor find a mandrel and get the ready made wheels from theses guys. Saves having to buy a 2 inch or bigger punch too.

[KalL]

http://www.durofelt.com/

These guys have all kinds of wool felt wheels already cut. I bought a 1/2" mandrel at the hardware store and the wheels from this place. If you already have the motor find a mandrel and get the ready made wheels from theses guys. Saves having to buy a 2 inch or bigger punch too.

I'll have to check it out, thanks for the link.

Ok, I just checked the motor I have sitting at home. It's quiet I'll give it that. It's an old delco ac motor, 1/6 hp,1725 rpms, 3.4 amps, 1/2" shaft. Will this do? It has the shaft clear through, one side is notched to put something on it and the other looks like it used to be longer and cut down with no notch. I have no idea what this thing is off of. If it will work I'm going to have to rewire it since it looks like a hack job and the switch doesn't work, and I'm going to have to give it a good cleaning and put a notch on the cut down side of the shaft. It also looks like a couple of the spade contactors on the board are loose and blackened a little. I checked out that lee valley site real quick and it looks like I can get the mandrel adapters for about $6.50 each.

Edited September 26, 2014 by KalL

[KalL]

Anyone know if this will work?

[camano ridge]

1725rpm is a good speed. If you can adapt it for the madrel it should work. Find Hidepounders tutorial on burnishing edges. It should help you a lot. It is on theses threads. Can't remember exactly where I will have to look for it.

Found it http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=18101

Edited September 27, 2014 by camano ridge

[billybopp]

Keep in mind that the faster the motor runs with a given wheel, the more friction you create with the wheel. If you create too much friction, you may burn more than burnish. A smaller diameter wheel can help to compensate for a faster shaft speed.

If you want to do the math, using pi*d for the circumference, an 8" wheel @1750rpm moves surface past the leather at 733 inches per second. A 4" wheel at 366 IPS, or half the running speed along the leather being burnished.

While I can't tell you what an appropriate speed along the leather should be, it's something to keep in mind when you purchase a wheel.

Hope that helps

Bill

[KalL]

1725rpm is a good speed. If you can adapt it for the madrel it should work. Find Hidepounders tutorial on burnishing edges. It should help you a lot. It is on theses threads. Can't remember exactly where I will have to look for it.Found it http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=18101

I'll be sure to check it out, thank for the link. I need all the help I can get. I found the adapters, now I just have to figure out what burnishing attachments I want to use so I know which adapters I want to get.

Edited September 28, 2014 by KalL

[KalL]

Keep in mind that the faster the motor runs with a given wheel, the more friction you create with the wheel. If you create too much friction, you may burn more than burnish. A smaller diameter wheel can help to compensate for a faster shaft speed.

If you want to do the math, using pi*d for the circumference, an 8" wheel @1750rpm moves surface past the leather at 733 inches per second. A 4" wheel at 366 IPS, or half the running speed along the leather being burnished.

While I can't tell you what an appropriate speed along the leather should be, it's something to keep in mind when you purchase a wheel.

Hope that helps

Bill

Math is my worst skill but I'll take your word on it. So I should be alright with anything 4"-8" since the motor is running at a lower rpm then others I've seen then. And this has been a great help, thank you.

[slipangle]

You can get set up for way less, if you're willing to make your own heads using arbor adapters. Woodworking catalogs usually have a good selection. And a surplus dryer motor for cheap. But I wouldn't go anywhere near 4 or eight inches if it were me. You can make some useful one to two inch diameter burnishers using those adapters and the wool felt discs mentioned above and even some laminated discs of veg tanned if you like, which can be spun on your motor and shaped with round files and sandpaper. Or even wood. I made my burnishers out of lignum vitae on my lathe. Very nice dense and waxy wood for the application.

[KalL]

So why go smaller like 1" or 2"? I thought the smaller it is the faster, and won't that burn the edge being faster instead of polishing?

[billybopp]

The smaller the wheel, the slower the contact area with the leather for any given motor speed. Looking at what the folks that are selling these use (Weaver, Tippmann, and ebay, etc) they all look to be about 2" or so. I'd think that's where I'd start. ( I only chose 4" & 8" in the above post to show the numbers ... Just an example).

Bill

[slipangle]

What Bill says, Kail. The larger the diameter the wheel, the higher the SFM, or surface feet per minute.

With a 1725 rpm motor, a one or two inch diameter burnisher is spinning plenty fast.

[KalL]

Ah, gotcha man. Thanks!

Incidentally the electric burnisher I originally posted about got relisted with a starting bid of $100 and free shipping. The thought crossed my mind since mine is questionable.... I took another look at mine and some of the windings are coming apart.

[slipangle]

Well, KalL, free shipping is pretty good. Probably cost her about 16 bucks to sent it to you, if not 20. But, I still hate to see someone spend that much, even though that motor looks pretty new.

Tell you what. Think you can find an old motor locally? Like msdelucca says, the motors can usually be found cheap. At flea markets or an appliance repair place. I can't imagine an old, surplus but running motor should cost you more than 20 bucks, max. If that. Do you have the skills to add a wire with inline switch to it?

I've got some of those arbor adapters around here. I've got tons of stuff like that. If you want, I'll make you up a burnishing head and you'll just have to find a motor. I can put either 8/9 ounce veg tanned discs on it and turn it on my lathe, make some grooves for you. Or, I have some pure wool felt here in 1/2 inch thickness and could try to cut 3 or 4 discs of that and shape it. Not sure how I'd do that but I'm often not sure how to do stuff and manage to pull it off. Would prefer to make it out of leather, I guess.

I don't know, maybe 25 bucks for a made up burnisher head. Shipped. Off the top of my head. I'm kind of new to this forum so not sure how to send private messages but, you can send me one if you like…if you're interested.

Scott

[KalL]

I'm not sure either actually. I've never sent a pm here before, but I might be interested though. I'm not sure on finding the motor locally at garage sales, etc... It would actually be easier for me just to buy that motor, but I want to see if the price drops on it any further.

[camano ridge]

To send a PM click on the persons screen name their profile will come up. The top right hand screen you will see send me a message click and follow the prompt.

[slipangle]

Got it. Figured it out right after I wrote that, Camano Ridge. Thank you.

[Mack869]

Actually I use a dremel for burnishing edges as well as other applications beyond edging. You can create your own ' attachment' with the generic threaded shaft attachment bit that comes with the dremel. Seems to work fine for me. (Also use sanding sleeves to dress down leather edges). For large projects or burnishing multiple layer items you would want something more "industrial". As an example, I probably would use my dremel for dressing a belt or strap edge, but wouldn't on anything larger ( lack of patience ; - ))

[KalL]

I can understand that. I thought of a dremel and they have burnishing attachments for it, but my hands aren't that steady and if I messed up I would be so upset.

I haven't had a chance to look into another motor or the wiring for it yet, my schedule has been all over the place, but I'm seriously considering putting in a bid on that one on ebay.

[KalL]

http://www.durofelt.com/

These guys have all kinds of wool felt wheels already cut. I bought a 1/2" mandrel at the hardware store and the wheels from this place. If you already have the motor find a mandrel and get the ready made wheels from theses guys. Saves having to buy a 2 inch or bigger punch too.

I looked around their website and I have my eye on a 6" wheel, 1" wide, with a 1/2" center. I didn't know there was different hardness choices. What do you recommend? Soft, med., hard, rock hard...

The burnisher is coming along. I've been buying pieces for it here and there. I have it rewired now and mounted to a board. I also have 2 mandrel adapters and a 1/2" chuck mounted on one side for the wood burnisher I'm going to get soon.