URGENT HELP - Which edge paint polishing/buffing/brushing/sanding machine to use??

[Mike516]

On 5/9/2016 at 9:46 AM, JMWendt said:

I took a 1 hp capacitor start motor off an old air compressor in my shed and mounted it on my work bench, wired it to a 120v wall switch also mounted on my bench and then plugged that to the wall socket.  I used a burnisher I got off Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Motor-Burnisher/dp/B00JI645PS?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage -- great item, by the way).

The thing is awesome.  3400 rpm is perfect.  I thought about setting it up for variable speed, but with a cap start motor, this was not an option.  The static speed of 3400 rpm is perfect anyway.  Glad I didn't bother.

Total cost-- the cost of the burnisher, around fifty bucks.  The best part is how smoothly the thing runs.  Perfect burnishing every time too.  It's made me realize what crappy work I used to produce.

 

On 5/9/2016 at 10:04 AM, Dwight said:

Good job JMWendt, . . . mine is along the same lines, . . . I just made my burnisher myself, . . . mounted it to the motor, . . . turned the motor on, . . . then took various files to the piece of wood to get the grooves I wanted, . . . works like a champ.

Part of the lure of leather work to me, . . . it is simply the opportunity to be creative in how one does things, . . . not like a machine shop where dedicated and precisely demanded equipment is necessary.

May God bless,

Dwight

 

On 5/9/2016 at 0:30 PM, JMWendt said:

I really like that cocobolo.  It's so slick.  I previously used a piece of pine that was hand grooved.  Compared to that, this thing is like butter to sand.  

I have a cocabolo dremmel burnisher that I been using for a couple of years, but it's become a little unwieldy if you have to use it a lot. I wanted something I could have both hands free for doing thin straps.

So I was thinking of buying one of the pre-made burnishers, but they're big and expensive.

I have this old new Sears bench grinder that I got at a garage sale some years ago for like 10 bucks that's been sitting sealed in a box on a shelf. I don't know why I bought it, I had no use for it. It's still sealed in a box probably from the 70's or something.

After reading this thread with all the ideas I thought why not? You guys are using washing machine motors! I busted it open, disregarding the don't take this off and don't operate without that thing, and took the wheels off to check the shafts and it looks like it'll work with that Amazon one. I wasn't too sure because this is a 3450 rpm one speed fits all light duty grinder, but you guys are saying 3450 works so what the heck. All in, it's gonna be around 60 bucks and if it works I'll be thrilled and wanted to thank you guys for these posts. I'll update this when I get the burnisher.

[JMWendt]

2 hours ago, Mike516 said:

 

Just make sure your burnisher shaft hole size matches the size of the motor shaft.  I tried to use a 5/8" burnisher on a 1/2" motor shaft, thought I could "joogie" it and get it to work.  No way.  Too much vibration.  Horrifying, really.  I finally used that 5/8" shaft air compressor motor and it turned out very nice.

2 hours ago, Mike516 said:

 

 

I have a cocabolo dremmel burnisher that I been using for a couple of years, but it's become a little unwieldy if you have to use it a lot. I wanted something I could have both hands free for doing thin straps.

So I was thinking of buying one of the pre-made burnishers, but they're big and expensive.

I have this old new Sears bench grinder that I got at a garage sale some years ago for like 10 bucks that's been sitting sealed in a box on a shelf. I don't know why I bought it, I had no use for it. It's still sealed in a box probably from the 70's or something.

After reading this thread with all the ideas I thought why not? You guys are using washing machine motors! I busted it open, disregarding the don't take this off and don't operate without that thing, and took the wheels off to check the shafts and it looks like it'll work with that Amazon one. I wasn't too sure because this is a 3450 rpm one speed fits all light duty grinder, but you guys are saying 3450 works so what the heck. All in, it's gonna be around 60 bucks and if it works I'll be thrilled and wanted to thank you guys for these posts. I'll update this when I get the burnisher.

Quote

 

I have a cocabolo dremmel burnisher that I been using for a couple of years, but it's become a little unwieldy if you have to use it a lot. I wanted something I could have both hands free for doing thin straps.

So I was thinking of buying one of the pre-made burnishers, but they're big and expensive.

I have this old new Sears bench grinder that I got at a garage sale some years ago for like 10 bucks that's been sitting sealed in a box on a shelf. I don't know why I bought it, I had no use for it. It's still sealed in a box probably from the 70's or something.

After reading this thread with all the ideas I thought why not? You guys are using washing machine motors! I busted it open, disregarding the don't take this off and don't operate without that thing, and took the wheels off to check the shafts and it looks like it'll work with that Amazon one. I wasn't too sure because this is a 3450 rpm one speed fits all light duty grinder, but you guys are saying 3450 works so what the heck. All in, it's gonna be around 60 bucks and if it works I'll be thrilled and wanted to thank you guys for these posts. I'll update this when I get the burnisher.

 

[Mike516]

That one you linked from Amazon comes with 1/2 inch and 5/8 inch adapters. Are you saying the 1/2 inch one doesn't work?

1 hour ago, JMWendt said:

Just make sure your burnisher shaft hole size matches the size of the motor shaft.  I tried to use a 5/8" burnisher on a 1/2" motor shaft, thought I could "joogie" it and get it to work.  No way.  Too much vibration.  Horrifying, really.  I finally used that 5/8" shaft air compressor motor and it turned out very nice.

 

 

[JMWendt]

Might have been a 3/8 inch shaft.  The adapter seemed right, the shaft seemed wrong (on the motor).

[Mike516]

Gotcha. Thanks.

[Mike516]

It seems to work! I only have one set screw engaged on the sleeve but it seems to work ok. I wouldn't say it's 100% dead true, but it's close enough to work.

I wish I could have contacted the seller though. Their email both on Amazon and their website is no good. I wonder how they're staying in business with no way other than phone number to contact them.

But like I said, it's good enough, so I can't complain.

[Mike516]

Ok, so I called and got hold of someone by phone due to the wobble I was getting. He seemed like a nice fellow and suggested possibly due to both set screws not being able to be tight that's where the wobble was coming from. He told me to send him pictures and he would see what he could do to help. Sent the pictures and nothing. So I waited a few hours and texted him again and he says he got the pictures, he's not sure what I should do about it but he's going to think about it some more.

My wife thinks he blew me off. I say he's going to text me back maybe after the holiday weekend. Let's see what happens. I'm still hopeful there are still businesses out there who care about their customers.

Hey burnisher guy, if you're on these forums and read this, please text me with a solution or even to say you don't know what to do so at least I can be right in an argument with my wife for a change. Thanks.

I'll keep updating this thread as things evolve.

[Lobo]

I was in the business from 1972 until retirement in 2015, last 8-1/2 years were full time. Started out with very little money to spend so I learned to adapt and modify tools to meet my needs without much investment.

For sanding edges I used drum sanders in various sizes chucked into a bench top drill press. I sanded while the leather was damp, which allows the leather fibers to fall to the bench rather than filling the air with dust. Typical holster or belt takes about 2 to 3 minutes. Sanding sleeves for the drum sanders cost less than $1 each and will do hundreds of holsters and belts.

For edge burnishing I used dye on the edges, then rubbed on a mixture of 50% beeswax and 50% paraffin wax, then burnished using a hard felt polishing wheel chucked into the drill press (about 1700RPM). Typical holster or belt takes about 3 minutes. Waxes cost about $2 per pound, which will do many hundreds of products. Felt polishing wheels cost about $1 to $2 each (depending on size), and each will do 200 to 300 holsters and belts.

Friction from the felt polishing wheel polishes the edges while also melting the wax and forcing it into the leather fibers at the edges. Result is a well sealed edge with high gloss polished surface, stands up well to use. Far superior to edge painting.

Waxes can be combined by placing equal amounts into a heavy duty freezer bag, then suspending the bag in a large pot of boiling water, then pouring the mixed wax into molds (I used muffin pans, producing cakes of about 2 oz. weight). Later on I found a nice lady who makes candles, and she produced my wax mixture in her machine, charging me $20 for 20 lbs (which was probably a 5 year supply in my shop).

Watch the sales at Harbor Freight and you can pick up light-duty bench top drill presses for about $60 each. I found that they last about 2-3 years in production (about 4000-6000 holsters, belts, etc). The shaft bearings eventually wear out because pressure has been applied from the sides rather than in line with the shaft, as a drill press is designed to function. When that happened I just bought another (actually I usually had a back up sitting new in its box ready to set up and continue production). You might prefer to pay more for a heavy-duty drill press from other sources.

So there you are. Less than $100 and you can expect proven professional results with minimum time and effort.

[johnnywalks]

Hey guys,

i had abit more time to my project and decided to go cheap/adventurous and try to build my own buffing machine. I got this variable speed motor off eBay, all fixed up with inverter, dial speed and ready to use. I thought i will just need to build a box to hold everything in place.

Problem! - the motor shaft uses a keyway, which to my novice knowledge are generally use for pulleys. How do i convert  a keyway shaft to hold typical adaptors with grub screws to hold buffing wheels? 

 

Edited June 21, 2016 by johnnywalks

[RockyAussie]

I'd Say just take out the key and get a extension adapter with the right hole size and grub screw it on. What horsepower have you got there and what is the shaft diameter?