Tip for home made burnisher motors

[bikermutt07]

Well, I have found what may be the perfect home made burnisher motor.

I found a 3300 rpm water pump for a whirlpool tub (I work for a company that does demo on these all the time).

It's a 1/2" shaft 1 horsepower motor and it has three mounting feet on it.. Isn't that awesome?

I didn't pay much attention to the switch during the demo and threw away the air switch button and hose. That wasn't much of a hurdle though. 5 bucks at the hardware store on a toggle switch had me up and running in no time.

Now I just have to save up and get a pro edge burnisher to bolt on it and away we go.

Edited July 16, 2016 by bikermutt07

[torker32]

On 7/16/2016 at 0:07 PM, bikermutt07 said:

Well, I have found what may be the perfect home made burnisher motor.

I found a 3300 rpm water pump for a whirlpool tub (I work for a company that does demo on these all the time).

It's a 1/2" shaft 1 horsepower motor and it has three mounting feet on it.. Isn't that awesome?

I didn't pay much attention to the switch during the demo and threw away the air switch button and hose. That wasn't much of a hurdle though. 5 bucks at the hardware store on a toggle switch had me up and running in no time.

Now I just have to save up and get a pro edge burnisher to bolt on it and away we go.

Good find on the motor, I think the RPM is kinda high for what your intending to use it for. ( Mech. burnisher). The risk of over burnish ( Rough edge, burnt leather) is going to be a little tricky unless, The RPM should be between 1250-1500 according to the more experienced leatherman. Do you plan on running the motor at full tilt?

Possibly if you were to use a Pulse width Modulator with an infinite adjustment, This would allow you to use your motor without overheating the unit. The usage of a hardware store bought rheostat switch placed in line wont work for long. This only reduces wattage which the motor needs to run, it strains the coils.

$13.00 PWM switch off amazon would ensure your motor lasts for years. It wires in-line just like any other switch. Hope this helps some. 

 

[bikermutt07]

According to the posts I've been reading here, 3000 is about right.

I have been waiting on funds to purchase my burnisher.

Just ordered it a few days ago. I'll post some feed back after giving it a "whirl".

On another not I have acquired a second larger motor. But I haven't bothered checking the specs on it yet. It may become a sanding or buffing station.

[TinkerTailor]

It is not the rpm that matters, it is the relationship between the diameter of the circle and the speed. A larger diameter burnisher will travel a further distance per revolution, meaning it will have a higher surface speed at a given rpm. This means you have to turn a bigger one slower and a smaller one faster to get the same surface speed. There is no magic rpm, however there may be an optimum surface speed for a given burnisher material and a given piece of leather. From this, and the diameter of the burnisher, you can find the optimum rpm.

This is standard math for metal machinists, balancing material removal with surface finish and cutter life. They have big tables of the numbers in big books to reference. To my knowledge, no one has done detailed experiments on the optimum surface feet per minute for leather burnishing yet.

In other words, turn it up till it burns, and back it off a notch........

[Wedgetail]

I have a pro edge burnisher, they are great!

Just used a $30 bench mounted grinder, swapped the grinding wheel for a drill chuck with a matching thread diameter, and inserted the burnisher. After a few adjustments to get it spinning perfectly level, it is working perfectly!

As far as speed goes, yeah it's probably a little fast for my liking, and I can't change to other settings.... but I get around that with faster passes, and more of them. 

Also, what is too fast for one piece of leather is just about right for the next, even when cut from the same area of the same hide!

Just treat every piece as it comes. Start easy, and you won't damage it.

Good thinking on the motor though!

[bikermutt07]

I ordered the pro edge motor burnisher.

All I know for sure is my appendages will feel a lot better.

Hand burnishing is one of the things I like least in this hobby.

[OLDNSLOW]

They say that if there are no photos it never happened, must have poof er uh proof of the work for others to see.

just sayun

[TonyRV2]

13 hours ago, torker32 said:

Good find on the motor, I think the RPM is kinda high for what your intending to use it for. ( Mech. burnisher). The risk of over burnish ( Rough edge, burnt leather) is going to be a little tricky unless, The RPM should be between 1250-1500 according to the more experienced leatherman. Do you plan on running the motor at full tilt?

Possibly if you were to use a Pulse width Modulator with an infinite adjustment, This would allow you to use your motor without overheating the unit. The usage of a hardware store bought rheostat switch placed in line wont work for long. This only reduces wattage which the motor needs to run, it strains the coils.

$13.00 PWM switch off amazon would ensure your motor lasts for years. It wires in-line just like any other switch. Hope this helps some. 

 

Pulse width modulation only works with D.C. motors, so this is not going to be a solution.  To control the rpm of an A.C. motor the simplest means would be to use a 3 phase motor and a variable frequency drive (vfd).  That said, if I were setting up a single phase motor and wanted variable speed the simplest recourse would be to use a step pulley.  These are widely available for the 1/2" shaft that the op is working width.  A single pulley would even do the job if there is just the one rpm that you need to run at.  I'm not sure about this particular motor since no data was given on it, but its surely either 3600rpm or 1800 rpm right our of the gate.  Once thats known, a pair of pulleys can be chosen to get any rpm that you'd want.

[bikermutt07]

I'm gonna test it on scrap first. Then we'll see where to go from there.

I'm just tired of my shoulder, elbow, wrists, palms, and fingers wearing out for an, at best, mediocre finish.

If I can gain a better than mediocre finish with this rig I'll be overjoyed as a hobbyist.

Especially if it takes 2 minutes instead of 20.

Edited September 9, 2016 by bikermutt07

[cradom]

You can get a variable speed controller (AC or DC) fairly cheap. Pay attention to the amps.

http://www.harborfreight.com/router-speed-control-43060.html

 

[bikermutt07]

That looks like it would work great. Thanks.

[Red Cent]

3500 rpm works good although I have seen a wisp of smoke now and then. You will find it is the leather that determines a good burnish, not any reasonable rpm. If you have an 8-9 ounce piece of leather that has been beveled, you can get a slight brown and glass like look with water. A nice slick burnished edge with water provides the surface you can dye easily. I use a dauber to dye the edges and it glides smoothly and snag free creating a good even line. I never use anything till the first water burnish.

Someone spoke to the edge the beveler leaves. Don't sand the outer edge off. Burnish and dye. That cut edge will actually stop a reasonable amount of dye from flowing into the leather surface if you dye the edge with a contrasting color.

If you have access to a drill press/milling machine and a machinist vice and a couple of rattail files, you can make burnishing tools. Drill a hole lengthwise in a dowel rod. Insert a tight fitting bolt and nut. Tighten. Place in the drill press. Place a rather fine tooth rasp (at first) in the vice. Spin the dowel rod and adjust vice to remove the stuff that makes the dowel rod wobble. Then use a more fine tooth file. The some sandpaper would be nice.

[TinkerTailor]

9 hours ago, Red Cent said:

3500 rpm works good although I have seen a wisp of smoke now and then. You will find it is the leather that determines a good burnish, not any reasonable rpm. If you have an 8-9 ounce piece of leather that has been beveled, you can get a slight brown and glass like look with water. A nice slick burnished edge with water provides the surface you can dye easily. I use a dauber to dye the edges and it glides smoothly and snag free creating a good even line. I never use anything till the first water burnish.

Someone spoke to the edge the beveler leaves. Don't sand the outer edge off. Burnish and dye. That cut edge will actually stop a reasonable amount of dye from flowing into the leather surface if you dye the edge with a contrasting color.

If you have access to a drill press/milling machine and a machinist vice and a couple of rattail files, you can make burnishing tools. Drill a hole lengthwise in a dowel rod. Insert a tight fitting bolt and nut. Tighten. Place in the drill press. Place a rather fine tooth rasp (at first) in the vice. Spin the dowel rod and adjust vice to remove the stuff that makes the dowel rod wobble. Then use a more fine tooth file. The some sandpaper would be nice.

I make my bits the same way, only I use old dremel bits or drill bits and epoxy them into the dowel. I found one bump would bend the threaded shaft when i made them that way. The drill bits and dremel bits are hardened and don't bend. I found a dremel drill press stand at a flea market for 5 bucks, and i use the burnisher in it vertically with the table to guide the work. For small stuff, i use my flexi hand piece. I probably have 8 or so little burnishers going with different grooves and points. I have no problem pulling out a needle file or two and touching up the shape to suit the project at hand. I also have a blank ungrooved one always ready, just in case.

In my opinion, there is no perfect burnisher, only a perfect one for the project you are doing right now.

Btw, I have found that telling potential customer that i made some of the tools that I will use to make their item is really good for business.......They are not surprised I make leather stuff, but the look on their face when I tell them i made the tools is a totally different story. I have 10 or so stitching awls in front of me but by far the one I grab most is one I made out of an old triangular needle file jammed into a dowel, and filed with diamond files into a proper point. Looks like a prison shank.......

[bikermutt07]

Well, my pro edge burnisher showed up today. Since I haven't mounted my motor yet I only did preliminary tests.

Wow!! What a difference this is going to make for me.

My elbows and shoulders are already thanking me.

I don't think the speed will be an issue.

I tried just wetting the edge and giving it a few passes. Then I hit it with some saddle bar soap, and Bang, it looks better then any hand burnishing I've done.

Yaaayyyyyy!!!!!

[OLDNSLOW]

photos photos no photos it didn't happen need evidence of said work.

[bikermutt07]

I'll get photos Saturday or Sunday. My jobs pretty physical and in the evening I'm just beat. Hence, the reason it's not mounted yet.

But I'll get y'all some.

[dikman]

That speed control mentioned earlier may not work with your motor. That control is meant for brush-type motors (as used in most power tools, hence their reference to a router). Most AC motors are induction types and if you use that controller it will probably go poof!

[bikermutt07]

It seems to be working so far with out it.

[dikman]

That's good. My homemade burnisher (a bit like TT's) is attached to a grinder motor that runs at 3450 rpm and works fine.

[bikermutt07]

I tried a few pieces of scrap 7-8 ounce veg on it the other day. I just wet it, ran it twice through and then the saddle bar soap. Run it two or three times, and it was outstanding.

I am in my 40's and have always worked construction so most of my joints hurt pretty bad. 20+ years of pulling, tugging, wrenching, twisting, hammering, and prying can wear you out. My wife is convinced I have arthritis. I'm sure it's just pay back for working.

Anyway, burnishing has been very painful by hand. Any tooling I have played with has been just, well, excruciating is the word.

So, I'm really happy to have this burden lifted. Like I said before, these scrap pieces are way beyond what I have ever accomplished by hand. I can't wait to do a sheath or holster with it.

[bikermutt07]

See, it happened.

[bikermutt07]

Here is something that would be perfect for a burnisher.

http://www.tolindsewmach.com/motors.html

I don't know the shaft size, but it's a servo motor with adjustable speed and a mount. $135.00 shipped sounds like a great start to a burnisher.

[dikman]

Just got back to this post. Your setup looks good, similar to what I use. I'll bet you're really enjoying burnishing now!! As for the servo motor you mentioned, there's lots written about these in the Sewing Machine section. They are generally used to replace the large, heavy (and fast!) clutch motors on industrial sewing machines. I have 3 spare clutch motors that I'm trying to think of a use for! Would be great for a burnisher (bit of overkill, though) if I had somewhere to set one up. If I can sell one of my bikes then I may have room in my garage to make a decent burnishing stand. Something TT said has got me thinking, i.e.mounting the motor vertically with a table around the shaft to act as a guide. Might also be possible to mount a sanding drum in place of the burnisher to give nice square edges.

[bikermutt07]

5 hours ago, dikman said:

Just got back to this post. Your setup looks good, similar to what I use. I'll bet you're really enjoying burnishing now!! As for the servo motor you mentioned, there's lots written about these in the Sewing Machine section. They are generally used to replace the large, heavy (and fast!) clutch motors on industrial sewing machines. I have 3 spare clutch motors that I'm trying to think of a use for! Would be great for a burnisher (bit of overkill, though) if I had somewhere to set one up. If I can sell one of my bikes then I may have room in my garage to make a decent burnishing stand. Something TT said has got me thinking, i.e.mounting the motor vertically with a table around the shaft to act as a guide. Might also be possible to mount a sanding drum in place of the burnisher to give nice square edges.

A router table could probably work.

[CowboyBob]

On ‎10‎/‎12‎/‎2016 at 7:19 AM, bikermutt07 said:

Here is something that would be perfect for a burnisher.

http://www.tolindsewmach.com/motors.html

I don't know the shaft size, but it's a servo motor with adjustable speed and a mount. $135.00 shipped sounds like a great start to a burnisher.

14 mm.