Looking for a fast and effective way to burnish natural veg-tan

[bikermutt07]

4 hours ago, Mattsbagger said:

I was gonna post a question about cleaning the burnisher. What do you use. I just got a 'bolo burnisher. I had a problem with dye transfer with my hand held Tandy one one so I used a 2nd hand held for natural. But that be a bit pricey with a motor burnisher. Lol

I just ran some saddle soap on a rag thru it and then waxed it.

1 minute ago, chiefjason said:

 

I put some denatured alcohol on a rag, turn the burnisher on, then run it through the burnisher.  Seems to work fine when I need to burnish a natural edge.  And that is pretty rare so it gets a lot of use with dye ahead of the cleaning.  Basically, about the only edging I do is with black dye so I don't bother cleaning it unless I have too.  And I usually check it by burnishing a scrap piece first.  

That's better than my idea.

[Mrvista]

Try one of these:

You just mount it on a standard bench grinder with a 1/2" spindle, fantastically quick burninshing for different thicknesses of leather, I use this in conjunction with good old beeswax,  I coat my edges with any form of edge coat, leave to dry, then apply beeswax, and slick it on the slicker.

Make sure you have a bench grinder that runs a minimum of 6000rpm.

Hope this helps

Andy

[JLSleather]

Folks git way too concerned over this stuff.  There are a number of ways to burnish edges.  One guy says saddle soap paste - other guys says glycerine bar - next fella says edge kote or similar..... 

I burnish with water, and occasionally add some wax to the "stubborn' edges. I prefer a rotating tool in a drill press, but each his own.

I will say, though, that in the time it would take to watch that entire video, a guy could make a burnisher from a wooden dowel (3/4" to 1" will do it), a file, and some sand paper.

 

[slipangle]

46 minutes ago, Mrvista said:

Make sure you have a bench grinder that runs a minimum of 6000rpm.

Hope this helps

Andy

I've got to ask, Andy,  is there such an animal as a bench grinder than runs at that RPM?  Never seen one.

Also, why is that much speed, or SFPM , necessary?

Thanks

 

 

[JLSleather]

I run a burnisher with an O.D. of about an inch, at about 500 rpm.  Some of the machinist boys around here will be able to tell you that it's not the RPM, it's teh SURFACE FEET PER MINUTE that matters.  Double the diameter of the burnisher, running at the SAME rpm, will result in a burnisher operating at double teh EFFECTIVE speed.

Shorter version:  A 2" burnisher and a 1" burnisher running the same speed are NOT working the same way.

 

[VMTinajero]

I'm with JLSleather- you'd be amazed at the results plain ol' water will give you...

[slipangle]

Right-O JLS,

I was just curious about the mention of the motor speed. Never seen one that runs at 6000 rpm.  Unless Andy is ralking about a Dremel or other hand held device. 

Maybe Andy was speaking of SFPM.  But that still seems awfully fast to me. I run the lignum vitae burnishers I made on my metal lathe..maybe around 1000-1500 rpm or so. 

[MADMAX22]

Ya dont need 6k rpm. Heck you can burnish by hand if necessary. 

[johnv474]

What you need is heat, moisture, and, optionally, color. For it to last, you want some protection.

 

A coiled up belt can have the entire edges dampened with a kitchen sponge within seconds. Flip it, repeat. If you use a 1/4" nap trim painting pad or sponge dauber you could also dye the edges quickly, if you cared to.

 

There are many options but dampening the edge makes a big difference for me. Saddle soap helps keep the moisture in place. Moisture allows the fibers to form and compress to the shape I want. Usually I burnish by hand and just use a scrap of cloth or a ceramic electrical insulator from old knob and tube wiring... since it was free.

Edited March 23, 2017 by johnv474
wording

[johnv474]

If you want fast and effective edge treatments, look at what are done by larger-production manufacturers.  Usually burnishing is not involved (in the usual sense we talk of it).  It's more common to just use edge dye or similar and be done with it.

I am not aware of a fast and also effective and also inexpensive approach.  But if the cost isn't what matters then look at leather flap wheels ($90) and motor-mounted horsehair brush wheels ($90) and the various burnishing inks or waxes that are available from Fiebings or others.  Last I saw, a machine for this purpose cost a few thousand dollars, used, and included three or four sanding stations.  Shoe repair shops have them.

That said, even with a machine it takes skill and practice to do it well... even if it could be faster.