Burnishing Problem Solved - Motorized on the Cheap

[alpha2]

That may be. The only motors I have experience with are Dental  equipment. Straight, smooth arbor, the cones tap on and have a left and a right. Nice thing is that they are two speed. The low is just about right for burnishing. Still trying to find one that some dentist is through with...I have 133 days to get it done, then I retire, and my dental connections are kaput. And I'm alright with that!

[dikman]

Ok, that explains your comment. Sounds like a nice motor if you can get hold of one, good luck with the retirement (I can highly recommend it ).

[DrmCa]

I've been thinking... Since burnishing wheel can be made on a wood lathe, is there a point in moving it off to another motor? A mini wood lathe can probably serve as a burnisher.

[alpha2]

Good idea! And, the speed is probably right where you want it.

[dikman]

Only negative I can see is that access may be an issue, as most motorised burnishers usually have the wheel hanging over the edge of a table which gives better access for long pieces (belts).

[bikermutt07]

I recently got my hands on a shopsmith. I think it could serve very well in playing with leather. I haven't gotten to get it all lined up yet, though. I bought it for work and it is at the shop. I am slowly making a space for it in our wood work area. But, I can only work towards that when we are really slow.

These things can be had for next to nothing if you look for them. If you wanted to try woodworking out I would suggest looking for the 510 or 520 models as they have the bigger better table systems. But I'm confident any model could be useful for leather.

[LumpenDoodle2]

On 18/08/2017 at 0:52 AM, dikman said:

Actually, unless you've got something completely different on your side of the pond, every grinder that I've come across has had a left-hand thread on one side and a right-hand thread on the other. It is impossible to fit the wrong spindle on the wrong side, so whichever side you use it will always tighten up (unless you some how manage to reverse the motor direction).

I have a cheap and chearful grinder, which came with the grinding wheels bolted onto the shafts.   I removed those, and bought a left, and a right hand threaded fittings for burnishing wheels to screw onto.    

As with most tools, the upgrading continued, and now I have a Nigel Armatage burnishing thing bolted onto one shaft, and a sanding drum bolted onto the other.  If I want to do a bit knife polishing, I can remove either side, fit the tapered screw, and then the polishing wheel.

[garypl]

12 hours ago, bikermutt07 said:

I recently got my hands on a shopsmith. I think it could serve very well in playing with leather. I haven't gotten to get it all lined up yet, though. I bought it for work and it is at the shop. I am slowly making a space for it in our wood work area. But, I can only work towards that when we are really slow.

These things can be had for next to nothing if you look for them. If you wanted to try woodworking out I would suggest looking for the 510 or 520 models as they have the bigger better table systems. But I'm confident any model could be useful for leather.

I bought a new Shopsmith in 1976 that I still use regularly.  12" disk sander works great for smoothing edges and you can easily vary the speed.  I haven't priced them lately, but I paid around $1200 back in 1976!

[bikermutt07]

The newer ones are more. They don't make the mark 5 anymore, although all the parts are still available. The 510 ($3500) is the standard now. The 520 ($3800) is an upgrade from that. The power pro 520 ($4200) has a digitally controlled head. I bought a 1981 model with the 510 tables. It has the jointer, the 6" belt sander, the bandsaw. I got it for $700 on Craigslist.

[garypl]

9 hours ago, bikermutt07 said:

The newer ones are more. They don't make the mark 5 anymore, although all the parts are still available. The 510 ($3500) is the standard now. The 520 ($3800) is an upgrade from that. The power pro 520 ($4200) has a digitally controlled head. I bought a 1981 model with the 510 tables. It has the jointer, the 6" belt sander, the bandsaw. I got it for $700 on Craigslist.

You got a sweet deal - the accessories cost me @$400 each when I bought them!