# Buffing Arbor in Canada?



## martyb1 (Aug 5, 2007)

Hey
Anyone run across a supplier for one of these in Canada










I found a few places that list ShopFox but none have this listed
It's about time I got myself one 
Thanks


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## shoretyus (Jan 6, 2007)

probably nothing cheaper that the Grizzly pic you have posted. Lee Valley has one that fits in a lath

and the usual parts 

http://www.bosstoolsupply.com/index.asp?PageAction=PRODSEARCH


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## martyb1 (Aug 5, 2007)

Unfortunately Grizzly does not ship to Canada.The StewMac one is just to expensive now,and shipping and customs would kill you


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## shoretyus (Jan 6, 2007)

Why don't you just make and arbor and buy some buffing wheels? 

Nobody at TDPRI that would ship it to you from Grizzly?


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## martyb1 (Aug 5, 2007)

shoretyus said:


> Why don't you just make and arbor and buy some buffing wheels?
> 
> Nobody at TDPRI that would ship it to you from Grizzly?


Oh ya I am sure they would.I was thinking on just making one


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## shoretyus (Jan 6, 2007)

I bought a hand polisher about the size of an orbital sander for $12 from Crappy tire that works not too bad.


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## RIFF WRATH (Jan 22, 2007)

been gassing for 1 for years to do motorcycle cases. latest suggestion is to take an 6 or 8" regular grinder , remove the cover plates and install the buffing wheels, nount on small base pedistal.


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## RHGraham (Nov 13, 2008)

Using a grinder will work, but try to find one that runs in the 1800rpm range, instead of the 3600 rpm models, which are too fast for buffing finishes and wood in general.

The 1800 rpm ones are almost too fast, but it'll work if you are really carefull.

I usually end up building them myself also, so I can choose pullys to get the rpm I want. I need to build another one now after the move, if I get a particularly good source for parts I'll post em here.

Randal


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## RIFF WRATH (Jan 22, 2007)

Hey Randal
the prefered rpm mentioned.......does that apply to polishing steel/aluminum....reason I ask is I finally got a 2 6" wheel grinder @ 3500rpm mounted and the rpm discussion came up, with no definite answer (due to my desire to acquire a buffing wheel set eventually). The thought was the faster rpm would affect the polishing compounds due to more heat ..are you able to clarify...
thanks
Gerry


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## Lowtones (Mar 21, 2006)

I have a StewMac one. Worth every penny. Their new one is even better with the distance between the wheels expanded and the the housing tilted outward as well as larger wheels Lee Valley also carries one with I believe 10 inch buffing wheels.


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## RHGraham (Nov 13, 2008)

My buffers I had built before ran the shaft at about 1000 rpm, and with 10 inch buffs, it was on the edge of being to fast, i had to be EXTREMELY carefull with pressure, burn-throughs on finish were very easy to do.

1700-1800 rpm is VERY fast for buffing finishes, it can be done, no bigger than 8 inch, 6 inch would be better, but that is actually much faster than you would want for buffing finishes if you have a choice. 3600rpm will destroy a nitro finish on contact with anything more than virtually non-existant pressure.

600-800 rpm is a good range to build your machine to run in, with 8, 10, or 12 inch buffs. You can run slower, down to 400rpm, with good results. You just have to take your time.

yes, I did use my buffers for other work besides finish polishing, so I went with a slightly higher speed, and had other buffers than ran much faster for steel polishing ( non guitar related).

They are not hard units to build... a shaft, that can have a cone mandrell or threaded for washers and nuts, two pillow-block type bearing assemblies, a motor, whatever you can scam up , around a 1/2 horse... a third, one horse, whatever, and choose a couple of pullies to end up with a reasonable speed, and a belt, and a switch. Run the belt a little on the loose side so if you do happen to get tangled up in the rig, it won't pull your arm off or something equally as exciting.

Buffers are one of the singularly most dangerous machines to have in a shop. They rank right on par with circular saws, router tables, and jointers.
Many don't believe that, and find out the hard way. Go SLOW. Go GENTLE.
When a buffer grabs a corner, shit happens FAST. Fast things hurt when they go crashing into your tender soft squishy parts.

They also make far more truly dangerous dust and particulate than sanding operations, wear a mask, flannel fibres plus compounds plus nitrocellulose or whatever else is a combination that'll do very significant damage to lung tissue that is non-reversible if taken to an extreme.

All that being said, they are great machines. They work best with a light touch and continuous movement.

I probably won't be building the next couple untill after christmas, I won't need one till then and I have lots of work to do on the new shop before that happens, but I'll do a parts list and take some build pics when I do.

Randal


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## Shepherd (Nov 20, 2008)

I came across one of those at KMS tools. You know the the feeling when you find some cash :banana:. They dont even show them online so it was quite a surprise. I think they were $129 + $13 for shipping. I think the reason Grizzly wont ship to Canada is because they have some kind of deal with Busy Bee Tools. They have a KMS in Red Deer. 
http://www.kmstools.com/


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## martyb1 (Aug 5, 2007)

Hmmm,didn't even know there was a store in Red Deer.I will check it out next time I am there!


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## Lincoln (Jun 2, 2008)

Shepherd said:


> I came across one of those at KMS tools. You know the the feeling when you find some cash :banana:. They dont even show them online so it was quite a surprise. I think they were $129 + $13 for shipping. I think the reason Grizzly wont ship to Canada is because they have some kind of deal with Busy Bee Tools. They have a KMS in Red Deer.
> http://www.kmstools.com/


I asked at Grizzy one time why they wouldn't ship to Canada. They said that Busy Bee is a "brother" company of thiers.....and they have an agreement.
It's just too bad Busy Bee won't/hasn't brought in Grizzy's line of guitar stuff.


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## Shepherd (Nov 20, 2008)

Hey Marty, did you ever get thet buffer? I just picked one up from KMS. List price was $135 but by being a KMS club member I got it for $107. :banana::banana: Luv that banana. Quite the pleasant suprise. That's less than what Grizzly sells them for and after you factor in exchange and shipping, I probably saved close to $50. I was going to build one but it's too much of a hassle sourcing the parts. Here's a nice setup a guy at TDPRI built. Just did the calculations and it can be done with only a 1/2 sheet of melamine.
http://www.reranch.com/reranch/viewtopic.php?t=25172&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0


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## martyb1 (Aug 5, 2007)

Shepherd said:


> Hey Marty, did you ever get thet buffer? I just picked one up from KMS. List price was $135 but by being a KMS club member I got it for $107. :banana::banana: Luv that banana. Quite the pleasant suprise. That's less than what Grizzly sells them for and after you factor in exchange and shipping, I probably saved close to $50. I was going to build one but it's too much of a hassle sourcing the parts. Here's a nice setup a guy at TDPRI built. Just did the calculations and it can be done with only a 1/2 sheet of melamine.
> http://www.reranch.com/reranch/viewtopic.php?t=25172&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0


Nope,haven't made it to Red Deer yet
If your not going to use it :smilie_flagge17:


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## shoretyus (Jan 6, 2007)

So are you going to use the other half sheet for a stand for Marty?:banana::banana::2guns:


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## Geek (Jun 5, 2007)

I see overseas versions of those, not quite as shiny, but functional in all sorts of local discount tool places. Go for $50 and up.

Cheers!


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## cougar2 (Mar 10, 2007)

RHGraham said:


> My buffers I had built before ran the shaft at about 1000 rpm, and with 10 inch buffs, it was on the edge of being to fast, i had to be EXTREMELY carefull with pressure, burn-throughs on finish were very easy to do.
> 
> 1700-1800 rpm is VERY fast for buffing finishes, it can be done, no bigger than 8 inch, 6 inch would be better, but that is actually much faster than you would want for buffing finishes if you have a choice. 3600rpm will destroy a nitro finish on contact with anything more than virtually non-existant pressure.
> 
> ...


RHGraham, Is so right when he said that the buffer can be a very dangerous machine. NEVER, NEVER, NEVER!!! Did I say never? Leave a strap or even strings on an instrument when buffing. You may say that, OH, IM just going to tape these strings out of the way and buff this small spot, but don't fool your self. If it can happen, it will. I have had my lessons in the passed where I had the strings rolled up out of the way on the head stock and taped up, then out of the blue, a stinking string will spring out of no where and you can't stop the thing!! Damage is guarantied. Also don't be tired when working on one of these things, if it catches a corner and you can't react to it, it will be on the floor. 
That said, I made mine from an old bench grinder that had oilers and babit bearings. I took out the old shaft and had one machined up in a machine shop with one left hand thread and a right hand thread. This was made from stainless steel and the buffs were ordered from Stew Mac. I use two buffs to make up one buff for each side. The stand was just made from pine, basically a square 6 inch box that is upright and a 3/4 top and base that is screwed to the floor. The shaft is 33 inches long and the two speeds that I use are 860rpm for finish work and frets are 1700 rpm.


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## Shepherd (Nov 20, 2008)

This one has a three pulley setup. If you use a one inch pulley on your motor, the speeds are 1725, 862 & 575 rpm.


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## Lincoln (Jun 2, 2008)

I really don't have room in my shop for a buffer either........I ended up making an arbour out of a long 3/4" bolt and mounting a 10" buffing wheel to my drill press. As dumb as that sounds, a drill press is the right rpm and it's a floor model, radial arm so I can adjust things till it's got lots of room around it to buff a body without hitting anything. kqoct


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## Guest (Feb 16, 2009)

*Shop Fox buffer*

Hey all. I know I replying to this post rather late but I found that the Edmonton House of Tools store will order in the Shop Fox buffer for $125.00. So I ordered one and I am waiting for HofT to call. Should be soon. 
Vern


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## martyb1 (Aug 5, 2007)

Hmmm,wonder if the one in Red Deer will do that.I checked the Red Deer KMS Tools and they looked at me like I fell out of a treekqoct
I just might make one :smilie_flagge17:


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## Shepherd (Nov 20, 2008)

martyb1 said:


> Hmmm,wonder if the one in Red Deer will do that.I checked the Red Deer KMS Tools and they looked at me like I fell out of a treekqoct
> I just might make one :smilie_flagge17:


I got mine in Vancouver, they have one in stock in Abbotsford. They said it takes three months to get one in. Here's the sku # if that helps WI-W1681. Maybe have them order it?


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## Guest (Feb 17, 2009)

House of tools said 6 weeks as they needed to build a minimum order. This was Jan 19/09 at the Edmonton Southside location. Ph 780 930-4689. I had to pre-pay. WSK- W1681 is the product # on my invoice. $124. plus GST. Way cheaper than ordering from LMI.
Cheers


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