zymurgist

I'm going to be polishing some nasty old wheels sometime in the near future; one of the things that has been holding me back was the fact that I don't own a buffer. I buffed a Corvette wheel with a buffing wheel mounted in a drill a few years ago, but it sure seemed to take forever.

I was at Carlisle last Friday, and I found a really neat piece of hardware... it's an axle with two bearings and a pulley that is designed to be bolted to a surface, connected to a motor via a V-belt, and used to mount two buffing wheels. I remember when I was a kid, a friend's father had built a bench grinder using a similar setup, but I've never built anything like this before.

I have the axle assembly and a 2 horsepower motor (came out of my old air compressor). Has anyone here ever built a similar device? I'd appreciate any tips, tricks, etc. The guy who sold me the buffing supplies said that I will want to keep the RPM around 3000 (if I remember correctly)... this is the approximate design speed of the motor.

vetteboy1976kr

I am very interested in this also. If anyone has done this please chime in! TTT

bobs77vet

not much too look at but it was made of recycled free parts....the plastic bucket is screwed down to put the buffing compounds in...i clamp this to a table when i use it...the v belt guard is really prmitive but stops body parts from getting sucked in..
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zymurgist

Now that's what I'm talking about! I was thinking of placing the pulley in the middle of the shaft (rather than at one end), allowing me to attach a wheel to either end (to allow easy switching between different buffing compounds).

How do you keep the tension on the belt? I found an interesting approach to this... a guy in Canada mounted his motor on a hinge, using the weight of the motor to provide tension.

http://www.islandregister.com/phones/buffing.html

I plan to mount everything on an appropriately shaped piece of 3/4" plywood... then that whole assembly can be clamped to a table or mounted on a pedestal stand.

427V8

Using the weight of the motor is a fine idea. Thats how my 50's vintage Delta table saw works...

I'd use a heavier, stronger base tho. You'd be suprised how much a piece of 3/4 flops around!

bobs77vet

my shaft was set up with the pulley on the end, i just have pulled the belt tight and screwed the unit down....been that way for 9 yrs now and have never adjusted it....i am kind of embarrased as to the amateurish nature of my set up..as i said it works but i would rather have it on a steel structure....this thing is heavy, and you will have to clamp it down when you use it. if i were to do it again i would engineer the whole assembly a little better to start with.

I'm Batman

My buffer is an ancient Delco motor (1/4-1/2 HP, can't remember which). I think it originally came out of some sort of home appliance. I bought a buffing arbor at the hardware store, installed it on the end of the shaft, and started buffing. No need for belts or any fancy stuff like that. I can either bolt it down or use it portably, whichever is appropriate. The motor housing weighs so freaking much that it usually doesn't need to be bolted down, though -- it stays wherever it is placed.

stingry

If you can find an old washing machine motor they are generally powerful enough for something like a buffer/bandsaw. They are also dirt cheap. Just make sure you belt drive gives the right final RPM as the motors are not that fast.

I picked up a cement mixer for $50 once and it had a washing machine motor on it.

Pete

comp

i'm collecting part's to do also,, using 1/2 hp motor's

zymurgist

427V8,

I'm planning on prototyping the setup in 3/4" plywood and then making a (more or less) permanent fixture out of plate steel. I have no way to cut plate steel... gotta get my buddy with a steel cutting band saw to make the piece when I'm ready.

I like the Eastwood adjustable height stand... perhaps I'll pop for one if I'm happy with the buffer setup.

Batman,

Does the buffing arbor that you bought extend the shaft at all? I only have about an inch or two sticking out of the motor and I don't think that's enough to work with if the arbor just goes on the end of the shaft.

bobs77vet

do you have a jig saw or reciprocating saw?

zymurgist

I have a reciprocating saw, but my friend has the band saw that slowly saws through the steel as the weight of the blade and motor gently bear down on the work piece. No muss, no fuss. And that way the metal shavings end up on his garage floor rather than mine.

(yes, I will sweep them up... but that way my dog won't be walking in any shavings that I miss.)

vetteboy1976kr

I bought a 1/2" arbor at a flea market for $2 for an old dual twin shaft motor just for doing this. It attaches to the the motor with setscrews and adds about 2 1/4" of threaded area to attach a buffing wheel. Harbor Freight carries these for a couple of bucks.