I wanted a buffer so I could polish all the forged aluminum C4 Corvette suspension pieces that I am using on my MG project. I didn't want to spend $400-$500 for the commercially available ones so I built this one mostly from stuff I had in the shop already. The width of the base was set by the length of a scrap of 2" x 5" x 1/4" tubing (around 24") the legs were cut from some 4" channel. The feet, which you can't see in the picture, are hockey pucks that are turned down and pressed into short lengths of 3" od tubing. One of the feet is adjustable height so it can compensate for uneven floors. The vertical piece is the last piece of a 4" pipe that has provided support for several of my other tools. I did have to buy the pillow blocks that were $8 each from Northern Tool and the safety switch was a cheapie from Grizzly (I bought 3 when they were on sale a couple years ago). I also spent $8 for the 1" cold rolled material for the shaft. I saw how much a 3/4" left hand die cost so I learned how to single point a 3/4" left hand thread on my lathe and it turned out pretty nice. The motor is a 1 hp 3450 rpm 50's vintage Craftsman that has a shaft coming out each end. I set up one side with pulleys to make 7100 sfpm using 10" wheels and the other side for 3600 sfpm in case I want to polish some plastic. The buffs are cheap HF but will be replaced with some 10" Caswell pieces soon.
That thing scares me! That open shaft could fuck you up I would cover it. My 10 hp has tried to kill me over the years with no open shaft.My 2 cents
Nice job!! I made mine out of a 10" bench grinder with spindle extensions. They are a pita to get running straight. A tip if you can't set up a two speed motor or pulleys is to get your 3600 sfpm speed is to use a 5" wheel instead of a 10".
Zero flex, it's 1" cold rolled with only a little over 8" hanging outside the bearings.It runs absolutely smooth with no wobble.
It works great. Spinning a 10" buffing wheel I can really lay into it and not slow the wheel down. It weighs 160 lbs and is sitting on rubber feet (hockey pucks) and doesn't mova e at all. At 7100 sfpm it polishes aluminum really fast. When the kit arrives from Caswell I will try a sisal wheel with the most agressive compound and see if it will remove casting texture. I'll report back next week.
You have a 10 hp buffer!!! I'm not sure how I would cover the shafts without a lot of bracing that would get in the way. Do you ahve a picture of yours?
Looks cool. I had a home made unit similar for a while. Biggest problem was all the crud that comes off of the wheels kept burning up old washing machine motors or whatever other motor I could find. Also on long days buffing everything in sight, with the pressure you have to put on the wheels to polish, belts would get hot, need lots of adjustment and come off like wild black snakes. I even tried to wrap a filter around one and it got too hot and set the filter on fire. Hope you have better results than I did. FYI 15+ years with the motor and stand made for polishing and not a problem. Zilla!
Great idea, tell us if it works out. Becareful around that open shaft, it'll grab you before you can let go! -Saint
Probably the best way to cover the shaft would be with two pieces of tubing with bearings inserted. The I.D. of the bearings would be 1", O.D. to fit the tubing. It would not take much to keep the tubing from rotating. A similar setup is used on the PTO of farm equipment. Bill
The open shaft is polished smooth and you never wear loose clothes, sleves, or gloves while operating rotating machines.
If you used PVC pipe or some kind of teflon for the sleeves you probably wouldn't need a bearing. The covers can spin as long as they can be stopped easily if they catch something.
Looks like you did a great job just cover up the pulleys and drve shaft. The best RPM for buffing that I have found is 1800 rpms.
After reading all your comments about sshaft guarding, I'm surprised that none of the commercially available machines come with them.
I was just trying to help you out. The closed buffers you have found have shafts no more than 10 inches long. I hope you never have a issue with yours if you do please post pictures. Good luck
I wasn't trying to discredit anyone, I really do appreciate your comments and will work on putting guards on the shafts. My only point in showing the commercial units was surprise that OSHA or some other regulator hadn't made them do something in the way of guards. My shafts stick out a little over 8" beyond the belt guard before the washer.
That's a neat machine you built there! As far as the exposed shaft: I would not be concerned about it at all. As long as it is polished, it won't catch unless you grab it really hard. The dangerous part is that big cotton wheel you will be pushing a chunk of metal into. Never forget to respect the wheel. If I were polishing up those parts, I wouldn't start with a buff, because it will take a long time and easily get the parts really hot trying. You can use a spiral sewn buffing wheel to load an abrasive compound on that will actually sand the parts. I would go right to a 240 grit, and then a coarse sisal, then on to whatever finishing compound and wheel you have. It is a great alternative to a sanding belt, especially with the small detailed parts you have to work on.
The Jalopy Journal
