My plan with this blog was to use it as a way for me to document my first build for my own records. So far I have been pretty bad at it. I have definitely made a bit of progress since my last post over half a year ago. But I still need to put all that down in writing.
In the meantime, here’s another post about a jig/tool I made. This time I built a buffing arbor. I am nowhere close to being at the point where I actually need a buffer yet, but it just seemed like a fun project. And besides, I am hoping to be able to use this for other wood working projects too.
StewMac sells a buffing arbor. It looks like a great tool, but as it is almost $900 I thought I’d be able to get away with paying a bit less. I did use some of its specs for my own buffer, and I purchased the buffing wheels, flanges and buffing compound from StewMac.
Since the basic construction for this is pretty simple, I didn’t really make much of a plan. I just had a general idea in mind, and made each decision as I move along.
Motor:
For the motor I ended up getting one from Harbor Freight. I usually stay away from their tools, but as this is just a simple motor and it had pretty good review, I thought I’d chance it. I got their “1 HP Farm Duty Agricultural Motor”. With a discount it ended up being around $130 which is a fair bit less than I could find elsewhere. It’s pretty heavy (about 35lbs) and runs quiet but I guess I will just have to see if it lasts.
Other Hardware:
Most of the other items I got from Amazon or Lowes. The StewMac arbor operates at 715 rpm, so I was shooting for something similar. The motor runs at 1800 rpm, so I got a 2” and 5” pully for a final rpm of 720 (1800 * 2 / 5). I also got a couple of pillow block ball bearings from Amazon as well as the needed 1” nuts. For the shaft I got a 1” diameter 36” length treaded rod from Lowes. The belt is from Amazon also. It’s a 56” V-belt.
buffing wheels
I bought all the buffing wheels from StewMac. I ended up getting four canton cotton wheels and two domet cotton. I doubled up the canton for the medium and fine grit compound, and used the extra fine on a single domet. I am also planning on using the other domet with some liquid mirror glaze.
Construction:
I wanted to ensure that there are plenty of open space around each buffer, so I decided on a construction where the shaft is mounted under neat the top of the stand and well away from the base.
For the sides base I used 2” x10” boards. With the shaft being mounted under the top and subtracting the radius of the 14” buffing wheels, I wanted to make sure it was tall enough, and I decided to make the sides 42” tall which puts the shaft at exactly 39”. The width between the two sides is 7.5”.
The top is 15 x 23 and is two layers of ¾” plywood. This is the layout of the bottom with the pillow blocks. (I was using a wooden dowel to test with as I hadn’t bought the metal shaft yet).
The top attached to the base.
I wanted the motor to be a bit further down to ensure that the whole thing was not too top heavy, and also so the motor was a bit out of the way.
When I bought the 56” v-belt I wasn’t sure about the exact length I needed, but it enabled me to put the motor about a foot down from the top.
To mount the motor I just used a piece of plywood.
I got a simple toggle switch and wired it all with some heavy gauge wire.
The completed assembly under the top.
I used double nuts on each side of the buffers to lock them in place.
Here’s the final assembly running. Everything seems to be running smooth. I have used it on some smaller objects without issue. The one problem I have seen so far is that the set screws on the bearings are vibrating loose. I will need to get some treadlocker applied to them. Hopefully that will fix that issue.
Total Price
This is what I spend on my buffer
- Motor: $130
- 36″ shaft: $33
- 2 pillow blocks: $23
- 2″ pulley: $12
- 5″ pulley: $17
- V-belt: $9
- 4 Stewmac flanges: $62
- 3 Stewmac compounds: $62
- 6 buffing wheels: $122
- Buffing Wheel rake: $20
- 10 1″ nuts: $15
- Various wood & hardware: $20
The list price at StewMac is about $900, but that’s without the base and with four buffing wheels. So I figure I saved around $500 building it myself. It took me a few hours of build time. I have no way of knowing how well this will hold up over extended use. I will just have to see. And even if I upgrade later, most of what I spent was on items that I can use with another system, like the motor, compounds and buffings wheels.
