Okay, I'll weigh in on polishing.
Generaly, bigger and faster is better. For small items your 1/2 horse
3450 motor will work fine. I use a Baldor in that size range for my jewelry
business. For serious polishing on swords and armor I use a 5-horse
vari-speed polishing lathe swinging 14 inch buffs. The bigger wheels give
you more surface speed and work faster.
The $30 motor will probably work just fine. They tend to skimp on
bearings, so don't expect it to last forever. I'ts nice to mount your motor
on a pedestal to gain some clearance. On a typical grinder unit you will
have to remove the gaurds. I wouldn't bother with multiple motors, it just
takes a minute to change buffs.
Like most things, polishing demands good prep. Keep in mind that what
you are doing is making smaller and smaller scratches, and you have to get
rid of all the bigger scratches before you can move on. There are some new
greaseless sanding compounds that do a great job of surface prep and
conditioning. From there you can go to a emery compound and then to a finish
compound. You can use the same TYPE of cotton buffs for all three steps, but
make sure to use DIFFERENT buffs. Keep only one compound on each set of
buffs or you will put unwanted scratchs on your workpiece. Buffs are
directional, they rotate with, not against the stitching. I put on big
arrows with a magic marker. Use enough compound to keep the face "wet".
For safety, work below the horizontal centerline of the buff. Trail
the edge of your workpiece, don't let the buff grab an edge. Don't let
anything loose (esp. clothing or hair) get near the buffer, and stand to one
side or the other of the vertical centerline of the buff. Gloves, glasses
and a dust mask are good ideas. You might want a dip tank, the work can get
really hot!
Lighter fluid is a good solvent for the traces of polishing compound.
Clean off between steps so you don't contaminate your buffs.
This probably sounds more complicated than it really is. It IS
expensive to set up, but supplies last a long time. It's not rocket science.
Go step-by-step and you will get great results.
Best of luck!
Russell Criswell
Kansas City MO
67 1600
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