My Beall buffing mops are headed this way by UPS, but I really want to buff a bowl today (or tomorrow)! I buffed the outside using Beall wheels. Is there a way I can do a half-way decent job on the inside without a mop?
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Buffing without a mop?
- Thread starter Jamie Straw
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Depends on the size and shape of the bowl.
I buff all my bowls with a wheel. They are wider than deep and usually 10" or larger.
A shallow 6-8" wide bowl can often be buffed on a wheel if the wheel can get inside.
A deeper than wide bowl probably can't be buffed in a wheel.
Al
john lucas
AAW Forum Expert
That's another reason why I went to the 3" wheels (or maybe they are 4" don't remember) I use an 8" extension that I got from Don Pencil to fit on my lathe spindle. This with the 3" wheels will reach into almost any shape bowl and a lot of vases that I have turned. Still works fine on the outside. I only used my 8" wheels for a few weeks. back then I was using Deft lacquer and it was soft enough the 8" wheels would burn through it in a heartbeat. Switched to the 3" and since they are mounted on my lathe I run them at about 1200 rpm which is far slower surface speed than the 8" wheels at 1750 rpm. I bought a set of the goblet mops or whatever they call them to do the inside of bowls but I have almost never used them.
You can apply and hand buff Renaissance wax without a wheel and still get a good result. This doesn't get your EEE or white diamond applied, but unless the piece is going in a museum, maybe they're not always necessary.
john lucas
AAW Forum Expert
if the wood isn't porous and your finish fills any defects you can use automotive polishes to get a super gloss by hand. Doesn't take much time. However they will fill in any cracks or pores and you can't get it back out so it's not good for those kinds of woods.
Jamie:
I realize that this is late for the bowl you were talking about in your original post, and that you have your Beall buffs by now, but just in case you ever need to buff something smaller than your buffs, I figured that I would relate my solution.
I glued a piece of sponge to a dowel rod. I kind of molded the sponge around the end of the rod into something resembling a ball. I covered that with various kinds of material to find one that worked well. I tried pantyhose (we won't go into why I had pantyhose to try), I tried T-shirt material, cheese cloth, etc. Using white diamond and hard wax, I was getting very good finishes. I now have the Beall ball buffs, but I don't know that they do that much better of a job for the price.
I realize that this is late for the bowl you were talking about in your original post, and that you have your Beall buffs by now, but just in case you ever need to buff something smaller than your buffs, I figured that I would relate my solution.
I glued a piece of sponge to a dowel rod. I kind of molded the sponge around the end of the rod into something resembling a ball. I covered that with various kinds of material to find one that worked well. I tried pantyhose (we won't go into why I had pantyhose to try), I tried T-shirt material, cheese cloth, etc. Using white diamond and hard wax, I was getting very good finishes. I now have the Beall ball buffs, but I don't know that they do that much better of a job for the price.