Electric motor HP for Beall Buffing?

[Alan Heffernan]

I want to use an electric motor for my Beall Buffing stuff. I have a 1 hp 3450 rpm for the mops but need a slower speed for the 8" wheels. Yes, I also use the vs lathe.

If you were buying a 1725 rpm motor, what HP would you get?

 

[Dave Landers]

For just buffing you aren't going to need much - any fractional hp should do it - I'd think 1/4 or 1/3 or 1/2 - whatever you can get easily at a reasonable price.

 

[Asher Langton]

I have a 1/3hp 1800rpm motor I use for sanding (shaping, not finish) and buffing, and it seems plenty powerful.

 

[Kurt Manley]

I think a treadmill motor would work well for this. Pretty easy to find people giving away treadmills on Facebook or Nextdoor

 

[Vincent Vogel]

I use an old washing machine motor 1750 rpm and 1/4 hp with 8" buff wheels.

 

[Don Wattenhofer]

If you could find a Delta motor from the 1950's and 60's they had the shaft extending out both sides like a grinder motor. The the unused end had a cover on it that could be used on either end. My first Delta band saw had one like that in 1/2 HP and after installing a height block 1/2HP wasn't enough so i found a 1HP motor. The double shaft motors are reversible and mine is still in use with 2 honing wheels mounted.

 

[Richard Coers]

I think a treadmill motor would work well for this. Pretty easy to find people giving away treadmills on Facebook or Nextdoor

Try that and you have to have a metal lathe to make an adapter.

 

[Alan Heffernan]

I think a treadmill motor would work well for this. Pretty easy to find people giving away treadmills on Facebook or Nextdoor

Kurt, I have never messed with one. What is the typical horsepower? I need to look into this idea. The speed control would something that may be very worthwhile.

 

[Bill Alston]

Traditional Buffing machines have a Pigtail on each end like this. It’s quick and easy to change mops without any tools.



I just mount a Pigtail in my Chuck though. Pigtails of a suitable size are only about £7 and of course you have variable speed. I never go above about 1500 rpm.

 

[Kurt Manley]

Kurt, I have never messed with one. What is the typical horsepower? I need to look into this idea. The speed control would something that may be very worthwhile.

Alan, I think the one I put in my old Walker Turner lathe said it was 2 or 3hp-I am pretty dubious of that but it was plenty of power to rough out bowls from chainsaw cut blanks. Richard does bring up a good point about the shaft/spindle interface though. I'm not too sure what you'd need there for buffing, I just ground a flat on the shaft and found a pulley with the correct bore size (an alternator pulley from a ford truck) and drilled it for a set screw.
The wiring is pretty straightforward if you are comfortable with electrical. I can find and send you some youtube videos on setting up the speed controller if you decide to mess with it.

 

[Alan Heffernan]

Alan, I think the one I put in my old Walker Turner lathe said it was 2 or 3hp-I am pretty dubious of that but it was plenty of power to rough out bowls from chainsaw cut blanks. Richard does bring up a good point about the shaft/spindle interface though. I'm not too sure what you'd need there for buffing, I just ground a flat on the shaft and found a pulley with the correct bore size (an alternator pulley from a ford truck) and drilled it for a set screw.
The wiring is pretty straightforward if you are comfortable with electrical. I can find and send you some youtube videos on setting up the speed controller if you decide to mess with it.

Kurt, thanks. I have a machine shop so a bit of machine work is not a problem. I will keep my eye out for one. Yes, 3hp should be plenty!

 

[Bruce Whitaker]

These are a pair of Red Wing buffers that I used previously. They were originally mounter in a hooded cabinet, the bottom half of which was a dust collector. Unfortunately, the cabinet was damaged beyond salvaging. They are 1/2 hp, 3450 rpm, single phase motors. They have the arbors for quickly changing the
wheels.

This is the buffer that I use now. It is a Cleveland Armature Works (out of business since around 1940) buffer. It is a 1 hp, 1800 rpm, three phase machine. The only difference between these machines, is that the Cleveland, being floor mounted with extended arbors, offers much easier access for larger bowls. I cannot imagine stalling even a 1/4 hp buffer.

 

[Don Wattenhofer]

This is the buffer that I use now. It is a Cleveland Armature Works (out of business since around 1940) buffer. It is a 1 hp, 1800 rpm, three phase machine. The only difference between these machines, is that the Cleveland, being floor mounted with extended arbors, offers much easier access for larger bowls. I cannot imagine stalling even a 1/4 hp buffer.

This buffer would possibly work for the Beal buffs, but you probably have another better source for buffs. The buffer could be driven with a VFD that would act as a phase converter and a variable speed controller, and that may be what you have already done, since most home shops do not have 3 phase power available.
The Beal buff system appears to have 3 buffs on a single shaft, which would not be work on the inside of a bowl so maybe you could find round buffs that would fit on the pigtail shafts of your small ones.

 

[Bill Alston]

Mops to fit standard pigtails start at around 3” diameter so small enough to polish the inside of quite small bowls. Mounting several mops on a shaft can obviously seriously limit access. We have the Beal system over here but the mops are 3X the price of a specialist supplier like this:

G Quality Loose Mops | The Polishing Shop

G Quality Loose Mops, The most popular grade of finishing mop. 100% cotton discs.Can be used with Blue, P164 Blue, P126 Pink and Superfinishing compounds like the P175 and Jewellers Ro

www.thepolishingshop.co.uk

 

[Dave Landers]

The Beal buff system appears to have 3 buffs on a single shaft, which would not be work on the inside of a bowl so maybe you could find round buffs that would fit on the pigtail shafts of your small ones.

That is one option. Looked like a good idea - #2 MT in the headstock end and dimple for the live center cone in the other. So that's what I originally bought. But the 3 buffs on one shaft really limit what you can do without running into the adjacent wheel (or head/tailstock - or even the lathe bed). Probably good for smaller things
I kept the 3 wheels and made inserts (the wheels that come with the single-shaft kit have larger arbor holes than the singles), put a bolt thru each and got a "Hold Fast buffing extender" so each wheel threads on and sits well away from the headstock. If I need room, I can swing away the tailstock and slide my headstock to the end of the lathe...

 

[Bruce Whitaker]

My buffer, pictured above, has the longer motor arbors. The buffing wheels are held between two washers. As on a grinder, one is nut LH and the other is RH. I leave one 8”, stiff buffing wheel on the left for use with the Beal Tripoli bar. (I leave this one in place because it is the LH thread nut and I do not want to misplace it.). On the RH side, I switch between the white Diamond and carnuba wax wheels. Switching takes less than a minute.

With longer arbors and 8” wheels I can easily reach the bottom of most any bowl that I turn.

As a note to Dan up thread, if I found a high speed extended arbor buffer or grinder in three phase, I would certainly purchase it and use a VFD for power and speed control. My 1800 rpm buffer is perfectly happy on the rotary phase converter.

 

[Don Wattenhofer]

My 1800 rpm buffer is perfectly happy on the rotary phase converter.

That makes sense if you already have the phase converter but for someone that does not a VFD is cheaper and quicker