Thanks again Doug. The DNA worked well. I rebuffed through Tripoli and white diamond then applied Renaissance wax. I am sold on Renaissance wax. It resists moisture well and looks amazing.
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the Beall Buffing method ......
- Thread starter Odie
- Start date
Thanks again Doug. The DNA worked well. I rebuffed through Tripoli and white diamond then applied Renaissance wax. I am sold on Renaissance wax. It resists moisture well and looks amazing.
Reviving an old thread… anyone use his wheel rake? Haven’t seen it available at my usual sources.
If that rake is something you want to use to clean and revive a wheel, try stapling a piece of 60 or 80 grit sandpaper to a short length of 1x4. Works well for me.
I just hold the paper to the wheel with my hand (lathe at ~1000 rpm). I find that sanding a little with the lathe in reverse helps restore a nice, fresh texture to the wheel
john lucas
AAW Forum Expert
I use the edge of a freshly sawn board. It gives me 4 edges. I rarely use it because I use so little abrasive on my wheels.
I have recently purchased the Beall buffing system with the 3 wheels and 3 compounds. I am liking it so far but I have a question. Are there any finishes that the system should NOT be used on? I am a novice wood turner and I usually use waxes for my finishes. I am planning to branch out into oils, shellacs, poly, lacquer, etc. Can I buff any finish with the Beall system? Are there certain kinds of finishes that would not be compatible with the Beall system?
Thanks very much
Lex C. Morgan
Thanks very much
Lex C. Morgan
@Lex Morgan I'll say this, be careful if you buff shellac. It'll buff right off, or more accurately, it'll buff around. I had in just accumulate in lines as I buffed. I think I was going to fast or hard, too much heat basically.
This is good advice. I no longer buff anything with shellac.
I am also quite wary with buffing anything that might "buff off"...
Buffing is quite safe with just oil finishes, seems you can buff as hard and long as you want and there is no issue. I've accidentally buffed through poly, spar, and CA (on pens.) I do buff pens, but I've learned to use a much lighter touch, and I use much finer grit compounds with softer wheels.
I've had the Beall system forever. I like it, but find the carnauba smudges very easily until you get it into the ac for a while. And like others find it fulls over time
I bought the little, idk 3"? Balls they sell for getting inside the bowl. But it seems the quickly got very hard and dense. Some posted a picture and theirs looked all light and fluffy but mine are more like ... Something heavy and hard. The are mounted on screws and I screw them into the mount so I can't really run them in reverse very well.
All in all I'm not very happy with the system but I don't know if anything better. I'm not a production turner, or even a good one so it's not a tragedy, they come out of the shop looking shiny and nice then I put them somewhere and forget about them or give them to someone and never have to see them again
I bought the little, idk 3"? Balls they sell for getting inside the bowl. But it seems the quickly got very hard and dense. Some posted a picture and theirs looked all light and fluffy but mine are more like ... Something heavy and hard. The are mounted on screws and I screw them into the mount so I can't really run them in reverse very well.
All in all I'm not very happy with the system but I don't know if anything better. I'm not a production turner, or even a good one so it's not a tragedy, they come out of the shop looking shiny and nice then I put them somewhere and forget about them or give them to someone and never have to see them again
I've had the Beall system forever. I like it, but find the carnauba smudges very easily until you get it into the ac for a while. And like others find it fulls over time
I bought the little, idk 3"? Balls they sell for getting inside the bowl. But it seems the quickly got very hard and dense. Some posted a picture and theirs looked all light and fluffy but mine are more like ... Something heavy and hard. The are mounted on screws and I screw them into the mount so I can't really run them in reverse very well.
All in all I'm not very happy with the system but I don't know if anything better. I'm not a production turner, or even a good one so it's not a tragedy, they come out of the shop looking shiny and nice then I put them somewhere and forget about them or give them to someone and never have to see them again
Do you have a rake for your wheels? You need to rake them regularly to keep them fluffy. If you just keep packing in compound, yeah, I suspect that eventually you'll get enough that the balls are no longer as functional. I would try raking your internal buffing balls and see if that helps restore their function.
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I use 60 or 80 grit sandpaper backed by a board to refresh both balls and wheels.I've had the Beall system forever. I like it, but find the carnauba smudges very easily until you get it into the ac for a while. And like others find it fulls over time
I bought the little, idk 3"? Balls they sell for getting inside the bowl. But it seems the quickly got very hard and dense. Some posted a picture and theirs looked all light and fluffy but mine are more like ... Something heavy and hard. The are mounted on screws and I screw them into the mount so I can't really run them in reverse very well.
All in all I'm not very happy with the system but I don't know if anything better. I'm not a production turner, or even a good one so it's not a tragedy, they come out of the shop looking shiny and nice then I put them somewhere and forget about them or give them to someone and never have to see them again
Dave Landers
Beta Tester
As others have said, shellac can be problematic - it does like to "tear".
I don't use wax finishes (other than the carnauba from the final buff wheel - sometimes), but I probably wouldn't buff over a wax finish, as the tripoli wheel would probably just take off the wax (and leave it on the wheel).
I've also used the Beall buffing for years, although not on many things. I quit using the tripoli in favor of another compound, Vonax, I think, from the UK. For new buffing turners, be aware when buffing dark wood that the white diamond compound can lodge in pores when using finishes that don't create a thick sealing layer. (I prefer a softer, more natural wood look so I rarely go for the gloss. Mostly finish up by hand.)
When I do buff, I always apply the compound VERY sparingly to the wheel and buff gently - I've seen others who loaded the wheels heavily and buffed aggressively and I didn't always like the results, AND their wheels seemed to wear quickly. In almost 20 years I've never had to replace a wheel but I rarely turn and never buff large bowls. (I don't sell so what sells best doesn't matter.)
I learned early on how to hold both small and large work securely. And which things are better done by hand.
The best thing I did, IMO, was to purchase extra 2MT mandrels so each wheel has it's own. Quick to use, easy to store.
JKJ
When I do buff, I always apply the compound VERY sparingly to the wheel and buff gently - I've seen others who loaded the wheels heavily and buffed aggressively and I didn't always like the results, AND their wheels seemed to wear quickly. In almost 20 years I've never had to replace a wheel but I rarely turn and never buff large bowls. (I don't sell so what sells best doesn't matter.)
I learned early on how to hold both small and large work securely. And which things are better done by hand.
The best thing I did, IMO, was to purchase extra 2MT mandrels so each wheel has it's own. Quick to use, easy to store.
JKJ
I bought one of these for my mops some years ago, a proper mop dresser or rake. These aren’t just used for cleaning but to prepare mops and remove loose fibres. It’s just a double handled stiff wire brush. I paid £3.95 for mine but for some strange reason the price has gone up five fold recently!
I experienced the same problem with the tripoli and also switched to Vonax. but lately I've been using nothin but the carnuba
Has anyone tried buffing with bees wax? No other finish, just wax on the sanded wood? Worth it?
Wax is not a good protecting surface. I always use some finish under the wax.
Worth it? Maybe depends on the goal and look wanted.
I use beeswax at times (I have a LOT from my beehives) and it might be a little too soft for power buffing with a wheel. However, I do rub it on by hand, often onto Eastern Red Cedar.
I do this one of two ways:
- Apply beeswax directly to the wood then vigorously rub it in (buff?) with a soft cloth. Leaves a nice soft finish, light in color. In our house we've been using a piece finished like this since 2014.
- Apply beeswax the same way but then heat with a mini heat gun to melt the wax and draw it into the wood grain, rubbing again with a cloth, reapplying and remelting several times. They buff with a soft cloth. This creates an entirely different look, much darker.
The piece from cedar, beeswax applied by hand, no heat. (This was a wild idea experiment, turned out to be the "prototype" for this design, since repeated many times (by me and others) Looks like I didn't get the radius perfect on one side! These make great wedding gifts and housewarming gifts.
This is with beeswax applied to ERC and melted with the heat gun. More added until the wood was saturated. Variation on the design above.
This is the second bowl I ever made (almost 25 years ago), beeswax applied by hand then rubbed into the surface of the ERC with a soft cloth with the lathe spinning. This created a little heat, not as much as with the heat gun. I like the soft sheen look.
And this lid has beeswax melted into the wood.
May be of interest to some: I bought the glass container with a glass lid from Ikea. I turned a lid from cedar and reused the silicone rubber seal that came on the glass lid. We use this in the kitchen when we want a pinch of salt.
Note that although I do love beeswax on wood, it's not a particularly durable finish. Probably not good for something you want to wash, although wiping with a damp cloth is fine. Easy to renew if needed.
This is the type of heat gun I use, but not where I bought it:
JKJ
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depends on what you're after for a finish - I made a few things (coasters, tealight candle holders intended for those battery powered tealights, and other little "pick up and fiddle with it" things and on a whim, the only finish applied was to hold a chunk of beeswax to the spinning object for a few seconds then buff it in with a clean white cotton cloth scrap (folded into a finger pad so it doesn't wrap around anything) and the resulting finish was silky smooth and quite shiny It can be durable for small tactile objects like that that are not really subject to much in the way of wear or damage (other than handling) so it CAN work as a finish, and feel and look quite nice, just bearing in mind that beeswax isn't waterproof or scuff resistant, etc.
Ok, so I have done that same method and I've liked the results for some things.
But what I was really trying to ask is would it be worth it to go another step and use the buffing system on top of the bees wax, or even just use a buffing wheel with the bees wax instead of just using the cloth.
My instinct says the buffing wheel wouldn't be necessary after "buffing" by hand with a cloth. Whether it would do something good or bad I can't guess. I don't think any glossy or even somewhat glossy look would last long with handling.
Are you considering using perhaps carnauba wax on top of the beeswax?
If going for the beeswax infused look, would a coat of shellac on top work, then buff that very gently with carnauba?
I'll have to see if I have a spare buffing wheel I can try it. I don't want to use one of my Beall wheels with or directly on top of beeswax.
BTW, for anyone not aware: natural beeswax is always yellow, even if heavily filtered. (I've reheated and filtered a dozen times and it doesn't change much.) It can be further filtered with charcoal to make it lighter, but the white beeswax you can buy is usually chemically bleached. White beeswax can impart a different color to wood. I mostly use what white I have to lubricate wood screws.
Those who keep bees know how valuable the wax is! The beekeeping supply companies pay good money for blocks of filtered wax. I once took enough sticks from candy molds to a turning club meeting to pass around and almost everyone wanted some!
JKJ
Buffing bare wood with the first two wheels is roughly equivalent to sanding to high grits like 1500 or so. The wood can look excellent after the two wheel treatment, just not sure how long it will last. The third wheel will add carnauba wax on the wood, in my mind there is no need to add beeswax on top of carnauba. I am not aware of any benefits of beeswax instead of carnauba. Buffing a wood surface already treated with beeswax will remove most of the beeswax.
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Not to mention, natural beeswax from local apiaries has that wonderful scent of Honey. So far we have found that the glossiness of the beeswax finish has not really diminished in handling , though I suppose THAT depends really on how well the piece is sanded to begin with (Sanded to 400 -600 grit, which if done right already has a bit of glossy reflectivity) But again, the objects I used beeswax alone on were not really frequently handled items.. (I got lucky myself and bought a 1-Lb block of beeswax from local Apiary for 8 bucks at farmer's market I was a vendor at, it has lasted a LONG time - still have over half of it left)