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I'm looking for a small buffing setup, solely for use with parts. Bridges, nuts, saddles, necks.

Can anyone suggest power requirements, wheel size, etc? Red flags I should watch for?

Thanks in advance

Steve

I use my drill press with a mop on a mandrel for those little things. Simple and doesn't take up any extra room.

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Allen R. McFarlen
Barron River Guitars & Ukuleles
Facebook
Cairns, Australia

Steve, princess auto has a small unit, with variable speeds, and work lights.
Pic is with 6" buffs
They come on sale 1/2 price every now and then. I think I paid ~$70 plus buffs.
Works great for small stuff, marginal for bigger stuff.

B

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My memory is so good, sometimes I remember things that never happened.

I too just use a couple little buffs in the drill press. (around 5 or 6 in.) Think I got them at Busy Bee.
They have a built in mandrel, so just chuck 'em and buff away. I only use them for small parts, bridges
and such. Necks get the big buff. They're cheap as well.
Ken

I've found I prefer micro mesh for a lot of the smaller stuff. Especially nuts, no buffing compound to clean out later.

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Josh House

Canadian Luthier Supply
http://www.canadianluthiersupply.com
https://www.facebook.com/canadianluthiersupply?ref=hl
House Guitars - Custom Built Acoustic Instruments.
http://www.houseguitars.com

Would the buffing rigs from Harbor Freight be sub par for this? I know it’s hard to beat their prices. I’ve found some things cheaply made while some thing (certain clamps) are a really great value.


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Snow,

I use them for buffing wood turnings and metal parts. I'm sure they work fine for dense hardwoods.

Glenn

We have a low speed grinder from Woodcraft (essentially the same as the $99 Rikon that Woodcraft runs on sale) with two double 8" muslin sewn buffing wheels. Both get medium compound, and the left-most wheel is used for buffing bridges and metals (mostly final fret buffing), while the right is used exclusively for light-colored items such as nuts or saddles. The buffer is cantilevered off the corner of a table, so access is very good for larger items such as assembled guitars.

A note on co-locating grinders and buffers...all grinders will throw debris into the air, and those with friable grinding wheels will throw grit as well - usually large grit (we use an 80 grit 3X wheel on the right side of the grinder to handle odd-shaped tools). This debris and grit can make its way onto buffs located nearby, so we use a barrier shield behind the grinder and cover the buffing wheels with a trash bag or dedicated cover while grinding to avoid the issue.

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A constellation only takes shape when one maps the whole.
- Beth Brower

I use a yellow buff wheel from grizz