Thread: One finished grinding/polishing station.

Looks good.

For some reason the wheels on the 6" look much bigger than 6"?

Originally Posted by sacc51

A week or so ago I finished of my grinder stand, the table stem angle was modded thus removing the overhang and I also made another two tables. The original table I scribed lines at 0, 30, 45, 60 and 90 degrees, the other two table have slots and holes for various attachments. I also fashioned a couple of L shaped brackets to which the stem mounting bolts are welded. These brackets stop the bolts turning when tightening the stem securing nuts.

I joined this grinder stand to my 8" grinder stand with a short section of 50 x 25mm RHS. The 8" runs a wire wheel and buffing pads (horrid job). The 6" grinder is set at around chest height so I don't have to stoop whereas the 8" is set much lower. I also stripped, cleaned and tidied up the wiring underneath and then painted it in hammertone along with the stand.

There is also a water trough at front now so I don't have to go searching for a water bucket at inopportune times.

Been using it for the last week making sure the table stems hold secure and making sure everything else works as intended.

Oh, I also polished the grinders with that polish I bought.

Looking very nice

You sure do neat work!

Neatness is in the angle of the camera!

sacc51, question please - this polishing setup of yours - can you explain for the likes of me - I've seen these things around for metal polishing do you put any compound on item to be polished or is it just a cloth type wheel that you use without using a compound?.

Hooroo
KJL1951 aka Kev

You need compound (rouge) to polish. There are polishing compounds for ally, S/S brass, gold, chrome, you name it there is a compound for it. You can get by on an ally (white) and a S/S (brown) bar as they will generally polish anything, although the green bar (chrome) can be very, very handy for bits other than chrome). Not 100% sure on the colours, I bought my big pile of rouge 20 odd years ago so I can't remember back that far.

But that's not the end of the story there are many different types of wheel as well: sisal. cloth. felt, sewn, unsewn, wide, narrow, large small, etc, etc, etc. Generally, depending on the surface, you start with a sewn sisal and graduate to unsown cloth for the final polish.

Be warned it is a filthy job, you will get covered in sisal, cloth and compound from head to foot. Even wearing a bunny suit doesn't stop it all. The upside of course is the finish you can achieve - noting better than a bit of ally that has been polished to a mirror shine!

Thanks mate sure is a lot to it - is just that I doin' up a metal turning lathe at present and with me fingers very tender still after me rag cleaning on the chuck I thought here is an easy way out. Not wanting to make a perfect restoration job but just looking for a tidy unit. Was wondering also - can too much polishing on parts cause damage to size of part when it is put back together. Thanks for your comments.

Hooroo
KJL1951 aka Kev.

Originally Posted by KJL1951 aka Kev

Thanks mate sure is a lot to it - is just that I doin' up a metal turning lathe at present and with me fingers very tender still after me rag cleaning on the chuck I thought here is an easy way out. Not wanting to make a perfect restoration job but just looking for a tidy unit. Was wondering also - can too much polishing on parts cause damage to size of part when it is put back together. Thanks for your comments.

Hooroo
KJL1951 aka Kev.

Polishing won't remove anything significant so you should be OK.

I have a number of different buffing wheels but the wheel I find myself using the most when restoring machinery is a Scotchbrite flap wheel.
http://products3.3m.com/catalog/au/e...er/output_html

Pros
Super quick at generating an acceptable finish
Removes light rust quickly without removing metal,
No compound is needed.
The brushed finish looks really good and lasts longer than a mirror finish which can dull quickly unless further treated

Cons
They usually come with a larger (2-3") than usual arbor hole so an arbor adapter is needed to fit them to a grinder.
They are not cheap but they last a long time.

Here's a photo of mine taken in 2008 when I first got it - its lost about 10mm off the outside since then
The arbor adapter was bodged from a few pieces of scrap pipe and metal I had laying around.

If I was doing it again now that I have a metal lathe I would turn a proper recessed arbor for it.

Polishing using buffing wheels and rouge doesn't actually remove material it bends the high points over to form a smoother surface, a decrease in sizing would be minimal. Using rouge and buffing wheels on a lathe is not the ideal, better of with something like BobL suggested.

BobL, I vaguely remember someone on this forum saying not to use scotch brite on ways for some reason or other, or am I dreaming. Hasn't stopped me of course...

Originally Posted by sacc51

Polishing using buffing wheels and rouge doesn't actually remove material it bends the high points over to form a smoother surface, a decrease in sizing would be minimal. Using rouge and buffing wheels on a lathe is not the ideal, better of with something like BobL suggested.

BobL, I vaguely remember someone on this forum saying not to use scotch brite on ways for some reason or other, or am I dreaming. Hasn't stopped me of course...

I wouldn't use a scotchbrite wheel on ways or sliding parts either. but other surfaces like handles etc should be OK.
Because mo compound is required no blackened compound ends up in in gaps etc.
Probably still worth cleaning up anyway just in case.
I love the finish it generates on aluminium and brass

Originally Posted by BobL

I wouldn't use a scotchbrite wheel on ways or sliding parts either. but other surfaces like handles etc should be OK.
Because mo compound is required no blackened compound ends up in in gaps etc.
Probably still worth cleaning up anyway just in case.
I love the finish it generates on aluminium and brass

Sacc51 and BobL - again thanks for your tips gentlemen and for the link BobL - I have been warned about being careful with surfaces of sliding parts etc so will be paying extra attention to them when it comes to cleaning them.

Again Thank you both.

Hooroo
KJL1951 aka Kev.

BobL - Sir your help on Scotch-Brite wheels has been very helpful - not only for metal working finishes but also for use on my woodworking projects - to be honest this was something I never knew.
Again Sir, thank you for helping me learn about something I'd never considered let alone knew about.

Hooroo
KJL1951 aka Kev.

Originally Posted by KJL1951 aka Kev

BobL - Sir your help on Scotch-Brite wheels has been very helpful - not only for metal working finishes but also for use on my woodworking projects - to be honest this was something I never knew.
Again Sir, thank you for helping me learn about something I'd never considered let alone knew about.

No worries Kev.

There is a whole raft of interesting and useful abrasives out there that we don't get to hear about much. I came across Scocthbrite many moons ago while watching an old boot maker / Mr Fix type man it who had a long spindle with half a dozen wheels on it. He was using the wheel to touch up something metallic and I remember liking the brushed appearance. I promptly forgot about it and then about 6 years ago a mate dropped off an old grinder and box full of wheels he was not using and amongst them was a near new Scotchbrite. Then I remembered the old boot maker and have been a fan ever since.

All this reminds me that Scotchbrite belts are readily available

see http://www.machineryhouse.com.au/A36201