Official Luthiers Forum!

OK, the archives have just now been ported over to the new MIMF. But you have to register to be able to see it.

http://www.mimf.com/phpbb/index.php?sid=572395138b1532e7a7ba979c8fc85954

Sweet, I had some things bookmarked over there that I'll be able to look at again. I'm sure I'll have to search for it again, but at least the pages are available again.

Here's the buffer I built about 8 years ago. It has a 1/4 HP 1725 RPM motor turning the shaft at half speed through 2" & 4" pulleys.
As you can see, it is attached to a wall & hinges up out of the way, when not in use.
I mounded it so the shaft is about mid-chest height & find this very comfortable on my poor old back.
The thing I like best about this design is that there is no support structure above or below to bump the guitar into.
Every place I could bump into is covered with 3/8" X 1" self adhesive foam tape. (The pics were taken when the buffer was new & I hadn't yet put the foam tape on all those nasty sharp corners.)
Originally, I used double wheels, but since most of my instruments are cutaways and quite tight waisted, I find a single wheel works better for me.
I leave the belt a bit slack so the buffs will stall if too much force is applied. If I catch an edge, there is enough momentum that the belt slipping doesn't help much. It happens really fast, so you gotta have a firm grip & avoid catching an edge.
I have had a neck tossed onto the floor & it's no fun, when it happens.
I mounted a small fluorescent light on the wall at floor level. The light comes on when the buffer is running. Really helps to be able to see what's happening as you buff.
The shaft is 36" long... If I built another, I'd add 6" to the length to get the wheels a little further apart. I would also mount the bearings on a pad attached to the ends of the stressed skin table, instead of underneath it. This would give a bit more room to move without fear of bumping into the rig.
I used a friend's Shop Fox once & didn't like how close together the wheels are. The longer the shaft, the better, is my feeling.

How do you make a shaft? Do you need a machine shop to make the right threads and get it to fit in the bearing?

I have trouble finding shafts but steel rods and tubes aren't hard to find, however I am concerned that I have to take it to a machine shop to get it to fit the bearing exactly.

_________________
Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

Tai Fu;
You can buy precision ground shaft to fit any common bearing size. Most machine shops have this stock available. I have heard that Go-Cart axles work well as a buffer shaft. They are easily obtainable & are already threaded... & cheaper than having a machine shop do the work. In Taiwan, you may have more difficulty finding these materials.
On my rig, I used 1" shaft & turned down the ends to 3/4" to fit the wheels.
I threaded both ends with a right hand thread & used self locking nuts.
To save money, you could buy 3/4" shaft & thread it far enough to wind a nut on to support the inside the wheels.
I don't know how well 3/4" shaft would work on a shaft this long... Probably be fine, but it might be too flexible.

double post... sorry!

This concept has been picked up in a new thread, but here is an interesting shaft to use, 39-1/2", 1-1/8" stepped down to 1" - and already threaded and keyed - all for $35

http://www.bmikarts.com/1-18-to-1-Step- ... p_514.html

Not to change the subject.But how much pressure should be applied while buffing?I`ve always errored on the side of caution using very light pressure.I`m really not sure if this is correct or not.

_________________
James W Bolan
Nashville Tennessee

I have been having problems with buffing, it seems no matter how fine of a grit I wet sand with there are always scratches no matter how much buffing I do, starting with rather coarse compounds that would just not go away. The problem is bigger with nitro than poly actually since you could apply a LOT of pressure with poly and sanding scratches would go away almost instantly.

_________________
Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com