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I'm looking to buy a buffer/polisher and I'm not real clear on what I should be buying? More specifically I'm not clear on buffing speeds? What little info I've been able to find leads me to believe that I shouldn't be buying anything that has an RPM greater than around 1800? Additionally is it important to be able to adjust the speed? I've found a couple of great buys on Craigs list and I'd like to pick one up but not if it won't be ideal for polishing guitars.

It depends what finish you're buffing and what size wheels you will be using. In any case 1800 sounds too fast to me for most finishes.
I am using oil varnish and buff at 862.5 RPM with 12" wheels, anything faster than this and I burn through the finish too easily, especially on corners.
Maybe others can chime in with their speed/technique for different finishes.

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Laurent Brondel
West Paris, Maine - USA
http://www.laurentbrondel.com/

Do a forum search for buffing arbors there has been quite a few discussions on this topic.

As Laurent said 1800 is a little to fast, on my home brew arbor I started at 1725 with 10 inch wheels and it was a little too fast even with the smaller wheels so I changed to a smaller pulley on the shaft and found it more to my liking. In my opinion 10" wheels are the smallest that are usable and will go to 12" when I replace mine.

There a few good youtube videos on buffing, check them out.

Fred

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Fred Tellier
http://www.fetellierguitars.com
Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/FE-Tellier-Guitars/163451547003866

Adjusting the speed is easy enough if the buffer is belt driven and has a 1725 rpm motor. Just change the pulleys. Mine is 1725 reduced by 2 which gives 862.5 no load speed. This works fine for me buffing nitro. Dittto what Fred said, use 12 inch buffs.

Chuck

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Like the other guys said, around 800 RPM with 12" buffing wheels. A 1725 RPM motor with a 2" pulley on the motor & a 4" pulley on the shaft works great.
Another consideration is to have the wheels as far apart as practicable. Some of the available units have 2 ft. shafts. I find with three feet between the wheels, you have more room to work without worrying about accidentally running into the other wheel.
The more free space you have around your wheels, the better. When you are concentrating on building a shine & not having the buffer pull your work out of your hands & slam it to the floor, it's nice to not have to fuss about bumping into the stand or the pulley housing, or whatever else might be in the way.
I have a shop made buffer with a 3 ft. shaft. If I was doing it again, I'd add another 6 inches.

Thanks for the input!

Are we looking at the view from your front porch, in your pic? Pretty spectacular view!

Looks like a backdrop at the Sears photo studio. very nice.

Does NWflyonly reference - fly fishing ?

sorry no help on the buffer... French Polish for me.

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It's this new idea from recent decades that everyone gets a participation award. - MUX

Ditto (again) on what most are saying here...

Matter of fact, I just got the ShopFox buffing arbor from LMI last week and it works great at 800rpm. There are three pulley settings on it, and in my case the pulley I already had on an old 1750 rpm shop motor was exactly half the size of one of the arbor pulleys, so my final RPM is 875. I got the 12" wheels (you'll want at least two stacked up on each side), and am using the Menzerna ivory and olive compounds after wet sanding to 600.

Great investment, especially if you already have a motor. Much better results than hand-rubbing, so much quicker and easier. I'm finally getting a finish that rivals the big boys, although I miss my "Popeye forearms"..

No that's just one of my projects that I'm working on. The background/landscape is what I consider my office and it's not a bad place to work. I'm a builder in a family owned buisness here's a home I built.

Yes if I had my way all I would do is fly fish around the world, build guitars when I was home, and build an occasional fly rod or two as needed.

Fly Rods!
are they bamboo?
I thought about building one.
But then it's probably like guitars.
Nobody can build just one.

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Say what you do, Do what you say.

You're right you can't build just one but they're not as fun as building a guitar. I build with graphite it's a better product than bamboo and doesn't have the same issues.

We build air planes out of that stuff so it's nice to leave it at work when I go home.

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Say what you do, Do what you say.

Mark, Sedona what a great place, love it there. I was raised Wyoming (Lander area) and NW Colo. and lived in Aspen for a few years. Never skied, but fly fished every day (yes in winter and below zero temps even). Live in Branson, Mo and fly fish many days here. Guy just caught state record brown on #5 rod and reel setup throwing a sculpin pattern on 6 lb tippet 26+ lbs. My best is 12.9 on a #5 with 7 lb tippet this year. Been running water and hard to wade now, so putting time in shop. I live about 1.5 minutes by golf cart to Taneycomo Lake which is just the White River. My old old bamboo sticks were stolen this past year. I guess having to work building is good also since I love the work and income needed. My neighbor and I are going down where Taneycomo turns into Bull Shoals and fly fishing for walleye and sand bass/white bass whatever called in a region. If ever here give a call. That is to anyone here.

Stan, I will so take you up on that offer if I ever get your way. I too have fished in the ice and cold, Montana in February and loved it, not a sole on the rivers. We had a hatch in 30 degree temps and caught numerous bows & browns on dry flies with snow and ice on the shore. My best fresh water catch was between a 22" bow on a 2# rod on a lake in eastern Oregon or a nearly 40" steelhead on the Babine rive in BC. I do love the fly fishing but I also love to build guitars even though I'm a newbie. Sedona is beautiful but not much in the way of fly fishing, I have to travel to southwestern Colorado for my fishing fixes.

Good info here. Polyester finishes can take higher speeds but nitro and water based like slower... 800-1000 rpm. I use 14" wheels and really like them. I use the grizzly arbor with belt on largest pulley and motor pulley is 1" pitch diameter. Motor is 0.5 hp at 1750 rpm. If I push too hard, I can stall the wheel. Perfect!