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Could someone explain the proper way to use a buffing wheel rake? It looks like a good way to have a spiked piece of metal flung at you. Do you angle it down so that it doesn't catch, or is it straight? Push lightly or push hard? Am I concerned over nothing? I can't seem to find instructions anywhere for using this thing safely and effectively.

Hold tightly with both hands about waist height with the tines facing out. Tilt it back slightly so that the wheels do not catch the top edge of the rake and fling it into the floor. Lightly press it into the buffing wheel (while running) and move it side to side. I usually do this for a few seconds at the start of each buffing session.

Hope that helps

Josh

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Josh House

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I tried using a buffing rake when i was first getting started and found it did more damage to the wheel than good. I use a full sheet of 60 or 80 grit sandpaper with a piece of MDF backing it. It works really well and doesn't shred the wheel. I change the paper when ever it gets completely loaded up with compound.

Josh

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I crazy glued 6-8 bottle caps to a piece of scrap wood as my wheel rake. Not as agressive and works just fine.

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A file card cleans out all the globs of compound and fluffs up the wheel pretty well.

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The worst that can happen if you hold the rake as Josh describes is to have it flung to the floor. I've never had that happen, but I suppose it could. I like what the rake does, and I feel that raking is necessary in order to have a really clean, fluffy buffing wheel. Especially the wheel that I use for coarse compound gets quite grungy, and it can be difficult enough to get all (well, most...) of that stuff out, even with my standard rake.

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

And to follow up on Arnt's point I should have said that I have never had the rake taken out of my hands either. As long as you've got a firm grip on it you should be fine. You want to be sure not to position it so that you are buffing higher on the wheel. It would be much harder to hold the rake and you run the risk of having it flung into you.

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Josh House

Canadian Luthier Supply
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House Guitars - Custom Built Acoustic Instruments.
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I'll give it a try today. I don't really have any experience with buffing machines...I just installed this one a couple of days ago. For whatever reason, of all the tools in my shop, that buffer is the only one that scares me. It seems like a cat with a bad attitude....pet pet pet, purr purr purr, and then SCRATCH BITE, from out of nowhere.

Thanks for the help.

That's how you should look at it. Feed an edge to the wheel, and...WHAM!

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

Kinda sounds like my wife pett pett pett purr purr purr SCRATCH BITE !!

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I just did it. Absolutely nothing to it. I even tried to get it to catch and I couldn't, just to test were the limits were. Now I'm off to vacuum up about 10lbs of buffing wheel lint...LOL. What a mess.

I hope you are wearing a mask while this is going on, the cotton fluff and compound are not good for the lungs.

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I use an Airshield Pro mask.