Author Topic: FINISHING AND POLISHING YOUR PROJECTS  (Read 11635 times)

Offline sshire

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Re: FINISHING AND POLISHING YOUR PROJECTS
« Reply #15 on: March 18, 2016, 09:27:14 PM »
Excellent post, Don. Your engines are jewels and it's good to see how you do it.
Two things which I find very helpful.
3M Radial Bristle Discs. I use the 3" diameter on the Foredom bench polisher. I can put a different grit on each spindle. My grit range is from 80 grit to 1 micron. (80-120-220-400-6 micron-1 micron)

Cratex wheels and points for the Foredom hand piece.
 
Best,
Stan

Offline zeeprogrammer

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Re: FINISHING AND POLISHING YOUR PROJECTS
« Reply #16 on: March 18, 2016, 09:49:19 PM »
Excellent excellent excellent.
This is going to be very helpful.

Thanks for stepping up Don.  :ThumbsUp:
Carl (aka Zee) Will sometimes respond to 'hey' but never 'hey you'.
"To work. To work."
Zee-Another Thread Trasher.

Offline Don1966

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Re: FINISHING AND POLISHING YOUR PROJECTS
« Reply #17 on: March 18, 2016, 11:55:48 PM »
Thanks for your inputs guys and anyone else that have anything to add. Please don't be afraid to post your comments we are open to suggestions from all.

Don

Offline Tennessee Whiskey

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Re: FINISHING AND POLISHING YOUR PROJECTS
« Reply #18 on: March 19, 2016, 12:05:35 AM »
Do you seal with anything after you finish?

Cletus

Offline Don1966

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Re: FINISHING AND POLISHING YOUR PROJECTS
« Reply #19 on: March 19, 2016, 12:10:13 AM »
Do you seal with anything after you finish?

Cletus
No I don't Eric, not when I have moving parts.

Don

fcheslop

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Re: FINISHING AND POLISHING YOUR PROJECTS
« Reply #20 on: March 19, 2016, 12:21:30 AM »
Eric, I use these for clock parts and the odd bits on my toys
https://www.cousinsuk.com/content/common/images/categoryproductsku/L0898Group_cmyk.jpg

Offline Dave Otto

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Re: FINISHING AND POLISHING YOUR PROJECTS
« Reply #21 on: March 19, 2016, 12:24:19 AM »
Don, the master polisher.

Thanks for your work sharing your process of polishing; there really is an art to it, and you have mastered it pretty darn well!

I have a set of the color coded sanding sticks that use the small belts and have had them for many years and love them, much more precise than a file. I finally ordered some of the Micro-Mesh sanding sticks on the Micro Mark 20% off sale; looking forward to trying them out.

The Fordom work station is real nice! I wouldn't mind adding one of those to the shop.

Bill; WRT the cloth wheels. I only use one grit per wheel and keep them in a zip lock bags when not in use.

Dave

Offline Don1966

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Re: FINISHING AND POLISHING YOUR PROJECTS
« Reply #22 on: March 19, 2016, 12:33:45 AM »
I finally ordered some of the Micro-Mesh sanding sticks on the Micro Mark 20% off sale; looking forward to trying them out.

The Fordom work station is real nice! I wouldn't mind adding one of those to the shop.

Bill; WRT the cloth wheels. I only use one grit per wheel and keep them in a zip lock bags when not in use.

Dave
Dave you may want to order straight from micro mess because Micro Mark sells them with different grits sizes only. So to buy separate ones go to Micro Mess.
The Foredom work station is a treat but expensive. It has a light, magnifier, air nozzle and vacuum tube output. http://www.foredom.net/LightedWorkChamberMALC15.aspx

Don

Offline b.lindsey

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Re: FINISHING AND POLISHING YOUR PROJECTS
« Reply #23 on: March 19, 2016, 12:48:14 AM »
I looked at the workstation too...nice but pricey. If it had its own exhaust system for that price I would be all in, but don't like listening to the shop vac that much!!

Bill

Offline Don1966

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Re: FINISHING AND POLISHING YOUR PROJECTS
« Reply #24 on: March 19, 2016, 01:44:02 AM »
I looked at the workstation too...nice but pricey. If it had its own exhaust system for that price I would be all in, but don't like listening to the shop vac that much!!

Bill
Bill I haven't used the vac on mine yet, just the air supply nozzle and the light. But I think I will look into a small furnace blower to suck air through it. This is what I did with my bead blaster and it pulls a good vac.

Don

Offline crueby

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Re: FINISHING AND POLISHING YOUR PROJECTS
« Reply #25 on: March 19, 2016, 02:19:07 AM »
I do a lot of wood carving, and built a dust box using half a dozen surplus computer muffin fans mounted in the back wall of a plywood box, front wall is a standard furnace filter, and added some plexiglass panel wings on the front to make the work chamber. Sucks in an amazing amount of air, the chips from the flex shaft tool turn in midair and get pulled into the filter. Vacuum that off after a session and ready to go again. Total cost about $20. No where near as noisy as a shopvac.

Offline Don1966

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Re: FINISHING AND POLISHING YOUR PROJECTS
« Reply #26 on: March 19, 2016, 02:41:49 AM »
Well that's pretty much what this unit was designed for .....http://www.foredom.net/MAFH25.aspx

Don

Offline petertha

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Re: FINISHING AND POLISHING YOUR PROJECTS
« Reply #27 on: March 19, 2016, 04:03:42 AM »
Good post Don1966. Couple questions
- where did you source that electric micro sander unit?
- I've been eyeing a Foredom for many years. (My Dremel's are kind of crappy, but they just wont die yet). I'm still kind of confused by Foredom's vast array of hand pieces (the business end with collet or chuck). What do you have for your various grinding & polishing needs?
http://www.foredom.net/handpiecesforkeytipshafting.aspx

Offline PStechPaul

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Re: FINISHING AND POLISHING YOUR PROJECTS
« Reply #28 on: March 19, 2016, 05:02:59 AM »
I wish I had learned some of these skills from my German grandfather, who was a metal finisher in Germany before he came to America around 1926, where he got a job at Stieff Silver. My father was taking a metalworking class at school and he took a project home where his father showed him how to polish it to a mirror finish. But the instructor gave him a failing grade because he swore that he had cheated by having it chrome plated!

Offline fumopuc

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Re: FINISHING AND POLISHING YOUR PROJECTS
« Reply #29 on: March 19, 2016, 07:14:35 AM »
Hi Don, thanks for starting this thread. A good information about all these sandind and polishing jobs.
Kind Regards
Achim

 

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