Official Luthiers Forum!

Well, I am about to buy the Stew-Mac arbor. A little research on ebay, and I found 1/2hp motors can be had for little $$. Gonna get the kit...looks like a good deal. Two things... if you have one, have you liked it? And, got any mounting pics? Space is a premium in my little shop.

Mike

Save your money and get a good Baldor Buffer and stand. The buffer gets the most use out of any tool in my shop next to the orbital sander. If you have a rickety buffer set up it can be very dangerous. I love my Baldor Buffer.

$250 vs $1200? Go with Stewmac unless you are in the business.

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Greg
http://garibaldiinstruments.com/

Yeah, those baldors are nice...but expensive...also, did not see one with rpms low enough. Caswell Plating has an 1100 rpm...but I can't get anybody there to answer my email. Honestly? I think I like the Caswell the best...if I could only get someone to say boo over there!!

Somebody over at frets.com has a nice story about a 1800 rpm baldor...

Mike

I paid $300 for my Baldor Buffer.

Ok, where? And what RPM?

Mike

I have an old 332B 1800 RPM

My Stew-Mac buffer (I also bought the kit) is perfect for my limited needs. I made a stand from 2x4s which is in turn bolted to the floor. I have a 1/2 horse motor.It surely beats my previous system of lambswool buffs chucked into my portable drill.
I use the dry German buffing compounds which are expensive but avoid the mess of the liquids. You absolutely must have dedicated buffs for each compound, as Hesh has said.
One warning, although this probably goes without saying-one split second of inattention and lax grip can send your almost-finished project dangerously sailing across the room, which will be followed by wailing and gnashing of teeth -ask me how I know.......

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It's not the miles ahead, it's the stone in your shoe


In Markham,Virginia

lemme guess... you wern't wearing latex gloves?

Maybe one of those straps surfers use to stay attached to their boards?

So, does anybody like the Caswell?

Mike

Anybody have this buffing arbor ? It Looks perdy good.
Parma

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Anderson Guitars
Clearwater,Fl. 33755

Thats...but whats up with the wooden mounts?

the parma is overpriced in my opinion. have a look at what it would cost to uy the components using ebay, etc.

the caswell is a good unit by all reports, and their kit price is very competitive with stew mac without the worry of a separate motor and belt.

Caswell here...they're sometimes on sale for the entire outfit including stand and buffs. Ready to go out of the box.

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

For about 40 bucks you can make your own (sans motor) - get two 3/4 pillow block bearings, a 3 foot piece of 3/4 cold rolled steel, 3 inch pulley for the shaft, and get a local machine shop to thread the ends (mine were turned down to 1/2 inch, cause its easy to get nylon lock nuts in 1/2-13. I use cutout ply disks for flanges. Couple of 2x4 for a frame and thats it .... have to find a pic of mine ...its dead simple. Oh, and I use some plastic sleeve inserts and a bit of tape to make the SM buffs sit nice on the 1/2 portion of the shaft.

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

I have the Parma 5 ft system. It has several advantages over the Stew Mac
one (which I replaced with the Parma 4 years ago). Firstly, the shaft is one
inch as opposed to 3/4" as in the Stew Mac. You can therefore lean into the
buffers and put some weight on them and they will not deflect. This gives
much better control and a better buff. Secondly, the length allows no
mistakes of hitting anything metal with your instrument. I did a review on
my web site of the system so you can see pictures of what you get. It seems
it is like everything else in life - you just do not know what you are missing
until you get one!

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Sylvan
http://www.wellsguitars.com

mine works great. Mounted on a 2x10. I then clamp that on a workbench. I store it on two bike hooks hanging from my floor joists.(hung by the shaft)

FWIW, I wish the shaft was longer, I just use a little caution when buffing a guitar with neck installed.

don't get me wrong, the parma is a good technical solution, just overpriced.

my setup is much like tony's. a 1" x 48" go kart axel which has 3/4" threaded ends, and flange mounted bearings from ebay. just recently had to replace the original scrap motor; found a nos dayton 1/4hp haz. location motor for less than $10 on ebay. the most expensive part of the setup was the buffs.