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Has anyone made a buffing arbor for a drill press? I have a Delta floor
model drill press with a 16" swing. It is variable speed and i was thinking I
could make an arbor and get some 12" or 14" wheels and use it as a buffer. I
can't be the first to think of this. Has anyone else done it? - Justin

I see no reason why that wouldn't work, but there sure would be a lot of hardware in the area of the buffing wheel.  A slip could result in a pretty severe ding. 

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Waddy

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I would have to remove the table first. I think If I used a slow speed setting
(like 300-400 rpm) I could minimize the risk of a slip. If I could make a long
arbor, I could get the wheel down to waist level where I could control it
instead of chest level. My only concern is, would this setup be too heavy?
The chuck in my press is a friction chuck and I'm afraid that too much
weight on it would cause the whole business to fall off while I'm buffing. -
Justin

When you say friction chuck, do you mean, hand tightened, or a press on with a taper?  Either of these, however might cause slippage.  Also a long shaft would 1) flex a lot and 2) the flexing could cause a taper to slip and fall off.

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Waddy

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It's a taper chuck..

In my experience, taper chucks don't like side pressure very much.  I know on my lathe, the taper chuck in the tail-stock tends to loosen if I am doing something that puts too much side pressure.

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Waddy

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I wouldn't be too keen on using a drill press for a buffer. Like Waddy
mentioned, side pressure is not something drill presses are designed for
to begin with. Even if the base is securely anchored, the quill, bearings,
chuck, etc, aren't designed with that in mind. I also can't imagine a
horizontal spin being very ergonomic, although I admit that may be
because I am so accustomed to a traditional vertical wheels. Plus it seems
there would be a lot of stuff in the way that would limit access to tight
areas.

I would also be concerned with the shaft diameter you would be able to
fit to your press. A buffing wheel is a relatively unbalanced load, and that
combined with the side pressure puts a lot of demand on the shaft. 3/4"
shafts are typically about as small as most buffers are designed. At best I
think even if it did work it would beat the heck out of your press and wear
out many of the parts quite prematurely.

A 12" wheel at 600 rpm is about as slow as I would like to go. I set mine a
little over 700rpm. Good 3/4" shaft, belt drive buffing arbors are available
new for around $100, or even less if you shop around a bit. Add a
1/2-3/4 hp motor and some wheels, make a stand and you'll be much
better off. Small wheels are relatively easy to make with some pillow
blocks, cold rolled steel rod and pulley sheaves that you can pick up at a
local hardware. For a larger wheel however, after all the parts it will
usually cost as much or more than buying an arbor like the Shop Fox or
Stew Mac one

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Eschew obfuscation, espouse elucidation.

David's comments are spot-on.
I've read of others using drill press buffs for guitars, but...
I use an 8" buff for metal in my drill press on occasion, but it is right up at the chuck. I certainly wouldn't try to put it on any kind of shaft to get it away from the chuck and the rest of the press. I can't imagine getting a guitar up there with the drill press body, etc in the vicinity.

I'd still be doing the job by hand (abralon pads, rubbing and polishing compound) if I didn't have my Caswell buffer. These come on sale at reduced prices in the US (not Canada) from time to time. You want to save your money for the low-speed Caswell or a home-made setup, rather than mess with the drill press, in my opinion.

Cheers

John