Official Luthiers Forum!

I would love some info. re: the following,

Bulls Eye French polish- french polish in a bottle.

Stu/Mack Buffing Arbor

It seems quite a few of you make classical exclusivly or as a guitar in your lines. I did not think that there was that much demand for Class. given popularity for music and years to learn to play. Comments?
Thanks,

Plenty of a market for classicals, I'd say, particularly since any classical player worth his/her salt will eventually want a hand-built instrument, while 90% of the steel string acoustic market will never seriously consider a handbuilt acoustic.

as a result of finding that the wheel to wheel spacing on inexpensive buffing arbors like the s-m or grizzley is too narrow for comfort for me my buffing arbor is home built: go kart axle and flange mount pillow blocks.

nothing to offer on the zinnser french polish. i use flake and alky. make it up as i need it. then i get to use my own choice of flake and oil, and i don't have to worry about it going off in the bottle.

Wood Finish Supply (aka Liberon) sells a superblonde shellac that is supposed to be some of the best there is. Brian Burns recommended it to me, so I bought a pound. I've been using it exclusively and am very happy with it. Pretty reasonable too at $16.95/lb. Here's a link to WFS's shellac page:

http://finishsupply.com/ShellacPricing800.html

Best,

Michael

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Live to Play, Play to Live

Just make sure you get the dewaxed blonde, or Super blonde. Removing the wax is a pain, and you don't want your wash coat to contain wax if you are using a different type of finish like lacquer on top. It won't adhere very well.
Tracy

[QUOTE=bob J] I would love some info. re: the following,

Bulls Eye French polish- french polish in a bottle.

Stu/Mack Buffing Arbor

It seems quite a few of you make classical exclusivly or as a guitar in your lines. I did not think that there was that much demand for Class. given popularity for music and years to learn to play. Comments?
Thanks,[/QUOTE]

Bob, a bunch of us on the forum bought buffers from Caswell Inc a year of so ago. The buffer was a complete unit with motor (3/4 horsepower,1100 rpm). I just checked their site and they are still available for $99. Here is the link. Caswell buffer.



These are basically the same motorized buffers that StewMac used to sell. A longer shaft would be nice but it is hard to beat the price. They also have their 14 inch buffing wheels back in stock and buy one get one free. I haven't used mine so hopefully some of the other buyers will jump in to this thread.

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Don Atwood
Arlington, VA

Thanks to all of you. What a great group.

Don, thanks for the link. I assume 1100 rpm is ok?

A while back DYI had guitar making program. Builder was Duffenbacker?. As I recall, he did french polish then sprayed another finish on top. What was it. Why did he do it. Did it change look of f/p guitar?

I have the 1100 rpm buffer that Don mentioned as well. It does a great job. Only I paid around $600 to get it from SM when they had it last year. Now I find out I could have had it much cheaper.

Josh

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Josh House

Canadian Luthier Supply
http://www.canadianluthiersupply.com
https://www.facebook.com/canadianluthiersupply?ref=hl
House Guitars - Custom Built Acoustic Instruments.
http://www.houseguitars.com

1100 rpm is at the upper end of managable speeds. faster speed means more heat buildup which can turn you finish plastic and you will end up tearing out your buildup. you have to be extra careful to keep the work moving a bit faster.

i have my home built rig set up for 875 rpm.

at $99 the machine is a great buy, and their price for wheels is the best i can recall seeing.crazymanmichael38524.4843055556

Remember, the diameter of the buff (or wheel) greatly influences the real speed and heat generation of a buffer. If your buffer runs too hot, you can cool it down by going to a smaller buff. BIG buffs means higher surface feet per minute (and heat) at the business end of the buffer.

jerry is right regarding the difference in heat buildup with larger buffers. the problem is that you need the large wheels to provide enough clearance with a large item like a guitar body without running the risk of dinging it on the machine. i think the smallest practical wheels on a machine like this are 12", and 14" is better, and my comments about machine rpm were based on that premise.crazymanmichael38524.4963194444

Bob several of us have tried the Zinnzer's French polish
It is a very desent product 100% wax free. The formula uses blonde and light amber flakes so it will give a slight ambor tint. The Oil is in the mix, (which is the only thing I don't like about it.) I use Zinnzer's 100% wax free sanding sealer to French polish with. They make two sanding sealers. One is wax free the other is not. Be sure you get the wax free formula if you choose to try it. It is basicly the same thing as the French polish except there is no oil in it. I like that because I can then use the type and amount of oil I want.

I justt bought one of these. I couldn't resist the price. I am a bit worried about the speed, however. I don't know much about electric motors but I do know that portable motors like routers and drills work differently from the larger motors like on a table saw. Can a I use my router speed controller on the buffer without hurting it? Will I be able to actually control the speed that way?

[QUOTE=Mike Mahar] I justt bought one of these. I couldn't resist the price. I am a bit worried about the speed, however. I don't know much about electric motors but I do know that portable motors like routers and drills work differently from the larger motors like on a table saw. Can a I use my router speed controller on the buffer without hurting it? Will I be able to actually control the speed that way?
[/QUOTE]
I don't think the router controller would work as they generally only work with brush motors. You might be able to pick up a Variac for a reasonable price on ebay if you are worried about it.

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Don Atwood
Arlington, VA

can't use a router speed controller.

if you are not ham handed, keep your pressure light, only use one or two wheels at the most, particularly with waterbourne and the work moving you should be quite ok.

the problems come when you use a great thick stack of wheels and hold it in one place and feed too agressively, you know, on that pesky dull looking spot that just won't take a shine!!!! the heat can build up in a very short time, like almost instantly, and the damage is done. can grab the instrument and give it a ride too.

oh, and make sure you use your wheel rake to keep them from building up dags.

like with everything else new in your build procedure, do a test piece or two or ten to get the feel of how hard you can push and how fast you have to keep the work moving.crazymanmichael38524.6913541667

Perhaps I'll use 10" wheels. The edge speed would be only a little faster than 875 RPM with a 12" wheel.

the problem with the smaller wheel is the lack of clearance room to maneuver the work with out it hitting on the machine body, particularly when doing the waist. that is why s-m sells their versions with the 12" wheels.

Put a 10" wheel at one end and use it for most of the guitar, including all the flats, then use a 12" at the other end to touch up the spots you missed.

I just ordered two of these buffers since the price is so incredibly right and I can use one in my knifemaking.

The speed is pretty slow by most buffing standards. I think your biggest worry will be not letting a loose buff grab your work. thin edges are easily grabbed by a buffer and sent around the buff in a heartbeat to do serious damage when they come back to you. Ask me how I know.

Thanks for the heads up. I decided to purchase one. Great price.

For those of us in Canada, this buffer is available from Caswell Canada. 905 985 8627