the Beall Buffing method ......

[Marc Vickery]

For removing wax try dna. It should remove a light wax coating and not leave any deposits. Mineral spirits and naptha will cut the wax right off, but may leave a bit of residue behind. And yes, it would be a good idea to remove the existing wax before buffing with a different kind.

Mark Silay recommends Kiwi neutral shoe polish (I think Cindy Drozda also). I haven't tried it but it's supposed to be good for resisting water spots and fingerprints.

Thanks again Doug. The DNA worked well. I rebuffed through Tripoli and white diamond then applied Renaissance wax. I am sold on Renaissance wax. It resists moisture well and looks amazing.

 

[Scott Horton]

Reviving an old thread… anyone use his wheel rake? Haven’t seen it available at my usual sources.

 

[Tom Albrecht]

If that rake is something you want to use to clean and revive a wheel, try stapling a piece of 60 or 80 grit sandpaper to a short length of 1x4. Works well for me.

 

[Jaramiah Severns]

If that rake is something you want to use to clean and revive a wheel, try stapling a piece of 60 or 80 grit sandpaper to a short length of 1x4. Works well for me.

I just hold the paper to the wheel with my hand (lathe at ~1000 rpm). I find that sanding a little with the lathe in reverse helps restore a nice, fresh texture to the wheel

 

[john lucas]

I use the edge of a freshly sawn board. It gives me 4 edges. I rarely use it because I use so little abrasive on my wheels.

 

[Lex Morgan]

I have recently purchased the Beall buffing system with the 3 wheels and 3 compounds. I am liking it so far but I have a question. Are there any finishes that the system should NOT be used on? I am a novice wood turner and I usually use waxes for my finishes. I am planning to branch out into oils, shellacs, poly, lacquer, etc. Can I buff any finish with the Beall system? Are there certain kinds of finishes that would not be compatible with the Beall system?

Thanks very much

Lex C. Morgan

 

[Raif Harik]

@Lex Morgan I'll say this, be careful if you buff shellac. It'll buff right off, or more accurately, it'll buff around. I had in just accumulate in lines as I buffed. I think I was going to fast or hard, too much heat basically.

 

[Jon Rista]

@Lex Morgan I'll say this, be careful if you buff shellac. It'll buff right off, or more accurately, it'll buff around. I had in just accumulate in lines as I buffed. I think I was going to fast or hard, too much heat basically.

This is good advice. I no longer buff anything with shellac.

I am also quite wary with buffing anything that might "buff off"...

Buffing is quite safe with just oil finishes, seems you can buff as hard and long as you want and there is no issue. I've accidentally buffed through poly, spar, and CA (on pens.) I do buff pens, but I've learned to use a much lighter touch, and I use much finer grit compounds with softer wheels.

 

[Raif Harik]

I've had the Beall system forever. I like it, but find the carnauba smudges very easily until you get it into the ac for a while. And like others find it fulls over time
I bought the little, idk 3"? Balls they sell for getting inside the bowl. But it seems the quickly got very hard and dense. Some posted a picture and theirs looked all light and fluffy but mine are more like ... Something heavy and hard. The are mounted on screws and I screw them into the mount so I can't really run them in reverse very well.
All in all I'm not very happy with the system but I don't know if anything better. I'm not a production turner, or even a good one so it's not a tragedy, they come out of the shop looking shiny and nice then I put them somewhere and forget about them or give them to someone and never have to see them again

 

[Raif Harik]

So @Odie , did you get the new version of the wheels? Do you like em better? Worth replacing and old set of old style ones?
I'm thinking maybe 4" wheels are the way to go after reading this thread

 

[Jon Rista]

I've had the Beall system forever. I like it, but find the carnauba smudges very easily until you get it into the ac for a while. And like others find it fulls over time
I bought the little, idk 3"? Balls they sell for getting inside the bowl. But it seems the quickly got very hard and dense. Some posted a picture and theirs looked all light and fluffy but mine are more like ... Something heavy and hard. The are mounted on screws and I screw them into the mount so I can't really run them in reverse very well.
All in all I'm not very happy with the system but I don't know if anything better. I'm not a production turner, or even a good one so it's not a tragedy, they come out of the shop looking shiny and nice then I put them somewhere and forget about them or give them to someone and never have to see them again

Do you have a rake for your wheels? You need to rake them regularly to keep them fluffy. If you just keep packing in compound, yeah, I suspect that eventually you'll get enough that the balls are no longer as functional. I would try raking your internal buffing balls and see if that helps restore their function.

 

[Gerald Lawrence]

I've had the Beall system forever. I like it, but find the carnauba smudges very easily until you get it into the ac for a while. And like others find it fulls over time
I bought the little, idk 3"? Balls they sell for getting inside the bowl. But it seems the quickly got very hard and dense. Some posted a picture and theirs looked all light and fluffy but mine are more like ... Something heavy and hard. The are mounted on screws and I screw them into the mount so I can't really run them in reverse very well.
All in all I'm not very happy with the system but I don't know if anything better. I'm not a production turner, or even a good one so it's not a tragedy, they come out of the shop looking shiny and nice then I put them somewhere and forget about them or give them to someone and never have to see them again

I use 60 or 80 grit sandpaper backed by a board to refresh both balls and wheels.

 

[Dave Landers]

I have recently purchased the Beall buffing system with the 3 wheels and 3 compounds. I am liking it so far but I have a question. Are there any finishes that the system should NOT be used on? I am a novice wood turner and I usually use waxes for my finishes. I am planning to branch out into oils, shellacs, poly, lacquer, etc. Can I buff any finish with the Beall system? Are there certain kinds of finishes that would not be compatible with the Beall system?

Thanks very much

Lex C. Morgan

As others have said, shellac can be problematic - it does like to "tear".
I don't use wax finishes (other than the carnauba from the final buff wheel - sometimes), but I probably wouldn't buff over a wax finish, as the tripoli wheel would probably just take off the wax (and leave it on the wheel).

 

[John K Jordan]

I've also used the Beall buffing for years, although not on many things. I quit using the tripoli in favor of another compound, Vonax, I think, from the UK. For new buffing turners, be aware when buffing dark wood that the white diamond compound can lodge in pores when using finishes that don't create a thick sealing layer. (I prefer a softer, more natural wood look so I rarely go for the gloss. Mostly finish up by hand.)

When I do buff, I always apply the compound VERY sparingly to the wheel and buff gently - I've seen others who loaded the wheels heavily and buffed aggressively and I didn't always like the results, AND their wheels seemed to wear quickly. In almost 20 years I've never had to replace a wheel but I rarely turn and never buff large bowls. (I don't sell so what sells best doesn't matter.)

I learned early on how to hold both small and large work securely. And which things are better done by hand.

The best thing I did, IMO, was to purchase extra 2MT mandrels so each wheel has it's own. Quick to use, easy to store.

JKJ

 

[Bill Alston]

I use 60 or 80 grit sandpaper backed by a board to refresh both balls and wheels.

I bought one of these for my mops some years ago, a proper mop dresser or rake. These aren’t just used for cleaning but to prepare mops and remove loose fibres. It’s just a double handled stiff wire brush. I paid £3.95 for mine but for some strange reason the price has gone up five fold recently!

 

[Dave Hulett]

I've also used the Beall buffing for years, although not on many things. I quit using the tripoli in favor of another compound, Vonax, I think, from the UK. For new buffing turners, be aware when buffing dark wood that the white diamond compound can lodge in pores when using finishes that don't create a thick sealing layer. (I prefer a softer, more natural wood look so I rarely go for the gloss. Mostly finish up by hand.)

When I do buff, I always apply the compound VERY sparingly to the wheel and buff gently - I've seen others who loaded the wheels heavily and buffed aggressively and I didn't always like the results, AND their wheels seemed to wear quickly. In almost 20 years I've never had to replace a wheel but I rarely turn and never buff large bowls. (I don't sell so what sells best doesn't matter.)

I learned early on how to hold both small and large work securely. And which things are better done by hand.

The best thing I did, IMO, was to purchase extra 2MT mandrels so each wheel has it's own. Quick to use, easy to store.

JKJ

I experienced the same problem with the tripoli and also switched to Vonax. but lately I've been using nothin but the carnuba