Does anyone know the recommended SFPM for buffing brass, or have a
recommended combination of horsepower, wheel size and RPM that works
well for brass instruments? I would like to buy a professional Baldor
buffer and I'm not exact sure what RPM or horsepower motor I should
get.

I am polishing various size marine air horns:

http://www.airraidsirens.com/posts/k...ergD2shiny.jpg

The horns are mostly spun brass, basically identical to the last
section of a flugelhorn, though some are cast brass machined all over.
I buffed the pair shown at the link above with a surplus 1/2 HP 3450
RPM baldor motor, 6" spiral sewn wheel and Tripoli compound, followed
by white compound on a softer wheel. This worked well, but I could have
used more surface area on the wheels to get it done faster, but the
motor bogged down. I also don't know if I'm better off with slow RPM
and large wheels, or high RPM and small wheels. It seems like the
former would be best for the outside of the horns, but a small wheel is
certainly required for inside the bells.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

The Caswell site might have some info that's pertinent.

https://www.caswellplating.com/

Peter


wrote in message
ups.com...
Does anyone know the recommended SFPM for buffing brass, or have a
recommended combination of horsepower, wheel size and RPM that works
well for brass instruments? I would like to buy a professional Baldor
buffer and I'm not exact sure what RPM or horsepower motor I should
get.

I am polishing various size marine air horns:

http://www.airraidsirens.com/posts/k...ergD2shiny.jpg

The horns are mostly spun brass, basically identical to the last
section of a flugelhorn, though some are cast brass machined all over.
I buffed the pair shown at the link above with a surplus 1/2 HP 3450
RPM baldor motor, 6" spiral sewn wheel and Tripoli compound, followed
by white compound on a softer wheel. This worked well, but I could have
used more surface area on the wheels to get it done faster, but the
motor bogged down. I also don't know if I'm better off with slow RPM
and large wheels, or high RPM and small wheels. It seems like the
former would be best for the outside of the horns, but a small wheel is
certainly required for inside the bells.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

wrote:

Does anyone know the recommended SFPM for buffing brass, or have a
recommended combination of horsepower, wheel size and RPM that works
well for brass instruments? I would like to buy a professional Baldor
buffer and I'm not exact sure what RPM or horsepower motor I should
get.

I am polishing various size marine air horns:

http://www.airraidsirens.com/posts/k...ergD2shiny.jpg

The horns are mostly spun brass, basically identical to the last
section of a flugelhorn, though some are cast brass machined all over.
I buffed the pair shown at the link above with a surplus 1/2 HP 3450
RPM baldor motor, 6" spiral sewn wheel and Tripoli compound, followed
by white compound on a softer wheel. This worked well, but I could have
used more surface area on the wheels to get it done faster, but the
motor bogged down. I also don't know if I'm better off with slow RPM
and large wheels, or high RPM and small wheels. It seems like the
former would be best for the outside of the horns, but a small wheel is
certainly required for inside the bells.

Any help is greatly appreciated!



Horespower and bogging down will kill ya. It's amazing how one can bog
down what at first seems like enough horsepower when buffing. If you are
doing this more than just casually, I'd go for 10" or larger wheels and
at least 3 hp. You might get away with 2 hp but you'll appreciate 3
when you have a frustrating mark to buff out and need more pressure
(rather than going back to sqare 1).

Although they are chinese, Grizzly has several options on what appear to
be pretty darned good buffers. The very long extended spindles and
selection of wheels might make these a really good option for something
like a brass horn. I would at least consider them if your budget allows.
Although I haven't used one, they appear (on the shelf) to be decently
built and there are so few things to go wrong with a buffer, it's not as
big a "fit and finish" issue as the chinese lathes and similar.

As to speed...if you really want control they have one with a VFD
already attached. Spendy but you would get the speed control you want.
RPM probably is not that big an issue on brass. With buffing
compounds, the problem is heat generation and that would be more an
issue with plastics. Every professional buffing set-up I have seen for
brass parts run fast as heck and they often use their knees to get more
pressure against the wheel.

Koz