Woodturning is said to be the safest form of woodworking, that said it can still be dangerous and care should be taken at all times

The methods and procedures I show here are what I do at the moment and feel safe doing, I am not suggesting that you should do things the same way, that is up to you, if you don’t feel safe doing it one way find another way of doing it.

Above all take care and remember if this is your hobby it is supposed to be fun so enjoy it.

The buffing kit I will be using is from Chestnut Products and comes in a strong cardboard box which I use to store it in and contains.

3 wheels, 3 bars of compound, 2 mandrels and a set of instructions.

Wheel A is the firmest wheel and used with the Dark brown bar (Tripoli) for initial cutting.

Wheel B is a slightly softer wheel and used with the white bar (White Diamond) for fine cutting.

Wheel C is the softest wheel and used with the light brown bar (Carnuaba Wax) for polishing

Before you can use it you obviously have to mount it on you lathe, I have Administer chucks and a variety of jaws but none of then was the exact size of the mandrel.   They were all one or two mm larger or smaller but I found this was not a problem as they still gripped the mandrel properly and held it firm during use.

The important thing when installing the mandrel is to make sure it runs true.  The best way to do this is first make sure your head stock and tail stock are aligned properly.  Then put the mandrel in the chuck and grip it lightly then bring up the tail stock with a center installed into the end of the mandrel and tighten the chuck, as below.

Now you screw the mop into the mandrel until it is fully seated and you are ready to start buffing

I use the Goliath chucks from Axminster which have a 5” body and found that I would occasionally hit either my hand or the piece I was buffing against the chuck or the jaws, neither of which is recommended. 

To get around this and give myself more room to move around the wheel I now use an Axminster Junior collet chuck and the drill mandrel, as below.   This has given me more room to work and solved the problem of hitting the chuck.   It is also easier to mount the mandrel as it automatically centers it.

Now it is all set up and we are ready to start buffing, but, before we do I would recommend that you cover the lathe bed with something, as you buff you will get some spray and fluff from the wheels and this is not easy to remove from the bed.

I would also advise that you wear a smock or similar covering that you dont mind getting dirty.   Also I always have the extractor running and wear my Trend Airshield pro.

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