buffer safety

K

kbog

Active Member
Hello Folks,

New to all of this and I have spent a great deal of time reading post, books and watching videos about knife making, about tools used for knife making and the like. One of the exciting parts of all of this to me is thinking about new or different or just optimal ways to set up my work station.

I am a bit of time out from obtaining a buffer, but as I read and learn more and more I understand the inherent safety issue better. In Wayne Goddard's $50 Knife Shop, he describes a couple of instances where a blade has gotten away from a maker, bounce back up into the buffing wheel and then was thrown into a nice meaty portion of the makers hand. So...this is scary to me and I'm trying to think of ways to improve safety.

Mr. Goddard suggests having the buffer attached to a board that sits about 8 inches off the bench rather than attaching directly to the table top. He then goes on the suggest that floor covering will protect the object if it is thrown down onto the floor as well as absorb energy from the object to prevent as high a bounce. He also suggests a full guard for the unit. Finally, he uses vise pliers to hold the blade.

So my question is this, has anyone mounted their buffer under the bench, below the work surface table? It seems to me that, if the bench was open underneath, this would accomplish a few things: one would be a lower and potentially stronger hold on the pliers/blade, two would be that the unit could have the same floor covering under it to prevent bouncing and protect the blade and three that the user might be able to lean some protective surface up against their legs (plywood) to protect them further.

As a science guy, I know that theoretical is never as good as actual, so I am looking for experienced makers to chime in on why this idea is terrible! If nothing else, sharing Mr. Goddard's safety ideas seem like a decent thing to do...

Thanks,

Keith
 
I have to say, my buffer is the least used machine in my shop! Mine runs at 1800 rpm and is mounted on top of my bench with dust scoops built around the back half of the wheels. Get full sewn wheels or felt wheels, they will be much safer and less likely to grab your knife than with a loose buffing wheel. I have tried through the years and bought all the compounds and different wheels, in the end I do all my final finishing by hand now and only use my buffer to de-burr my blades and pins with a scotchbrite wheel. Not because I fear my buffer, It's a final finish thing! Back to the safety issue, yes they can be dangerous and once you get something yanked out of your hand and you have to stop and count your fingers, makes you pay attention the next time! Also if you have a belt grinder, there are cork and felt belts to do polishing with, much safer.
Clint
 
Wish I had pictures, but I'm sure someone else will. The biggest difference in buffer safety for me came as a tip from Jim Downie. It involves attaching the blade to a wooden slab, and can be either very elaborate or very rudimentary. In my case, all I do is drill holes matching the handle holes to a piece of MDF board a little longer and wider than the blade. A 1 x 2 would do as well. I use small bolts and wingnuts to attach the blade to the board. There are now no easy ways for the machine to grab an edge. Additionally, you are now holding on to a piece of wood rather than a waxy slippery piece of hot steel. Lastly, if the worst does ever happen and the piece launches, the blade is protected and if it hits you, you are impacted by a piece of wood instead of a flying knife point.

Since I started doing this, I have not even come close to launching a blade. IIRC, Jim's was more elaborate, but he's always been way more of a craftsman than I. :)

Rob!
 
I've had several blades, handles, sheaths, pieces of stag, other things, get grabbed and tossed. It's scary every single time. I put a piece of 1" thick styrofoam under the wheel and another piece standing up behind the buff wheels. When something hits it at a billion miles per hour, the styrofoam deadens the velocity really quickly.
 
Good thoughts, thank you. I will have a grinder and the cork and felt belts sound great. Would they totally eliminate the need for a buffer all together? Just to be clear, the buffer is not in my immediate future as I head down this road. I have been reading so much lately that I am finding myself thinking about all the potential tools, rather than just the ones I have/need to get going.

Keith
 
Bob Loveless's words were that
"The buffer is the most dangerous piece of equipment in the shop!"

I have my buffer on a 4 x4" sticking out from the bench a good 8" and I use it for two things. Buffing off the burr on the final edge of a sharpened knife and final buffing of my handles.

I do all my blade finishing on cork & Scotchbrite belts.

Another important piece of safety gear I wear all the time in my shop is a large full thickness cow hide apron I had made than goes down past my knees to protect the family jewels and the arteries in your legs as well, which if severed, you can bleed dry in a matter of minutes. I also wear a face shield also when running the buffer & boots only when working in my shop.

Laurence

www.rhinoknives.com
 
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I made my 'buffer' from a slow speed grinder that Woodcraft sells. I then mounted on a grinder stand from Harbor Freight. I can stop the wheels just by applying pressure. It's slow and if something gets away from me, it goes behind the grinder stand into the middle of the Garage. So far nothing has gotten away from me, knock on wood! Yes, it takes a while to get anything buffed using light pressure, but I guess that's the trade off!

I only use it for final polish on handles.
 
I have a big 1 hp dual head buffer in my shop that I built years ago. After scaring the "amazing how fast that happened" out of myself a few times I was not so anxious to buff anything.

These days I use this little hand held buffer; much better control, gets into the small spaces and doesn't scare the life out of me.
DSC00979.JPG

DSC00980.JPG
 
I use a disk grinder and attach a disk of bathroom carpet to the disk. Then you are buffing along the flat surface and it does not grab and throw. Rod Nielsen sent me a thin disk with the carpet attached and that is how I now buff and have less fear. I have several times seen people using buffers or wire wheels on a bench grinder, loose a piece and not find it for weeks stuck in the wall somewhere.
 
I have a grizzly buffer that stands alone on its own stand. I have it tucked in a corner with floor padding below the stand and in most of my shop.. I should put something against the wall behind t he buffer. I gotta tell you , talk about scaring the heck out of you? That's an understatement . I've had that thing rip stuff out of my hand and trust me , I know better. It happens.
Talkin about buffers and being dangerous and scary ? I had an incident today with a 2 x 72 belt today. I was finish grinding in a ft finger groove and the belt broke , ripped the knife out of my hands , threw it across the room , scratched the ricaso. Not good.

These tools are definitely dangerous . In my opinion, keep the buffer away from your bench top. Give the object room to run( if it goes ) . Have a pad of some sort below the buffer on the ground and something behind the buffer against the wall too.
I bought another buffer from Harbor Freight because I hate changing wheel to wheel to wheel etc.. This thing spins way to fast for my comfort (too scary) I decided to put it back in the box and on the shelf. That thing is an accident waiting to happen. My too sense.

What ever decision you make , please be careful!
 
Great advice folks, thank you for all of the feedback. Shop safety is huge for me so it is very helpful to know what I'm getting into.

Keith
 
Back to your original question.. mounting the buffer under the workbench top I believe would have two negative results (if I understand how you are proposing to set it up). First, instead of working with the blade at a level with your forearms parallel to the floor and your elbows secure to your sides, you would actually be reaching down to your buffer. This would make your grip and hold on the blade less stable and MORE prone to the blade being grabbed out of your hand. Second, I can't help but think that this set-up would limit how well you could see what you were doing. When using a buffer I very much want to see all the areas of the wheels, my hands and the entire knife/blade. If you reach down to the buffing wheel and apply the blade to the running wheel above the height of contour of the wheel and the wheel grabs the blade, it will throw the blade in front of the buffer (directly at you) rather than behind the buffer and having the blade bounce back at you.
 
I have a stand alone buffer that I put together and I'm of the opinion that it's the most dangerous thing in my shop. I won't buff anything if there's anyone in my shop that can distract me. You really have to pay attention to what you're doing or you can get seriously hurt. I may be paranoid, but I haven't been hurt with it yet.
 
The buffer is definitely one of those machines that gets the utmost respect during use in my shop.

One thing I like to do is hold whatever I'm buffing under the plane of the arbor with the wheels rotating towards me. This would be somewhere around the 4 or 5 o' clock position. I also take the utmost care when getting close to a sharp corner or point, as these are the things that tend to snag the wheels.

As already stated, stay away from the loose sewn wheels. I also like to trim mine up when they start getting too ragged on the edges.

Also, it doesn't take a whole lot of pressure to get the job done. Keep a tight grip, but a light touch.
 
http://i1258.photobucket.com/albums/ii533/Goldsmithy/New%20shop/DSC00881_zps6d69d599.jpg

I hope the link works, it's the first pic I am trying to post.

This is my buffing set up. The little graver grinder is gone. The motor runs at 3450 rpm. The hoods and platform around the wheels are to contain thrown objects and collect dust. This is the what I used to polish jewelry when I was gold-smithing. ...Teddy

TURN ON YOUR BRAIN BEFORE YOU TURN ON THE BUFFER !!!!!!!!
 
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Yep, was working on a knife for my Dad and it got grabbed. I was able to hang onto it so it didn't really go anywhere BUT put a nice scratch right across the blade. Never got it out completely. I've since taken the buffing wheel off the grinder.
 
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