DIY electric leather burnisher with pics

rgepting

rgepting

KNIFE MAKER
Ok leather guys, I want to share this little build I did and maybe it will help someone out. Finishing the edges on your work is very important for a pro clean look. There are a few electric burnishing tools out there from crappy to very expensive. Harbor Freight had this 1/2 HP Buffing machine on sale for $39.00 with a $20% coupon drive out was like $35. They also have a 3/4 HP bigger and heavy duty buffing machine for $89 I found the small unit would work fine for wallets and sheaths if you mount it down to table. I machined a 2" dia. x 2.5" long x 1/2" bore wooden piece with grooves for one end to burnish my edges and on the other end I purchased a lambs wool felt polishing wheel set from Harbor Freight. ( $5.00 ) It comes with six 2 inch felt wheels that I slipped over the other end of the 1/2 shaft on the buffer and compressed it with washers into a very tight bundle on the shaft. I will put bees wax on the felt for a final polish.

So sand your edges, dampen and run lightly on the wooden grooves then move to the waxed felt wheel and lightly buff to a shine. I have a total of $45 in this little unit. I hope this saves you time and some $$$ on your leather projects. Thanks Richard www.eptingcustoms.com

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Richard, thank you for the tip. Super cool! Your leather work is truly amazing. ANYTIME you want to do a WIP on your leather process', I am ALL EARS!
Thanks in advance,
- Jason
 
How many RPM does your buffer turn? Is that a factor in burnishing? I've always wondered if you need to build up a little heat to get a good burnish. My burnish hack is a little more rudimentary. I took a 1 1/2" square block that was 6" long and drilled a hole in the end of it and then glued the bit into the hole. I chucked it up in my drill press and using really rough sandpaper I made the block cylindrical. Then I used several sizes of round file to cut grooves in the cylinder - WALLA a burnisher! My drill press is set on it's slowest RPMs (800) to drill metal and my "burnisher" works OK at that speed but I wonder if I need to speed it up to get a good burnish. Love your work.

Wallace
 
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