Beall buffing system and a draw bar

[sachbvn]

Hey guys - I watched a podcast where they recommended a draw bar when using the Beall buffing system on a lathe - seems like a really smart idea. I went out and bought a piece of 1/4 20 rod and cut it to length.

I screwed it into the mandrel for the buffer - slid it through my head stock and then attached a nut on the other side.... problem? Turn the lathe on and the damn thing spins the nut right off itself!!! So... draw bar completely useless here....

What am I doing wrong?

Also - hey - yeah - so.... you know how some lathes have a hand crank on the head stock that allow you to turn it by hand.... like....for applying a finish. Well - mine doesn't have one.... is that something I can get after-the-fact? Does it just mount in the "knock out" hole - it is threaded something like.... 3/8" or 5/16" Just curious!


Zac

[TDHofstetter]

Hmmm... dang. You've got that monster lathe, right? The spindle doesn't go all the way through the headstock, the back end is covered with sheet metal? Hard to tell from the photos.

Ah, yeah. Here we go - the manual & its pictures. Looks like all you've got visible there is the hole for the knockout bar... and if a nut is hooked there it'll sure's beans unscrew in a heartbeat.

What ya need to do is enlarge that hole & get a nut & washer right on the end of the spindle - it should be just barely inside that hole in the sheet metal. THEN it won't unscrew on ya.

We'll see about fitting ya for a handwheel... till then, you can always make one that fits the business end - think 1/4" plywood disk with a spindle-sized hole cut in the center, and with a wooden ring glued & turned at the rim. Hold it in place with a chuck or faceplate... reversing the faceplate (to get it out of the way) if you're using a spur center.

[Ruffnek]

Zac,

I use the Don Pencil Wood N things adapter on my lathe for mounting the Beall buffing wheels or bowl buffs.
www.donpencil.com/WNTADAPTORShtm.htm

It only accepts one wheel at a time but when (not if) you start turning bowls and stuff, that's the set-up you will want.

[TDHofstetter]

Cody... are those just long "sport bars", extensions to the spindle, with an end threaded to accept a buff's arbor?

[sachbvn]

Hey Tim - I think I solved the problem. On the sheet metal guard there is a big hole with a plastic plug - the plug has a slot just big enough for the knock bar - I'm sure this is just a safety thing - well - this prevents the nut from snugging down - and the bar wobbles and catches the threads - making it jump like crazy which is making the nut spin right off the draw bar. I took the plastic plug out - tightened the nut all the way down (with a washer in between) and fired up the lathe - the buffer spindle ran smooth as silk, no bouncing draw bar - everything stayed in place as it should. I have a little handled with an extended nut gluing up - if this works - I will probably make a better looking, more permanent nut mechanism.

Cody - the buffing system I have is the one wheel at a time thing - but I bought the optional MT 2 taper which allows me to use it on the lathe. Because there is no pressure from the tail stock - it is a real possibility of the buffing wheel to slip right out of the head stock and come rolling your way..... that is why I wanted to install the draw bar. I was dang careful today - and ran it w/o the draw bar - but it isn't something I want to be in the habit of if I can help it. I think Beall offers two different buffing systems - with what I have - as long as I can get this draw bar to work - I should be good as gold!

Thanks!
Zac

[Doug B]

Zac, you are finding out one of the downsides to the lathe mounted Beall buff system. I got one, but finally broke down and got a HF 6" buffer and the Beall adaptor and it works great. I had to go with the 4" wheels because the HF buffer speed was too fast for the 8" wheels, but it works great. And the HF buffer is very inexpensive. This is the buffer I found that works with the Beall system www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=94393

By the way, I use two of the 1/4 - 20 nuts to hold the drawbar on the lathe and it stays on just fine that way. Also, you should know that Sonny (yes, that Sonny) chewed my rear end for wanting to use all-thread for the drawbar when I got a drill chuck for the lathe ;D

www.woodworking.com/dcforum/dcboard.pl?az=read_count&om=4698&forum=DCForumID13#18

[sachbvn]

Lol - nice Doug. Well - if I snap the all thread rod off in my MT - I PROMISE, I will never go that route again - I'll either thread my own on a higher quality rod - go with the actual buffer system - something!


Zac

[Doug B]

I've been using the allthread in spite of Sonny's dire warnings with no failures yet...knock on wood ;D

[woodmangler]

I started with what you have now... then tried the buffs on a grinder motor... bleeech...

Now I have the 3 buffs on the lathe system, and also the bowl buffs using the Don Pencil mount... works great!



www.donpencil.com/

[Ruffnek]

Nov 11, 2009 20:16:55 GMT -6 TDHofstetter said:

Cody... are those just long "sport bars", extensions to the spindle, with an end threaded to accept a buff's arbor?

Correctomundo.

[Doug B]

Anyone else have issues with the strings from new wheels making an awful mess?

I tried the sandpaper treatment as recommended by Beall, but they still shed something terrible for a while. I get lint and stings all over everything, including my clothes and hair.

[Ruffnek]

Nov 12, 2009 9:58:24 GMT -6 Doug B said:

Anyone else have issues with the strings from new wheels making an awful mess?

They go away after a while. I still get them off my 3" bowl buffs because I haven't used them nearly as much as the wheels.