Thread: Dimmer switch for buffer for variable speed ?

Is there a dimmer switch for a buffer to reduce the 3400 RPM's ?

Originally Posted by DaveN

Is there a dimmer switch for a buffer to reduce the 3400 RPM's ?

Surplus electronics store,Use a small Variac.

Yes it is called a smaller wheel

Most buffers either have a speed control on them or they can't use one, it has to do with the type of A/C motor it is,, if you put a dimmer switch on most buffers you are just going to burn it up..

here is the long answer

Can I put a variable speed control on any motor? - Yahoo! Answers


IIRC I saw an HF buffer in your last thread here is info about it specifically

http://www.ar15.com/archive/topic.ht...&f=5&t=1073257

HF has a cheap one with variable Speed and the customer reviews say Dont Buy It !. The only other Vaiable speed ones I saw were more then I wanted to spend. I am getting smaller wheels with the 3400 RPM one Im going to buy. So if it is a six inch buffer with say 3450 speed, is that the speeds of the six inch wheel
or the spindle ?

3450 is the revolutions per minute of the motor shaft, and yes technically that's also the RPM of the wheel. But it's not the Surface Feet Per Minute of the abrasive that's attached to the wheel. I still have trouble doing the math for that. And everybody talks in rpm anyways. Here's a link. Surface feet per minute - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Doesn't really look complicated, but it's hard for me to remember it. And as before, everyone usually talks in RPM anyways. Such as, get the 1750 rpm one instead of the 3450 rpm one. If you use the higher rpm, use smaller wheels(3-4 inch)

Formula math is not hard but...
If it says 3450 RPM with the 6 inch buffer I still would need to know if that 3450 is the RPM of the spindle or the 6 inch wheel. If it is of the spindle the I could use the formula but I doubt it is of the spindle because then any size wheel would be spinning way too fast for a buffer. So If I ASSume the 3450 is of the outside diameter of the 6 inch wheel, then yes a 3 or 4 inch wheel would spin slower, but what do I know, Im just a newbie !

Formula for calculating surface speed of wheel in SFPM.
SFPM = 1/4 x diameter of Wheel x RPM (revs of spindle per min.)

Rated speed on the buffers is rated as Spindle speed...

Examples of common buffers we use

.25 x 4 x 3450 = 3450 sfpm

.25 x 6 x 3450 = 5175 sfpm

.25 x 6 x 1725 = 2587sfpm

.25 x 8 x 1100 = 2200 sfpm

Dremel

.25 x 1 x 10k = 2500 sfpm


Caswells will also have the most effective application sfpm rate for many of their polishes being used on different metals,


sfpm + pressure + time = heat keep in mind that the grit and media being used changes the equation also...

For what it's worth, for three years, I've been using a 3450 rpm buffer from Harbor Freight with 4" wheels. I've buffed at least a few hundred blades on it. I burnt up the first two razors when I was learning and have had no problems since.

Don't use pressure and keep the blade cool. Don't buff the edge.