Flexshaft & Mitre Guage new life

heathicus · Post by **heathicus** » Tue Mar 16, 2010 3:30 pm

iclark wrote:the Shopsmith Tool Hunter has re-structured his site.
the picture of all the family members using an ER10 at the same time:eek: is now on this page
http://shopsmith-tool-hunter.blogspot.c ... esults=400
in the picture, "mom" is using 2 flexshafts in series to buff the car.
the picture is in the "Talk about Over-Selling a Tool's Usefulness!" section.

That is my favorite 10ER picture.

anmius · Post by **anmius** » Wed Mar 17, 2010 11:14 am

Don't forget, there is also an ice cream maker attached in case they want dessert after all of that hard work.

PG-Zac · Post by **PG-Zac** » Wed Mar 17, 2010 7:35 pm

Michael,

I'm glad the new Greenie was worth it. How about some pics of the machine before & after?

Please explain the method you used to buff up the aluminium parts you've pictured here - I'll soon be getting into buffing up my Goldie's parts, but I have no buffing equipment or experience and I need recommendations on what to buy.

wannabewoodworker · Post by **wannabewoodworker** » Wed Mar 17, 2010 11:11 pm

I didn't take any before pics unfortunately. I will take some pics of the machine parts right now before cleaning and painting so you can get an idea of how it was before all the massaging.

All I have been using to clean and buff the parts is a bench grinder with stitched cloth wheels and buffing rouge. I have been using both a dark black colored rouge that is for general cleaning to get most of the rust off and oxidation. Then I put it on another wheel that I use the high polish rouge on. They have been coming out real well and I am very pleased with the results. It is time consuming but worth the effort when finished I think.

I just bought a new Delta 8" grinder tonight at Lowes that was on clearance for $118. This thing is awesome compared to the Ohio Forge 6" grinder I have been using. It has variable speed control and quick disconnect wheels so no tools required to change out the wheels. It has significantly more power than the 6" grinder and if you are going to buy a bench grinder/buffer definitely get one that has more power than less. The bigger wheels also make a difference when trying to get in and out of nooks and crannies. And when you are doing bigger parts such as the way tubes the bigger wheels will really pay off.

heathicus · Post by **heathicus** » Thu Mar 18, 2010 12:51 am

MickyD has some good posts on aluminum polishing in this thread:

https://forum.shopsmith.com/viewtopic.php?t=3078

PG-Zac · Post by **PG-Zac** » Thu Mar 18, 2010 6:40 am

Thanks Michael & Heath - All the answers I need are in your replies.

wannabewoodworker · Post by **wannabewoodworker** » Thu Mar 18, 2010 9:21 am

I picked up a 3-piece mini buffing wheel kit last night as well. It comes with a 1/4" arbor adapter that will fit in my drill chuck which I can then put on the flex shaft and use it to polish the saw tables and other things that are too big to do on the buffing wheel. I am hoping this will be the ticket to getting the tables real nice like everything else I have done on the buffing wheels. It was only $10.00 and might be good for you and save you from getting a buffing wheel.

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?jspStoreDir=hdus&catalogId=10053&productId=100671748&navFlow=3&keyword=100671748&langId=-1&searchRedirect=100671748&storeId=10051&endecaDataBean=com.homedepot.sa.el.wc.integration.endeca.EndecaDataBean%4068b792dd&ddkey=Navigation

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Thu Mar 18, 2010 9:47 am

Nice looking restoration project. Good job.

Be careful with that flexshaft. If you lay it down while it is turning it might do some pretty unpredictable things.

If that happens though, you can always sue.

easterngray · Post by **easterngray** » Thu Mar 18, 2010 7:47 pm

That's great news John - I need some for my Goldie mitre gauge - thanks for the lead! Alec

wannabewoodworker · Post by **wannabewoodworker** » Thu Mar 18, 2010 10:34 pm

dusty wrote:Nice looking restoration project. Good job.

Be careful with that flexshaft. If you lay it down while it is turning it might do some pretty unpredictable things.

If that happens though, you can always sue.

The flexshaft is pretty neat but as I was using it for the first time this evening to buff some parts it isn't very easy to use. It is very stiff and hard to "flex" and when you so flex it to reach the item you want to work on the shaft itself becomes pretty hot due to spin around the bend in the shaft. It works great with the 1/4" buffing wheels I bought but is very hard to actually utilize it. I am going to mess with it this weekend and see if i can setup a table at the end of my Mark VII so that I can keep the shaft straight while using it. I am also going to see if there is a way to lubricate it inside the housing this may help with the heat buildup.