Balancing Buffer Felt Wheels

[BeSharp]

I have a half-speed buffer running at 2,000 rpm with an 8" diameter felt wheel with Autosol. The buffer is mounted on a piece of plywood so I can take it to farmers markets. The wheel is so out of balance that the buffer moves when placed on a table.

I got a Oneway grinder wheel balancing kit. Oneway is the company that also makes the Wolverine sharpening jig for lathe chisels. For some reason Lee Valley Tools seems to be no longer carrying it, so I ordered directly from Oneway - another small family business in Ontario.

It works great. You start with the three balancing weights 120 degrees from each other. If the wheel was perfectly balanced, you wouldn't need to move them.

The picture shows the final setting - which also shows how badly balanced the rock hard felt wheel was. My buffer no longer walks across the table.

Obviously, you don't need this for felt wheels mounted on Tormeks running at 90 rpm.. Running at 2,000 rpm is a different matter.

[Ken S]

Clever idea. I think of the balancing kit primarily for grinding wheels. Felt wheel balancing seems like another useful application. I like Oneway products.

Ken