How to Choose a Benchtop Buffer

Hardware

• A hood over the buffing wheel means that, if you lose your grip on a project, it will be prevented from flying back and potentially injuring you. Cast iron wheel guards are available. Consider the diameter of the spindles. If replacement buffing wheels will eventually need to be sourced, an industry-standard spindle diameter is recommended. Wheels that fit 3/4-inch and 5/8-inch shafts are most common. If your projects produce a lot of dust, consider a buffer that has an attachment for an extraction system.

Functionality

• Large items need considerable clearance. The facility to extend the spindles out -- so that the buffing wheels can be located further from the motor than is standard -- is vital if you plan to buff anything wider than twice the length of the standard shafts.

Cost, Size and Weight

• Long-term reliability is a consideration if the buffer is to be used for commercial purposes rather than infrequent hobbying. The adage that “You get what you pay for” is entirely applicable to power tools. Discount tool warehouses sell cheap buffers; these are likely to be adequate for infrequent use only. Higher-end, more costly units are recommended for frequent use and heavy loading. The edges of larger buffing wheels move faster than the edges of smaller ones, and buffers with 8-inch wheels typically have a larger motor than those fitted with 6-inch wheels. A larger motor usually means a more expensive tool.

  Not only should the motor of a heavy-duty machine be larger -- no less than a three-quarter-horsepower motor for an 8-inch wheel -- but the spindles should be rotating on ball bearings rather than plastic bushes. Any buffer supplied with, or recommended as viable for use with, a 10-inch wheel or greater should be of heavy industrial quality with a one-horsepower or greater motor. Such machines are heavy. A further consideration is having a heavy-duty bench available to support the buffer.

Rotational Speed

• Some buffers are offered with rheostat speed controls, and some have multiple speed switches. However, buffers that rotate at 1,750, 2,800 and 3,450 rpm are the most common. Buy the slowest speed that will work for your project; the faster the rotation, and the larger the wheel, the greater the chance that a mishap will result in injury. Knife-makers wear chainmail aprons when buffing, because a blade thrown by a 3,450-rpm, 10-inch wheel can easily pierce a wooden wall.

  Machines that rotate swiftly tend to vibrate; units capable of the higher speeds should be supplied with rubber feet to minimize transference.

Wheels

• If you intend to use the buffer for hobby projects, consider what wheels are supplied with the machine. Multiple types of wheels might be needed for a single project; finishing metal requires at least four grades of polishing compound -- black or gray, then green, then pink, then white -- and each compound must be used on a separate wheel. Brass, copper, jewelry, leather, metals, plastics, rocks, wood and an effectively limitless number of other materials can all require specific wheels. A machine sold cheaply with no usable wheels might prove more expensive than one that comes with a higher initial price tag but a collection of spiral and cotton wheels that will suit your purposes.