How to Make a Buffing Wheel

Homemade buffing wheels work as well as commercial buffers.

Buffing your clay beads can give them a beautiful, professional shine. You can invest in a professional buffing tool, or even buy felt buffing pads commercially made for your Dremel. But if you already own a Dremel rotary tool and a sewing machine, making your own buffing wheels is an easy task that will save you money.

Things You'll Need

• Dremel tool with mandrel
• Sewing machine
• 1/4 yard of soft, thick polyester felt or any undyed natural fiber cloth

Instructions

1. Cut your fabric into 2-inch squares. The number of squares you will need will vary depending on how thick you'd like your buffer to be, and the thickness of your fabric.

2. Stack squares until the pile is as thick as your sewing machine can manage to sew through. Make as many piles as you have squares for. If you make more than you need, store them away for use when your first set of buffers wears out.

3. Insert a heavy-duty needle into your sewing machine. You might also opt to select a heavy-duty thread if you are sewing material such as denim or canvas, but otherwise any good-quality thread should work to secure your fabric.

4. Mark the center of each pile. Sew a circle around the center, about halfway between the center and outside edge of the fabric. When you meet the starting point of your circle, turn the fabric and continue sewing in a spiral until you reach the center. Tie off your thread.

5. Trim each pile into a circle shape, leaving 1/4- to 1/2-inch between the edge of the fabric and the circle you sewed in Step 4. Using a punch or the point of a sharp pair of scissors, punch a hole in the center of each pile. Each finished pile should be about 1-1/2 inches in diameter and roughly circular.

6. Mount each buffing pile on your Dremel tool's mandrel. Fill the mandrel, then attach the Dremel's arbor to secure your buffing piles. Test to ensure that the buffing piles spin well when the Dremel is on. If not, you may need to mount additional piles onto the mandrel, or use a smaller hole in the center of each pile.

Tips & Warnings

• Polyester felt makes a great buffing pad, but you can use just about any soft, natural fiber fabric with good results. Your old jeans or T-shirts may work perfectly, but be careful about transferring dye from the fabric to your project. You may prefer to bleach the color out of recycled fabric before attempting to use it for buffing.

• Don't overload your Dremel or you may risk damaging its motor. If the motor sounds strained when you attempt to use your buffing wheel, trim your piles into smaller circles.

References

• Desiree's Desired Creations: Making a Better Dremel Buffing Wheel
• Polymer Clay Tutor: A 'Shiny-Beads' Polymer Clay Tutorial -- Make Your Own Buffing Wheels