Slight oxidation problem?

[Cigar2you]

Since I only have a 6" fast buffer...I slow it down by using a smaller wheel.[/b]

I would have thought the opposite to be true the larger the wheel the fewer the rotations

 

[Rob_In_MO]

With slight oxidation problems, i've had really good luck using the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. I picked up this tip a couple of years ago, and never forgot it. Those darn things just work, even on pipe stems! Takes a little rubbing, but gave results.

Try it sometime. Then follow up with a good wax polish.

 

[plumbernater]

After the cleaning and polishing of a old pipe, and enjoying the smoke ofyour work. The pipe has a special place in your heart then. I use this after my polishing of the stems to keep them looking good. a little rubbing let her sit till she dries some and give a little wipe down and she stays pretty.

I also have a mix of my own that is carnuba wax and bees wax that does pretty good too.

 

[monbla256]

Taking off oxidation to me means 400 or 600 to start, 0000 steel wool, DeniCare brown gunk on a felt wheel, white rouge on a felt wheel and then carnuba on a soft cloth wheel. The DeniCare is always...and the white rouge is sometimes applied via a dremel. The large wheel for the white rouge is a 6" and the wheel for the carnuba is a 4". Since I only have a 6" fast buffer...I slow it down by using a smaller wheel.

I have no idea how I worked myself into that routine, it just happened over time.


BTW: does anyone know a formula for calculating the speed of a buffing wheel (need to vary the diameter of the wheel) at the surface...given the shaft RPM?

As I understand it, yours smaller wheel would rotate faster than the larger wheel at the same shaft speed. Here's a chart from Schaffner Co. that makes abrasives.

http://www.schaffnermfg.com/speed-chart.html

I correct myself, just looked at the speed chart and your smaller wheel does rotate slower !! So much for "common knowledge"

 

[Richard Burley]

Two wheels rotating at the same speed would rotate at the same speed. One hundred revolutions per minute would equal one hundred revolutions per minute. The larger the wheel, though, the faster the circumference of the wheel is moving. It has to; it has farther to go with each rotation.

 

[Blackhorse]

Monbla, etc. -

First off, thanks for the chart lookup...just what I needed. But you're both wrong re: the smaller wheel going faster. Think of that center shaft going at a certain speed...let's say 800 RPM. Now put both a 4" and a 6" wheel on the shaft. Mark a point on each buff. So the smaller wheel has a 4" diameter and via (Circumference = pi or 3.14 x diameter) the 4" wheel has a cuircumference of 12.56". If you do the math for a 6" wheel, the circumference works out to 18.84". So - given that the wheel is rotating at a constant speed, within a given unit of time the point at the surface of the smaller wheel travels about 12 1/2" and the point on the surface of the larger wheel travels over 6" farther...that's 50% farther...which is that 18" + figure. If something travels farther in the same period of time...it has to be going faster.

The chart you found shows that at 800 RPM the Surface Speed Per Minute of a 4" wheel is 838 FPM, for a 6" wheel it's 1,257 FPM.


OK - be all that as it may, again I appreciate having the chart SO much - and the additional data for speed recommnedations. Very helpful indeed.

 

[BuckeyeBoy34]

Thanks guys lots and lots of helpful info. Now I have some stems to polish to their original color.

:lol!:

 

[KevinM]

I prefer a burnished look to "better than new." I've found that brisk rubbing with a washed and air-dryed (i.e., rough) golf towel does a good job for mild discoloration. Light steel wool is needed on harder cases. After the rubrubrub, I dip a fingertip in mineral oil and apply dots of it to the vulcanite stem. Then I just rub the stem until the mineral oil is evenly spread. Wipe off excess after a few hours (There should be hardly any excess)

Mineral oil is an antioxidant, you can also use it on knife blades with high carbon content.

A puzzle for your thoughts:

At the end of October, my fair state was hit with a freak storm that wiped out electricity (and heat, in my case) for as much as two weeks. After four days of no heat and the missus getting a little cranky, I decided screw this and we took a nice hotel room on the Maine coast for the duration. 'Pon our return I noticed the vulcanite stems on my briars were, not just discolored, but almost had an olive moss on the stems, especially on those exposed to sunlight. After restoring the family manse to some resemblance of its former glory, I took light steel wool to the affected pipe stems. The job was a royal pain and produced quantities of olive colored dust. After rubbing and applying dabs of mineral oil they now look okay.

I find it hard to believe that the sudden increase of oxidation in the vulcanite stems was due to being in an unheated house for 1 1/2 weeks. At night the indoor temp was in the high 20s and it didn't warm up much during the day. I don't have any other explanation. Any opinions from the best and brightest out there?

Caveat: All the affected pipes (maybe a doz) were Mountbattens, Petes, Savs, Jobeys at least 20 years old, some twice that.

 

[riff raff]

I find it hard to believe that the sudden increase of oxidation in the vulcanite stems was due to being in an unheated house for 1 1/2 weeks. At night the indoor temp was in the high 20s and it didn't warm up much during the day. I don't have any other explanation. Any opinions from the best and brightest out there?

Caveat: All the affected pipes (maybe a doz) were Mountbattens, Petes, Savs, Jobeys at least 20 years old, some twice that.

That is fascinating and an experiment I hope never to be forced into trying here!