V. Ryan © 2003 - 2009
The Polishing Machine (also called the Buffing Machine) is used to polish
soft metals including copper and brass as well as plastics such as perspex. The
two ‘mops’ spin at high speed when the ‘on’ switch is pressed.
If the material is carefully pressed against the mop and moved backwards and
forwards it will be polished.
The material must be filed to removed scratches and then wet and dry paper or
emery cloth is used to further smooth the surfaces. Only then can it be polished
on the buffing machine.
Polish should be applied to the rotating mop before pressing the work against it.
The diagram on the left shows the correct way to hold the work and how it
should be pushed gently against the rotating mop. The work should be held firmly
in both hands and moved backwards and forwards against the lower part of the
mop. If the work is held in one place the mop will wear quickly making it
difficult to polish materials. Use the full width of the mop.
Great care must be taken so that the top corner of the work is not caught by the
rotating mop. If this happens the work will be ripped from both hands and it
will fly at high speed into the guard. When this happens it can be quite
frightening.
This is clearly a dangerous way to hold the work as the top corner is about to be caught by the rotating mop.
Another dangerous accident is about to take place. The work is about to be pressed against the top part of the mop. This should be avoided as the work will be ripped out of the machinists hands and it will fly out at high speed towards him/her.
Basic safety rules should be followed when using the polishing/buffing
machine. However, our cartoon character Ed the Handyman foolishly ignores health
and safety. Read the safety rules outlined below and then work out which one of
the cartoon characters below is working safely.
1. Always wear goggles - small pieces of mop and polish will fly out of the
machine whilst it is being used. Goggles will prevent damage to eyes.
2. Always wear an apron or overall. These will hold back loose clothing. For
example, a tie could easily be caught by the rotating mop, this would pull the
machine operator into the polisher. This would result in a very dangerous and
possibly fatal accident.
3. Always apply the work to the lower portion of the mop, never the top.
4. Never allow the top edge of the work to be caught by the mop.
5. Always be ready to use the foot stop (emergency stop button). Have your foot
ready to press it if necessary.
6. Although the buffing machine has two mops that rotate at the same time. The
machine can only be operated by one person.
7. Read the
general safety notes regarding safety in the workshop and follow these when
using equipment and tools.
