burnishing

[Steve223]

This is prolly a stupid question but regardless i need to know. How do you burnish, and how do you make the tool? I have tried to figure it out on my own without sucess in fact i have just made things worse so any help would be hugely appercatied.
Thanks a bunch
Steve

 

[coincutter]

Not stupid at all
Burnish(ers) fancy name for smooth shaped metal, stone or other material in some shape or form attached to a handle and used to polish/repair scratches dents and goobers in metal.
Can be home made or purchased from art stores or numerous on line supply houses
just google burnisher
lowel corning makes a nice set i use on eyes of coins
they can be tiny or large

application is rub rub rub

 

[Steve223]

Thank you Steve...

 

[Swede]

Steve223, you can make simple burnishers with some freehand work using old carbide round-shanked dremel-style bits. You can either hone away the flutes (the original part of the bit that did the cutting) or better yet, if the carbide shank is long enough, I like to use one of those 1" diameter diamond wheels for use in a rotary tool. You simply score the carbide shank lightly all the way around with the little diamond wheel. Then, I like to wrap the bit up in a rag, mount it in a small vise with the portion to be removed poking out, and then just give it a sideways tap with a hammer. It'll cleave right off, leaving you with a plain 1/8" carbide shank.

At this point, I think it is best to mount the now plain shank in a rotary tool, set the speed on low, and apply it gently (while it's rotating) to a coarse diamond wheel, say a 220 or 320. Give it whatever shape you want, such as an oval, or a straight taper. Sometimes you'll end up with a super-sharp little tip, which you must remove with additional honing. Finally, you can charge a scrap of leather with some diamond paste or similar, and smooth/buff out the tool. You want it to be rounded, smooth, and shiny.

The idea behind burnishing is a lot of pressure on a small area, "smooshing" and moving metal rather than scoring or cutting. Try your tool on scrap. If you're scoring the metal, it's too sharp, and the tip needs to be rounded off some more. Good luck!

 

[Steve223]

Swede Thanks a bunch! ill try that with the old dremel bits

 

[Peter E]

Lately, I have done some burnishing on sterling. I found that the slightest scratches or roughness in the burnisher results in the same to the silver. The burnisher needs to be VERY smooth to get a nice smooth shiny surface on the sterling.

As stated, high pressure, controlled rubbing on a small surface area is the way to go.

Good luck,
Peter

 

[monk]

for coin work i make very small ones from dental burs. after shaping and final polishing i mount them in a 5" by 1/4" brass handle. testing has to be done to assure they work scratch free.

 

[Steve223]

Thanks guys that helped a bunch!!

 

[KSnyder]

Steve, I made one from an old Starrett pin punch, rounded the head & kinda gave the underside a belly. polish it real pretty. I like it cuz of the knurled handle of the punch. just another idea.
Kent

 

[Steve223]

Good idea Kent i think i have a couple of pin punchs liein around so ill try it.Thanks!!