[Jewelry making - Article 00063] - Re: [Orchid] Radial Bristle Disc

[Anne Hollerbach]

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Hi Lisa and all,

    I did post once on this topic already, but it was in a general way,
    making appreciative noises about several of the new lines of
    finishing products and tools from 3M. 

    I encountered the radial bristle discs at the 1999 MJSA show in
    Providence at Stuller's booth. As I was teaching a course in
    finishing techniques at the time, I was delighted to find a nifty new
    item. They definitely don't look like anything else out theRe: imagine
    a plastic disc that has a hole in the middle to thread it onto a
    mandrel screw; the disc is solid from the center to about half of its
    radius, then the edge is cut into fringe. This "fringe" not straight;
    it is swept around the to follow the circumference of the circle. The
    individual bristles are offset slightly upward and downward in an
    alternating pattern so that when you view the thing edge-on it looks
    twice as thick as it actually is. There are three diameter sizes so
    far [9/16", 3/4", 1"] and the discs are scaled appropriately in
    thickness and in the fineness of the bristles.  All three sizes come
    in at least four grits, each one a distinct color. 

    You use them by putting them on a mandrel the way you would a mizzy
    wheel. You can use one at a time, but I find it much more effective
    to use them stacked up: three of the 3/4" ones make a nice thickness;
    two of the 1" ones. You have to be sure to put them on the mandrel so
    that the bristles look as though they are being swept back by the
    direction of the flexshaft's rotation, so their curved sides fall
    against the metal, not the tips. 

    I have used the 1" discs most because I've had them the longest, but
    the 3/4" ones are great, too. I had been using the Advantedge [tm]
    wheels in all their shapes for dealing with firescale, solder that
    should not be where it was, little scratches, and general surface prep
    before going to a high polish. Those are nice wheels, but they throw a
    huge amount of dust and the coarser ones [they are white] wear down
    very fast just where I need them to enduRe: the narrow edges and
    square corners that I use to get right into recessed areas. Very
    frustrating. The bristle discs not only work much cleaner [you still
    must wear a dust mask], they do not wear down rapidly at all. I am
    still using six of the first eight that I got as samples nine months
    ago; the only reason that I am not using the other two is that I
    caught the little bristles in a bur on a pierced area and turned the
    disc inside-out like an unfortunate umbrella. Oops. The 3/4" ones show
    every sign of having the same kind of endurance. 

    I do not usually finish my pieces to a high shine, but I am always
    looking for a better way to get a warm, perfectly uniform brushed or
    satin finish. Pumice grade, better than 600 grit. I can get wonderful
    results with these discs, exactly what I want. I have a student who
    has a successful commercial product line, and after testing _lots_ of
    different finishes and methods, the white 1" disc gave us absolutely
    the nicest results, exactly what the designer wanted, and did it
    quickly with no fuss at all. 

    I have gone from the finest grit of the wheels directly to Zam and
    Fabulustre with excellent results when I needed a gleaming surface
    for a particular customer. 

    One of the things I especially like about these discs is that they
    are "soft" -- they flex around the surface being worked on. I have yet
    to cut one of those shallow gouges into a surface I am working on -- a
    thing that is very easy to do with the white and black Advantedge
    wheels. I can get these little bristles down inside areas that no
    other thing will fit into. This is wonderful when I want a satin or
    brushed finish on a surface that is topographically complex -- lots of
    up, down, under, between, twisting, and so forth. I can get at
    everything without having to stop and change to a mandrel with a
    different shape of wheel on it. This cuts down my total finishing time
    dramatically. 

    I trotted these discs out to my students in the finishing class and
    the response was completely positive. Most, but not all, of these
    folks are new to metals, and they could get good results immediately.
    The folks with years of experience loved the results and appreciated
    the way the things interact with the surface by flexing but still
    bringing a uniform pressure to bear on the piece. They also liked the
    low dust level. 

    Lisa, I am offering the above as a kind of product review, although I
    am far from the caliber of the folks you proposed as "mice" [Alan
    Revere, for one, is a very, very tall mouse...;) ]. I really like your
    idea of reviews from the pros, though, and I would add the name of
    Blaine Lewis at New Approach School to your group, as well as that of
    Cynthia Eid. I think she would especially like the 1" discs because
    she, like me, so often works on larger scale things like boxes,
    flatware, and vessels. These things are terrific for that kind of
    work. 

    By the way, if any of you are going to be at Catalog in Motion in
    Tucson, Rick Pihl from 3M will be there demonstrating the discs
    because they are in the new Rio catalog. Stop by and introduce
    yourself and mention this thread on Orchid. 

Hope this helps,
Anne Hollerbach 

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