I had the pleasure of being introduced to these new FX polishing
wheels at a local jewelery tool supply, The Naja in Denver, CO.
Travis brought in a 3M engineer/expert for a mini seminar on these
wheels. He spent a great deal of time talking about the need to keep
the work cool. From what I remember the answer is two fold, a slower
speed (maximum of 2000 RPM for a 4 inch wheel) and judicious use of
water as a cooling and lubricating agent. I purchased a set of these
after playing with some titanium sheet - very easy to work with using
these FX wheels. Now my problem, and I suspect yours, will be to find
a buffer/polisher that runs slower than the usual 3600 RPM standard
speed of my 3 existing buffers. I understand that the big boys have
two speed buffing lathes which run at the lower speeds. What I
suspect is that they too will have a problem if they use the larger
(6, 8, or 12") wheels because of the increased “surface feet per
minute”. If you look at the 3M web site - 3M Solutions for Creative
Arts, then follow the FX wheels link, they use a $200 Foredom 1/6 HP
variable speed mini polisher. If anyone has a source for small,
inexpensive, variable speed polishers (0 - 3000 RPM), please let me
know. There have been several prior posts on this topic as well, see
Lames Binnion’s post in the archives for example -
Have fun
Marlin in Denver on a gorgeous Autumn day!