To reduce the speed of a 3,450-rpm motor by half, use a pulley
on the arbor that is twice the diameter of the motor pulley (see the
drawing). Just as with bicycle gears, the small pulley on the motor will
rotate twice for each rotation of the arbor pulley, reducing the speed
of the larger pulley to 1,725 rpm. If you put several pulleys on the
arbor shaft, you can vary the speed of the buffing wheels.
A^1 ⁄ 2 -hp motor is plenty powerful for buffing. The most important
factor, as you’ve already realized, is speed. Reducing the speed at the
buffing wheels to 1,725 rpm should be sufficient to prevent the wood
that you’re buffing from being burned.
—GARYROGOWSKI,Portland, Ore.,
from a question by Edward Jonke, Glen Arm, Md.
SHOP SETUP