StewMac Guitar Buffer Complete Outfit

The components, directions, and template for the arbor and engine were all as expected. I had the base built up before the kit arrived and everything bolted on just fine. The engine is quiet and ramps to full RPM quickly. When you get to the point of breaking in your buffs, do it outside! Or have a big fan evacuating the cotton fibers out of your shop. Wear a mask as well. Once trimmed and loaded with compound use some scrap to break it in a bit more. Buffing a guitar with both med & fine compounds took me less than 15 minutes and the results were fantastic. Beats hand buffing without question, but this comes at a steep price. You can piece together a unit for less, but the complete kit here has you up & running with a tested, working, reliable, solution in no time. Arbor and hardware earn 5 stars, Service is also 5 stars.

Love this buffer/polisher. Would love to see Stew Mac make a stand or pedestal for it. Currently have it mounted on a tool box but can only use one end at a time as it takes up some room with the motor.

With some reservations, I do recommend this buffer. The buffer came in one large package - motor and arbor unit boxed separately within the large box. The arbor is too heavy for the way it was shipped and the ends of the arbor shaft had punched through the outer packaging although there was no apparent damage to the threads on the shaft. After assembly, the motor would not spin up to speed without my assisting to get the arbor turning. At speed, the arbor wobbled slightly at both ends and the 14 inch buffs oscillated enough to make a guitar bounce when held to the buff. Stewart McDonald quickly and without question, replaced both units. The second motor would spin up to speed without assistance. The second arbor however had the same issue as the first and was again replaced without question. The third arbor spins true. I just used the tool to buff a guitar and it now works quite well for me. Aside from the quality control issues with the manufacturer, this seems to be a worthwhile tool. Although this situation was a bit frustrating, I commend Stewart McDonald for their willingness to replace the items as needed to make it right.

I just got this for my shop and it appears to be a well made machine. Get ready to do some work when you get it. I personally think it sucks that it didn't come with at least the suggested base plate for this much money. And enough bolts, nuts and washers to mount it to their base design. They don't mention that four of the holes on the base layout fit the shop stand which I have. I may mount it on the shop stand or build a permanent one myself.

Well, the older version that I have has always served me well, nicely balanced, nice and big.

I've been building customs for several years now, and had eyed this sytem for some time. The cost was a deterent, so I just kept on using my Stew Mac buffing pads (which give very good results, but are time consuming and messy). Well, I finally pulled the trigger. Got it in and installed and immediately put it to the test on a newly wet sanded body. My immediate reaction was "WOW!!!" "Wowwowwow!!!" I mean..."WOW!!!" Incredible results; it used to take an hour or so to buff a new body with my previous buffing pad method (and let's not even talk about getting inside the cut-aways), and now I was getting deep, mirror finishes in minutes! This system is a must-have for all but the casual (1 or 2 projects a year) builder. Not only is it saving me a TON of time on my customs, I'm making some pretty good cash by offering buff-out services for customer guitars to give them that "showroom shine" again. The word is out in my community that if you're selling a used guitar, "call that dude with the buffer" to shine it up first. Many other uses as well-polish a bone nut to a high gloss, clean up dingy hardware, shine scuffed up pickguards, etc. I highly recommend the Mezerna compounds as well. I've found that the coarse compound takes the place of my 1000 grit wet sanding-much faster (but use it carefully). Extra-fine will make plastic look brand new. If you want to save time, get superior results and make some extra dough to boot, buy this system now. I wish I hadn't waited so long :)