the.com/buffer wheel
The spinning disc that turns scratches into secrets, metal into mirrors.
means A rotating cloth or felt disc, charged with abrasive compound, used to polish metal or other surfaces to a smooth, reflective shine.
from 'Wheel' is plain old English machinery-talk, but 'buffer' traces back to 'buff,' the soft, dull-yellow leather (originally from buffalo hide) once used to polish armor and metal by hand. The rubbing motion of buffing leather gave English the verb 'to buff,' meaning to polish by friction — and eventually 'buffer' came to mean anything, person or wheel, that does the buffing. The sense of 'buffer' as a cushioning, shock-absorbing thing (as in train buffers) grew from the same root idea: something soft placed between two surfaces to soften contact.
- material
- Stacked cloth discs, not metal or stone
- technique
- Compound does the cutting, wheel just delivers it
- danger
- Can grab jewelry and fingers in an instant
- speed
- Runs thousands of RPM to generate polishing heat