Ok, enough busting balls here was tapper’s main concern about the buffer.
Here is a safety guide from Caswell that I posted a link to earlier in the tread to help those that are new explaining this issue and how to avoid it. If your new to the buffing wheel look over the guide it is a good one.
There are two distinct areas on a buffing wheel -
THE UNSAFE AREA which is rotating towards the workpiece.
THE SAFE AREA which is rotating away from the workpiece.
http://www.caswellplating.com/buffs/images/image055.jpg
Safe & Unsafe Areas
The division of these two areas is marked with the dotted line on the above drawings. The workpiece must only be applied to the area of the buff that is rotating AWAY from the workpiece.
You should ensure that you are completely aware which area is which, otherwise you could have a serious accident. Objects being thrown away from a buffing wheel can be traveling at very high speeds, which can result in some very unpleasant and potentially deadly accidents!
When buffing parts have sharp corners, edges or hooks, they should be offered to the wheel with the edge flowing away from the buff, so the part does not catch. Operators should ALWAYS wear SAFETY GOGGLES, APRON, GLOVES and DUST MASK.
This is a common tool, you can work on it without hurting yourself. Also, like the table saw, drill press, lathe, sander, or nearly any other tool at DMS if you practice improper use of the tool you can hurt yourself. I will also echo that you don’t have to use this tool to polish metal, there are many other options that give equal results with out the fear of using a powered tool.
@dallasmagna pointed out that the picture of my face looks like I hurt my forehead. I didn’t hurt myself, that is a string. I added the picture to show how much fine crud comes off the wheel, as I was wearing safety glasses and a respirator as seen in the pictures as well. Face shield will leave your face cleaner than the glasses and respirator.