Buttons are manufactured in several different plastics or can be made from animal horns. It is important to determine the material used in order to apply the correct finishing procedure. The operations involved include: Cutting to remove tool marks or parting lines;Refining the surface to remove scratches or roughness;Polishing to produce luster;Wiping off to remove excess waxes and deposit a sealing coat.Cutting Wet cutting is used for heavy stock removal, using pumice as the abrasive along with a few ounces of Kramco 1010 General Purpose Cleaner to prevent the residue from sticking to the button or clogging its holes. Often a ceramic triangle media 14" x 14" is added to smooth inside the depressed center. Triangles are added at a rate of 13 of the load of buttons. Pumice is added at a rate of 112 lb per gross of buttons. Water is added to cover the load by about 2". Time of run is overnight in a standard 30" x 36" wet barrel tumbler or 24 hours in a smaller barrel. When using this process to produce a dull finish on a processed button, the run can be reduced to 2-3 hours and should be followed by a 1-2 hour run in corn cob grit treated with silicone oil. Dry cutting is used for softer plastics, such as acetate, or materials that will not tolerate an extended exposure to water, such as animal horns or urea. Wood pegs are loaded into the barrel at a volume rate of three parts wood pegs to one part buttons, filling the barrel to the 50% level. Dry Abrasive Cream should be added at a rate of 14 cup per 50 lbs of media. Run time is overnight. When using this process to produce a dull finish on a processed button, the run can be reduced to 2-3 hours and should be followed by a 1 hour run in corn cob grit treated with a small amount of silicone oil.
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Robert Kramer (Kramer Industrial, Inc.)
P. O. Box 1008, United States
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