Weaver Power Burnisher

What follows will be a full review of the Weaver Master Tools Power Burnisher, but I do want to mention that this is a tool that I've lusted after for years. One of the challenges that a learning and growing leatherworker faces is finishing the pieces that we’ve spent hours and hours working on. You can really make or break something with edge work, and it took me a lot of practice and trial and error to master burnishing by hand. The challenges early on led to dreaming of an easier way, and although there are burnishing attachments for Dremels and drills, nothing quite beat the results of a chunk of canvas and a jar of Tokonole burnishing gum. But still, even after finding my own groove with burnishing and being able to face any challenge, any type of leather, any thickness, any color, I still yearned for something better. Nothing reminds you of how much work burnshing can be quite like a belt or a series of straps for a bag.

A couple of months ago, I finally got a power burnisher. The day it arrived, I was giddy and unpacked it immediately after bringing the box into my house. It was very securely packaged, so I knew that my machine was going to be in perfect working order. The machine itself is gorgeous, but it's secured to what looks like a particle board slab with a formica top (reminiscent of a 1990s kitchen countertop) which looks and feels incongruous with a machine as nice as this. I'm not sure what a better alternative would have been (maybe some furniture grade plywood?), but I intend to mount it to something a little nicer when I have the time. I found a small owner's manual, but was underwhelmed by the information provided within. Aside from not having any information about how to use the machine, I was hoping for a little information about maintenance at the very least. I contacted Weaver and was told that the motor is sealed and the only maintenance required is to occasionally use an air hose to blow off any leather dust. Fair enough! As far as using leather machines goes, there's typically very little instruction anywhere, but I was at least hoping for some tips and tricks within the pamphlet. I guess Weaver figures that if you're getting a tool of this caliber, you don't really need any help at this point in your leather career. Yes and no. Do I know and understand the concept of burnishing leather? Yes! Have I ever used a machine like this? Not really, no.

The timing of the arrival of the Power Burnisher couldn't have been better. I had two belt orders on my bench that day. I did what I needed to do to get the belts finished up and ready for burnishing, and got my burnishing machine out and plugged it in. It definitely feels solid and has an appropriate amount of weight without feeling too heavy or too light. The business end of the machine has two sides that can be outfitted with a wooden burnishing spindle, a sander, or a cordura roller. I have all three options, but decided to keep the default sander and wooden spindle on for now, and can revisit the cordura later. The spindle is a nice dark hardwood with a generous assortment of rounded grooves for any size project. I flipped the sturdy on/off switch and immediately noticed how quiet the motor is. I didn't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't that, and I was pleasantly surprised. I have a cheapo grinding wheel that I use sometimes for other projects and it's pretty loud, but the Weaver burnisher just has a nice hum. I lightly coated the edge of my first belt with Tokonole and got to work. There was definitely a learning curve at first, and I learned that burnishing with a machine this powerful is a lot different than my sad little piece of canvas that I've been using for six years. It's a little counterintuitive because in my mind, more pressure equals more burnishing, but with this machine, a light touch is all that's necessary to quickly achieve a polished edge. Another thing I noticed about the motor is that even when I was applying more pressure than I should have been, the motor didn't flinch, and it can clearly handle a lot. The leather I was using was a full thickness Hermann Oak Bridle (about 12/13oz), and some parts of it weren't taking the burnish as well, so I shifted over to the sanding side. It dutifully smoothed out the edge enough to make it able to take the burnish and provide that smooth and polished look I was going for. Once I got the hang of things, it went pretty quickly, but admittedly, it was a little slow going at first. For this reason, even a couple of tips or tricks in the pamphlet that came with the machine could have helped me avoid some frustration. The difficulties I had were certainly operator error, and once I learned what I was doing, this burnisher earned its place as a regularly used tool in my shop. When I swap out the base someday for some plywood, I'll probably glue some rough-out leather to the bottom to keep the machine from creeping backwards on my bench. It doesn't move much, but having to readjust it a couple of times was enough to get me thinking about clamps or more grippy base. 

Overall, this machine is fantastic and it's definitely earned its place as one of the go-to tools in my shop. The motor is smooth and quiet, and clearly very powerful and high quality. Aside from the occasional removal of leather dust, this machine is very low maintenance. I would highly recommend anyone who produces leather pieces regularly to invest in a Power Burnisher. The time I save, and the quality of work it helps me produce has made this tool indispensable.