Insertable Safety Flanges for High Speed Polishing (For Buffing Wheels WITHOUT Center Plates)

An airway buff sold without a center plate has nothing in the middle but an open steel clinch ring. Put it on a spindle with a couple of washers and it will run out of true, work the ring loose and, at grinder speed, warp or throw itself. Insertable safety flanges are the answer: a pair of machined flanges that seat inside the open ring from each side, center the wheel on the shaft and clamp it flat so it runs square at high speed.

This set is the For Buffs without Center Plates version. It is what you need to run the No Center Plate option of our 10" airway buffs, satin airway buffs for angle grinders and the 14" satin airway buff. Buy one set and move it from wheel to wheel; the flanges outlast dozens of buffs.

• Seats inside the open clinch ring of a no-center-plate airway buff and centers it on the shaft
• Clamps the wheel flat from both sides so it cannot warp or wobble at high speed
• Keeps the buff locked in place through the cut stage, when side load is highest
• One reusable set serves every no-plate buff you own; only the cloth wears out
• The required mount for our No Center Plate airway and satin airway options
• Free shipping on orders over $200; 30-day returns on unused product

Which safety flange do you need: insertable or standard?

We sell two kinds of safety flange, and they are not interchangeable. The difference is whether your buff has a center plate.

• For Buffs without Center Plates (this listing): insertable flanges with a stepped hub that fits inside the open clinch ring. The hub is what centers the wheel; the outer face clamps the pleats. Use these with any of our airway buffs ordered as No Center Plate.
• For buffs with center plates: a flat 4" x 5/8" safety flange that sits against the existing steel plate on each side. It stiffens the plate and stops it dishing under load on a grinder, but it has no insert hub and will not locate a no-plate wheel.

If you are not sure which buff you have, look at the center. A solid steel disc with a bored hole is a center plate; an open ring with cloth visible through the middle is a no-plate buff and needs this insertable set.

Which of our buffing wheels need insertable flanges?

Why buy the no-plate version of a buff at all? Because the plate is fixed to one bore, and a shop with a 5/8" polisher and a 1-1/4" lathe ends up stocking two of every wheel. A no-plate wheel with insertable flanges is bore-independent: the same buff runs on whichever machine the flanges fit. It is also how most airway buffs are sold to production polishing shops. Confirm your spindle diameter with us before ordering so we can match the flange bore to your machine.

What machines do insertable safety flanges fit?

• 7" angle grinders and variable-speed polishers used for edge buffing aluminum tanks, wheels and trailer panels. This is the high-speed application the flanges were designed for; a no-plate wheel must never go on a grinder without them.
• Bench buffers and pedestal polishers where the operator wants to swap between cut and color wheels quickly without re-shimming.
• Buffing lathes and backstand polishers running the 14" satin airway buff in the No Center Plate version.

The flanges go on the machine's own shaft and are held by the machine's own nut. Nothing else is needed: no adapters, no spacers. Give us your spindle diameter and thread when you order and we will confirm the set fits before it ships.

How to mount a no-center-plate buff with insertable flanges

1. Unplug the machine and remove any old flange, washer or backing pad from the shaft.
2. Place the first flange on the shaft with the insert hub facing outward, toward where the wheel will sit.
3. Slide the buffing wheel over the hub so the hub enters the open clinch ring. The ring should sit down onto the flange face with no gap.
4. Place the second flange on top, hub inward, so the two hubs meet inside the ring and the wheel is captured between the two faces.
5. Fasten securely with the machine's nut. Tighten firmly; a loose no-plate wheel will creep and run out of true. Spin the wheel by hand to check it turns without wobble.
6. Run up to speed with the wheel pointed away from you for a few seconds before touching the part. Re-check the nut after the first few minutes of cutting, because the pleats settle under the clamp.
7. Stay within the buff's rated speed for your machine, wear a face shield, gloves and a respirator, and keep loose clothing away from the wheel.

When you change wheels, the flanges come off and go straight onto the next no-plate buff. Keep the hub and faces clean of caked compound so the next wheel seats flat.

Use it for / don't use it for

Use it for

• Mounting any airway buff ordered as No Center Plate on a grinder, polisher, buffer or lathe
• High-speed edge buffing where side load would warp an unsupported ring
• Running the same buff across machines with different spindles
• Fast changeovers between cut and color wheels on a bench buffer

Don't use it for

• Buffs that already have a center plate; use the 4" x 5/8" safety flange for those
• Our 6" mini airway buffs, which use their own 3" mini insertable flanges
• Mini buffing wheels with a 1/2" arbor hole; those mount on a 1/2" mandrel
• Any machine whose spindle does not match the flange bore; do not shim a loose fit

Specifications

Frequently asked questions

Related products and guides

• 10" Airway Buffing Wheels (No Center Plate option)
• Satin Airway Buffing Wheel for Angle Grinders
• Buffing Safety Flange 4" x 5/8" (for buffs with center plates)
• All airway buffing wheels
• Buffing rake for cleaning loaded wheels