Topic: How to smooth out new tornado rods quickly

[hackjob]

Anybody find a fast way to smooth out new tornado rods?  (other than a 70hours of tournament play)

[kgstewar]

Is it the rods that need smoothing? Or the bearings? Bearings can be smoothed by wet sanding with super fine sandpaper (2000 grit).

[papafoos]

Before you make any physical changes, make sure the bearings are not too tight.  They only need to be snug. 

[FOOZUL]

Wet sanding the bushings/bearings worked for me, it's super smooth and I lube once a month.
I also keep the table covered when not in use.

[hackjob]

This particular table has the snap-in 1" bearings... both new bearings and old bearings have the issue and my marble did too with these same rods.  It is no secret that new commercial tornado rods have a concentric texture from machining and tend to make a muffled scraping sound and grab a bit if you apply pressure to the handle while pushing pulling or pinning...  They are not very pleasent to use with this initial binding; especially for rollover or pinned shots. 

I've managed to almost smooth out my forward 3rods in about 7 hours of use per rod but I wondered if there is a faster way to get them smoothed out?  I have a history of working with machinists and know there is a way to lapp and polish to a smooth finish quickly.  Tornado rods have the best glide likely because of the final texture they develop, just looking for the secret to literally finish them to that silkier glide texture.



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[kgstewar]

Interesting, I was unaware that new Tornado rods are "ridged" as you describe. If that's the case, you need to abrade metal, and the smooth, lubricated plastic that makes up the bearings is not going to be a very effective metal abrasive. The ridged rods, on the other hand, will be very effective at abrading the inside of your bearings. Have you noticed plastic dust being generated by the rod movement?

Smoothing metal is certainly possible, but the tricky part will be doing it uniformly so you don't generate flat spots. I think I would try some liquid automotive rubbing compound on a soft cloth, something like 3m Rubbing Compound. This is abrasive but it is a fine abrasive (>1200 grit) so may take some of the shine off of your rods. Try it on a small area first.