setting up for metal spinning

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oh and MCjustis, how did you attach that spinner to the crank of the engine? was some sort of cross member tigged into place or just curious of what fastening setup you came up with on the back side of that spinner? and what process you used to weld or braze it into place on the back? that spinner just looks great
 
Hi, re: " i was just going for a cup or ash tray anyway just for learning". Thanks for doing that and teaching us of what to do and what NOT to do! - very useful! Now you can make boiler end plates! - But if doing so, I suggest you make them domed as well? - Of course, blending the dome radius into the smaller radius to form the flange ....
That is my ambition, when I decide to try spinning parts!
K2
 
the oak form over the few days has started splitting. its been dry for about a year now so would think it would be done splitting. how do form/mold makers keep their forms from splitting? should i use a different wood? in one of the photos you will see line in the ali thats where one of the splits was
Based on my experience with sawing hardwood, air drying a 1" thick oak board takes about 3 years. Thicker takes longer. Oak rounds (any hardwood) will usually split as the wood dries. Saw it in half lenghtwise, let it dry, then glue it back together seems to be the only way to avoid the splitting.
 
While training to be an industrial arts teacher at Oregon State University in the mid 70's, we were exposed to metal spinning. I did a few aluminum bowls and was successful with copper also. Use Eastern Hard Rock Maple for your forms- it has tight grain and will not split like oak. Also, annealing often won't hurt. Many failures happen when you think you can wait a little longer before doing so.
 
Hi
You achieved a successful spin well before I did in the learning process. :)

No need to anneal 00 grade. It should come that way.

1. the oak form over the few days has started splitting.
I have used laminated MDF or plywood but now I have a 3D printer.
MDF is ideal for spinning a small number of parts.

3. this was around .030 thick and after spinning it is super thin. lesson learned is must have thicker material as it gets thin quck

You need to push the metal in both directions (R to L and L to R) to control metal thickness. It is difficult because you can't "see" how thick the metal is.

5. im not about to order brass just yet but what alloy would you recomend? saw something about yellow and red brass being good? but that just doesnt tell me the alloy. and then i read along time ago about a horror storry of red brass being radio active from way back in the day. is that really still an issue these days?
Sounds like a nice myth.
 
While training to be an industrial arts teacher at Oregon State University in the mid 70's, we were exposed to metal spinning. I did a few aluminum bowls and was successful with copper also. Use Eastern Hard Rock Maple for your forms- it has tight grain and will not split like oak. Also, annealing often won't hurt. Many failures happen when you think you can wait a little longer before doing so.
Patternmaker, what is eastern hard rock maple? i only ask is because many around here in south west Virginia use maple to make rolling pins and such. wonder if eastern maple is the same as hard rock eastern maple? cause i have all sorts off it up on the hill even have a few smaller logs laying at the saw mill. (my brother and i have a bandsawmill but he's the woodsman and furniture maker not me)

and Dazz, good idea, mdf may be the next way i go. thought about 3d printing it but my xyz davinci jr printer just doesnt make that nice of a print. it also doesnt make very nice prints either.

cant wait to get another form made closer to the original part i need and also roll the lip. will post back when i have more.

right now canning tomatoes and my first batch of sour kraut just finished working. dill pickles also just done. drought has really hurt the garden this year but getting enough out of it for the year.
 
Based on my experience with sawing hardwood, air drying a 1" thick oak board takes about 3 years. Thicker takes longer. Oak rounds (any hardwood) will usually split as the wood dries. Saw it in half lenghtwise, let it dry, then glue it back together seems to be the only way to avoid the splitting.
Hi
In the old days, ships had wooden masts. They didn't split because they had been seasoned underwater in mast ponds, like the remaining one at Chatham Dockyard.
 
Patternmaker, what is eastern hard rock maple? i only ask is because many around here in south west Virginia use maple to make rolling pins and such. wonder if eastern maple is the same as hard rock eastern maple? cause i have all sorts off it up on the hill even have a few smaller logs laying at the saw mill. (my brother and i have a bandsawmill but he's the woodsman and furniture maker not me)

and Dazz, good idea, mdf may be the next way i go. thought about 3d printing it but my xyz davinci jr printer just doesnt make that nice of a print. it also doesnt make very nice prints either.

cant wait to get another form made closer to the original part i need and also roll the lip. will post back when i have more.

right now canning tomatoes and my first batch of sour kraut just finished working. dill pickles also just done. drought has really hurt the garden this year but getting enough out of it for the year.
Patternmaker, what is eastern hard rock maple? i only ask is because many around here in south west Virginia use maple to make rolling pins and such. wonder if eastern maple is the same as hard rock eastern maple? cause i have all sorts off it up on the hill even have a few smaller logs laying at the saw mill. (my brother and i have a bandsawmill but he's the woodsman and furniture maker not me)

and Dazz, good idea, mdf may be the next way i go. thought about 3d printing it but my xyz davinci jr printer just doesnt make that nice of a print. it also doesnt make very nice prints either.

cant wait to get another form made closer to the original part i need and also roll the lip. will post back when i have more.

right now canning tomatoes and my first batch of sour kraut just finished working. dill pickles also just done. drought has really hurt the garden this year but getting enough out of it for the year.


The Hard Rock Maple is to differentiate from the local Oregon Maple grown out here. Because of the climate it is softer and not as tight grain as the maple grown in the Great Lakes region where the colder climate with less rain makes for a very dense hard wood. The maple you have locally may be similar, but I am not familiar with it.
 
I tried metal spinning several times. My 12"x36" Churchill lathe is not strong enough to do big parts. A spinning lathe has a hydraulic ram that holds continuous pressure on the metal part so it does not fly out and hit you in the face. Only way I could keep my metal in my lathe was drill a 1/4" hole in the metal for a 1/4" pin to hold metal in place. It took me a while to get it right so it worked in my lathe but I was never able to make parts larger than 6" diameter. I had better luck making 1/2 of a punch press die then place thick rubber on the metal part then press it with a 50 ton hydraulic jack. Rubber conforms to the die as metal bends and is forced into the die. My rubber never lasted very long it was good for 4 to 5 parts. I have some dies only 1/2" deep both 1/2s are CRS metal and 50 ton jack works great for lots of parts. I can put a 5° angle exhaust on a rocket engine or jet engine very easy.
 
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There's no point in annealing the aluminum. 1100 is pure aluminum. It's not going to get softer. I've found it can be work hardened. I've not found it necessary to anneal it in the work I do. I would also try maple. It's much finer grain than oak, though a bit more expensive. I would try doing some more aluminum before you start using brass, but that's me. Anyway, the first try looks good. Keep practicing.
Martin
 
MCjustis, thank you, yes i certainly want more practice on the 1100 before i start on the more expensive material. now on maple i have 2 logs that are considered mine at the sawmill but they have sit there for a about 2 years now and was considering them firewood at this point. that said maybe i can take a few skim cuts and just see if it is till good or not, ellse i have plenty more maple up on the hill to grab. a branch here or so. but then agian gotta let it dry out.

wanted to post the tool post and spinning tool i made for recomendations. its what i used to make the "cup" or ash tray

coming next
 
so here is the very dirty lathe with spinning tool bar

1628463267689.png



then the spinning tool tip still flaked up with beez wax and ali residue circled the area where i mostly used to aply preasure i did use the tip at the very corner but figured the wider egg shape was a safer bet over all

1628463447507.png
 
The tool should have quite a b
oh and MCjustis, how did you attach that spinner to the crank of the engine? was some sort of cross member tigged into place or just curious of what fastening setup you came up with on the back side of that spinner? and what process you used to weld or braze it into place on the back? that spinner just looks great


The back plate has a bored hole to fit the crankshaft, then it gets put on a fixture I made to turn the outside edge to match the angle of the spinner. I leave a small lip on the back of the plate for the cone to sit against. From there, the cone just gets bolted on to the backplate.
Martin
 

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