Hit me - Miss me?

[Herbiev]

Superb job on the metal spinning. Looking forward to seeing the end product

 

[Maryak]

Thanks Jim, Herbie & Terry, :bow: :bow: :bow:

That looked like it went pretty well, ...did you just polish a sphere onto the rod?
And were you able to do it in one go, or did you have to anneal it in between?

I like the simple tool rest for it......and the shoes of coarse... ;D

Dave

Dave,

Yes I just polished the end of the rod. Now that I know this can be successful, I will may a more fancy one. I annealed before I started and it went OK in one go. Oh and did I mention I used tallow as the lube ??? Anyway with steel on copper seemed not to make much difference other than in letting the emery lose some of its' grip.

Best Regards
Bob

 

[steamer]

The Clockmaker W.R. Smith recommends a 50-50 mix of motor oil and bar soap chips made by carving slivers of soap off the side of the bar with a knife....sounds really messy to me.

Dave

 

[NickG]

Nice work Bob, I was just about to ask if you'd annealed it as I hadn't read all the other comments properly! :-\ When beating them you often have to anneal it multiple times so you did well to do it in 1 go.

 

[tel]

. I annealed before I started and it went OK in one go.

Hmmm ... probably at some risk to the integrity of the copper - ok for a tank perhaps, not for boiler work. Other than that it came out well.

Just a tip tho, for next time - a smallish ball race bolted to the end of a bit of square bar and held in the tool post will make life easier for small flanged work like that. You may have to alter the angle of approach a couple of times to get it tho (between annealings )

 

[gabby]

Hi all, I seem to remember seeing a semiautomatic machine somewhere, where the shaping bar was hydraulically operated, so I guess that would take the "Armstrong back stretcher" out of the equation, also the machine was spinning a large disk (6' or more).
Ah the memory slowly returns, the company was a boiler manufacturing plant and the disk was probably an end dome for a large vessel of some sort and made of steel.
Keep up the amazing work :bow: :bow:

 

[fcheslop]

Hi Bob,the spoon needs to be polished and I find it better to work below centre height if the going is tough it either needs annealing or the spoon is at the wrong position its a matter of sucking and seeing nice job on the engine.
This is a re-pro Doll boiler made from 0.6mm brass I know brass is really a no no .The original is over 100 years old.
If the pic is a prob I will remove it

best wishes Frazer

 

[Maryak]

Dave, Nick, tel, Gabby and Fraser,

Gentlemen thank you very very much for support input and additional tips/tricks. :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow:

Fraser the picture is absolutely no problem, if anything it adds to the spinning discussion.

One thing I found difficult was to get the tool to the correct starting point. Should the tool be smaller or should the tailstock mandrel be smaller ???

Best Regards
Bob

 

[fcheslop]

Hi Bob,I'm not very good at explaining so here goes.
The spoon I use for up to 1.5mm thick copper or brass is 3/8 dia about 10 inches long and has a 3/4 inch long curve polished on the end.If you make the tailstock mandrel smaller than the former the metal will bump up and form a dish a handy feature if you want it The starting point I find is tilt the tool about 3/4 to 1 inch below centre height and move the tool in a arc towards the headstock then reposition the rest and repeat for simple flanges l find 2 annealings are sufficient the little funnel top took 3 and the lathe was running at 1500rpm.
If need be I can do a couple of pics of my set up but its difficult to take action shots Iv only got two hands :big:
I fought shy of spinning for many years but use it a lot now its so handy for funnels,cylinder covers and burners it really is a useful thing to learn.
The best lube is Tallow or soap and oil mix I find although at a pinch grease and cutting oil works well.I'm self taught so can only say what works for me
Best wishes Frazer

 

[Maryak]

Thanks Fraser, :bow:

I understood that OK and next week I will find some 3/8" rod, spoon the end and polish it. Old habits die hard and going below centre makes perfect sense once it's pointed out.

Best Regards
Bob

 

[fcheslop]

Hi Bob, I know what you mean about working below centre height it took me a while to twig :big: it may also be beneficial to have a little more allowance on the blank to push of.If you find it hard to remove the part from the former heat it up the trapped air usually pops it off
Happy spinning.
best wishes Frazer

 

[NickG]

Nice work Frazer,

Now you come to mention it Tallow that makes perfect sense, our company used to make brass cartridge cases formed from a disc about 1 1/2" thick into a case about 2 feet long and tallow was the lubrication for that!

Nick

 

[Deanofid]

That came out well, Bob. I've never tried spinning with a spoon. Just use a ball bearing in a tool post setup.

Annealed after each couple of passes so as not to crack the brass. (This one is for a toy boiler.)

If the bearing leaves marks, a skim off the flanges will clean it up.

One of the end caps.

And one in the boiler, the other showing at right of the picture. These were for a repair job for a fellow a while back.
As is usual, there are a few different ways to get things done. I'd like to try the "spoon" way sometime, but my lathe might be to small for that.

Thanks for the progress shots, and the shoes, again!

Dean

 

[fcheslop]

Hi Dean I know guys who spin on the mini lathes although they have had to replace the headstock bearings.I find that if the material is annealed and the tool in a good position you do not have to force the the material at 10 hernias pressure it flows. The spoon I use is only 10 inches long
best wishes to all.

 

[zeeprogrammer]

I've been watching this thread since it began (granted off and on ).
Happy to see the progress.
Give us a warning when you're ready for showtime.
I don't want my jelly jar to be wanting.

 

[gabby]

I even snuck out of work early to see if it was a runner yet, ssshhhhh don't tell the boss ;D
I must say the lesson on metal spinning was most interesting and I will be experimenting with some fuel tank ends soon myself.
I wanna see a runna pleeeeaaaasssseeeeeeeeeee! :bow:

 

[Maryak]

Frazer, Nick, Dean, Zee and Gabby,

Thanks for your support and instruction. :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow:

Well, I'm all tanked up and my mate has offered to polish it Never one to look a gift horse in the mouth I gave him the shop keys.

Profiling the bosses.

The completed tank.

Best Regards
Bob

 

[metalmad]

Looking great Bob.
Tell your Mate I want to be friends woohoo1
Pete

 

[steamer]

Yeah! and does he have a passport! ;D

Dave

 

[Deanofid]

Looks good, Bob! Small enough that you won't even have to use your credit card to fill it, too.