The Home Machinist!

Next year you should have practiced enough to put out a tuned set, mounted on a frame and ready to play your favorite carol... [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif"%20alt="[/img]

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Bryan
"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)

It looks to me like you are getting the hang of spinning!! That is some fine work!

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I always like to learn, but I don't always like to be taught.

Jacin,
just had to say it

"no one can call you a dumb bell anymore!"

Really neat idea for xmas, don't let my wife see them,
she complained from home to huntsvill ala. to hershey pa,
to home about a plane( we made one for GK) so we made her one.
now she want the copper flowers and a weathervane. i got fenders
to make, pedal car to restore.

Happy Hoolidays!

tt

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clueless near st.louis

Hey tt,

It's comments EXACTLYT like that which is why I HAD to spin these rather than hammer form them - had I used a hammer you'd be callign me a "tinker bell" or is that "bell tinker" - tinker - like the old blacksmiths - get it - huh?????

Ok ok I will KEEP the day job!!!

Seriously though - that's the beauty of these babies - as much as I wanted to make everyone copper roses - these are WAY WAY faster - hey what can I say - I still need to smooth out the dragster body!!!!!

Jacin, I'm a newcomer to lathes and mills. I've been in welding a while and hammer forming sheetmetal. My question is, would you deem it safe for a begginer machinist to try spinning? Any advice for starting out would be appreciated. Those bells, by the way, look like they could be professionally made Christmas tree ornaments!

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TIG weldin' Fool!
Lincoln Squarewave 175

Hi Customwelds,
Well I think before anyone would try spinning they should first READ as much as they can on the subject. Operating ANY machine tool can be dangerous - the safety aspect can be increased by applying some considerations including but not limited to: work with a soft material first (like annealed aluminum) - start with a SMALL PROJECT - for instance I started with the lamp shade but would have been smarter to start with the bells. The next part is sorta unconventional, BUT I think this is good for a beginner - I LIKED using the tool post mounted spinning tools (keep in mind this is NOT the way it is typically done) but it adds a tad of safety IMHO. Using a roller tool might also be more forgiving though much slower. AS far as I can see the most dangerous part is when you first start - the "blank" is flat and simple friction holds it in place - if the part is small (less stored energy) and it is soft material (like aluminum instead of Stainless) you can safely practice applying the fundamentals of spinning. I made a STEEL buck - (the part that the metal is formed against) I am the opinion that is is safer to use steel since it is so rigid (maybe I am off base here but it seems logical to me)
Once you start to get a crown in your part I think it becomes a bit safer - simply because the typical failure there is fracturing the driving hub - since everything is effectively trapped by your buck and your tailstock.
Jim Riser has published a How To book that I hear is excellent - you can also talk to him over at Yahoo groups - do a search on "metalspinning"
In short I think yes you can work safely spinning metal without a TON of metal lathe experience, BUT that means you are going to have to work extra hard by reading, studying, and best of all if you can find a local person to give you a lesson or two in person that would be the ultimate. I think if you have basic metal working skills then certainly spinning is simply one more thing to learn - CAREFULLY!!! You REALLY NEED to talk with some experts - which I am not - I am simply a rumcake who wanted to spin something one day.