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]

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

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

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!

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.