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Calling John Lucas
- Thread starter Dtoggs
- Start date
I'm not John....but you can always use the forum search function to look up different topics. I've been on the forum since it was redesigned last year and metal spinning doesn't come up often (or maybe never).
i'm fairly certain metal spinning hasn't developed as a discussion until now. however, i've been starting to spin ... are there some questions you'd like to pose?
john lucas
AAW Forum Expert
metal spinning
I'm John Lucas, or at least I play one on TV. I have a lot of info on metal spinning but unfortunately it's all hard copy stuff I've collected. There should be a fair amount of info on the web if you do a search of metal spinning. I haven't done it myself yet. I've been watching and searching for years and will try it some day soon I hope. It doesn't take a lot of tooling, despite what you see in the books and video's. I visited a professional spinner and he used 3 tools for most of the work and one of them was a piece of oak stuck in a piece of thick wall conduit for a handle. The other was a cutoff tool and the last was a roller to roll the edge. He said he does 90 percent of his work with those 3 tools even though he had a shelf full of others. You do need a custom tool rest because you lever the tools against the work and you need pins that fit in the tool rest to do this.
It is a fascinatiing process and is very easy to try. It's quite difficult to master and requires a lot of practice. 2 beginners I talked to said they ruined several pieces before they got the feel for moving the metal properly.
Dave Hout is a very good demonstrator of metal spinning so if you get to see him don't miss it. I'll have to look through my stuff to give you some names and adresses for where I got the info. I do remember that there was a really good article in one of the early American Woodturner issues.
I'm John Lucas, or at least I play one on TV. I have a lot of info on metal spinning but unfortunately it's all hard copy stuff I've collected. There should be a fair amount of info on the web if you do a search of metal spinning. I haven't done it myself yet. I've been watching and searching for years and will try it some day soon I hope. It doesn't take a lot of tooling, despite what you see in the books and video's. I visited a professional spinner and he used 3 tools for most of the work and one of them was a piece of oak stuck in a piece of thick wall conduit for a handle. The other was a cutoff tool and the last was a roller to roll the edge. He said he does 90 percent of his work with those 3 tools even though he had a shelf full of others. You do need a custom tool rest because you lever the tools against the work and you need pins that fit in the tool rest to do this.
It is a fascinatiing process and is very easy to try. It's quite difficult to master and requires a lot of practice. 2 beginners I talked to said they ruined several pieces before they got the feel for moving the metal properly.
Dave Hout is a very good demonstrator of metal spinning so if you get to see him don't miss it. I'll have to look through my stuff to give you some names and adresses for where I got the info. I do remember that there was a really good article in one of the early American Woodturner issues.
metal spinning calling John Lucas
Thanks John,I will search web,just a bit lazy,I see you are on a lot of forums and you helped me before with the vibrating tool. Now, one other question,Where can I find the french turner-believe his
name is Jean-Michael. Has a good versionof his homemade wolvorine sharpen jig, and threading jig. Pw. Pandb12167@yahoo.com Thank you
Thanks John,I will search web,just a bit lazy,I see you are on a lot of forums and you helped me before with the vibrating tool. Now, one other question,Where can I find the french turner-believe his
name is Jean-Michael. Has a good versionof his homemade wolvorine sharpen jig, and threading jig. Pw. Pandb12167@yahoo.com Thank you Hello,
Here is a link to Jean Michel's web site.
http://www.jeanmichel.org/
Sadly he passed away earlier this year. It is a nice tribute to Jean that his family has decided to leave the web site up. He surely helped a lot of people with the info he made available to the woodturning community.
He was always willing to give help and advice to any who asked.
Best wishes,
Dave
Here is a link to Jean Michel's web site.
http://www.jeanmichel.org/
Sadly he passed away earlier this year. It is a nice tribute to Jean that his family has decided to leave the web site up. He surely helped a lot of people with the info he made available to the woodturning community.
He was always willing to give help and advice to any who asked.
Best wishes,
Dave
additionnally, here's a couple of dvd/videos that are very helpful:
http://www.metalspinningworkshop.com/
and
http://www.tools-for-woodworking.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=328
also --- bestwood tools has made up the tool rests for us, but you have to call to order ...
there are 3 basic tool shapes -- terry covers making them. sorby has a different tool set and technique. yes, spinning has a very different feel from wood turning. very little cutting; ;more that the metal is pushed around--almost like shaping dough in a pie pan. and just as with a pie crust, there is a lot of tearing and inconsistent thickness in the beginning. AND, there is a razor-sharp edge spinning right next to your fingers!
hope this helps
http://www.metalspinningworkshop.com/
and
http://www.tools-for-woodworking.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=328
also --- bestwood tools has made up the tool rests for us, but you have to call to order ...
there are 3 basic tool shapes -- terry covers making them. sorby has a different tool set and technique. yes, spinning has a very different feel from wood turning. very little cutting; ;more that the metal is pushed around--almost like shaping dough in a pie pan. and just as with a pie crust, there is a lot of tearing and inconsistent thickness in the beginning. AND, there is a razor-sharp edge spinning right next to your fingers!
hope this helps
Last edited:
Studieo e
Thank you very much,also Jeff and John. I will look at the video link. I certainly do not have the skill level at this time,but the spinning process looks simple for small objects. I want to make the globe(?) for a vintage delta jig saw light,its spun aluminum-they are like gold on eby. Basically, the edge rolling is where the rub(excuse pun) comes in,it looks to be ticklish. PW thanks also for the jeanmichel link 
Thank you very much,also Jeff and John. I will look at the video link. I certainly do not have the skill level at this time,but the spinning process looks simple for small objects. I want to make the globe(?) for a vintage delta jig saw light,its spun aluminum-they are like gold on eby. Basically, the edge rolling is where the rub(excuse pun) comes in,it looks to be ticklish. PW
thanks also for the jeanmichel link
john lucas
AAW Forum Expert
Fortunately aluminum is the easiest to spin. We have a metal spinning factory here in Cookeville. I have friends who work there but haven't managed to get a visit. One of there specialties is turned reflectors for lamps. In fact the reflectors for our strobe lights that we use were turned at the factory.
the rolled edge is actually fairly easy to do. There is a tool that looks just like one of the rollers for a sliding glass door. It is forced over the edge and it rolls the edge.
The hardest part by far seems to be knowing how much pressure to put against the metal when forcing it over the form and then pushing the metal back down in the reverse direction to the metal doesn't get too thin. When you push the metal over the form you are actually moving metal, kind of like little waves. If you don't force it in the opposite direction it gets thinner with each pass and you break through.
the rolled edge is actually fairly easy to do. There is a tool that looks just like one of the rollers for a sliding glass door. It is forced over the edge and it rolls the edge.
The hardest part by far seems to be knowing how much pressure to put against the metal when forcing it over the form and then pushing the metal back down in the reverse direction to the metal doesn't get too thin. When you push the metal over the form you are actually moving metal, kind of like little waves. If you don't force it in the opposite direction it gets thinner with each pass and you break through.