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spinning copper

H

herb

Joined
Mar 4, 2007
Messages
56
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8
Location
Lakewood, Colorado
Hi and Happy New Year to All.


I heard someone talk about spinning copper platters on a lathe. Apparently there is a form and then a thin copper disk is forced against the form and so takes on that shape. Anybody hear about this?

Herb
 
Lindsay Books ( http://www.lindsaybks.com/ ) has, or had, a couple books about metal spinning. Not very expensive, IIRC, and address more of the technical requirements - not easily explained in videos. Their catalog is an entertaining read in itself, and a gold mine of arcane arts.

Joe
 
spinning metal

Herb,
I don't know if you have access to the Dave Hout series on H&G channel or not, but he did a find 1/2 program on the matter and demo'd at our local club, he had 2 tools he used and a bar of grease, if you go to there website you might find a paper copy of the demo, they used to be on there...Dennis
 
Spinning Copper or any metal

Herb,

Spinning metal in any lathe is very broadly used metallurgical process for making anything from light fixtures to pots, pans and wheel rims, to name a few. I work in my life that provides a paycheck as a metallurgical enginer in the sheet aluminum industry and have visited many customers who use this process in aluminum, though any metal can be used. I have seen people do it both by hand and with fairly heftly machines so there should be lots of inofrmation out there for you.

Most of what I have seen has not used a form as such since there is some spring-back of the metal that takes place. A lot will depend on the thickness and hardness of the copper you choose. I would start first with dead soft copper sheet (O temper). I picked up some copper flashing for roofs that fits the bill. I cannot advise you on the settings to use on a lathe but can suggest that a highly polished smooth tool or one with a small wheel on the end of it works best to make sure you do not cut the metal.

I never thought of doing it on my own lathe, but now you have made me curios since I have some sheet copper laying around.

Good Luck 😀

Doug
 
Anyone find a source for scissor tools? Or plans how to make one? In our last discussion someone told me a website that sold them. I saw pictures and it said it would be coming soon, but it did not say the price.
Wyatt
 
You guys really need to stop posting stuff like this. I've already got hollow forms, hats, lamps, air brushed vases on my list of to dos. I don't need anything else. Honest.

...still it'd be kinda cool to shape out in wood and then form it in silver. Not to mention the chasing options that would open up.
 
George, the tool placement on the spinning metal is similar to how the Japanese woodturners turned on the wood lathe.

I watched the videos from the AAW Symposium that were on the Woodworking Channel. They often used the tool rest for leverage, and did the cutting of the wood below center. As Alan Lacer said, VERY different from the techniques that we use.
 
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