Spinning

Metal with
a Taig
Lathe
(Under
construction)
Warning
Metal spinning is an
inherently dangerous
activity. These pages do not
attempt to describe safety
procedures. PROCEED AT
YOUR OWN RISK!

The set-up described below

did not work out for me.
The only real problem was
with the live center in the
tailstock. It had too much
friction to work properly. I
have since started using a Jet Minilathe (Wood turning) for this work and it functions
great. I haven't had much time to pursue this activity.

Needed Items
Taig lathe with carriage slide,tailstock, steady rest, collets, and a 3 or 4 jaw
chuck
Woodturning accessories (optional but help shape the forms and tool handles)
Headstock and Tailstock Risers (optional)
Metal Spinning Tools (see below)
Forms (see below)
Sheet metal (aluminum, copper, pewter, etc.) (see below)

Metal Spinning Tools

In addition to several free hand turning tools you need a special metal spinning rest and
a live center (not the taig version). Robert Sorby sells a set of Metal spinning tools, but I
think they are overkill for the Taig. It is easy (and cheaper) to make your own tools
using the Taig. The set can be purchased from Highland Hardware. At the very least the
video is short but very helpful.
There are many different types and styles of spinning tools. This is not intended to be an
exhaustive look at all of them, only those types I have used to make objects. The
principals are similar so once you've made a few you should be able to make any tool
you need.

All of these tools will require wooden handles. These can be as simple as 1 1/4" or 1
1/2" dowels drilled to receive the tool. The addition of some kind of ferule will enhance
the life of the tool. Since I had some wood turning accessories for the lathe I turned a
10" length of 1 1/2" diameter birch dowel to the shape below. The specific shape is not
important--make something comfortable for your hands. I used a 1" length of 7/8"
diameter brass tubing as a ferule. Since these tools need to be bedded in the handle
between 5" and 6" you need a somewhat long 1/4" drill. I found a 10" brad point bit
from Woodcraft.

Tailstock Live Center

My tailstock live center is a simple design that works well for the size of pieces made
on a lathe the size of the Taig. It can even be used on a larger lathe; however, larger
projects will likely cause it to wear out much faster. As it is the piece can be put together
for about $5. The plans and instructions can be found here. The running pad has a half
inch hole to take replaceable followers.

Update

The above spinning center worked well in testing but failed to function when I
attempted to spin the bell ornament. Further investigation proved that the problem was
that the small contact area of the bell form (1/2") provided insufficient friction to spin
the center. For this reason I decided to try a different approach for the small spinning.
The Taig has a live center that includes a 1/4" piece of steel turned with a 60 degree
point. I machined a piece of 1/2" steel 3" long to have the last 2 1/2" turned to 0.250".
This worked great for the bell ornament spinning. A sketch of this part is shown below.
Metal Spinning Toolrest

My toolrest design was conceived from the start to make use of the swivel base that Lee
Valley sells as part of their woodturning toolrest. I have no experience with the Taig
Toolrest for Woodturning and don't know how adaptable my design would be. If you
plan on making your own tools and turning handles -- Lee Valleys woodturning
accessories are certainly useful and in my opinion worth the money. The plans and
instructions can be found here.

Point Tool

You'll need two sizes of this tool to start. You could probably get by with just the larger
one but the smaller one is so easy to make it doesn't make sense not to.
The first point tool that I made was turned from a piece of 1/4" O-1 tool steel about 12"
long. The piece was chucked up in a collet and the end was roughed in using a standard
bit. The piece was then brought to final shape using a bastard mill file. The piece was
than polished with 320, 600, and 800 grit wet/dry paper. I hardened the end using a
propane torch and tempered it in a 325 degree oven for an hour. The whole process took
about an hour and a half including the tempering time. Below is a photo of the finished
tip (after final polishing)

I made my second point tool from 3/8" O-1 tool steel. Given the limitations of the Taig
lathe I could only work with a piece about 10" long. The first step was to mount the
piece in a 3/8" arbor with the piece as far in as it will go. The steady rest was used to
provide additional support. The steady rest was positioned as far out as possible to still
allow the crosslide sufficient movement to turn down the last 3" of the tool. This is not a
terribly rigid assembly, but it does allow a rough turning of the last 3" of the tool to
about 1/4" diameter. I leave this a little oversize to make a snug fit in the handle.
The piece is then swapped end for end will much more of the tool steel held in the
headstock. Since far less of the tip is to be machined the steady rest can be placed much
closer to the end. The tip is then roughed to shape in much the same way as the previous
tool. A mill file is used to smooth the profile, with wet/dry sandpaper being used to
polish the tool. The piece is then heat treated in the same way as the previous tool.

Combination Tool

The combination tool is begun in the same way as the 3/8" pointed tool. The initial
process is identical up to the heat treating. Prior to heat treating the tip is machined so
that about half of the tip is removed at about a 15 degree angle. This machining can be
accomplised in a number of ways including milling or grinding. Use what method you
have available. After machining the piece is ground to a mirror finish and heat treated
like the previous tools.
Diamond Tool (Trimming)

I initially planned on making this tool from 3/8" square tool steel, turning the last 7-8
inches round on the lathe. My experience in keeping pieces this long rigid while
machining the point tools convinced me that this would not be very satisfactory. As a
result I decided to forge the tool from a piece of 3/8" round tool steel about 12" long. I
have no experience black smithing, but this is about as simple as it gets. First you need a
heat source (the mapp gas torch we are using for heat treating is acceptable though
slow.) Heat about two inches of the end of the rod to a red color. Then quickly place the
tip flat on a small anvil (steel block) and using a small 3lb sledge begin hammering the
area flat. This will require many cycles of heating and hammering, rotating the piece 90
degrees between each cycle. After awhile you should have a reasonable good square
section. It is simply a matter of grinding the tip as shown in the photo below and heat
treating the tool.

Beeding Tools

Forms
The forms that are used to spin the metal can be made of metal, wood, or plastic. Wood
is probably the best choice for begginers. It's cheap and it works well for a limited
number of spinnings. Hard Maple is the traditional choice but any dry seasoned
hardwood should prove suitable.

Sheet Metal
Many metals can be spun. There are just a few criteria. The first is that the metal should
be fully annealed. The annealing will probably need to repeated several times during the
spinning. Second the metal should be relatively thin (18-20 gauge or about 1/32").
Finally the disc should fit the lathe (less than 4 1/2" for standard lathe or 6" with risers)

Sample Projects
1. Bell Christmas Ornament

References
In learning to perform this technique I read or viewed all of the following articles. I
would recommend the Reagan and Smith book as the best all around starting point. The
Sorby video is based solely upon their products; however, the "live" demonstration
really made the process click for me.

1. Reagan, James & Earl Smith, Metal Spinning for Craftsman, Instructors, and
Students, Lindsay Publications, Bradley, IL 1991
2. Riser, James P., Getting Started in Metal Spinning - Part 1, Home Shop
Machinist, 2002 July-August, pp. 12-19, Village Press, MI, 2000
 3. Riser, James P., Getting Started in Metal Spinning - Part 2, Home Shop
Machinist, 2002 September-October, pp. 14-20, Village Press, MI, 2000
4. Riser, James P., Getting Started in Metal Spinning - Part 3, Home Shop
Machinist, 2002 November-December, pp. 28-38, Village Press, MI, 2000
5. Wiley, Paul, The Art of Metal Spinning, Paul Wiley, New Britain, PA, 2004
6. Sorby, Robert, Focus on Metal Spinning (VHS Video), Robert Sorby, Inc,
Shefield, England, 2002
7. Tuells, C. & W. Painter, Machinery's Reference Series No. 57: Meyal Spinning,
Lindsay Publications, Bradley, IL 1994

Web Sites

Paul Wiley's Site (Author of the best book on spinning I've found)
Metal Spinning Workshop (2 disc DVD on MetalSpinning

Build a metal spinning lathe
Metal Spinning Tutorial (pdf)
The James P Riser Machinery Page (author of the above magazine articles)
Making balls by metal spinning
Toroids and Metal Spinning Procedures

This page and all of its contents are copyright 2009 by Walter Anderson