Spinning Metal - Round 1 - I LOST!

Metal Spinning -- taste the danger!
First attempt, mixed results. You might have questions I don't have answers to... I'll get into details in the next vid.

Just don't hold your breath, k?
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Music: "Operatic 3" - Vibe Mountain

[milesomalley]

I spin bells for musical instruments and the wrinkling is a common problem. It’s a result of a few things.
1. The metal that had already been worked is very hard and the stress and energy exerted on the softer section causes the edge to wrinkle.

2. On larger diameter blanks if you stiffen the edge by flexing it back and not spinning the material all the way out to the edge until the last pass this can often be avoided.

Largely your issue is work hardening an can be solved with annealing and 2 spinning steps.

Awesome video!!

[blueberryc]

Gauss says you cant get an overall positive curvature from a flat sheet

I guess he never heard of a blowtorch

[srp]

Used to work at a metal spinning company- 1. if you don’t have a known soft grade of aluminium then annealing halfway through the process is worthy trying (use soap to gauge the temp, mark it with the bar of soap, heat till the soap turns brown). 2. Also use tallow as a lubricant (obtainable in the U.K. from plumbers and electricians merchants). 3. Most of the aluminium we spun was done with plain ordinary spinning tools - often shop made - think of the shape of the back of a teaspoon, but highly polished. And your tool is restricted by using the toolpost as a fixed pivot - use the tool freehand against a pin so it’s not restricted to a fixed radius. 4. Start with a thicker blank - the aim is to stretch the metal and make it flow into shape. You won’t end up with a 16 gauge lampshade with a 16 gauge blank. There will be surplus at the end, which you cut off with a tool like a woodturners skew chisel.
But as a first attempt what you achieved is bloody good.

[Earthnewz]

i was a metal spinner for 17 years on a very large spin lathe.doing the same thing cept with 16 foot dia.so for the ripples.you just need a larger blank expect to cut off ripples.
you should make sure part is laid down to the tooling prior to spinning the lg dia..also if you introduce a little heat on the other side of spin wheel it wiil help

[AndTheCorrectAnswerIs]

I've only seen this done before in one smooth continuous pass. Maybe you're taking so long that the metal is just getting wrinkled from old age.

[DanielLopez-upos]

I Once milled a solid carbon steel Baseball bat, needless to say you could barely lift if never-mind swinging it, but hey it looked nice.

[TonyFleetwood]

this video did not meet my minimum requirement of %72 danger.

[АндрейЦыкунов-йл]

As a child, I lived in the Soviet Union. I really wanted to have satellite TV to watch TV shows all over the world. Parabolic antennas were not sold. I decided to do it myself. Made a form of concrete in layers. Fail. But I became an engineer designer of electronic equipment.

[maxximumb]

You spin me right round, Tony
Right round like a record, Tony

[ShiryouOni]

I don't have a good explanation but I thought we were gonna see some giant metal beyblades. Great video anyways!

[Oyez]

Tony, I've done a fair bit of spinning. You need a lube or wax on the material to start with. Also the material will work harden on you. You need to anneal it before starting and then again if it gets hard on you. I make high voltage torroids for Tesla coils. It took lots of trial and error but eventually you'll get the hang of it. Good luck!

[abilalpk]

As usual, very informative, to the point and fun to watch. Thanks for your great work Tony.

[Harlequin]

Start of the video: He's testing the waters about transitioning into a wooden bowl lathe spinning channel...

[tommasofossati]

And the cake joke was hilarious! How do you think about all these funny gags?
They are the soul of this Channel

[Xraller]

Oh! I've always wanted to try that. I think it's just work hardened. Try annealing half way through.

[aherrera]

I have done these before creating some 12" aluminum balls for a large tesla coil, but you need to anneal the material by heating it up before starting (don't quench it), if you feel the material is getting harder as you work it, anneal it again. I used a propane torch and heat it up carefully. Also, if you use just a tool rest with some pins, you may have a better feedback of how hard the metal is becoming.
I did my half balls starting at the center and going all the way to the outside every time, when the shape was close, I use the tool against the form to refine the shape. Always use a blank a little larger than needed and with a piece of HSS ground like a regular lathe cutting tool attached to a bar, you cut the edge and make it perfect.

[deepnhock]

Basic aluminum deal...
Take your oxy acelelyne torch. Set it to sooty. Cover your aluminum with soot.
Re-set your torch hotter. Burn the soot off the aluminum.
That will soften the aluminum and you can form it without splitting.

[flatbrokefrank]

I watched an engineer spinning metal some years ago now I seem to remember the setup was a tool post with two upright pegs in it and the tool was a ball on the end of a 5 foot piece of wood which was held firmly under the arm - ATB

[NewZeroland]

Holy cow that mouse click cut was a great idea XD

[Pro_Vs_Con]

That mouse my step-dad used 18 years ago playing mechaworrior made me feel so unnoticeably happy.

Believe me.. Nostalgic at that.. 😊