Spin forming copper - It is possible!!

[peanutaxis]

Using a 1/2 horsepower cheap-as wood lathe, old copper drainpipe, a bit of ingenuity, and quite a bit of patience to learn from your mistakes!

Research:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FE7VQb3r66w" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUSfkrJru8g" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

Pics include a piece of old copper drainpipe which I flatten into sheets, failed attempts, using a rounded off knife steel, the hole in my shed roof when I hadn't secured the sheet of cooper tight enough!, my home-built wheel (like the ones in the video), the successful product. The only reason the successful product in the last picture is distorted is because the wooden form/blank wasn't quite wide enough - the copper sheet had a larger diameter than the form I was spinning it to, so at the end I was trying to form it against.....well, thin air!

(Stupid bloody website all the photos are in reverse order)

[peanutaxis]

Sigh, god himself would find it a mission to upload pics here.

[Nimrod]

Looks very nice

[Frosteecat]

Wow...that looks like some hard work. Thanks for sharing that...I'm miles from doing that.

[peanutaxis]

Yeah I couldn't find any info of spin forming at this site. If I get enough interest I'll take more photos esp. of my next plan which is to go bigger, and post a more detailed write-up. Eventually I want to turn something for a 65L fully copper still. I thought about jamming a lawnmower on the end of my lathe because 1/2 HP will not nearly be enough - the larger the diameter the more power you need - and then I found this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4qB6n1cm04" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow




p.s. Yeah I guess it is quite hard work. Or rather lengthy work, trial and error, determination. You pretty much have to be a Kiwi!

[fullhouse]

pretty kewl idea...share more!

[NcHooch]

wow, a hole in the roof ? ...lets be careful there.
the end product looks nice tho ....good work.

[Frosteecat]

See, I'm the guy who would have that fly off and destroy or kill something...

[emptyglass]

There is a gold mining tourist attraction near me. Dudes dress up in period clothes, you can pan for gold in their salted creek, buy a gold pan to hang on your wall.
The dude that makes the gold pans works in an open fronted shed so you can watch him work, spitting out gold pans by the dozen. All spun. On his spinning lathe the tool rest had pegs in it for pulling the tool around. More rightly, it hod holes for pegs that he would move as required, but he could pull the rest to where he wanted it, set some pegs in it and start spinning the disc over the mold (cope?).
He spends most of his time checking out the chicks in the observstion place. I'm guessing, but it seemed like it took him about 45 seconds to form a gold pan. Probably a minute and a bit each by the time he had the next one loaded, his rest and pegs set, say 2 minutes each.

I do know that the ammount you pull in each strech does affect the waviness of the collar. Don't ask me how to do it, but old bloke I knew told me its managable with technique.

I have a large metal lathe. I'd love to have a go at spinning some copper. I have used it and other metal lathes for turning wood like you need for the mold, and the do it really good. But they dont like it, it can do some real damage down the track, wood dust blocks up the oil passages and its a mess to clean.

I know! I'll just wizz the wheel of the back of the ford wagon, bolt a block of wood to it and go for it. Its got a live axle, not as good as the "crazy canadian" in your link above. I had to watch to see if he copped one in the nuts, or just plain got killed.