Engine turning

[Alyn]

Chuck, I'm sure you're thinking of an article by Scott Colmer. He's done several very interesting how-to's published in MCM

Pat, I'm not sure how you could achieve the metallic look after trying this directly on plastic, but it will be an interesting addition to this thread if you pull it off.

Pete, your work (as usual) looks great. I used the toothpick and compound for mine as, from what I've read, it was common for hot rodders to do it this way with a wooden dowel in a drill press and similar rubbing compound. Your technique has a superior look in scale. Was size tubing is that?

 

[Pete J.]

24 minutes ago, Alyn said:

Chuck, I'm sure you're thinking of an article by Scott Colmer. He's done several very interesting how-to's published in MCM

Pat, I'm not sure how you could achieve the metallic look after trying this directly on plastic, but it will be an interesting addition to this thread if you pull it off.

Pete, your work (as usual) looks great. I used the toothpick and compound for mine as, from what I've read, it was common for hot rodders to do it this way with a wooden dowel in a drill press and similar rubbing compound. Your technique has a superior look in scale. Was size tubing is that?

 

Thanks Alyn.  I made several of them trying to get the size I wanted.  I believe the one in the photo is 1/8" brass tubing.  If you are going to do this, remember it is the inside diameter that will determine the size of the swirls.  For the brush, I used 15 lb. test,  stainless steel, single strand fishing line. Depending on the maker that is about .013"  300 feet is about $13 on Amazon.  Yep, that is about 100 modelers lifetime's supply but it is cheap!  Also, I didn't worry about getting the end even when I made it.  I just touched it up on a grinding wheel to get it flat.  Also from time to time I just touched the end on a file to clean out the the aluminum when the impression was getting light. 

[NOBLNG]

On ‎5‎/‎29‎/‎2018 at 12:54 AM, Pete J. said:

Since you mentioned Bugatti, here is a shot of an engine I am working on. 

Beautiful work Pete! Do you have a link to a thread on this build?

Thanks, Greg.

[Pete J.]

2 hours ago, NOBLNG said:

Beautiful work Pete! Do you have a link to a thread on this build?

Thanks, Greg.

I do.  I am a little slow on the updates.  I am currently working on a piece that is giving me fits so the posts come a bit slow.  Thanks for looking. 

 

[Russell C]

On 5/27/2018 at 7:17 PM, Snake45 said:

I've done it using a Cratex polishing point in a Dremel, but as you say, it's quite tedious. And hard to keep even, straight, and neat looking. 

Myself as well, although with just some flat-end round rod (might have been either brass or just plastic), as described in my '57 T-bird under glass thread, 3rd & 4th photos in the sequence there. Tedious, ripped up several strips of Bare Metal Foil 'til I got the hang of it.

[BigTallDad]

It seems that all the images I've seen show nicely aligned columns/rows but no overlap on the turnings. I did some engine turning on a hunting knife blade a few years back where each turning overlapped the previous turning by the length of the turning's radius (a half overlap).

Then next row of turnings was moved down by the radius, but the center of the turning was offset (by half the radius of the above row) to the left.

When all was said and done, each turning only had one-quarter visible...the rest was over-turned by successive turnings, and the total effect was a stair-stepped appearance.

[Ace-Garageguy]

1 hour ago, BigTallDad said:

It seems that all the images I've seen show nicely aligned columns/rows but no overlap on the turnings. I did some engine turning on a hunting knife blade a few years back where each turning overlapped the previous turning by the length of the turning's radius (a half overlap).

Then next row of turnings was moved down by the radius, but the center of the turning was offset (by half the radius of the above row) to the left.

When all was said and done, each turning only had one-quarter visible...the rest was over-turned by successive turnings, and the total effect was a stair-stepped appearance.

Exactly.

This is what I tend to think of:      though there are, of course, many possible patterns.

[Scott Colmer]

Thanks for remembering the article, Alyn.  I can't remember what issue the engine turned article was in.

I can tell you that I researched the technique on youtube. They used a drill press and bar guides to line it up. I made a jig and used plumber's tape to receive the pattern. The swirl pattern is created by sandpaper glued to the end of a styrene rod. The rod is held in place by jig and twirled by hand. 

The article featured a better jig than the one below. It was set up so the user could change the size of the swirl. For me, the key was to get it to line up in a even pattern like Bill shows above. It does take some time. I've seen some freehand attempts. Not many can get the consistent pattern. Those who can have steadier hands than I.  

I tried it on bare metal foil. It made it brittle. It might work on plastic. Then metalize it after. Worth a try.

Here is the prototype jig and first run. It was a dash for a cartooned airplane.

Hosted on Fotki

Scott

Edited June 1, 2018 by Scott Colmer