I don't know what the look or procedure is called but once upon a time there was a post on how to make the swirl marks on bare metal using a drill/drill press. I have searched all over and can't find it anywhere.Do you know what Im talking about? :roll: A little help pleeez. :|
brushed metal/swirl marks
- Thread starter tikiharl
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Thx guys. Thats what Im talking about. Well its off to Home Depot. I dont have drill press but Im only doing a small area 6" x 6" so I think I should be able to pull it off with just a drill and a steady hand.I would like to see the dowel method, I vaguely remember it.Thanks :wink:
I finish is called "engine turned" I'm not sure why they call it that. I know you can buy sheets of plastic with a very convincing engine turned appliqué. A friend of mine used it on a bike he built but, I'm not sure where he got it. I think it was a local store (in Detroit).
Boardtrack fan was talking about my bike, I bought this vinyl sheet stuff from a sign supply house, it looks like engine turning (demascening is the technical term) a lot of people tap on my number plate because they think it's aluminum, it's just plexiglass with the vinyl sheet over it. It cost like $17 for a 2' x 4' piece, so it's not cheap, especially if you have some time, a piece of aluminum, a drill press and some valve lapping compund, or Eastwood sells a kit. Here is my result
tikiharl said:
Hey Harley, i'm the guy who did the "68" frame insert. When I was experimenting with different ways and materials, I found that regular sandpaper glued to whatever wore down wayyy to fast. Thats one of the reasons I chose the wire cup brush. I also tried free-handing at first, but found it too easy to make mistakes. The drill tends to wobble and wander, which makes it nearly impossible to get a nice even overlap pattern happening. So if you're going to freehand it, make sure the piece you're working on is big enough to allow you to clamp it to your work-bench ,you'll need both hands on the drill.
Good luck, and post a pic or 2 of the result
Rick
Hey rick, I found out the hard way about trying to freehand, no control whatsoever let alone making a pattern.I am going down to Home Depot this week, they have 10" Ryobi drill press for 99.00. Im sure it isnt industrial/shop grade but for minor jobs around the house it should work fine. 8)
OK so now that everyone understands what "Engine" turning is all about let me explain the ins and outs of the process. It can be done on all of the non-ferrous metals as well as plastics and most soft steels. First off, any size drill press is a must and you'll thank yourself the next time you want a straight hole drilled. What I've done in the past is first figure out what size panel your working with and decide on the "fish scale" sizes you want. It's a good idea to make several size turning blocks and keep them together for future use. Mine range from 1/2" to 2" diameter in 1/4" increments.
Making the tools:
What I did was, using my new drill press, center drill 1-1/2" long sections of hardwood dowels in each size diameter with a 1/4" drill bit. Some wood supply houses will sell you hardwood dowels in 12" sections. Do not drill all the way through! You want to leave about 1/2" of solid wood at the base of the plug. Then with some sort of epoxy that bonds wood to metal glue a 2" long section of 1/4" Dia. steel rod for a shaft. Your almost finished. Next using a plastic circle template and an Xacto knife cut corresponding sizes of discs from 180- 220 grit wet/dry sandpaper. Its a good idea to go ahead and cut extra discs for each size diameter and just have them set aside in your kit. Using a medium strength 3M spray adhesive or just rubber cement glue a disc of sand paper to the bottom of each dowel plug. There you have it. The tools are made!
Laying out the Scales:
Now figure out just how big your panel or part is. (I've done this operation to both flat and compound curved Harley and Triumph engine case covers with stunning results) Now that you know your part size you can figure the diameter tool to use. For really small parts, up to 4"X6" of area, I use the 1/2" or 3/4" tool depending on the size I want the part to assume. Engine turning a part can give it a sense of scale or size. If you place a bunch of small scales on a large part it takes away from the desired effect as does the opposite. If too large "scales" are used on a panel it can make the part appear too small or just wrong. Most of my parts range from 8"X8" of area up to 12"X24". These parts get the 1" or 1-1/4" tool. The larger tools of 1 1/2" to 2" are used on really large panels for firewalls and dash panel inserts on hotrods.
Layout and practice is the real key to a quality finish here. Use a scrap piece of sheet metal and play around with layouts until you feel your good enough to try on your finished part. Always remember to work from left to right or right to left but not both! Also top to bottom OR bottom to top. The end result requires this flow of operation for a quality finish. It's very important to follow this next step carefully. The layout of the scales is key to the finished product.
Now after you have determined what size tool you are using you will need to use some type of non permanent marker or soft pencil to layout your scales. The pattern can be straight forward rows of perfectly aligned layers or it can have a circular pattern or even an arc pattern. Whatever pattern you decided pick it and stick to it. Now using a ruler or measuring tape you will need to layout a series of overlapping guide lines equal distance apart corresponding to the tool diameter. You want each "turn or scale" to just touch each other side to side and be perfectly parallel to one another. Starting at the top make a row running across the part corresponding to your layout grid. Now return to the same side that you started from and start 1/2 step in and down from the edge so that the next row overlaps half of the last row both vertically and horizontally.
"Turning"
When setting up the drill press turn the speed down to the lowest setting and use a bit of water or light oil (WD40) on the part and the tool to keep the tool from working the part right out of your hands. Practice makes perfection here. When "turning" each scale only light pressure for a few seconds is needed to create the effect.With a little practice a small panel can be done in 10-15 minutes from layout to finish. I even done masked off areas of alloy fuel tanks that were then painted around the turned area or panel. The panel is the pinstriped around the perimeter, its a killer looking effect. Once the whole part is "turned it can be left raw or clear coated with a gloss or satin finish.
I hope this helps you guys. Feel free to ask anymore questions. Later Travis
Making the tools:
What I did was, using my new drill press, center drill 1-1/2" long sections of hardwood dowels in each size diameter with a 1/4" drill bit. Some wood supply houses will sell you hardwood dowels in 12" sections. Do not drill all the way through! You want to leave about 1/2" of solid wood at the base of the plug. Then with some sort of epoxy that bonds wood to metal glue a 2" long section of 1/4" Dia. steel rod for a shaft. Your almost finished. Next using a plastic circle template and an Xacto knife cut corresponding sizes of discs from 180- 220 grit wet/dry sandpaper. Its a good idea to go ahead and cut extra discs for each size diameter and just have them set aside in your kit. Using a medium strength 3M spray adhesive or just rubber cement glue a disc of sand paper to the bottom of each dowel plug. There you have it. The tools are made!
Laying out the Scales:
Now figure out just how big your panel or part is. (I've done this operation to both flat and compound curved Harley and Triumph engine case covers with stunning results) Now that you know your part size you can figure the diameter tool to use. For really small parts, up to 4"X6" of area, I use the 1/2" or 3/4" tool depending on the size I want the part to assume. Engine turning a part can give it a sense of scale or size. If you place a bunch of small scales on a large part it takes away from the desired effect as does the opposite. If too large "scales" are used on a panel it can make the part appear too small or just wrong. Most of my parts range from 8"X8" of area up to 12"X24". These parts get the 1" or 1-1/4" tool. The larger tools of 1 1/2" to 2" are used on really large panels for firewalls and dash panel inserts on hotrods.
Layout and practice is the real key to a quality finish here. Use a scrap piece of sheet metal and play around with layouts until you feel your good enough to try on your finished part. Always remember to work from left to right or right to left but not both! Also top to bottom OR bottom to top. The end result requires this flow of operation for a quality finish. It's very important to follow this next step carefully. The layout of the scales is key to the finished product.
Now after you have determined what size tool you are using you will need to use some type of non permanent marker or soft pencil to layout your scales. The pattern can be straight forward rows of perfectly aligned layers or it can have a circular pattern or even an arc pattern. Whatever pattern you decided pick it and stick to it. Now using a ruler or measuring tape you will need to layout a series of overlapping guide lines equal distance apart corresponding to the tool diameter. You want each "turn or scale" to just touch each other side to side and be perfectly parallel to one another. Starting at the top make a row running across the part corresponding to your layout grid. Now return to the same side that you started from and start 1/2 step in and down from the edge so that the next row overlaps half of the last row both vertically and horizontally.
"Turning"
When setting up the drill press turn the speed down to the lowest setting and use a bit of water or light oil (WD40) on the part and the tool to keep the tool from working the part right out of your hands. Practice makes perfection here. When "turning" each scale only light pressure for a few seconds is needed to create the effect.With a little practice a small panel can be done in 10-15 minutes from layout to finish. I even done masked off areas of alloy fuel tanks that were then painted around the turned area or panel. The panel is the pinstriped around the perimeter, its a killer looking effect. Once the whole part is "turned it can be left raw or clear coated with a gloss or satin finish.
I hope this helps you guys. Feel free to ask anymore questions. Later Travis
