ok i finally broke down and bought a good old used drill press for my shop, it was cheap @ only $40.00 and works great, i want to make some "engine tuned" panels for the fun of it, can anyone tell me what kind of bit or pad do you use to get that great 1/2' pattern design thanks so much gilby!
I think you mean "engine turned". A very old term dating back to the early 1800s. The "engine" is your drill press. It "turns" the device that polishes the metal.
Making the "turned"markings will be the easy part.I want to see how you "easily" keep the lines reasonably straight on a drill press. Help out someone who failed....bad.
you need to clamp a stop to the drill press table for the material to hold steady against. then either layout your pattern on the material with machininsts blue and light lines or use a reference mark on the part versus a tape measure on the backstop. the smaller the "swirls" the more important a precise layout is. the larger the swirls, the more latitude. or: http://www.fpmmetals.com/automotive.php
I used Cratex too, as others have suggested. Also, used a piece of 3/4" plywood with a 1x2 fence attached. Eyeballed each pass and reset platform for each pass. It is funny to me that my 26 year old son is still impressed how good nice it looks, but in all honesty it looks a bit smudged to me. If turning aluminum, you cannot clean it enough. Use soap, water, and a green 3m scotch-brite pad. I would suggest after cleaning, do not touch the panel with bare hands, maybe use latex gloves. I am sure it sounds like overkill, but in the long run it makes a difference. I wish I had wore gloves and maybe sealed the panel with lacquer or some other form of clear coat. Oh well. Probably could go unsaid, but build your panel first, turn it, then drill your holes for gauges, etc. Tony
small diameter wire brush taped around the wires to keep them from flairing is all you need to turn either stainless or aluminum panels. The amount of pressure determines the depth and you can sharpen the ends of the wire if need be. then you need to make a guide like the wood board shown to determine spacing. I have made six this way and I can turn one of these in about 20 minutes. It really is easy this way
I made a engine turned aluminum panel for my 54 ford with a drill press and a piece of dowl, a small piece of that self adhesive velcro paper that some of the autobody papers use. I had to change the paper a few times thru the process but it worked well. Getting the lines straight is the trick. good luck.
Yes he does, I initially opened the thread because my brain said that he tunned his engine and his drill presss a. Du'oh. Cratex sticks work real well. I have used hardwood dowls in soft metal like dead soft aluminum. On larger jobs like say the cowl of of the Lindburg they used to use cup brushes (I knew an older gal that worked in the aircraft industry in WWII). I have done it that way on firewalls and other large sheet metal projects before. But cratex sticks are your best bet.
I made a simple tool which accepts an 1", 3/4", a 1/2" piece of felt, for 3 different sizes. I've only engine turned stainless steel, I use wd40 for a bit of lube & saved iron filings from my bench grinder for the abrasive. I normally mark out a pattern in pencil then just do them by eye. See the pics for details - hope it helps
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