MACHINERY’S REFERENCE SERIES
EACH NUMBER IS ONE UNIT IN A COMPLETE LIBRARY OF
MACHINE DESIGN AND SHOP PRACTICE REVISED AND
REPUBLISHED FROM MACHINERY
NUMBER 57
METAL SPINNING
Second Edition
CONTENTS
| Principles of Metal Spinning, by C. Tuells | 3 |
| Tools and Methods Used in Metal Spinning, by WilliamA. Painter | 15 |
Copyright, 1912, The Industrial Press, Publishers of Machinery
49-55 Lafayette Street, New York City
CHAPTER I
PRINCIPLES OF METAL SPINNING[1]
Metal spinning, that process of sheet metal goods manufacturingwhich deals with the forming of sheet metal into circular shapes ofgreat variety by means of the lathe, forms and hand-tools, is full ofkinks and schemes peculiar to itself. It is the purpose of this treatiseto give a description of spinning in general, and to outline some ofthe methods and tools used in spinning for rapid production.
The products of metal spinning are used in a great many lines ofmanufacture. Examples of this work are chandelier parts, cookingutensils, silver and brittania hollow-ware, automobile lamps, cane-headsand many other sheet metal specialties. Brass, copper, zinc,aluminum, iron, soft steel, and, in fact nearly all metals yield readilyto the spinner’s skill. At best spinning is physically hard work, andthe softer the stock, the easier and quicker the spinner can transformit into the required product.
There are but two practical ways of forming pieces of sheet metalinto hollow circular articles: by dies and by spinning. By far thecheapest and best method of producing quantities of this class ofwork is by the use of dies, but there are many cases where it is impracticalor impossible to follow this course. Dies are expensive andthere is constant danger of breakage, whereas spinning forms areeasily and cheaply made and are almost never damaged by use beyonda reasonable amount of wear. Thus it will be seen that whenthe production is small, it does not pay to make costly dies. Again,the styles or designs of many articles that are spun are constantlybeing changed; if made by dies each change would necessitate a newdie, while in spinning merely a new wooden form is required—andsometimes the old form can be altered, costing practically nothing.Still other advantages of spinning are that in working soft steel, amuch cheaper grade may be spun than can be drawn with dies;beads may be rolled at the edges of shells at little expense; experimentalpieces may be made quickly, and, added to these featurescomes the fact that very difficult work that cannot possibly be madewith dies can be spun with comparative ease. It must not be construedfrom the above that spinning is to be preferred to die workin all or even in the majority of cases, because, on the contrary, diework is a more economical method of manufacture, and should alwaysbe used when possible on production work. The cases already