My neighbor is looking for a source of an "engine turned" panel for a custom truck he is building. He says approximately 24" by 55" - and says he "would prefer larger diameter swirls than the little bitty ones(?)". So far his own search has resulted in either a mega price tag or pretty amateur methods of producing the effect. Even if you rig up a way to do it with a mounted drill motor - it has to have a "throat dimension" greater than the 24 inches - or you have to risk a new set-up and a visual alteration of the pattern.

It could be those are truly the only options - I've never looked for such a thing myself. Anyone got any leads on this? He's looked at the "film" type of product that just looks like the real deal and says that's out.

 
 Steve Metzger       Tucson, Arizona

I think Speedway carries some but not sure of the size. Chuck

Y's guys rule!
Looking for McCullouch VS57 brackets and parts. Also looking for 28 Chrysler series 72 parts. And early Hemi parts.

MoonShadow, 292 w/McCulloch, 28 Chrysler Roadster, 354 Hemi)
Manchester, New Hampshire

Thanks for the idea Chuck - they've got 6" x 48" strips of the 1/2" swirls at Speedway......

I'm thinking we will have build a tool and get a sheet of aluminum (or two) to perfect the process......

 
 Steve Metzger       Tucson, Arizona

You should give them a call. They may have access to larger panels. Chuck

Y's guys rule!
Looking for McCullouch VS57 brackets and parts. Also looking for 28 Chrysler series 72 parts. And early Hemi parts.

MoonShadow, 292 w/McCulloch, 28 Chrysler Roadster, 354 Hemi)
Manchester, New Hampshire

I used alum sheet in milloing machine, makes spacing the circles accurate, you can buy little abrasive tools in a few sizes that are just held in drill chuck, does good job. It is easy to mess up panel with odd spacing. Try googeling for more info.

  AussieBill            YYYY    Forever Y Block     YYYY

 Down Under, Australia

Bill's suggestion has merit.

A vertical spindle milling machine with adjustable overarm and hand fed quill; thick plywood panel secured to the moveable mill table to make an enlarged support surface, aluminum sheet secured to the plywood support surface; round wooden birch, maple, or cherry dowel rod with a squared-off end of the diameter swirl you desire, dowel turned down on other end to form a shank to be mounted in a Jacobs type or collet type chuck; loose abrasive (grit size affects swirl pattern appearance) mixed with 30 weight oil to dip the end of the dowel in to produce the individual swirls.

The X and Y axis movement of the mill table will permit accurate placement and spacing of the swirls.

Patience needed, but process doesn't have to all be done in one session.

Hope this helps.

NoShortcuts
a.k.a. Charlie Brown
near Syracuse, New York

We were figuring on having to temporarily bond the .060 aluminum panel onto a piece of 3/4 plywood for stiffness sake - and then put a whole row of "index holes" down one edge to allow shifting that axis in even increments.

With no milling machine at our disposal, I was thinking we'd use the head unit of an old drill press for power and a chuck. Welder and bits of "building material" from the bin to fix the head in place - and so on..... invention required.

The dowel and abrasive material sounds like a good idea for the surfacing tool - we'll have to do some trials with that. I was wondering what would provide a consistent pattern.

 
 Steve Metzger       Tucson, Arizona

Steve, you're on the right track. You can figure out a jig using the drill press. That's the way i've done some of this. there are several methods you can use for indexing. Pegboard masonite, pre-drilled metal stock from your local hardware. It all depends on what the desired finish is. I also just experimented with wooden dowels of different dimensions and rubbing compound. I also tried steel wool.
IMHO it looks best when it ISN'T so precise and perfect. Think back to early aircraft and old indy cars. They didn't have no stinkin' pre-made panels!
There's more about this on the HAMB. but it'll be more fun if you figure it out on your own. Look at Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis for some inspiration.

       A  L  A  N   F  R  A  K  E  S   ~  Tulsa, OK    

Consider visiting a local high school, technical school, or community college with a machine shop facility, Steve. Some understanding teacher or instructor may be willing to help you to accomplish what you're 'efforting' to do. It's not a real involved undertaking, but will require some time to accomplish.

The moveable overarm on a vertical spindle mill, and the X and Y axis on the moveable milling table should make the process much easier to do than what it sounds like you are proposing.

As you may know, a vertical spindle mill looks much like a fancy drill press. The moveable overarm permits changing the throat capability of the machine. Put another way, the moveable overarm should permit you to maneuver the engine turning tool to be positioned as needed over the entire 24 inch width even with a modest sized milling machine. This capability would permit positioning and securing the aluminum piece in place on the milling table possibly just once depending upon the total travel capability of the mill table.

The graduated hand feed dials on the table, usually in thousands of an inch, will permit easily moving the aluminum piece both in-or-out, or left-or-right, for each 'swirl'.

You may need to laminate two pieces of 3/4 plywood together to assure having a rigid enough support surface for the full 24 inch width to do the engine turning process. Some pressure is exerted against the material and support surface when using the hand fed quill to accomplish each 'swirl'. Flexing of the surface not supported directly by the mill table would result in the swirl pattern varying.

Consider making the aluminum piece slightly oversize for purposes of securing it to the plywood. After doing the engine turning work, the aluminum can be trimmed to final size on a sheet metal squaring shear. Also consider making the plywood support board longer than the aluminum piece to allow for securing it to the milling machine table.

In working on the milling machine, whoever you work with will alert you to 'slop' (back-lash) in the table feed screw threads. This will be an issue if you accidentally exceed your desired feed amount and desire to 'back-up', or if you happen to turn the wheel the wrong way, and have to back-up to properly position the engine turning tool. This is not a big deal, just something to become familiar and comfortable with.

Food for thought. Hope it helps.

NoShortcuts
a.k.a. Charlie Brown
near Syracuse, New York

fpm metals (fpmmetals.com) lists sheets of 24"x48" in 1", 1 1/2, and 2" swirls for under $300 in stainless, and under $200 in aluminum. They may be able to custom quote wider, as full sheets are 48x96. They look to be more of an architectural metal supplier that opened an auto division. Variety of patterns. It appears they are machined, not stamped, but I'd ask.

Years ago, I had Haneline make replacement stainless panels for the interior of my bird, and they are much easier to maintain. Unfortunately, I think the folks they sold out to went out of business. They made me a matching panel before that, but the pricing and delivery was not the best. Just a note of caution if they turn up on the web, again.

miker
55 bird, 32 cabrio F code
Kent, WA
Tucson, AZ