Table Saw Brushed Metal Effect: Can this be done by hand?

[jrodell27]

Hello everyone. I'm restoring an old 1960's table saw and I just got back in the saddle after a year of hiatus. I've got the machine completely disassembled and most of the parts shiny and brushed. I got overzealous and didn't realize the alumnimum insert for the chassis had a brushed metal effect that could be easily removed with a scotch scrub pad. Little did I know until I scrubbed the entire front face clean.

My neighbor who knows his way around a shop better than I do took a look and said the effect could probably be recreated using a wire cup brush on a drill.

Does anyone know if this is possible, or what this effect might be named or called? I've tried to search the past week with no success in finding anything talking about this effect or anything else. Thank you in advance - I've attached a couple of images to help identify what I'm talking about.

 

[454ragtop]

I think the effect you're after is actually called engine turning.
http://gardentractortalk.com/articles.html/_/tech-tips-how-to/engine-turning-aluminum-r116

 

[jrodell27]

@454ragtop - WOW. Thank you - that's a great start. I believe you are 100% right in that's the process. That's going to give me a a lead on what I need to know and whether I can do this. It seems after doing some initial research most people are doing it by hand or on a drill press. Anyone else who can offer some advice I'm still all ears. Thanks again for the information!

 

[rlitman]

You'll have a hard time getting the pattern to be regular using a drill. I've done it in a drill press with a 1" cup brush. Many do it with abrasive sticks. You can also use a spinning dowel and abrasive grit.

 

[jrodell27]

@rlitman - thanks again for the advice and not something I have overlooked. One of my initial concerns was being able to re-create the uniformity and consistency of the turning done on the original metal. I assume Craftsman/Emerson had better ways and methods at doing this than I will have in my garage but I think if I can manage to get a starting effect, using a straight edge and my drill press will be the best way to do it.

Doing some Googlin'g the past hour has indicated people out there have tried all sorts of methods to get this done. I'm seeing things from sandpaper, to scotch brite pads, to custom rigged chucks and abrasives used for this process. I think I'll just have to see what works and if I can manage to get the consistent alignment in the original.

The benefit to me is that I didn't scrub the sides of the piece of metal I'm talking about, just the front face, so I do have guides as to where I should start the turning and where to align my ruler.

Thanks for your input my friend - if I can manage a decent job I'll try to post my results here. If not, I'll post the results of my spraying the whole thing down with some kind of paint.

 

[454ragtop]

If you check out Frank Lee's huge Craftsman drill press thread in the general tool section, I think some have found a vinyl with that effect they used on some drill presses.

 

[Copymutt]

Done it a few times with Roloc discs and scotchbrite pads on press.
Jim

 

[pdubss]

I have a spare on pretty good condition from my rebuild. Shipping and its yours.

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[pdubss]

Its a little dented

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[rlitman]

...Thanks for your input my friend - if I can manage a decent job I'll try to post my results here. If not, I'll post the results of my spraying the whole thing down with some kind of paint.

Well, if you do end up resorting to paint, that's not the end. The gold pattern engine turned details on fire engines are done in paint. The technique requires hand turning a fan brush into wet metallic paint to develop the pattern.

If you check out Frank Lee's huge Craftsman drill press thread in the general tool section, I think some have found a vinyl with that effect they used on some drill presses.

Vinyl. Yeah, I've seen that. That has potential.

Done it a few times with Roloc discs and scotchbrite pads on press.
Jim

NICE WORK!

 

[whateg01]

The effect was apparently different on different models/years/etc. of the saws. Some have the horizontal lines like here.

...while others have a more traditional engine-turned effect, which has a circular pattern. I suppose it depends how original you want it to appear. I'm not sure how they got the horizontal lines like that, but I'd be interested to learn.

Dave

 

[jrodell27]

Its a little dented

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@Pdubss - man, that's is some generous offer you have given me there. Thank you more than I can express for simply offering. The only issue is I think the plate you have is slightly different than the one I had in that the engine turning on the 100's had more of a linear effect rather than the traditional round swirl mark effect. If you look at the original images I had it's one of the models that were in the same era but looked a bit differently. To boot, I'm sure this is strictly cosmetic, because as close as I could look at the images you provided the basic overall look of that plate seems to be identical in shape as mine.

For now, I'll try to give this a go on my own drill press and see if I can manage to recreate it. Worse comes to worse and I really ruin the plate I may take you up on that and swap them out.

 

[jrodell27]

The effect was apparently different on different models/years/etc. of the saws. Some have the horizontal lines like here.

...while others have a more traditional engine-turned effect, which has a circular pattern. I suppose it depends how original you want it to appear. I'm not sure how they got the horizontal lines like that, but I'd be interested to learn.

Dave

HEy Dave - i know it's almost impossible to see in my image but upon very close inspection I think I have a rough idea at how it was done. The circles overlap each other almost 90% of the swirl and there may be an 1/16" crescent shape that is exposed as you move down the line. I believe the linear effect was probably (not sure really but guessing) created by giving a small tiny gap of the dull metal between turnings so what you really are seeing in the lines is the shiny part that was turned and that gets broken up to the eye by having those small strips of dulled non-turned material between them. This is just a hypothesis and if I can manage to actually find time to try doing this I will for sure update you as to how that worked. My biggest fear is not being able to create a consistent jig setup for my plate on my drill press to keep spacing & distances consistent throughout the entire piece. That will take some thought and planning before I go ahead.

Thanks again for everyone's input, would love to keep seeing and hearing about this topic if anyone new comers had advice, experiences, or tips on how to go about this.

 

[All]

No tips on how to do it, but here is another example of an original diagonaled swirl pattern:

View media item 82683
.

 

[whateg01]

I think the most impressive part is that they even bothered to do it at all. This wasn't a cool sports car. It was a tool, and they paid somebody to stand at a machine and make it look pretty. It was definitely a different time!

Dave

 

[ARFLY]

It is usually called jeweling. It is very common in the firearms industry. You will see a lot or rifle and shotgun bolts that have been jeweled. Find yourself a local gunsmith, a real gunsmith not a parts changer, and he will be able to give you direction on how to do it. A gunsmith might even be able to do it for you.