The Art of Metal Spinning

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Jack Hodgin’s roller making contact with a nearly completed piece, crafting the final lip. The rings in this piece are characteristic of metal spinning.
Jack Hodgin’s roller making contact with a nearly completed piece, crafting the final lip. The rings in this piece are characteristic of metal spinning.
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Above: Jack Hodgin’s metal lathe, with a trio of rollers resting against the tailstock. A disk of metal (Jack typically works with aluminum, copper, brass and steel) is placed against the pattern, secured and then spun. Rollers are used to create lips and beads. Using pegs inserted into holes in the handles and then into a bar in front of the lathe, the roller handles are braced to generate maximum leverage. The spinning action of the roller against metal eliminates friction that might otherwise result during that process.
Above: Jack Hodgin’s metal lathe, with a trio of rollers resting against the tailstock. A disk of metal (Jack typically works with aluminum, copper, brass and steel) is placed against the pattern, secured and then spun. Rollers are used to create lips and beads. Using pegs inserted into holes in the handles and then into a bar in front of the lathe, the roller handles are braced to generate maximum leverage. The spinning action of the roller against metal eliminates friction that might otherwise result during that process.
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Part of the completed inventory for an order of 150 pieces. The piece, a shade used in a vintage street lamp, was Jack’s most challenging project to date.
Part of the completed inventory for an order of 150 pieces. The piece, a shade used in a vintage street lamp, was Jack’s most challenging project to date.
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Below: A brake drum cover for an F-12 or F-20 tractor; note the lathe in background.
Below: A brake drum cover for an F-12 or F-20 tractor; note the lathe in background.
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Right: Jack Hodgin forming a piece on a metal lathe, using a roller in one hand and a handle in the other. He uses the tools to press a sheet of metal against a wood pattern (or form) that he earlier handcrafted on a wood lathe.
Right: Jack Hodgin forming a piece on a metal lathe, using a roller in one hand and a handle in the other. He uses the tools to press a sheet of metal against a wood pattern (or form) that he earlier handcrafted on a wood lathe.
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Left: This ancient 18-station Rotex punch was hauled out of retirement for Jack’s purposes. He completed an extensive restoration of the decades-old machine, and uses it to punch holes, achieving a cleaner cut than is possible using a drill.
Left: This ancient 18-station Rotex punch was hauled out of retirement for Jack’s purposes. He completed an extensive restoration of the decades-old machine, and uses it to punch holes, achieving a cleaner cut than is possible using a drill.
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Below: A 1906 Fisher chain vise. Originally used in a foundry or other metalworking application, this vise features a chain-and-gear function to turn the vise jaws in and out.
Below: A 1906 Fisher chain vise. Originally used in a foundry or other metalworking application, this vise features a chain-and-gear function to turn the vise jaws in and out.
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Above: A completed street lamp part, complete with a tiny and precise hole created by Jack’s Rotex punch.
Above: A completed street lamp part, complete with a tiny and precise hole created by Jack’s Rotex punch.
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Above: This 1912 Lennox throatless shear is used to cut any shape from metal.
Above: This 1912 Lennox throatless shear is used to cut any shape from metal.
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Above: Jack with a pattern and the finished piece, which is part of a street light.
Above: Jack with a pattern and the finished piece, which is part of a street light.
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Above: This Pexto circle cutter is one of two such machines in Jack’s shop. A suction cup-like device anchors the metal at the center, as waste metal falls away.
Above: This Pexto circle cutter is one of two such machines in Jack’s shop. A suction cup-like device anchors the metal at the center, as waste metal falls away.

It’s a quandary faced by every restorer: Sooner or later, the need arises for a part that’s out of production, unavailable and beyond the talents of the average hobbyist. At times like those, craftsmen adept at dying arts come to the rescue.

With yet another tractor restoration project on the front burner, I was recently confronted by the need for a custom-crafted part. This time, I would need the assistance of a person skilled in metal spinning. You don’t hear much about metal spinning anymore, but it’s an old craft. Metal spinning was introduced in this country in the early 1600s but traces its roots back as far as 3,000 years.

Simply explained, in metal spinning a sheet metal disc is fastened between centers in a spinning lathe. A pattern is placed at the headstock of the lathe center, and the piece is then formed by applying varying amounts of pressure on tools (rollers on long handles) positioned on the rotating pattern. Metal spinning is a useful (and necessary) process in creating cups, domes, bowls or anything that is both round and has depth.

Having worked as an Industrial Arts teacher for 32 years, I am aware of the process. In a basic metals class, my students completed a unit introducing them to the metal spinning lathe. My current project, however, involves much more detailed turning, well beyond my basic knowledge.

Fortunately, I had heard about a man at Liberty, Ind., who performs metal spinning. After I tracked him down, he invited me to visit his shop, where he boasted of holding the parking spot reserved for the “employee of the year.” Jack Hodgin has a sense of humor: He is not only the owner but also sole employee of his business.

Jack worked with metal spinning on a part-time basis for many years before he decided to try doing the work full-time. “I always wanted to be my own boss,” he says, “so I decided to buy some equipment and work for myself.” This October Jack will celebrate 22 years in business. A combination of solid problem-solving skills and resourcefulness has been every bit as useful as specialized equipment. Jack’s approach is simple: “If someone else made it, why can’t I?”

His equipment, however, is complex … and old. Unlike the sophisticated, high-tech equipment used at large commercial operations, most of the major equipment in Jack’s shop is antique. His Peck Stow & Wilcox Co. throatless shear was manufactured in 1912; his Prybill metal spinning lathe was converted to three-phase service. To cut flat, square sheets of metal into circles ready for the spinning lathe, he uses a Pexto circle cutter dating to the 1940s. Another piece he relies on: an antique, hand-operated, 18-station Rotex punch used to punch holes from 5/32 inch to 2 inches in diameter. The Rotex itself required restoration before it returned to service. “Many hours of restoration were spent on that machine,” Jack recalls. “A lot of new punches and dies had to be made.”

Metal spinning on the level Jack performs it is not quite a lost art, but independent commercial metal spinners are hardly a dime a dozen. Jack knows of fewer than a dozen in Indiana. Today, such work is more typically done by stamping. But the only way to achieve the intricacies and unique features of some pieces is through metal spinning.

Although a big part of Jack’s output involves parts for street lights, he’s done extensive custom work in antique tractor reproduction parts for hobbyists from coast to coast, including lines as varied as Silver King, CO-OP, Massey-Harris, Ford, Case, Farmall and John Deere. He’s crafted John Deere 630 air cleaner tops, John Deere muffler tops, carburetor bowls and air caps, as well as Farmall F-20 air cleaner tops and F-12 brake covers. Those parts are manufactured for retailers; Jack does not sell them direct. Custom-made individual parts are expensive, he notes, because a pattern must be turned before the actual piece can be made.

When a person works with sheet metal spinning at high speeds, caution is a top priority. Jack has a healthy respect for the danger that’s always present in metal spinning. “When you’re working with metal, a day doesn’t go by without a scratch or a cut,” Jack says. “The biggest danger, of course, is a piece flying out of the lathe. But knock on wood, I still have all my fingers.”

For more information:
Jack Hodgin, (765) 458-7548. 

The Art of Metal Spinning: A Step-by-Step Guide to Hand-Spinning, by Paul G. Wiley, 2004. 

Bob Crowell lives in Batesville, Ind. He and his wife, Linda, represent Farm Collector, Gas Engine Magazine and Steam Traction at antique tractor shows throughout Indiana and the upper Midwest. 

  • Published on Jul 1, 2005
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