<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto"><div dir="ltr">Hi Chuck,</div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr">Because drilling is done without being hand held (drill bit fixed in the tailstock) you can work at much slower speeds. 300 rpm would be my choice for drilling. For turning with a hand held cutting tool I would turn as fast as the lathe felt stable. An out of balance hunk of copper might not work at 3000 rpm. But as the copper became more balance I would increase the speed. Please keep in mind that with an increase in speed there is also and increase in danger. If the “Danger Zone” is 4” wide at 300 rpm I would establish a danger zone of 12” wide at 3000 rpm. This is to say that none of my body would enter that danger zone and my head would double that distance. Tool forward with arms outstretched and my head either past the headstock or past the tailstock. If I needed a better view it would be done with the lathe off. BTW I use this “Danger Zone” approach to all my turning except for spindle work.</div><div dir="ltr"><br><blockquote type="cite">On Apr 16, 2021, at 8:17 PM, chuck.steger@gmail.com wrote:<br><br></blockquote></div><blockquote type="cite"><div dir="ltr"><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 15 (filtered medium)"><style><!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:Wingdings;
panose-1:5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:"Segoe UI Emoji";
panose-1:2 11 5 2 4 2 4 2 2 3;}
@font-face
{font-family:"Brush Script MT";
panose-1:3 6 8 2 4 4 6 7 3 4;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:#0563C1;
text-decoration:underline;}
p.MsoListParagraph, li.MsoListParagraph, div.MsoListParagraph
{mso-style-priority:34;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;}
span.EmailStyle21
{mso-style-type:personal-reply;
font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;
color:windowtext;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
font-size:10.0pt;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
/* List Definitions */
@list l0
{mso-list-id:771780856;
mso-list-template-ids:1429485152;}
@list l0:level1
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l0:level2
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:1.0in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l0:level3
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:1.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l0:level4
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:2.0in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l0:level5
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:2.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l0:level6
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:3.0in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l0:level7
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:3.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l0:level8
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:4.0in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l0:level9
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:4.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l1
{mso-list-id:1442993922;
mso-list-type:hybrid;
mso-list-template-ids:397810048 67698689 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693;}
@list l1:level1
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l1:level2
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:o;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:"Courier New";}
@list l1:level3
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l1:level4
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l1:level5
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:o;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:"Courier New";}
@list l1:level6
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l1:level7
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l1:level8
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:o;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:"Courier New";}
@list l1:level9
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:Wingdings;}
ol
{margin-bottom:0in;}
ul
{margin-bottom:0in;}
--></style><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1026" />
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapelayout v:ext="edit">
<o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1" />
</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--><div class="WordSection1"><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">Richard,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"> Thank you! What do you think of the drill speed? 3000? Also, if I turn faster 2000? 3000?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"> Thank you for your help!!! Learning new things is exciting!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:18.0pt;font-family:"Brush Script MT"">Chuck<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div><div style="border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in"><p class="MsoNormal"><b>From:</b> Richard Allen <rla_buy@yahoo.com> <br><b>Sent:</b> Friday, April 16, 2021 6:42 PM<br><b>To:</b> chuck.steger@gmail.com<br><b>Cc:</b> woodworkers@sawdusters.org<br><b>Subject:</b> Re: [Woodworkers] Copper metal working<o:p></o:p></p></div></div><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div><p class="MsoNormal">Hi Chuck,<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class="MsoNormal">I would turn much faster. Though I would be concerned about high speed and the brittleness of a carbide cutting edge. Metal work tends to be done at a slow speed. Slow speed is also counter indicated with a hand held tool as a hand held tool tends to move in response to cutting. Expect a lot of noise but the higher speed should help make the cuts very light and soon the thing will be running true. Once the thing is running true you should be getting ribbons. You want those ribbons to be small. The goal is light cuts. Sharp tools help a lot and dull fast. I use HSS so I am not sure how a carbide tool would work or how long the cutting edge would remain sharp.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class="MsoNormal">Safety!!! Always stand to the side while turning. If the “bullet” should “dismount” you want to see it fly by not fly into you.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><br><br><o:p></o:p></p><blockquote style="margin-top:5.0pt;margin-bottom:5.0pt"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt">On Apr 16, 2021, at 7:03 PM, <a href="mailto:chuck.steger@gmail.com">chuck.steger@gmail.com</a> wrote:<o:p></o:p></p></blockquote></div><blockquote style="margin-top:5.0pt;margin-bottom:5.0pt"><div><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">Richard and all,</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"> Follow-up on the copper sphere:</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"> I drilled the sphere and did fine. But my first question is what is the proper drilling rpm for copper? Everything I’ve seen on the internet (9/64” drill bit) says 3000 rpm. That just seems fast to me. I ended up drilling at 1200 rpm and did fine (using 3-in-1 lubricant). But should I have used 3000? I will be doing more.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"> I threaded the sphere and a steel rod and screwed the rod into the sphere. I mounted the sphere on the lathe and used the tail stock to start but will eventually have to back off the tail stock. I used an Easy Tool scraper and started to turn the sphere. It was a little wobbly as I’m sure I didn’t hit the exact center of the sphere. When I gently entered the cutter to the sphere I got small chips and a lot of noise (I’m sure because metal on metal and a little wobble). I stopped turning because a 3 oz ball of metal coming off the lathe makes me nervous and decided caution was the better part of valor so I could seek more advice. The lathe was turning around 1200 rpm. Faster, slower? What type of chips should be coming off? The DP created longer wisps of copper and I was hoping for the same at the lathe but probably not realistic. What did cut was very rough. Sound normal so far?</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"> I had safety glasses and a face shield on and I know wood coming off a lathe can do damage but when I think of this sphere all I can see is a big bullet </span><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI Emoji",sans-serif">☹</span><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">. </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"> What do you think? Soldier on? </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"> </span><o:p></o:p></p><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:18.0pt;font-family:"Brush Script MT"">Chuck</span><o:p></o:p></p></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"> </span><o:p></o:p></p><div><div style="border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in"><p class="MsoNormal"><b>From:</b> Richard Allen <<a href="mailto:rla_buy@yahoo.com">rla_buy@yahoo.com</a>> <br><b>Sent:</b> Tuesday, March 30, 2021 4:19 PM<br><b>To:</b> <a href="mailto:woodworkers@sawdusters.org">woodworkers@sawdusters.org</a><br><b>Cc:</b> <a href="mailto:chuck.steger@gmail.com">chuck.steger@gmail.com</a><br><b>Subject:</b> Re: [Woodworkers] Copper metal working<o:p></o:p></p></div></div><p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p><div><p class="MsoNormal">I have turned copper on a wood lathe before. I would take a 7/8” rod about 2” long an turn a sphere at one end. The end being held by the lathe could be turned down to a suitable diameter so the sphere would be attached to the rod as a single piece of copper. Another option would be to drill and tap the 1” sphere and thread some of your 3/8” rod to screw into the taped sphere. Copper drills fine. Plan on discarding the drill bit as sometimes the copper will “weld” to the drill bit. I would do the drilling with the 1” sphere in a chuck on the lathe. I would turn down the 1” sphere by mounting the 3/8” rod in a chuck on the lathe. Copper turns with a scraper. It is a fairly slow process but 10 minutes of scraper work and 15 minutes of sanding and polishing should give you a sphere shape to your likening<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><br><br><br><o:p></o:p></p><blockquote style="margin-top:5.0pt;margin-bottom:5.0pt"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt">On Mar 30, 2021, at 5:02 PM, chuck.steger--- via Woodworkers <<a href="mailto:woodworkers@lists.sawdusters.org">woodworkers@lists.sawdusters.org</a>> wrote:<o:p></o:p></p></blockquote></div><blockquote style="margin-top:5.0pt;margin-bottom:5.0pt"><div><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">Hope everyone is safe and healthy!</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"> I need some advice on working solid copper. I’ll give you some context on what I’m doing.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"> I designing and building a Heritage Box for someone. Everything that goes into the design and construction will have some elements from their cultural background. Their mother and grandparents lived and worked in a copper mining town in Chile and copper was a big part of their lives. To bring copper into the design, I will attach the legs to the box using copper rods. Since the legs taper, I will use 1/8”, 3/16”, and ¼” rods and leave a ¼” gap between the legs and box. But this is subtle and I wanted to add something else. So I want to add a copper sphere at the top of the box. I drew up the design full scale and the sphere looks good at ¾”. So, I started researching copper spheres and what I found are jewelry spheres ½” and less or solid spheres 1” and greater. I ordered the 1” spheres which are actually used for plating copper.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"> So here are some of my issues/questions/concerns:</span><o:p></o:p></p><ul style="margin-top:0in" type="disc"><li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left:0in;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo3"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">Is there any way possible to reduce the diameter? I thought about some kind of holding contraption on a lathe and then using files but that just sounds like a bad idea.</span><o:p></o:p></li><li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left:0in;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo3"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">The sphere weights in at 3 oz. Now that may seem light but it’s a little heftier that I wanted because I don’t want it to tip the box over when hinged open. The box footprint will be 8”x12” so it may be OK. I will build a prototype as I always do so I’ll find out. Also with a prototype it will be easy to see if 1” is too big. A ¾” hollow sphere would be perfect but I can’t find that.</span><o:p></o:p></li><li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left:0in;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo3"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">Will solid copper drill OK? I would like to drill a hole for a rod to anchor the sphere to the box. I will epoxy the sphere to a cradle but a rod would be so much more secure IMO. And, given the weight, I would feel better.</span><o:p></o:p></li><li class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left:0in;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo3"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">Here’s another take …. Is there a way to cut the sphere in ½” I only have WW bandsaws so even with a metal blade, WW bandsaws run too fast, don’t they? The thought process here is maybe I take the two half spheres and attach them to the side of the box as an adornment. The design will be mostly Asian so spheres might look good. </span><o:p></o:p></li></ul><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"> So you can see the design is in total flux. I’ve started building the prototype out of pine.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:18.0pt;font-family:"Brush Script MT"">Chuck</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">_______________________________________________<br>I want to be one of my friends for a day so I can see how cool it is to hang out with me.<br><a href="mailto:Woodworkers@lists.sawdusters.org">Woodworkers@lists.sawdusters.org</a><br><br>To unsubscribe from this list -<br><a href="http://lists.sawdusters.org/listinfo.cgi/woodworkers-sawdusters.org">http://lists.sawdusters.org/listinfo.cgi/woodworkers-sawdusters.org</a><br><br>Address to contact the list ADMIN staff -<br><a href="mailto:woodworkers-owner@lists.sawdusters.org">woodworkers-owner@lists.sawdusters.org</a><o:p></o:p></p></div></blockquote></div></blockquote></div></div></blockquote></body></html>