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Metal spinning


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I live near Portland, Oregon. I need a dish/bowl spun in copper. Size: about 9" deep and 16" in diameter with a 4" flat on the bottom. Thickness about .080" to .120". I would raise it myself except for the size. Cost should be less than $100. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

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I haven't seen Fe-Wood post for awhile but he does metal spinning. I don't know if he does that big. :huh:


With that new lathe of his he may be able to pull it off.I`ll bet he could probably come up with an accurate price for the work.
If I was looking to have the work done I`d go to his profile and contact him.

I can tell you now that $100 ain`t even close for what is being asked,even if you supply the material.There`s a hardwood pattern that has to be made before any of the copper work can even start.
I used to sell 16" hardwood bowls like that for around $300 to start and a heavy copper one has to go for more than that.
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Thanks for the plug fellas :D
I PMed the original poster suggesting he supply the material and I would "air spin" it, meaning no mandrel. The shape would be "close" ;) No reply as of yet.....Checking the water perhaps :rolleyes:

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Thanks for the plug fellas :D
I PMed the original poster suggesting he supply the material and I would "air spin" it, meaning no mandrel. The shape would be "close" ;) No reply as of yet.....Checking the water perhaps :rolleyes:


I take it he only wants one and this is not a prototype.
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I live near Portland, Oregon. I need a dish/bowl spun in copper. Size: about 9" deep and 16" in diameter with a 4" flat on the bottom. Thickness about .080" to .120". I would raise it myself except for the size. Cost should be less than $100. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.



Dream On

I occassionally get enquiries like this, customers telling me the price they want to pay, usually its way below cost. I kinda find it a bit insulting really. Might be ok when haggling when buying from a market stall or even a car show room but ....

It's kinda a filter really, triggers a little flag that tells you not to waste anymore time, same as people that want to haggle over the initial payment.
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Dream On

I occassionally get enquiries like this, customers telling me the price they want to pay, usually its way below cost. I kinda find it a bit insulting really. Might be ok when haggling when buying from a market stall or even a car show room but ....

It's kinda a filter really, triggers a little flag that tells you not to waste anymore time, same as people that want to haggle over the initial payment.



Agreed. I have gotten to the point if anyone asks me to make anything I would do on the side, the first question I ask is what they're budget is.
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Thanks for the plug fellas :D
I PMed the original poster suggesting he supply the material and I would "air spin" it, meaning no mandrel. The shape would be "close" ;) No reply as of yet.....Checking the water perhaps :rolleyes:



Yes , I am testing the waters.....I don't know where I can get this done, so I am asking if someone knows. Jusat like anyone would do when they want to have something done (welding, machining, cabinetry, plumbing). If I missed my 'guess' on the cost, well, I didn't realize what a 2ft piece of copper sheet would cost. Seems to me that an hour would make the get the job done. As far as the form........I can adjust the dimensions to a form that is already made. If the cost is too high....I'll do it myself.


As far as the other comments on this matter......
I do metal work for a living (weld, fab, forge, sheet metal, machining, knives, jewelry, etc), so I know what it takes to make something. Sometimes I go 'outside' to someone with the expertise, or special equiptment. An example of this would be buying a hinge, rather than making one. HHHMMMM make a hinge, or buy a hinge.....HHHHMMMMMM?????
I started this post to find someone to spin a bowl. It gets really annoying, to have inquiries turned into a chat room for know-it-all's, who have no idea of my situation, abilities or talents.
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Yes , I am testing the waters.....I don't know where I can get this done, so I am asking if someone knows. Jusat like anyone would do when they want to have something done (welding, machining, cabinetry, plumbing). If I missed my 'guess' on the cost, well, I didn't realize what a 2ft piece of copper sheet would cost. Seems to me that an hour would make the get the job done. As far as the form........I can adjust the dimensions to a form that is already made. If the cost is too high....I'll do it myself.


As far as the other comments on this matter......
I do metal work for a living (weld, fab, forge, sheet metal, machining, knives, jewelry, etc), so I know what it takes to make something. Sometimes I go 'outside' to someone with the expertise, or special equiptment. An example of this would be buying a hinge, rather than making one. HHHMMMM make a hinge, or buy a hinge.....HHHHMMMMMM?????
I started this post to find someone to spin a bowl. It gets really annoying, to have inquiries turned into a chat room for know-it-all's, who have no idea of my situation, abilities or talents.



Funny,we don`t get really annoyed with folks who don`t do any preliminary research,even into material costs and just ask off hand questions.
As for being know-it-all`s,we at least knew a more realistic price and seems like we gave you some rather valuable direction to include a real world contact.If that makes us know-it-all`s then I guess you can add me to your list.
The reason we had no idea of your abilities or talents is because you chose not to tell us that when you asked your question.We`re know-it-all`s not psychics.
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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 5 months later...

Copper has gone through the roof over the past 3 years. We go through several tons of it a year where I work. We have to buy DEFARS materials to meet most customer specs, so it is more expensive than some offshore stuff that is on the market. Even so, we are getting paid what was retail just a few years ago for our scrap. China, and India have driven up a lot of metal prices.

With spinning you normally run over a pattern as mentioned earlier. Maple has also gotten more expensive, and there is a shortage of good maple last I heard. We got some benches in, and the tops were definitely lower quality than the older ones we had in the shop areas. If he can air spin it it may not be as accurate in shape, but the pattern cost would be eliminated.

For a custom copper bowl of that thickness,I too would expect a much higher price. As to your comment about buying, or making a hinge, and your bowl are totally different to me. This bowl is not a mass produced item coming in from China by the boatload. Even a custom made hinge will cost significantly more than a mass produced one. An option that may get one in your price range, but probably not near as thick, would be to locate a used one. Back home I used to see a lot of copper cooking pots, pans, bowls at the flea market. Those were coming in from Mexico.

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Take a look at the date on the post Eric.I`m gonna say it was the summer heat that caused us to be less than our usual jovial,happy,helpful selves.
That and having the OP give marginal information,an unrealistic price point and an attitude in follow on answers.
But mainly it was the heat.Yeah that`s it,that`s the ticket. :rolleyes:

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