February 13, 201214 yr I thought you all might like to see this. It's a casting made from tin-bronze, and I've been working it cold. It's been through two annealings so far and will probably get a few more, then I'm going to lathe it. This is my first cymbal made this way, and maybe my third or fourth cymbal total.
February 21, 201214 yr Author Here it is partially lathed. Forming the bell is easy. I have a hard time keeping the overall contour and profile even. Any advice? Now that I know I can do this, I need to get good at it, lol!
February 21, 201214 yr these look wonderful ryAN - Only just saw this thread - i wish i c..ould offer some tips or advice - but i know nothing of how you do this, i bet though thats its all about the feel, and it practise that will make these forms perfect. it looks like you ve done a great job, i think you should just keep making them, and gradually the refinements your after will come. what made you get into this? i love cymbals and bells, but have never got round to making any. what gauge bronze do you start with? do you work round cirularly? thanks for posting - it looks beautiful what does it sound like?
February 21, 201214 yr Looks like your getting some chatter while turning it. Maybe mount it to a fixture to hold it more solid. Try turning down the feed and speed. Aren't cymbals usually spun? Might look up metal spinning on the web. Lots of info about techniques online and you apparently have a lathe which is the expensive part. i think you're going to have a hard time eliminating chatter with a disc that big and thin. A backing plate would help though. Good luck. If you've made them this way before then maybe it is do-able.
February 21, 201214 yr Author Thanks, Beth! The thickness ended up being around 2 mm after I was done grinding all the nasty crust. I did it with an angle grinder (took me 8 hours) and even though I made an effort to grind evenly, the thickness varies quite a bit here and there. Which is a problem that I'm solving by using a surface grinder next time. I don't own one right now so I'll have the next few castings ground at a machine shop. They have a test casting right now, hopefully I'll get it back this week so I can start working again. Cymbals made of brass (cheap ones) are spun, but maybe others as well. I'm pretty sure I'll break my castings if I try to spin them. As far as chatter, I will have to beef up my lathe to minimize it. I see it on some professional cymbals, and it's not really considered a defect. My current lathe setup is temporary. Cymbalsmiths usually just build their own lathe, I'm no exception. Will probably go through a few incarnations of the lathe.
February 22, 201214 yr Author Any tips as to making these shapes by raising only? No dishing or sinking, or off-dolly hammering. I'm not sure how to shrink, which is what I think I need to be doing in order to restore symmetry. Tic sound is good, Tocs are bad.
February 22, 201214 yr Author http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=RUodDDYl-V0 Sounds kind of like an out-of-tune bell :)
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