How do you make these?

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You know those...not sure what to call them...umm, circular 'swirly marks' on steel tabletops? Sort of a final decorative finishing touch. How are those made?Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you're a mile away. And you have their shoes.Roland
Reply:engine turned?http://images.google.co.uk/images?sv...+turned+finish
Reply:For a tiny version for small items (ashtray size) try an ink eraser in a drill-just overlap them-it looks like fish scales.  I did that once on a hot rod dashboard-it looked great
Reply:if they are evenly spaced and seem like a pre-determined plan, i have seen guys use some steel wool on a drill/die grinder (for the softer metals like alum), or some fine-grit small-diameter sanding disks with LIGHT, and i mean LIGHT pressure. hold it in one spot for a split second, then lift stright off with the grinder still moving. let it stop, then put it down again. hold it there for a split second, and contiue that pattern until you achieve your required finish. it can take a while to keep them consistant, but it looks great if done right and you take your time.if it seems like a random grinder mark all over the piece, that's beause it is... just take a flap disk and start letting the grinder wander around a bit... once again, use light pressure and keep it in control. you are jsut finishing, you don;t want to remove 1/4" of stock from your piece.I will take some pictures tongiht and play around to show you.Later,AndyLast edited by aczeller; 01-04-2008 at 10:33 AM.
Reply:wooden dowel with valve grinding compound.
Reply:Thanks for your responses everyone. I get the impression of several methods to the same goal: basically, a gentle abrasive applied lightly while rotating around a central axis. Lots of inventiveness out there! Originally Posted by aczeller...if they are evenly spaced and seem like a pre-determined plan...I will take some pictures tongiht and play around to show you.
Reply:we use stainless in some of the most corrosive environments known to man, primarily due to their substantial corrosion-prohibiting properties. as long as you are not worried about electrolysis, there should be no worry about rust or other form of corrosion. now if you are using it for a table that requires costant, or at least a fairly repetitive/consistant cycle of cleaning, such as a coffe table or kitchen table, you may want to think of some sort of coating to aid in being able to wipe it down with some sort of rag. a clear-coat of some sort would be ideal, but it can chip off pretty easily of not applied correctly, making it not very well suited for a high-use, high-wear and tear type of application such as a kitchen table. epoxy would be nice, but it can get pretty expensive pretty quickly. no matter what you decide to do to coat it, note that you will loose some of the luster/shiney-ness of the finish effect as time progresses, from what i believe is slight oxidation. if you leave it bare, it would be an easy fix to shine it up again (hit it with the grinder again), but time consuming.like i said, i'll try to get a little demo tongiht.Later,Andy
Reply:well, i never got a chance to do the actual finish at home, but i made a little demo to try and help.to start, find the corner, or other spot that you want to start at. put the grinding wheel flat against the metal and lightly sand/grind the metal until the desired finish is achieved. different wheel speeds, wheel grits, and pressures will give different effects.next, slightly overlap the original circle (red) with a second. i usually make it so that the very top of the second circle (purple) is in the center of the previous one.now continue this pattern all the way down until you are at the bottom of where you want the pattern.now move to the next column. once again, i try to put the very edge of the new circle into the center of the previous one.now move to the next column. continue this pattern until you have the result that you want.hope that helps. you can also place random circles all over. that is a cool effect. i have also seen where people just snake the path instead of making it into a fish scale pattern. it looks okay, but it's not for everyone, just like most finishes.Later,Andy
Reply:We use a a fine sandpaper on a DA sander and you can get pretty consistant results with that, but that is just to clean the welding table, dont have time to jewel it
Reply:I have used a scotch brite type pad mounted to my die grinder mandrel and then in my drill press. If you have a big enough press it makes it pretty easy to keep things consistent. "Every choice you make will effect at least one other person"
Reply:Originally Posted by woodironmanI have used a scotch brite type pad mounted to my die grinder