What Is ENGINE TURNED Metal Mean?

[Guest BJM]

As seen on many classic era cars including Buicks, Cord and others. I have no idea what it means and what it is made of. Please advise.

[MCHinson]

Stolen from another website:

The process of polishing known as engine turning, swirling or jewelling dates back into the 1800's. Engine turning or jewelling is a process of polishing stainless steel or other metal items with small overlapping swirls that form a moiré pattern. This jewelled pattern creates a dazzling finish that reflects light and makes the surface seem alive. Probably the most famous application of engine turning can be seen on the cowling of Lindbergh’s “Spirit of St. Louis”.

[Guest Oldengineer]

I have a 1930's vintage British made Smiths Mantle clock. The brass plates of the clock movement are finished this way.

Regards:

Oldengineer

[Dave Mellor NJ]

Eastwood makes a kit http://www.ebay.com/itm/Eastwood-Engine-Turning-Damascening-Kit-1-2-Diameter-/360414413187?hash=item53ea5f8183&item=360414413187&pt=Motors_Automotive_Tools&vxp=mtr

[Friartuck]

Here is an example of an engine turned instrument cluster on a 1930 Lincoln. FYI, Skip Boyer in PA does this service as shown in the photo.

[nzcarnerd]

Also typically seen on Bugatti engines.

[keiser31]

I have seen it done with an eraser in a drill.

[Ivan Saxton]

You would most easily do this work yourself with appropriate kit as mentioned above, utilizing your home made three axis computer-controlled milling machine.

[DavidAU]

Here is a page of engine turned items.

Eamonn Keogh's Engine Turning Page

[Restorer32]

You see the same effect on gold leaf, for example on fire engines. On gold leaf it is easily done with a velvet wrapped dowel spun in a drill.

[TG57Roadmaster]

Dang! In a nod to Ivan, I left my home made three axis computer-controlled milling machine in my other suit

(and it's at the cleaners), so I won't be doing any engine-turning any time soon.

Here's a note of caution; for '57, Buick used a thin acrylic transfer-appliqué on most 4-hole model dashes

that resembles engine-turning.

Larger

Sad are the owners of these Centurys, Supers and Roadmasters who attempted to clean or polish

them with anything more than a moist, soft cloth. The delicate, swirled finish practically "melts"

away before their eyes, and once begun, the entire appliqué has to be removed from the fascia.

Judging by cars I've seen through the years, I'd say 50% have the naked aluminum fascias,

and replacements are coveted and hard to find.

TG

[Guest Kingoftheroad]

Dang! In a nod to Ivan, I left my home made three axis computer-controlled milling machine in my other suit

(and it's at the cleaners), so I won't be doing any engine-turning any time soon.

TG

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL !!!

[Guest BJM]

Why did they call it ENGINE TURNED? I wonder at what point it became a 'stick on' engine turned applique? I see Doug Seybold advertises that he can restore the 54-56 engine turned dashes.

Lots of good stuff here, thanks.

[TG57Roadmaster]

Bryan, think of it as an eraser or wooden dowl mounted in a Dremel tool or another little "engine,"

rotating away (turning), biting the swirled finish into the host metal.

Seybold can do the '54-'56's because they're not a transfer-appliqué.

(At least I don't think they're like the '57's).

TG

Edited December 4, 2011 by TG57Roadmaster (see edit history)

[Dandy Dave]

Why did they call it ENGINE TURNED? I wonder at what point it became a 'stick on' engine turned applique? I see Doug Seybold advertises that he can restore the 54-56 engine turned dashes.

Lots of good stuff here, thanks.

You have to go back to the 1800's and think the way they did before there were any automobiles. Many old pocket watches from the period have works that are "Engine Turned."

This is what the Dictionary has to say... look at #4.

Engine - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary

[TG57Roadmaster]

To add to Dandy Dave's reply, although this shows an auto factory, imagine a "Forest of Belting" as shown in this

1919 Duesenberg factory image, from the January 16, 1919 issue of "Automotive Industries."

Earlier setups would have been hand, water or steam-powered, on a variety of scales suited

to the manufacturers' needs. Maybe watchmakers had a tiny "forest."(?)

TG

[Guest prs519]

I was thinking the term originated from an engine turning the work itself, holding the tool more or less stationary. Maybe.

[Guest BJM]

I now feel I better understand this term and usage. Thanks to the community for answering this inquiry and I hope others learned something as well.

Like many I tried to understand it (engine turned) as it related to facing the car's engine or something to do with it being under the hood but in fact it is a decorative art and seems to be 1st applied more or less to watches.

[1937hd45]

These are the knee cutouts from the dash in my Riley 4Port Dirt Car I restored in 1975. It is the same pattern the shop used on Bugatti G.P. dash and firewalls. We had a fixture and a plywood table with markings along the side. The sheet of aluminum was coated with a corse grade of valve grinding paste that we bought in gallon cans. You had to develope a pace and time the contact with the pad in the drill motor. You never knew if you made a mistake until the last swirl was washed off.

[rcr]

I believe that this process is more correctly known as damascening

[Bhigdog]

The piece of equipment that does the job is commonly referred to as a Rose engine, Rose lathe, Rose machine or a combination of those terms. I suppose if the overlapped swirl pattern is made by a Rose machine/engine/lathe then it could properly be said to be engine turned. On the other hand any machine can be properly called an engine. So if a piece were decorated with overlapping swirls by means of a pencil eraser and a drilling engine (drill press) I would think saying it was engine turned is correct.

Now on to more pressing questions like is the thingy that makes a car go a motor or an engine...............Bob

[Guest Bob Call]

Bhigdog is sturing the pot! We could never get a concensus on this question.

On one of the first days in high school automobile shop class the teacher told us that a motor receives it power from an outside source (like an electric motor) and an engine is capable of carrying it's fuel supply, such as an automobile. Calling an automobile engine a motor in his class got you points deduction on your grade. This raises another question of this sort, is a battery the fuel supply or is it the electricity that charges the battery?

[Bhigdog]

An ENGINE is the thingy that makes noise and smoke and makes things like race cars, locomotives, airplanes and other manly things go. A MOTOR is the thingy that makes girly cars go......................Bob

[Guest]

Bhigdog is sturing the pot! We could never get a concensus on this question.

On one of the first days in high school automobile shop class the teacher told us that a motor receives it power from an outside source (like an electric motor) and an engine is capable of carrying it's fuel supply, such as an automobile. Calling an automobile engine a motor in his class got you points deduction on your grade. This raises another question of this sort, is a battery the fuel supply or is it the electricity that charges the battery?

___________________________________________________________________________

Your high school auto shop teacher is correct. On the second point the answer is electricity. The Energizer (battery) is an electrochemical devise for converting chemical energy into electrical energy. I stores electrical energy in chemical form. After this energy is discharged chemical energy mist be restored to the battery. That is why a generator is needed. Generators and Alternators are used for this purpose. My own preference goes to Generators because unlike Alternators they do not need electricity to produce electricity. This gives you the ability to push start a car with a completely stone cold dead battery and have it start. Their only drawback is they produce very little current at a engine idle... the reason alternators are used today.

Don

[Guest Xprefix28truck]

Engine turning, or Jeweling...however you want to call it, actually serves a purpose other than looks. I have made several precision tools in the past. One being a very precise machine vice. Ground to less than .0001 tolerance. I "engine turned" or "jeweled" the entire vice to protect it from ever developing any type of surface rust or build up. I would imagine that it is possible that, this is why it was ever started in the first place. After much use, my vice is still as beautiful as the day it was made. I did mine with a .375 wooden dowel in a milling machine, and lapping compound.

[Bhigdog]

Engine turning, or Jeweling...however you want to call it, actually serves a purpose other than looks. I have made several precision tools in the past. One being a very precise machine vice. Ground to less than .0001 tolerance. I "engine turned" or "jeweled" the entire vice to protect it from ever developing any type of surface rust or build up. I would imagine that it is possible that, this is why it was ever started in the first place. After much use, my vice is still as beautiful as the day it was made. I did mine with a .375 wooden dowel in a milling machine, and lapping compound.

How about a pix?...............Bob