Article And Photos By: Daniel Donley
www.pandemoniumcustomchoppers.com
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ngine turning is a process that involves adding decorative patterns to metal surfaces such as aluminum and stainless, steel. With this process it produces an almost holographic swirly pattern that is amazingly easy to keep clean. Engine turning became exceedingly popular in the 20’s and 30’s on car parts, it was an affordable way to customize and make unique looking parts. The overlapping circles can be applied by hand with a twisting motion. A hand drill or drill press is my choice. Cratex helps make the engine turning process quite simple and affordable. Round rods are available in many sizes and grits. Cratex is like a rubber eraser infused with silicon carbide abrasives. The abrasive is what produces the swirl pattern when turned. The swirly patterns are usually overlapped by ½ the Cratex diameter. They can be overlapped by more than ½ or less to create unique patterns. This is what gives you the handmade look & feel
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FFebruary ebruary ‘22 - March ‘22 - CYCLE SOURCE MAGAZINE
to your custom parts. For this month’s tech I am going to show you how I do engine turning. Cratex comes in 4 different grits and varied sizes from 3/16 dia to 1” C- Coarse- Steel M-Medium – Stainless/Aluminum F- Fine – Aluminum XF-Extra Fine- Soft Metals The Cratex that I am using here is ½” Dia and approximately 2” in length. This can be mounted directly into your drill press chuck and lightly snugged into place. This reduces you’re working height. So, I chose to cut off a
