On Fri, 11 Feb 2005 17:44:47 -0600, Eric Fretheim
wrote:

I'm an amateur woodturner looking into hand metal spinning as
an extension to my craft. I've pretty much established that my
Jet can do the fairly small items I'm considering, once I've
purchase a modified toolrest, but acquiring tools is another
subject. The only manufactured spinning tools available for a
home craftsman that I can locate are a limited selection of
tools produced by Sorby. Can anyone point me to a custom
toolmaker familiar with hand spinning tools, or should I just
go to my local machinist and hope for the best?
I made a basic forming tool by cutting a rod on an angle and grinding
it to resemble the back of a teaspoon then polished it smooth. Another
possibility is to mount a small ball bearing race in a split in the
end of a rod. In both cases, the rod needs to be long and stiff enough
to provide leverage to generate the required forces.
Gerry :-)}
London, Canada