Machine Turned Instrument Panel

An engine turned panel was what I wanted for my new dash. After experimenting briefly with wood dowels and valve grinding compound, and sand paper coated dowels, I ordered some medium and coarse grit Cratex sticks; 1/2" diameter. I tried these on aluminum but they seemed to gall or burn too easily. The fine grit may have been better but I didn't have any to try. Stainless steel looked like it would be a better choice after experimenting with some scrap pieces I had on hand. It had an advantage also in that it wouldn't need to be coated with clear like aluminum. I bought a piece of .024" thick (24 gauge) stainless sheet 5 3/4" X 19" from Online Metals in Seattle and fastened it to a piece of MDF particleboard. Then I used another piece of MDF that I drew lines spaced 1/2" vertically and 1/4" horizontally for a guide. This was attached to my drill press. The board clamped to the table in the back keeps the panel aligned vertically and the vertical lines are used to step the panel across by "eyeballing" it. The width of the panel mounting board needs to be an increment of 1/2" so you can use either the left or right edge as a guide. My drill press was not deep enough to do the full width of the panel so I had to rotate the panel mounting board and reposition the back guide to finish it.

Here is the panel after the turning was completed. Panel Turned

As you can see the panel had been laid out with center punched marks for the gauge holes. Cutting the holes was difficult, especially the larger ones for the tach and speedometer which were 3 3/8". I used a fly cutter bit in a small boring head in my Mini-Mill and the bit was getting worn out by the last hole. The 24 gauge stock cuts rather easily with tin snips but I was afraid to try it on the holes as there is not much of a lip on the gauges and its hard to make short cuts without having little bend marks at each cut. If a person was real careful to mask off the panel and clamp it between two pieces of plywood, a jigsaw might be a way to cut the holes. Other suggestions someone could do in their home shop would be welcome.

Here's the panel mounted in the dash. The trim around the panel is aluminum edgeing used to finish off Formica sheets.

Created on ... December 22, 2006

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