# Best Homemade Tools >  Inertia Forming on a Lathe

## rgsparber

This video shows how to use friction to form a disk on the end of a rod.




Rick

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## kbalch

Thanks Rick! 

Was the inertia welding technique you were seeking related to friction stir welding?

I've added your Inertia Forming Method to our Lathes category, as well as to your builder page: Rick Sparber's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:





 






Inertia Forming Method  by Rick Sparber 

tags:
machining, lathe

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big o (Dec 19, 2017),

DietmarG (Feb 20, 2019)

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## DIYer

Great post as usual, Rick! I hope you don't tire of sharing/educating us.

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## Christophe Mineau

I love this trick Rick, thanks, will certainly find use for that, although my lathe cannot go as fast as yours ... maybe a little help with a torch ?

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## Paul Jones

Rick,
You are right about adding this to our bag of tricks and finding a future use. We may need to use Christophe's suggestion of assisting with a touch.
Thanks, Paul

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## Altair

Pretty neat trick. Thanks for sharing Rick.

Al

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## rgsparber

I've already used this trick to make blind threaded inserts. Article is out but have not submitted it to Homemadetools yet.

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## ChrisB257

> This video shows how to use friction to form a disk on the end of a rod.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Rick



Hi Rick - not sure whether Jon has experienced this but in my up to date Firefox, this is second time an embedded YT video didn't show. Fortunately the URL showed in this reply so went direct to watch. I'd have expected a YT video to have ''embed'' within the URL usually, or be in an iframe.

Nice idea with the forming method - certainly more regular finish than ordinary peening.

Chris
===

Edit - to add - now the video shows here! Maybe because I have visited it on YT.

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## oldcaptainrusty

Good job. Neat video short and to the point. Very useful information. Thanks for your time and efforts sir.

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## mrehmus

Nice work and it shows another capability to be had from a lathe. Thanks for the good idea.

A word of caution. Touching the workpiece before the lathe stops turning can lead to some interesting cuts and wearing a ring is a real bad idea in a machine shop.

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## suther51

My fathers old boss has a collection of mangeled rings that past employees got cought in machine tools, good advice!!!!
Eric

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## rgsparber

You are absolutely right about wearing a ring in the shop. I will take it in for resizing today so it will more easily come off. Until then, it is off of my hand. In the past it has come off once every year or two with great effort.

Thanks,

Rick

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## Frank S

My solution was simple I stopped wearing any type of jewelry an d haven't worn a watch since I was in my 20's

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olderdan (Mar 23, 2018)

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## olderdan

> My solution was simple I stopped wearing any type of jewelry an d haven't worn a watch since I was in my 20's



I could not agree more about the perils of wearing any kind of ring on the finger for anyone involved in industrial work of any kind. As a youngster working in a brickworks I jumped off the back of a tipper lorry and the ring I was wearing caught in the tailgate catch and cut my finger badly, I still have the ring but I have not worn it since. My father was a maintenance man for battery powered milk floats and his workmate somehow got his metal watch strap across terminals causing a bad burn.

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## mrehmus

And the littlest machine tool can do damage. I remember when my first lathe, a Unimat was running and I stuck my finger into the chuck jaw. Can you say permanently crooked finger?

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## Ralphxyz

I would have appreciated a close up of the work. He could have at least move closer to the camera.

oh well I got the idea.

Ralph

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## wizard69

> My solution was simple I stopped wearing any type of jewelry an d haven't worn a watch since I was in my 20's



Pretty much the track I took It isnt worth the risk. Besides those watches pull on the hair on your wrists.

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