Rotisserie Spit Tip

[NRM]

I am trying to figure out the best way to make a tip for my rotisserie and have come up with a couple of options. The spit is 304 SS 1” Sch 40 pipe 6’ long and am planning on making the tip out of 304 SS 1.25” round bar. I would like the tip to be 3” long and turn the backend down to fit into the pipe and secured with a set screw. My thoughts are:

1. Find a pre made tip like a water well drive point and cut it to match the pipe diameter and weld in round bar to secure it. Problem is I can’t find any SS only MS
2. Use 304 SS 1.25” round bar and grind down a tip. Will take some time.
3. Turn the 304 SS 1.25” round bar in the lathe. Will take some time and have a learning curve.
4. Cut the 304 SS 1.25” round bar with and TCT/Abrasive saw to get the rough shape, then grind it smooth.
5. Have a fab shop do it. $$$$.

What do you think will be the most time and cost effective way? Any other suggestions?

[Brian Ski]

I am not a metal pro, but I sure have made pounds of metal shavings. Stainless is pretty tough, but I have used a 4 1/2" high speed grinder. It really seems to take metal off. I wonder if you can turn it fairly slow and get a rough shape with one of those. If you do not have one I think they are a really nice investment for a metal worker. Not the bigger 6" ones get the smaller high speed one. Nice to pick up a box of the cheaper replacement discs from Harbor Freight. BTW mine is a Craftsman and it has held up very well.

Good luck, Sounds like a neat project.

[jakeru]

Have you considered cutting the away portions of the tip of the schedule 40 pipe leaving a series of triangle pieces, pinching or hammering the triangle pieces together, TIG weld together, and grind / finish as needed to make your own tip?

Of course, it won't look as "perfect" as a lathe-turned tip would, (because it will be done by hand not machine) but you could actually make it look pretty good if you put in some time and patience. You could even grind it smooth and polish it if you wanted.

PS - if the stainless work hardens on you, just heat up the area that needs to be annealed/softened with the TIG arc. It gets real ductile and workable again.

[DaveO]

Have you considered cutting the away portions of the tip of the schedule 40 pipe leaving a series of triangle pieces, pinching or hammering the triangle pieces together, TIG weld together, and grind / finish as needed to make your own tip?

Not to hijack the thread but it reminds me of a clever solution to a problem- as a kid I remember my Dad wanted to run some electrical wiring to the far side of a driveway. So he did this triangle cut-away thing that Jake mentions, using steel pipe: closed off the end, then welded and ground to a near-perfect bullet shape. Threaded the bullet end onto a 4-ft. section of pipe, and we dug holes on both sides of the driveway, one hole deep and long enough to swing a sledge hammer, the other hole just big enough to see the pipe emerge at the other end. Kept the pipe level and straight, started sledging, and threaded on more pipe as we made progress. The bullet end emerged as planned (it had drifted only a little), then Dad unthreaded the bullet and ran the electrical wire through.

[Brian Ski]

I have done similar... I used a piece of 3/4 emt conduit and would run a trench next to the drive. Then hook it to the end of a garden hose. The water would run the conduit right under the drive. Worked pretty well unless you hit a big rock. Little muddy though.
Probably not the way to do it with a pig on a stick!!!!

[Bigwilly01]

Not to hijack the thread but it reminds me of a clever solution to a problem- as a kid I remember my Dad wanted to run some electrical wiring to the far side of a driveway. So he did this triangle cut-away thing that Jake mentions, using steel pipe: closed off the end, then welded and ground to a near-perfect bullet shape. Threaded the bullet end onto a 4-ft. section of pipe, and we dug holes on both sides of the driveway, one hole deep and long enough to swing a sledge hammer, the other hole just big enough to see the pipe emerge at the other end. Kept the pipe level and straight, started sledging, and threaded on more pipe as we made progress. The bullet end emerged as planned (it had drifted only a little), then Dad unthreaded the bullet and ran the electrical wire through.

Your story reminds me of my late Grandfather. He was a farmer by trade and a fabricator by necessity. If he needed something he would go to the shop and build it. If it was a great idea he would build them for friends and family.

[NRM]

Jake - I was also thinking about doing that, however I didn't think I could make it look very nice and some spots would be a lot thinner than others. Some may find this ridiculous but I want it to look good and work well. I’m kind of partial to my number 4 which is to do some rough cuts with an TCT/Abrasive saw first then grind it smooth.