I looked at a lot of metal spinning u-tubes first. The very first time I ever saw metal spinning done was at the Wallace Silverware Factory in New Haven (Think). The guy was spinning solid silver creme pitchers. I was fascinated by how simple he did it and never forgot it.
I did some smaller practice runs first to get the hang of it on my lathe. The hardest part was clamping the stock tight enough so it wouldn't spin loose from the grip of the lathe centers/drive. I finally gave up and soldered a flange on that would keep it from spinning loose. The most difficult part was forming the edge flange which I ended up doing with a hammer over a wood form.
I think I had more control doing this smaller project Ed. Yours is massive ! How do you control warp ? I have tried a few times to form aluminum with dismal results. Plus my total lack of ability to weld aluminum with acceptable results. This limited my ability to correct or repair my mistakes on my own. At least with copper I can solder with good success. I really appreciate your work and effort on making this cover and watch very closely what your doing. I'm sitting in the front row of your readers here and paying attention. More photos and detail are especially valuable to me as the craft nut I am.
Keep up the good work Ed !.......................Bruce
P.S. Drilling Holes....Seems simple enough huh ? I'm laughing with you guys ! How many of us have had disasters just drilling one ? How bout Ed's stainless fuel tank when he had hard spots in the metal ? Or hole saw disasters ? Or drifting off center ? Or the wrong size hole for the tap you want to use ? Or drilled in the wrong place ? I swear, drilling holes seems simple but when I really think about it, it's probably one of the most demanding things there is to get right. Lane, Bob, Gordon, thank you for the good laugh today !