For the rest of this document, I will use Engine Turning to mean the kind of pattern on the Spirit of St. Louis. This pattern was very popular in the 1920s to 1940s on the dashboards, firewalls and engine covers of luxury automobiles, especially Mercedes, Duesenberg,  Bugatti and Franay. You can also often see it on clocks and safes made in that period. Because Engine Turning is such a labor-intensive process, it came to be associated with high quality luxury items. Recently, with the advent of CNC machines, the process has become cheaper, especially for medium to large production runs of flat (2-dimensional) items. So nowadays one often sees the finish appear on reproduction “antiques” and nostalgic items. 

The image to the left shows a Mercedes 540K valve cover, one of the first complex items I turned. The image above shows me with the finished item. This was back in 1990.

(Click on image for a "zoom-in")

After Tom Kreid died I continue to do some freelance engine turning, to help pay my way through college (and for fun!). The image below shows a Ferrari molding, doing the complete set of moldings for this automobile paid my tuition for a semester in 1995.

Above is an Allard J2X dashboard I did in 2001. The owner bought his first Allard in 1953! So he is quite an expert on them. Below is an excerpt from the email he sent me to acknowledge receipt of the part.

"The panel is superb.....even better than I had hoped for. Actually it's far better than some of the original ones I am familiar with. Thanks so much for your wonderful work and incredible speed in which it was accomplished. If you ever need a testimonial, please call on us."

Below is a dash I did in 2005. This piece was the first time I had do a part twice, as the first time the number of rows was not exactly the same as the original vehicle (someone tracked down a old photo) I did it for free the second time, since only perfection is good enough for me.

Here is a typical item that I am asked to do. This is a glovebox for a Willys Jeepster. It looks really beautiful in daylight, photographs just don’t do it justice. 

Below is a Dash Fascia I did for the noted artist and car collector, William Spear. He was so happy with the first one, he asked me to do nine more! So if you need one...

• Airplane parts
• Marine parts
• Bicycles
• Vintage auto parts
• Hot Rod parts
• Guitars and other musical instruments
• Safes
• Clocks
• Antique firearms
• Furniture 

I have engine turned aluminum, stainless steel, nickel, gold and chrome.
 

Although I am now a professor of computer science, I still like to do engine turning as an antidote to sitting in front of a computer all day.

If you have any interesting photos or anecdotes about engine turning please send them to me. Also, if you want to be included in the list of professional engine turners, just send me your information (and if possible some photos of your work).
 

Some more photos of my work.

Bruces Hot Rod, Nardi steering wheel, Misc stuff, a fan blade, a 1939 Delage valve cover., Harley-Davidson front end. Steve's Roadster. Firewall and Dash for a beautiful Bugatti. A glovebox combo for a Jeepster. Six Trans-Am dashboards. Some trim parts. A dash and console for a 1997 Panoz Roadster, here they are installed in the car.

An entire Delage 33 engine

A 1939 Ford dash, A Triumph Motorcycle gear case.

Under the hood of a WV.

A nice before and after for some Buick pieces.

An entire Harley-Davidson motorbike. The tanks, the headlight, all the parts, Assembled bike.

Parts for a superbike, on the bike, a close up.

Take the photos of the item you want turned from several angles, and include a ruler for scale. I will give you an exact quote of how much and how long (typically less than one week turnaround). If you want to proceed, send me the item UPS. The container you use should be high quality and be reusable, so I can use it to return the item. 

Customer Comments:

• The panel is superb.....even better than I had hoped for. Actually it's far better than some of the original ones I am familiar with. Thanks so much for your wonderful work and incredible speed in which it was accomplished. Identity withheld (Allard J2X Dashboard, photo above) 
• Hi Eamonn, Just received the panel and I am impressed! It will look great on the car. I’ll send a picture at a later date... D. Alchin, Modesto. Ca. (Firewall for a Mercedes 540k Replica). Arrived in fine shape. Looks just fine. I am very pleased and ready to send off a check. D. Dibner. CT. (4 Port Riley: Before and After Photo).
• The panels look great! I'm really pleased at how they came out... (Custom Kit Car Panels, Dr. Steven Young) 
• ...the only problem will be how to get the rest of the car to the high standard you have set... (Allard J2X Dashboard Bill Porter)
  Had a chance to get over to Bill Porter's house and see the dash....NICE PIECE OF WORK !!!!! Soft, subtle, it will really make the car! (Mark D., Mr. Porter's engineer)
• The FedEx guy delivered the wheel/disk about 30 minutes ago, and they are spectacular beyond my wildest expectations! (Jim Philpot)
• The case arrived safe and sound this past week. Thanks for the quick turnaround. The case looks beautiful. I couldn’t be happier with it. Thanks again, Mike 
• They look great Eamonn, thanks a lot…. may refer some work to you if you are interested. I have a feeling that when people see those parts on my bike they'll be asking who did it...They (parts) look AWESOME in the sunlight!".  (Officer Kurt S######, Harley-Davidson parts)
• Hi  Eamonn, the back plate (For a guitar) arrived safe and sound on Friday. Beautiful and just what I was looking for—thanks very much. Best, Mike
• I took it down to the Knott's Berry Farm kit car show in late April, and had lots of favorable comments on the engine turning. Took a couple of trophies too--that was very gratifying. So thanks again for the wonderful work. Regards, Steve (see photo)
• Your (engine turning) got rave reviews at the Trans Am Show at Fort Walton Beach, Florida last weekend. (Randy C****, Indiana) 
• It is perfect, and I truly appreciate it. Peyton M**** (boat part)