Investment in New and Old Metal Spinning Equipment
At Church Metal, our investment in metal spinning equipment tells two stories at once: a forward-looking story of automation, precision, and repeatability, and a heritage story of well-engineered machines built decades ago that still earn their place on our shop floor every day. Smart capital allocation does not always mean replacing the old with the new. Sometimes it means making each generation of equipment do what it does best.
A Multi-Million-Dollar Investment in Modern Metal Spinning Equipment
Church Metal has invested millions of dollars in new automated metal spinning equipment. Our team uses the advanced features of these CNC machines to produce parts with a high level of consistency and to reduce production time across the board. Programs developed for each part are stored and can be recalled and replayed on demand, which means the engineering time we spend optimizing a program pays off again every time we run that job.
This automation matters most when customers need tight repeatability across long production runs, traceable processes that hold up to PPAP review, and short changeover times between jobs. Modern metal spinning automation also reduces operator variability, which is critical when parts move into welded assemblies or pressurized applications where dimensional drift is not acceptable.
Why Vintage Metal Spinning Equipment Still Earns Its Keep
Even with that level of investment in CNC, older machines remain valuable. Church Metal continues to use manual hand spinning machines for secondary operations, adding features or deburring finished spun parts. Some shapes, especially low-volume artistic forms and prototype work, are simply faster and more cost-effective to produce on a skilled operator’s hand spinning lathe than to program from scratch. The manual lathes also free up the CNC cells for the high-volume work where automation pays back the fastest.
These machines were purchased decades ago, but our core value of Continuous Improvement still applies to every piece of metal spinning equipment we own, regardless of age.
The Bedinger Legacy
Our preferred hand spinning lathe has long been the Bedinger. Bedinger Precision Company, of Los Angeles, California, has been out of business for decades, but their solid cast machines were engineered with features that have aged remarkably well. As shown in their 1950-era catalog, Bedinger lathes shipped with multiple engineered improvements, including tapered roller bearings running in oil, a combination screw tailstock with cam safety lock, and a precise tool-rest system with serrated locking collars.
That engineering quality is why we have chosen to keep them in service rather than scrap them in favor of generic replacements.
Applying Continuous Improvement to Vintage Metal Spinning Lathes
Upgrading the Headstock Drive
The strong headstock on the Bedinger gives excellent stability when working sheet metal. We enhanced that strength when the original motors reached end of life. The factory motors used mechanical gearing to change speeds and improve torque. Our upgraded servo motors give us a far wider usable range of speed and torque, with electronic control that the original 3 speed mechanical gear box could never deliver.
Tailstock and Brass Bushing Maintenance
The Bedinger tailstock system is unique and production-friendly, but the tailstock shaft and bushings can wear over time. We rebuild them in-house. The brass bushings keep the tailstock shaft centered and running true while still allowing it to slide back and forth to clamp the blank or finished part onto the spin chuck. The fit is critical. Too loose, and the operator loses control of the process. We machine the inner diameter for a slip fit and the outer diameter for a tighter interference fit so the bushings stay seated.
This kind of in-house rebuild capability is what makes vintage metal spinning equipment a real asset rather than a maintenance liability.
Why the New-and-Old Approach Wins for Our Customers
The combination is the point. Our automated metal spinning equipment delivers volume, consistency, and documented process control. Our maintained Bedinger lathes deliver flexibility, fast turnaround on prototypes and short runs, and the kind of hands-on craftsmanship that complex secondary features still require. Together, they let us quote a broader range of work, with shorter lead times, than a shop running either category of equipment alone.
That is what real continuous improvement looks like: investing in the future without discarding the proven.
Looking for a partner who treats metal spinning equipment as a long-term asset rather than a disposable tool?
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