Got the new knurling tool working

[Mirage_Man]

After leaving the knurling tool alone for several weeks I went back and tried again. It appears that I've at least figured out how to do a single band without it double tracking. The next step will be traversing a part. I have a pretty good idea how to accomplish that but for now I'm very pleased that I was able to do this.

Here's a pic of a ti tail cap I'm working on today.

 

[StrikerDown]

Dude! That looks sweet!:thumbsup:

 

[Anglepoise]

Looking good.

 

[SafetyBob]

What did you do different or how do you think you made it work so well?

Looks REALLY nice!!!

Bob E.

 

[jch79]

Nice Brian! Lookin' good.

Hope all is well.

 

[Mirage_Man]

Thanks Guys. I really am tickled to get this to work. Knurling in general can be a real bugaboo but in ti it's even more of a PITA to do well.

What did you do different or how do you think you made it work so well?

Looks REALLY nice!!!

Bob E.

Bob, I spoke with a fellow at Eaglerock a day or so after the first time I attempted it. He explained as best he could what to do the the particular tool I have. At that point I was pretty frustrated and didn't want to waste any more expensive ti material so I went on to other projects until the other day. I decided to give it a shot with some aluminum stock to see if I could get it to work. The result was pretty good. Good enough that I decided to risk trying again in some ti stock. Here is the result in that piece of ti.

The only info I can pass on is if you have the same tool I do. It's a little lengthy to go into here though. When I have some more time I'll do a write up on how I did it.

 

[wquiles]

The only info I can pass on is if you have the same tool I do. It's a little lengthy to go into here though. When I have some more time I'll do a write up on how I did it.

Looking great Brian, and yes, please do tell

Will

 

[nekomane]

Scissor type or one sided? Which do you recommend?
Nice job as always

 

[Mirage_Man]

Scissor type or one sided? Which do you recommend?
Nice job as always

This one.

 

[Anglepoise]

The next step will be traversing a part. I have a pretty good idea how to accomplish that but for now I'm very pleased that I was able to do this

Can help you with one tip when you try to make a long knurl ( traverse ).

Nice thing about these scissor knurls is that they take allot of the strain off the lathe spindle bearings. However there are still huge pressure/strains going on. When you try to traverse the carriage to lengthen the knurl ( Ti ) , the strain will try to pivot around the tool post and unless it is very secure it will move.

To stop this on my lathe, I finished up having to 'pin' the toolpost to the topslide. Amazing amount of pressure must be involved.

In Ti, I prefer the look of your knurl where you do not try for full depth.
I think full depth knurling in Ti is only really successful ( looks nice) with a cut type knurling tool that Fred and others use.

 

[precisionworks]

cut type knurling tool that Fred and others use.

+1

The cleanest "knurling" on hard & tough materials is done on a CNC lathe, using a live spindle tool. The tool looks like a very small saw blade, with the tips forming a 60° included angle. The tools spins in the live spindle as the tool is moved against the slowly turning part. After the spiral is made in one direction, the spindle and tool are reversed.

 

[jhanko]

The result was pretty good. Good enough that I decided to risk trying again in some ti stock. Here is the result in that piece of ti.

That knurl looks great. I'm just curious, did it track that good the first try or did you have to fiddle with the OD?

 

[Patriot]

Gosh that looks amazing! I feel as if I'm looking at fine custom pistol parts whenever I see your work. That's just beautiful.

 

[jhanko]

The tool looks like a very small saw blade, with the tips forming a 60° included angle. The tools spins in the live spindle as the tool is moved against the slowly turning part. After the spiral is made in one direction, the spindle and tool are reversed.

I would love to see this in action. Anyone seen a video anywhere?

 

[ICUDoc]

+1

The cleanest "knurling" on hard & tough materials is done on a CNC lathe, using a live spindle tool. The tool looks like a very small saw blade, with the tips forming a 60° included angle. The tools spins in the live spindle as the tool is moved against the slowly turning part. After the spiral is made in one direction, the spindle and tool are reversed.

I think Fred (PhotonFanatic) has a cutting knurler like that? I may be wrong but maybe he will write that up too....
Knurling is an unexplored lathe technique for me- looks too hard!

 

[cmacclel]

I would love to see this in action. Anyone seen a video anywhere?

Data has his video up on You-tube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGCRNybrRY8&feature=channel_page

Mac

 

[precisionworks]

That's exactly the tool that I've seen used, but cannot find a name for it. Thanks for the video link.

 

[jhanko]

Data has his video up on You-tube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGCRNybrRY8&feature=channel_page

Mac

Thanks for the link. Does it have to be that slow? Seems like it would take a long time to do a conventional knurl job on a light...

 

[Anglepoise]

Thanks for the link. Does it have to be that slow? Seems like it would take a long time to do a conventional knurl job on a light...

Reason it is slow is because the video is not showing an example of 'knurling'

Data is basically making flutes or grooves around the circumference of his switch knob. I can't see in the video but if the cutter is stationary than he is 'shaping' and if the cutter is revolving, then it's 'milling'.
But it is not knurling in the traditional sense. Knurling when set up in production is very fast and efficient.

 

[Mirage_Man]

Here is a video I took when I was having my split bodies made at a CNC shop. In theory they did it right but unfortunately they didn't get it totally right. A good knurl should not need to be "knocked down" afterwards as they did.