More metal-bodied planes

[IanW]

Dammit, the chitchat and buzz of excitement going on in "THE GREAT PLANE CHALLENGE (https://www.woodworkforums.com/f316)" got me all twitchy, and feeling left out since I’m not allowed to enter, so I set a little “challenge” for meself. I made a couple of planes over the last week & a bit so I could at least have some fun even if I’m barred from the main event..

First I made an “English thumb plane”, based loosely on the Norris A31: 483108

Then I made a rear-bun smoother: 483107





‘Course they look a bit less impressive when put in proper perspective. Here they are beside a #4 for scale:

483106

:D

I actually did have “serious” reasons for doing both planes. The little curved-sided plane was made to test some stainless steel that Bushmiller gave me. The actual alloy is unknown, but possibly 304 or similar. The interweb tells me that 304 & 316 are far & away the most common alloys & used for a wide variety of purposes. Both are said to have ‘good workability’, they cannot be heat-hardened because the C content is too low, but will work-harden, which is a worry if I want to peen it extensively. Anyway, I cut off a sliver and my quick&dirty peening test indicated it would take a fair amount of bashing without becoming brittle. In fact, it seemed quite soft when I started hacksawing off a chunk, but like other SS I’ve used, it dulled the teeth pretty quickly. It was especially hard on the jewellers saw blades I used to cut out the dovetails, they only cut about half as far in this stuff as they will in mild steel of the same thickness. The set wears off the teeth and the blades start binding after cutting 25-30mm of the SS material. If I persist & force it, the blade seizes in the cut & ends up breaking as I’m trying to free it. I presume it’s the chromium content that causes the rapid wear on the teeth?

At ~3.2mm thick, it is ok for the sole of a mini plane, and I had a scrap of 2.5mm H62 brass for sides, so I decided to whip up a little 80mm finger plane, and see how the unknown SS scrubbed up. As a further challenge, I gave it curved sides, something I’ve not done before on a plane this small.

One thing I’ve learnt about curved sides is to go easy on the curves! It doesn’t take much to give them that streamlined look, and the tighter the curve, the harder it becomes to get it all together neatly.
My sole curves in about 3mm at the front and 4-5mm at the back, but it’s enough to give it a definite roundness: 483105

The soft Chinese brass bent very easily with about half the springback of the harder C380 I’m used to bending, but it did want to kink at the shallow part where the sides dip down around the throat, instead of yielding in a smooth curve. With some careful squeezing, I managed to iron them out a bit & get the sides to match the sole reasonably closely. Both Paul’s SS and the brass peened very nicely, so I got a pretty good, gap-free body after initial cleanup: 483104

I had a small piece of some lovely dark Rosewood which has been kicking about for so long I’ve forgotten when/where I got it, but it would’ve been before the CITES ban which was many decades ago already. There was a hair-line crack at one end, but it didn’t appear to go far into the piece, so I cut my two buns out & proceeded to fit them. However that crack went deeper than I thought, and when I was paring the side of the front bun, a piece split away. I tried to glue it back on, but the clamp didn’t pull the irregular shape tight against. Fortunately, the bit I’d cut off was just long enough for a second attempt. This time I gently prised the crack open a bit with a chisel & drizzled in some superglue, then clamped it up tight. That disappeared the crack entirely, but I was very, very careful shaping it. Anyway, the second bun went in without a hitch and was an even better fit. Once glued & pinned in the plane, the crack is invisible & out of harm’s way. Both buns ended up as good a fit as I’ve ever managed, which surprised me – working at this scale with arthritic fingers starts to get difficult!

Got a nice tight mouth: 483103

And it made some nice shavings first try: 483102

Gotta love Rosewood, it makes the most beautiful, tactile handles, easy to see why it has been cut almost to extinction..

More to follow...

[IanW]

This little plane had a very roundabout path from concept to completion. I wanted to try some cold-rolled steel I’d got for soles, and make a test-bed for the blade I’d made from some 1080 knife steel I’d bought after it was mentioned by Doug3030 elsewhere. Initially, it was to be a “Scottish” version of a so-called “thumb plane” with continuous bent sides, and a practice run for the box mitre plane I’ve been avoiding starting on for about a year. Then I thought I might want to add a screw adjuster, and a rounded, bent back would make that awkward, as well as the 1/8” material being a bit thin to take the stud for the thumbwheel. So it morphed into something very like a Norris A31 (http://www.norrisplanes.com/norris-number-a31-thumb-plane/).
The blade is 32mm wide because that’s the width of the steel blank, which is a close match to the 1 ¼” of the Norris original. The main departure from the Norris configuration is the bed angle (15*) is probably a bit lower than the Norris. Nothing I can find mentions the bed angle, but Norris typically used about 18* on his low-angle planes.

The originals have a long toe like a shoulder plane, about 1/3rd of the sole length which I wanted to retain, so I drew up a plan & elevation & made a full-scale model to check that everything would fit in its proper pace. 483111

I wanted to keep the profile low for comfortable one-hand use, but had to be sure I had enough room for an adequate wedge & a bridge for the thumbscrew. The model looked to be in-proportion & fitted my hand nicely. The wedge on the Norris is very long and looks a bit out of proportion to me, so I shortened it a lot on my mock-up, then decided it would look better & be more comfy if I made the bulge a bit longer than on the model. Again, the piece of Macassar Ebony I had for the wedge & front bun was just the right amount – I knew it would find the perfect use someday. However, with absolutely nothing to spare, I was rather nervous fitting it in case something went wrong!

With those details sorted, it was time to cut up some brass & steel. I used the ‘hard’ 380 brass (3.2mm) for sides and the cold-rolled 5mm steel for the sole. Cold-rolled plate has less mill-scale than hot-rolled stuff & I thought that would make it easier to clean up. It was, but only marginally; it still has a goodly coating of oxide that is as hard as the hobs of hell & takes a lot of sanding to remove. I should buy myself a decent linisher but I’m not making any more planes!

Apart from the sole, this was an easy build. The sole had to be split & re-joined because with a bed angle of 15 degrees, there is no other way to cut a fine mouth slot with hand tools. This is my 4th split sole, and I was determined to get an ultra-fine mouth (not because I think they are absolutely essential, but for the challenge) and an invisible join. Typically, the two pieces of sole are rejoined with a ‘tongue & groove’ joint or simply indexed with a Vee joint.

I cut & filed a ‘notch’ out of the front (toe) piece, 1.5mm deep, to make two lugs at either edge, and then marked & cut the “tongues” on these. I sawed as close to the lines as I could with a junior hacksaw, then used a flat needle file and a thin scraper ground from an old saw file to square the corners. Flat needle files range from ~ 1.2 to 1.5mm thick, depending on brand, which is comfortably less than a third of the 5mm thick material I used for the sole. The other tool I find essential is a spent 3-corner file ground to a short flat about 1.5mm wide, which I use to square the bottoms of the grooves & the shoulders of the tongue: 483110

The corresponding grooves were marked out & cut on the heel piece after I formed the bed. The long, low bevel of the bed gives plenty of room to work on the grooves without fear of damaging it.

Making this T&G joint isn’t half as difficult as you may think. You can close a loose fit up to some extent at least during peening, but you want it as accurate as possible so it keeps the sole pieces aligned. I have never got it absolutely perfect, but a tiny mismatch is easily dealt with when it comes time to flatten the sole. You want the joints to hold together firmly while scribing the tails, so if a join is a bit loose I very gently tap the top of the groove side to tighten it enough to hold. Apologies for the blurry pic, the camera decided to focus on the front edge, but here it is ready to scribe: 483109

Still more....

[IanW]

Making the blade bed is the most tedious (& critical) part of these planes. To speed things up, I first marked out where the back of the bevel falls, then made a series of cuts with a hacksaw. Note that I marked another line in front of the line marking the full extent of the bevel cut; this was my line to work to so I wouldn’t over-cut. Experience has taught me that with the saw at such an angle, it’s really hard to see when you are at the line. You can see I did over-cut this ‘safety line’ a couple of times, but fortunately, not as far as the ‘real’ line, which is what I want to file to: 483121

Now I knock out he dags of spare metal, then clamp a guide to the sole & just file away for a day or two (actually it took less than an hour, but it feels like days!): 483120

The last stages take the most care, ensuring that bed is dead flat. I used layout dye applied thickly to the back of my blade & rubbed it over the bevel to test if they were mating. Another crude scraper made from a spent file helped to finesse it (& square the corners) until I was happy I had better than 80% contact between blade & bed. The corners at the sides have to be scraped square because files are never square at their corners and you cannot make dead square corners with a file alone.

With the bed bevel made, the pins can be scribed & cut. Fitting sides to sole is no more difficult than fitting a single-piece sole: scribe, cut out, file & fit, but you do need to fit the tails to their sockets very carefully with split soles, so the two pieces can’t open up when you start peening.

This one went without a hitch: 483119

Peening straight sides is also a lot easier than peening curved sides – half an hour or less of hammering had it looking good (or should I say pretty ugly at this stage!): 483118

Then, much filing!
And eventually, it begins to look like a plane body: 483117

Still a ways to go, but I won’t finish filing the sides completely until I’ve fitted the bridge & rear cross-piece.
I decided to fit the bridge permanently on this plane. On my chariot planes I used ‘floating’ screws to hold the bridge, but I decided to go for the ‘clean’ look & use brass pins. I threaded some 3mm brass rod & screwed these into holes tapped into the bridge, then peened them into recesses on the sides: 483116

You can also use tapered pins (called “clockmakers pins”) hammered into undersized holes in the bridge, instead of threading the rod. I’ve used this method a couple of times and been very impressed by how firmly the pins hold – you cannot get them apart without a LOT of force once hammered in. Using threaded rods just allowed me a bit more leeway, I don’t have to commit to the final fitting until I’m happy everything is properly in pace.
With the bridge fitted, I glued in a wedge of wood to fill the space between sole & back piece. This isn’t really necessary, the blade will sit perfectly well on the sole bevel & the back piece and is unlikely to bend under thumbscrew pressure. The makers of the original old box mitre planes didn’t bother & just left the space empty. However, I had a small scrap left from cutting the wedge, so I thought I may as well fill the void, it’ll stop garbage accumulating in there.

The plane can now be assembled to lap the sole. No matter how carefully I fit & peen, two-piece soles always end up slightly out of alignment. The first half-dozen passes show the toe-piece is lower than the rear bit: 483115

But it was only a thousandth of an inch or so, & soon started to straighten out: 483114

It didn’t take too long to get a nice, flat sole (small soles are far, far less work than big ones!): 483113

At last, the fun part has arrived, first shavings: 483112

I had a bit of bother with the mouth – I’d made it very tight, and the blade would barely come though enough to cut. The thinnest needle file I have wouldn’t fit through, but I needed to take a few more thou off the front of that mouth. However, where there’s a will there’s a way, I found I could just get the end of one of those plastic paddle diamond-file thingies in, & took a wee bit off the sharp edge of the blade bevel (that knife edge is a liability anyway, & needs blunting a bit). Then I could just get the thinnest file in and take off the fraction needed to leave a mouth opening of somewhere between 0.1 & 0.2 of a mm with the blade extruded enough to cut. That’s what I consider a practical gap for a plane like this that will get all sorts of general use rather than the ultra-tight, barely-visible-at-all mouth of a mitre plane.

I’m not sure about my blade, yet. I haven’t tempered it after its oil quench. It’s not as hard as the blade I quenched in brine so I’m using it as-is for the moment. It sharpened up nicely & isn’t chipping, so I’ll see how it goes. I’ll feed it to some she-oak sometime, that will soon show me how tough it is!

Cheers,

[aldav]

An absolute master class as usual Ian. :2tsup:

The stainless steel you've used is most likely to be 304, it's much more common than 316 due to it being extensively used in the food industries. As you have noted these 300 series stainless steels can be work hardened. One of the more interesting side effects of work hardening is that the metal becomes magnetic. This is dramatically demonstrated in the old pressed stainless steel hubcaps where the flat areas remain non-magnetic but the 'bent' areas where the metal has been put under more stress becomes noticeably magnetic.

[Ironwood]

Wow Ian, 3 new planes in less time that it’s taken us to contemplate making ours for the challenge.
Thanks for the inspiration, I just caught this thread while having my mid morning coffee.
Just finished a few jobs on the bathroom Reno, and about to head down to the shed to do a bit more on my challenge plane, I will go over your posts here again after my days proceedings, I am sure to have missed some detail.

[Picko]

Bloody show off.:D
:saythat:

:yesmaster: going now.

[IanW]

Wow Ian, 3 new planes in less time that it’s taken us to contemplate making ours for the challenge......

Just two, Brad, unless you count the mock-up... :)

Yeah, I am showing off a bit, but my intention is to encourage a few more lurkers who might be thinking of giving the challenge a go, but are still feeling it might be beyond them. I didn't keep track of how long those planes took me, but it would've been less than 20 hours each, spread over almost 2 weeks. I'm probably four times quicker now than when I first made a dovetailed plane, but even at that rate, there's still lots of time before the closing date. :D

Cheers,

[Picko]

I think I would need to do eight hour days for the two weeks and still wouldn't end up with the result you have.

[Simplicity]

Ye Second the show of thingy,[emoji6]

Nice effort again Ian, were would be with your inspiration a.


Cheers Matt.

[Oldmeadow]

Thanks for the masterclass

[Cklett]

You moan that you could not enter the challenge and yet you show us all how it's done and how far we still have to go...

Great little planes. Actually I do find them even more impressive when next to the bigger Stanley. Then they look so neat.

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

[Bushmiller]

Just two, Brad, unless you count the mock-up... :)

Yeah, I am showing off a bit, but my intention is to encourage a few more lurkers who might be thinking of giving the challenge a go, but are still feeling it might be beyond them. I didn't keep track of how long those planes took me, but it would've been less than 20 hours each, spread over almost 2 weeks. I'm probably four times quicker now than when I first made a dovetailed plane, but even at that rate, there's still lots of time before the closing date. :D

Cheers,

Ok. So my master plan is to go straight to the tenth plane I make thereby circumventing all the potential mistakes and vastly increasing my skill level without spending wasteful time on the intermediate planes.

Easy!

:cool::)

Regards
Paul

[Mountain Ash]

Ok. So my master plan is to go straight to the tenth plane I make thereby circumventing all the potential mistakes and vastly increasing my skill level without spending wasteful time on the intermediate planes.

Easy!

:cool::)

Regards
Paul

Seems the most sensible idea and definitely more cost effective :D

[Simplicity]

Ok. So my master plan is to go straight to the tenth plane I make thereby circumventing all the potential mistakes and vastly increasing my skill level without spending wasteful time on the intermediate planes.

Easy!

:cool::)

Regards
Paul

Will you be documenting that climb ,so we can enjoy the journey with you.?

Cheers Matt.

[Bushmiller]

Will you be documenting that climb ,so we can enjoy the journey with you.?

Cheers Matt.

Absolutely, but you will be required to provide your own safety harness.

:wink:

Regards
Paul

[Bushmiller]

Then I made a rear-bun smoother: 483107




Ian

Those planes are so cute. Leanne was very impressed with your mini planes last time we visited and is no less impressed with these latest models. I am hoping she will put in an order for one, not that I know quite what she will do with it.

:wink:

It was good that the stainless steel worked out well. That Rosewood really is extremely dark. If you had not described it as such I would have guessed at Ebony.

Regards
Paul

[Ironwood]

Just two, Brad, unless you count the mock-up... :)



Cheers,
Ahh, Ok 👍
I had assumed the picture of the plane after the mock-up pic was the finished article.
Now I realise it was the first one.
Still a mighty effort though.

[IanW]

......That Rosewood really is extremely dark. If you had not described it as such I would have guessed at Ebony....

'Tis a very dark piece, alright, Paul. I don't remember it being anywhere near that dark when I first got it, I think that has happened over the years it's been kicking around. . I note that the original Rosewood handles on two of my old planes are almost jet black, so I'm guessing the stuff typically darkens over time.

Hard to tell the difference from a photograph, but you wouldn't mistake the Rosewood for the Ebony if you had them in your hand. Apart from the characteristic smell when you work it, which is similar in many species of [I]Dalbergias, Rosewoods have a medium grain-structure that is quite easy to see, whereas Ebony is superfine, the polished surface is like glass. The Ebony on the thumb plane is "Macassar" (a catchall name for several species of Ebony from the Indonesian archipelago, as far as I can determine), and has fine, pale streaks, not jet black like the Ebony I got in Sri Lanka.

The teeny finger planes are cute, alright, but highly functional. I fettled the 'baby' yesterday, eased one edge of the mouth that was a bit too tight & causing shavings to jam, lapped the sole to as good as I can get it, and fitted a new blade (the one I had in it for the photo-shoot was too short). It is now working beautifully, so I'm very happy with it. One of my daughters has put in an order for a very fancy doll house, replete with working Georgian style furniture, so I think this little baby is going to earn its keep before long. :U

I did try the thumb plane out on something a bit more challenging than the Jacaranda in the 'test' pic. I fed it to some Blue Gum, which it handled quite well. In fact I was surprised at how well it managed fo r a bevel-up iron ground at <30*, which I guess is largely due to the fine mouth. I was expecting the Blue gum to cause micro-chipping of my un-tempered blade, but when I went back to the Jacaranda, it still cut well & left a glassy surface, with no evidence of chipping. So for the moment, I'm not going to bother trying to temper it. I don't think it's anywhere near as hard as the blade I brine-quenched, according to my crude "file test"; the file just skates over that, whereas I can persuade a file to 'grip' just a bit on my Canola-quenched blade.

Cheers,

[IanW]

Well, I've had time to give my new plane a good gallop or two now, & it is performing very well - definitely a keeper (at least until I make something else that takes my fancy!).

I planed up some she-oak for some knife-scales yesterday & the un-tempered blade managed it remarkably well, again with no sign of chipping. Holding an edge for several minutes of planing that stuff is a commendable effort. From the way it takes an edge & the feel of it on my stones, I estimate it is about as hard as my Hock O1 blades. I don't understand this entirely, but all I can think is that the canola oil quench cooled the blade more slowly and it didn't reach maximum hardness. It's a sheer fluke, I'm sure, but a happy one, I don't feel I need to risk domestic harmony cooking it in the kitchen oven..

And the postie brought nme a little present this morning, a couple of 14tpi straight wheels for my knurling tool. I've grown tired of diamond knurls on everything, so I decided to try something different. After looking at the alernatives for some time, I decided on the straight wheels, because I reckon with these plus a bit of 'freehand' turnery I can make thumbscrews with heads quite similar to old Spiers thumbscrews. This was my first attempt: 483528

I think it needs to be a little more shallow and the coving of the top a bit more accentuated, but itis vaguely like an oldie.

The new wheels take a bit of getting used to, the coarse teeth rattle & rumble away & cut very slowly on my little mini lathe, and it doesn't much like the the hard brass I was using it on. I think I will have more success knurling narrow bands rather than engaging the full width of the wheel with this coarse pitch, but I'm encouraged to play about with it & get it sorted out. I don't think 14tpi will suit smaller diameter knobs (this one is 16mm) so I might lash out & get a slightly finer pair as well, to make smaller diameter knobs. Then I can match lever-cap & adjuster thumbscrews.

Cheers,

[Simplicity]

Well, I've had time to give my new plane a good gallop or two now, & it is performing very well - definitely a keeper (at least until I make something else that takes my fancy!).

I planed up some she-oak for some knife-scales yesterday & the un-tempered blade managed it remarkably well, again with no sign of chipping. Holding an edge for several minutes of planing that stuff is a commendable effort. From the way it takes an edge & the feel of it on my stones, I estimate it is about as hard as my Hock O1 blades. I don't understand this entirely, but all I can think is that the canola oil quench cooled the blade more slowly and it didn't reach maximum hardness. It's a sheer fluke, I'm sure, but a happy one, I don't feel I need to risk domestic harmony cooking it in the kitchen oven..

And the postie brought nme a little present this morning, a couple of 14tpi straight wheels for my knurling tool. I've grown tired of diamond knurls on everything, so I decided to try something different. After looking at the alernatives for some time, I decided on the straight wheels, because I reckon with these plus a bit of 'freehand' turnery I can make thumbscrews with heads quite similar to old Spiers thumbscrews. This was my first attempt: 483528

I think it needs to be a little more shallow and the coving of the top a bit more accentuated, but itis vaguely like an oldie.

The new wheels take a bit of getting used to, the coarse teeth rattle & rumble away & cut very slowly on my little mini lathe, and it doesn't much like the the hard brass I was using it on. I think I will have more success knurling narrow bands rather than engaging the full width of the wheel with this coarse pitch, but I'm encouraged to play about with it & get it sorted out. I don't think 14tpi will suit smaller diameter knobs (this one is 16mm) so I might lash out & get a slightly finer pair as well, to make smaller diameter knobs. Then I can match lever-cap & adjuster thumbscrews.

Cheers,

Ian I’m glad the little fellow is now pulling his own weight, and with out having too strain the house hold harmony, that’s got too be a win win.

Restrictions are finally easing in viruses town, so I may be able to visit my creative zone for the first time in about 5 months mid November.
I probably cry.

We’re did you find your knurling tools if you don’t mind me asking, I “may” need them for something.
(Could be useful in tips and tricks[emoji6])

Cheers Matt.

[IanW]

.......We’re did you find your knurling tools if you don’t mind me asking, I “may” need them for something.
(Could be useful in tips and tricks[emoji6]) .....
I bought the wheels here (https://www.lprtoolmakers.com.au/hss-knurls-sold-in-pairs-3-4-x-3-8-x-1-4-pin/), Matt.

Be aware that these are just the wheels, you need the tool to fit them to. I think I bought mine from McJings (https://mcjing.com.au/knurling-tool.html), many moons ago.

If you are only likely to use it a few times, there are even cheaper ones on the interweb. I guess you can't go by pictures too much, but there are some in the $20-30 range that look pretty dodgy, but would probably work for as long as you need it.

You really need to use them on a metal lathe with a screw-driven cross-slide. I tried doing it on a drill press years ago, but the results were pretty pathetic. To get really good knurling, you need to move the tool along he work, just pressing it into the work will give you a knurl of sorts, but it will usually be second-rate.

Cheers,

[Simplicity]

I bought the wheels here (https://www.lprtoolmakers.com.au/hss-knurls-sold-in-pairs-3-4-x-3-8-x-1-4-pin/), Matt.

Be aware that these are just the wheels, you need the tool to fit them to. I think I bought mine from McJings (https://mcjing.com.au/knurling-tool.html), many moons ago.

If you are only likely to use it a few times, there are even cheaper ones on the interweb. I guess you can't go by pictures too much, but there are some in the $20-30 range that look pretty dodgy, but would probably work for as long as you need it.

You really need to use them on a metal lathe with a screw-driven cross-slide. I tried doing it on a drill press years ago, but the results were pretty pathetic. To get really good knurling, you need to move the tool along he work, just pressing it into the work will give you a knurl of sorts, but it will usually be second-rate.

Cheers,

Thanks Ian.

I would be using them on my metal lathe,
Those prices are about the same as I’ve found,
I’ve also been told the clamp down ones, you can get a better knurling,
But having never used one It will be a learning curve,

Cheers Matt.

[IanW]

Matt, I presume you are talking about this type (https://au.banggood.com/Machifit-Knurling-Knurler-Tool-Holder-Linear-Knurl-Tool-Lathe-Adjustable-Shank-with-Wheels-Lathe-Tools-p-1553739.html?gmcCountry=AU&currency=AUD&createTmp=1&utm_source=googleshopping&utm_medium=cpc_bgcs&utm_content=frank&utm_campaign=frank-ssc-aug-all-newcustom-ncv90-0623&ad_id=444041948081&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIlMuWsM_V7AIVh3ZgCh3psA0wEAQYBCABEgLQJPD_BwE&cur_warehouse=CN)?

I was looking for that kind because I reckoned I'd be able to set it up & use it on the DP, but at the time (it was more than 30 years ago), the only one I could find was a rather expensive industrial quality gadget. When I saw the one I have for about $25, I thought it would do. Well, it didn't, I just couldn't apply enough even force by clamping it in the DP vise & pushing it against the job by hand. I thought about making a jig with a screw feed, but shelved that idea because the amount of side-thrust would probably have destroyed my cheap DP in minutes! One of those clamped types would probably have worked.

So the knurling tool lay idle in a drawer for many years until my little lathe entered my life, and was finally dug out & put to work. I had mixed results at first, until I remembered the book I'd stumbled on a long time ago at a SH bookshop (I think it cost me about $2!). It appears to be a training manual for apprentices, written in the 1950s in very clear baby-bear language that I can understand. In that they say to feed the tool along the work by engaging the lead screw. You take multiple passes advancing he tool just a bit each time. This works really well for small diameter pieces that want to bend if you apply too much force.

The other 'secret' to good knurling I've discovered is persistence. The diameter of the piece you are knurling is almost never a simple multiple of the tooth spacing of the cutting wheels, so on the first few revolutions they cut an overlapping pattern. Depending on the diameter and the extent of mismatch, that pattern persists for a variable number of passes until the workpiece is gradually reduced to a diameter that matches the tooth spacing. You can see the overlaps slowly merging with each pass of the tool, until eventually, a clean pattern emerges. One or two more passes sets that in nicely & you end up with a clean, crisp knurl. With some diameters you think it will never get there, & early on I would give up as soon as I got a half-baked knurl, but I've learned to keep going until it sorts itself out...

Cheers,

[woodPixel]

Love a good knurling.

Learned in year 7.... it is a fine memory!

[IanW]

....Learned in year 7.... it is a fine memory...

I don't think there was even a drill-press in our 'manual training' room, WP. Sure wish we'd had a metal lathe to play with - you was lucky, you was!
:U
Cheers,

[Picko]

Thanks Ian.

I would be using them on my metal lathe,
Those prices are about the same as I’ve found,
I’ve also been told the clamp down ones, you can get a better knurling,
But having never used one It will be a learning curve,

Cheers Matt.

They say the clamp style are easier on the lathe, particularly if it's only a small lathe. I got my wheels from McJings and made the holder.

[woodPixel]

I don't think there was even a drill-press in our 'manual training' room, WP. Sure wish we'd had a metal lathe to play with - you was lucky, you was!

Looking back, the tech rooms weren't too bad. That would be 1983 (?) in Canberra. Ceramics, wood, metals, paints. All the good stuff.

Of course, as a kid you see nothing and expect everyone to have the same, but it was the era of TAFE, trade unions and a visionary country that still made cars.

Wood had a table saw, a lathe and a thicknesser for machines. Thinking back it must have been an old woodfast (??) but it only ever had a sanding plate on it... for end-grain shortcuts :) Everything else was benches and hand tools.

Woodwork was my favourite, metal work was excellent fun (still have the hammer I made, surprisingly good for a dumb kid). It had a good range of skill on it, including threading, knurling, tapers and a good balance. Probably received a D due to my terrible attitude. How I avoided a flogging I don't know....

But, they were good memories.