Thread: Knurled Screws for Graduated Dials

Originally Posted by Anorak Bob

20 years. That's impressive Bruce. If you want I can post you over a length of brass rod so when you get around to knurling up your mill dials, you can incorporate a little brass insert in the screw end.

What diameter are the bores and what is the thickness of the wheels in your knurler? If you let me know I may have something that will fit.

Bob
I just checked the knurls, & they are 3/4 "OD by 3/8" dia with a .250" dia bore.
the width is actually .373"
The scissor knurl performed well again today on the Jack620 job When Knurling, I use straight cutting oil from a small oil can. Tried the toothbrush but have to be careful it does not get caught between the rolls & stuff things up.
The old Turret or Capstan lathes used a 2 roller knurl scissor action setup in the turret head,
& it was one movement to feed the knurls onto the workpiece & off again.The knurls were preset to the required depth of knurl, no adjustments were made by the lathe operator.
The lathe speed was reduced for this part of the operation & a flood of water soluble oil used. This was a very effective & fast method of knurling.
I have considered making a similiar idea to fit into the tailstock or Turret head of the Hercus. It would be excellent if many parts were required to be knurled.
regards
Bruce

It's amazing what goes on here if you don't check in for a while. Thanks for the idea Bruce I will definitely be copying that one.The little screwdriver can go back in the drawer. It is funny how often the solution is so simple once it is pointed out to you.
I think I will just make the whole screw out of brass.

Originally Posted by localele

It's amazing what goes on here if you don't check in for a while. Thanks for the idea Bruce I will definitely be copying that one.The little screwdriver can go back in the drawer. It is funny how often the solution is so simple once it is pointed out to you.
I think I will just make the whole screw out of brass.

Micheal
While I was making the screws in steel,I had the same thought,I could have made them in brass.
Now that the screws are installed it just makes it so easy to zero the graduated dials.
Very helpful when doing screwcutting operations & the like.
I saw the article in the latest Carbatec magazine about you & the things you make.
Very good !
Well done.
regards
Bruce

Thanks for the great idea Bruce. I made it a priority and now it is done. This will be one of those "Why didn't they do it like this in the first place" jobs and the more you use it the better you like it.

Originally Posted by localele

Thanks for the great idea Bruce. I made it a priority and now it is done. This will be one of those "Why didn't they do it like this in the first place" jobs and the more you use it the better you like it.

Micheal
Nice job.
I was thinking of you making them as I have been also using mine this morning.
They are a big plus for the Hercus lathe
regards
Bruce

Love the fine knurling on yours Bob. Very classy look to it.

Thanks Micheal.

When I made my knurling tool I decided to buy coarse, medium and fine pitch wheels from Blackwoods. Not an inexpensive decision at about 32 dollars per wheel eight years ago. I have subsequently purchased equally good quality wheels from America for a quarter the price. Live and learn.

BT

I approached the makers of my Knurling toll in the UK about spares but the cost was ridiculous and I left it at that.Took about 4 emails over a 6 week period to get that far.
If you remember where you got them from the US I'd appreciate an address.

Micheal,

What size wheels fit yours?

Bob.

I'll have to measure in the morning Bob and will post it here.

That is a serious looking bit of gear Micheal. My wheels are also made by WDS. I scanned a page from my old Blackwood catalogue. It shows the range of wheels available.

D and D Barry in Sydney are the Australian agents for WDS. D&D Barry - Product Range

As far as Ebay goes, a search for knurl produces a number of offerings. I recently bought a pair of 30 tpi straight knurls from this seller for about 34 dollars including shipping. The same seller has other top quality knurls for sale.

Accu Trak GKS096 Knurl 5/8" x 1/4" Straight Teeth | eBay


Bob.

Ordered some fine knurls from D&D Barry as mine have an odd bore size of 7/32".About $20 each but easy enough to deal with.They'll easily outlast me I think.
Thanks for the link Bob.
Actual size of the wheels is 5/8th x 5/16th x 7/32" bore with 36 teeth.
While on knurls they must be measured in an odd way. Maybe at the internal diameter (inside the teeth ) as the TPI doesn't work at all with my measurements.

Hi,
While we're at it, has anyone made or adapted a graduated dial onto the main carriage wheel?
I've always just added onto the current reading on my dials instead of zeroing, but i have lots of funny habits

There's too much slop in the carriage hand-wheel for a dial to be of any use I reckon Andrew.