Learning to lathe [things]

[will]

highorder,

Can you suggest a few vendors? Thanks.

We used to make our own arbors out of aluminum rod. Turn down the outside diameter to the size of the diameter (inside) of the piece you are going to hold. Drill and tap one end of the arbor, some thing fairly large. put a large countersink on the end, cut slots 90 degrees through the threaded end, go past the end of the hole a little bit. put the same countersink angle on the inside part of a bolt, screw or whatever has the same thead as the hole you made. when you tighten down the bolt it will expand the abor and hold the work in place.

I just got an ENCO catalog - the have them listed in standard sizes - 1/4" and up. another tool place is MSC industrial.

 

[PhotonFanatic]

We used to make our own arbors out of aluminum rod. Turn down the outside diameter to the size of the diameter (inside) of the piece you are going to hold. Drill and tap one end of the arbor, some thing fairly large. put a large countersink on the end, cut slots 90 degrees through the threaded end, go past the end of the hole a little bit. put the same countersink angle on the inside part of a bolt, screw or whatever has the same thead as the hole you made. when you tighten down the bolt it will expand the abor and hold the work in place.

I just got an ENCO catalog - the have them listed in standard sizes - 1/4" and up. another tool place is MSC industrial.

will,

Thanks for both the "How To" and the heads-up on the suppliers. Off to do some investigating.

 

[Anglepoise]

David,

The cutting knurler can only cut, or remove the metal, so it can only make male, or raised points. If you were to look at two pieces, one knurled by cutting and the other knurled by deformation, they would, indeed, look almost identical. Upon closer inspection with a loupe, you would see the difference, however. The cut pyramids would have sharp edges to them, while the deformed pyramids would have softer edges.

The cutting knurler that I have is from iFanger. And, yes, I cut the knurl along the axis. When I was referring to a plunge cut in the earlier post, that applies only to deformation knurling. You can only make a knurl that way that is equal to the width of the wheel. Many of the wheels come in 2, 4, 6 or 10 mm width, so that is what you'd get--a band of knurling around your light that would equal those widths. Mind you, you can knurl axially via deformation, but not the raised pyramids version.

Here is what the tool looks like:

That cost $170, including two wheels.

While I am now getting decent results from it, I would suggest that there are other, perhaps better tools from the likes of Zeus, Quick, or Dorian, although I have not used any of them. They are for the most part, considerably more expensive. The Europeans seem to be the leaders in cut knurling tools, i.e., Zeus and Quick.

Hey, you know what I'm gonna do for you? I'm dropping that very piece in the mail to you today. I would like it back some day, however.

*****************************************************

Well I got the sample of what Fred's new tool can do and I am amazed.
The knurling is so good and consistent that on first 'look' it is impossible to see if the pattern is MALE (raised pyramid) or FEMALE (depressed pyramid).

It is of course raised pyramid and after seeing the sample, I can now fully understand the justification of having a tool to 'cut' the knurls as opposed to
the normal deformation of the metal.

Difference of night and day.

 

[will]

just something to pass along - not for the weak of heart -

All my work is done using the 3 jaw chuck supplied with the lathe. Every once in awhile I will put something in and it will not run true. I can rotate the piece and tighten multiple times with no success.

with the lathe turning slowly and you can see the part is running out, line up the edge of the part visually with one of the bed rails or the carriage.

tap the edge of the piece. sometimes it takes a few hits to get it to run true.

the usual disclaimers - run out is just a few thousandths of an inch. The work is not sticking out inches from the chuck. Tap - really just a tap, not hard.

This doesn't work for bar stock that goes all the way through the chuck.

Also - if the outside diameter is finished - this may leave a slight scuff mark. when I am working with a finished piece on the out side - I wrap it 2 times around with paper, essentially soft jaws, Kapton tape works also. masking tape tends to mush down too much.

 

[highorder]

will, it sounds dirty, but it works!

 

[PhotonFanatic]

will,

If you'd use a test dial indicator and a small copper-face hammer, you'd be doing it like the pros do, or so I've read.

Although that's usually with a four-jaw chuck. Still works fairly well with the three jaw, too.

The use of the indicator lets you really know where to tap to correct the run out.

 

[highorder]

details, details...

 

[will]

How can I say this - I learned the taping trick from a First Class Machinist with over 30 years in the business. It is surprising, it is very easy to do and quick. I rarely use a hammer - most often a piece of wood or the plastic handle on a file. This most often gets it true with less than 4 taps.

keep in mind - I am working with small items, less than 1 inch in diameter and not sticking out more than 1 inch or so from the chuck.

The dial guage comes out when this doesn't work.

like I said - not for the weak of heart...

This is probably some 'old school' trick

The 4 jaw chuck is usually used for something that is not round to begin with. ( 4 independent jaws ) or to bore a hole that is off center

 

[gadget_lover]

I tend to use the 4 jaw anytime that I want the piece centered with almost no run-out. That would include remounting a piece for second operations.

I can hold a piece more gently in my 4 jaw than I can with the 3. I don't know why.

Sometimes a stray chip will cause high runout in your 3 jaw chuck. Cleaning the jaws every time is a tough habit to establish.

Daniel

 

[will]

Sometimes a stray chip will cause high runout in your 3 jaw chuck. Cleaning the jaws every time is a tough habit to establish.

Daniel

I picked up some tube brushes a few years back ( Solo Horton Company ) they come in sizes from 1/8" to a few inches in diameter. I keep a 3/4" one by the lathe - a few swipes back and forth across the jaws cleans out any unwanted chips. The brushes are great to clean out any of the battery tubes for the lights, nice job on inside threads also. These are either nylon or natural. They are very handy to have around, better than a small paint brush, and very inexpensive.

 

[PhotonFanatic]

Tonight only offered a few minutes of play time, but what fun it was!

Received my long-awaited new knurling tool from Zeus, along with a couple of deformation knurlers.

Here are two shots of the same pattern, which are raised pyramids, similar to the previous pattern done with a cutting knurler. The difference here is that this is done only by plunging the tool into the workpiece and you can not traverse your workpiece axially.

 

[PhotonFanatic]

Tonight's play time was very limited, but a lot of fun.

My new Zeus knurler showed up finally and I got a chance to make a trial piece:

This is the same raised pyramid pattern as I have posted previously, the difference is that this is obtained by plunging the tool into the piece, one can not traverse axially along the workpiece. So your width is limited to the width of the knurler. But this is so much easier to do than the cut knurling.

 

[cmacclel]

Tonight's play time was very limited, but a lot of fun.

My new Zeus knurler showed up finally and I got a chance to make a trial piece:

This is the same raised pyramid pattern as I have posted previously, the difference is that this is obtained by plunging the tool into the piece, one can not traverse axially along the workpiece. So your width is limited to the width of the knurler. But this is so much easier to do than the cut knurling.

Looks good Fred whats the cost of this Knurling tool?

Mac

 

[will]

just out of curiosity - what kind of tool are you using to turn down the piece? It almost looks threaded.
I put a slight radius on the tool I use for turning, this gives a much smoother finish.

 

[PhotonFanatic]

Mac,

The toolholder is $180 and the knurling wheel was $120. A bit expensive, no, but it is German made, so that's worth it, no doubt.


will,

That's the lazy man's way of feeding the tool--I was too lazy to change the gears, or crank it by hand.:lolsign:

I can make a very smooth finish, when I want to.

 

[65535]

Best finish is really time consuming and work, on a side not sandpaper works wonders for lazy ness.

 

[will]

My lathe is the same way - got to change gears - not to tough to do - just takes time..

 

[PhotonFanatic]

 

[kenster]

Very cool Fred!:rock: You have deffinately been doing some learning and you are learning well!:bow: I have some catching up do do for sure!

How long did the Zues knurling tool take to get after you ordered it?

Ken

 

[PhotonFanatic]

Very cool Fred!

You have definitely been doing some learning and you are learning well!

I have some catching up do do for sure!

How long did the Zues knurling tool take to get after you ordered it?

Ken

Ken,

Took about two months, but I think the distributor screwed up the order a bit.

When does your baby arrive?