Hi John:
When I'm using my clamp-knurler I don't move the cross-feed at all.
I only move the cross-feed initially to set the knurling wheels
directly on top and below the workpiece and on the center-line.
I start the lathe with the knurls loose on the right side of the work
and then slowly clamp down until the knurls begin to cut. Then I use
the carriage feed only to move the tool slowly towards the
headstock. If at any time I think the cross-slide should be
adjusted, I release the clamp pressure on the tool before making the
adjustment.
I move the tool back and forth over the knurling area slowly
tightening the knurl adjustment until the knurling looks
satisfactory, then I move the carriage away from the work to the
right and shut the lathe off. The whole process is very smooth and
normally requires very little pressure. I find slow spindle speed
and gentle pressure to work best. Steel workpieces cut smoother with
a little cutting oil.
Once the knurling has started to form the tool will normally follow
the previous knurling if you have to repeat the process.
Mike
--- In 7x12minilathe@..., "John" <moran03@e...> wrote:
I recently made a clamp style knurler as described by Martin Cleve:
I had the bump knurler which was part of the Phase II toolpost so
the
knurls from this were installed in my shiny new knurler and away I
went. But, now that I've got it, I find I don't really know how to
use it.
According to the article, you position the knurls on opposite sides
of the stationary work and close the arms until the knurls just
touch, withdraw the tool somewhat, and close the arms 1/3 turn or
so
of the adjuster. Then the tool is advanced on the spinning work
using
the cross feed plus lots of cutting oil (and elbow grease). When I
do this it produces a nice knurl on 1/2" and 1" steel parts but the
force required via the cross feed seems excessive.
Each time I knurl using this technique the cross feed develops
several mils of backlash and needs readjustment. My suspicion is
that
the excessive force is causing rapid wear to the brass nut on the
cross feed leadscrew.
My original notion was to position the knurls with no pressure
applied and then use the adjuster to close the tool until the
desired
knurl was produced, requiring no force to the cross feed. The
torque
needed on the adjuster to do this is beyond me -- knurling steel
takes a LOT of pressure; perhaps this would work with aluminum but
I
haven't tried that yet.
I thought about trying multiple passes, advancing the adjuster much
less, say 1/16 turn, each pass but don't know how to synchronize to
avoid doubling of the pattern so haven't tried this.
So, is there a better way to use this tool? Do I need to add a
thrust
bearing to the adjuster? Should I ditch the knurled adjuster and
make
a hex nut so I can use a (big) wrench? Would the cross feed
situation
get better if I split the brass nut per the mod suggested in the
7x10
group's files?
John
