Building a cut knurling tool was on my list for quite a while now.
Cut knurling is a really interesting and satisfying process and especially for small machines as the Mini Lathe the better choice over form knurling. As the knurl is cut into the material instead of press formed, a lot less force is needed and much less strain is put on the machine spindle and the entire lathe. Paradoxically there is almost nothing to find about cut knurling and cut knurling tools used on small hobby machines here on KZhead.
The tool I made is designed to cut both straight knurls and also cross knurls which is - as far as I know - a feature no commercial cut knurling tools have. For straight knurls the knurling wheel has to have angled teeth and the tool is tilted so that the teeth are horizontal to the workpiece. For cross knurling a knurling wheel with 90° teeth is needed and the knurling is done in two passes. The first pass with the lathe running in normal direction and the knurling tool tilted at +45° and the second pass with the lathe running in reverse and the knurling tool tilted at -45°.
As far as I tested this method and tool produces some excellent knurls especially on my small hobby machine.
Plans available on Patreon: / wecandothatbetter
Many thanks to the german manufacturer Hommel+Keller. The knurling wheels are a bit pricy for a little youtuber like me, so I asked if the want to support me. I'm glad they did and sent me two knurling wheels. Thank you!
www.hommel-keller.de/
If you have questions or suggestions, please let me know in the comments. I'll read them all and try to reply to everyone.
Hope you enjoy. Feel free to like and subscribe to the channel.
Thank you!
Instagram page: / wecandothatbetter
Keep in mind, due to very limited resources, I have to improvise a lot and go unconvenient ways which may upset some of the "real machinists" out here. Hope - with some creativity - in the end come to good resoults anyway.
- Mini Lathe compound angle modification: www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdkoT...
- Mini Lathe tailstock fine adjustements: • Mini Lathe tailstock m...
- Mini Lathe bearings for the compound slide: • Bearings for the mini ...
The plans of the cut knurling tool are now available on my patreon page: www.patreon.com/wecandothatbetter
👍👍👍
The wheels are kinda of affordable, but the commercial holders are ridiculously expensive! Way out of most hobbyists! Your home made version is a great solution!
Yes, you're right. The knurling wheels are affordable. The good thing is, it's not that complicated to make your own tool. At least the tool I made. Thank you very much!
👍👍👍
WOW, YOU HAVE REALLY GOOD SKILLS. Ive been a machinist/ tool room and prototype machinist for over 30 years. You are really good. I enjoy your shows.
I'm humbled. Thank you. I really do appreciate your feedback!
👍👍👍
When you give thumbs up before watch. Quality content, keep it up 🦾
Haha, thank you so much! I really do appreciate that, thanks
The quality of your work and attention to detail is approaching the orbit of my mechanics and Clickspring, great video.
Thank you Sir! I'm humbled!
Il
Great tooling utilization. Nice outcome. Thanks for taking us along and take care!
Thank you very much my friend! Take care as well
Really like your videos not just for the content (which I find very useful and inspiring) but the production of the video and your sense of humor. Keep em coming....
👍👍👍
Never seen such a workmanship on a lathe unbelievable
Thank you very much my friend! :) I really do appreciate that
Very cool. Awesome results. Beautiful knurling. I love mini lathe projects like this. It shows that even entry level tools can get great results.
Thank you very much for your comment! Yes with some patience you can get quite good results.
👍👍👍
You are a certified tool maker ! Well done... and I hope someone sponsors you with a band saw or even a mill.
Ich verneige mich vor einem absolutem Könner. Was du so mit deiner Drehe machst ist Drehen in seiner Vollendung.
Vielen Dank für deine freundlichen Worte! Freut mich sehr.
It's amazing to see what you can do with a mini lathe! Great job!
Thank you very much!
That's a really nice design! I used the fixed double version for a lot of years! Fast, clean, and much less pressure on part and machine. This one gets closer to a shoulder than the commercial units. Thanks for sharing! 👍😎
Thank you very much! I really do appreciate that :)
Very creative using limited tooling! Thanks for sharing, Cheers
Thank you my friend! Yes, it takes a lot more time, but in the end it works anyway with a little bit of improvisation :)
👍👍👍
Wow just wow, not only a pleasure to watch but so educational at the same time, I will also make one of these, thanks for sharing.
Thanks for your comment and compliment!
Beautiful work. We shared this video in our homemade tools forum this week :)
Hey cool, thank you! Happy to hear, you shared it. I really do appreciate that :)
@@WeCanDoThatBetter You're very welcome. You can also also email me at "jon" at our website, and I'll send you a coupon code so you can join our forum for free and share your videos whenever you want. We have lots of YTers on board :)
Your work keeps me very entertained and impressed!
Thank you! I'm really happy to hear that!
You are very talented. With all due respect, it's hard watching you struggle making these beautiful parts. I can't wait to see your work when you acquire a proper lathe and a milling machine.
haha, thank you very much! Yes, with proper tooling it would be easier :)
It's awesome the way you do so much more than just turn round parts. I like the vice mounted flat on the cross slide 👍
Thanks!
Watching from Qatar PHILIPPINES machinist Awesome Love the Vlog
Thank you very much! Greetings
You are doing it right! keep going! thanks for the videos.
Thank you very much!
Didn't know about cut knurling, thanks for sharing!
Welcome:)
Nice class! You are a very smart guy! Thanks for your cooperation with us!
Thank you very much!
great job, I'm delighted!
Wow magnificent realization! I immediately sign up for your channel
Hey thank you very much! I really do appreciate that. Welcome :)
Your techniques amaze and frighten me. Good job.
Thanks!
You are a very talented person. Thanks for sharing with us.
Thank you very much for your kind comment!
Really cool video. I just found your channel recently and enjoy it. All of us that run these small lathes and mills have a wish list of tools and I would recommend you put a portable bandsaw on your list. I loved my first one so much that now I have two. One is corded and the other is battery. Both are amazing. Mine are Dewalt, but there are others as well.
Thank you very much! Yeah, a bandsaw would be great and make work a lot easier. I just found them a bit pricy but perhaps some day I'll have one. For this project I rather drilled the material away instead of hand sawing but that's not the best solution..
@@WeCanDoThatBetter Your thinking was solid and you got the job done. Those are the most important things, but the first time you squeeze the trigger and cut a big piece of steel that would have left you sweating you will have a smile that comes back again and again.
That is absolutely amazing, great job and thank you for sharing your knowledge and skill.
Thank you very much!
Super wie du die verschiedenen Fräsoperationen und Aufspannungen auf der Drehbank gemacht hast.
Dankeschön:) Ja, da musste ich es etwas rumüberlegen, wie ich das hinkriege. Hat zum Glück gut geklappt.
Excellent craftsmanship and design.
Thank you very much!
Thanks for sharing! A very good choice for fast knurling in a non-rigid mini lathe! Got myself a cheap 2 roller "bump" type knurler (which of course is unusable in my 7 x 14"), just to get the 2 hardened roller pairs (straight and 30 deg). I'd guess the knurl with your (and H&K's) method is rather "sheared" than "cut" into the stock? Unfortunately my rollers teeth have a chamfer on them (and would hence have a negative shear/ cutting angle), which brings up my question: -Couldn't it be a positive trait having the teeth on the roller's side ground somewhat concave, thus achieving a slightly positive cutting edge "rake angle" for harder (than aluminium and brass), ferrous alloys? This could pretty easily be done with a toolpost dremel and a ball end diamond burr and the knurl wheel in the mini lathe chuck. With the entire tool angled at a few degrees towards the tailstock, this will also provide some relief angle, as my rollers aren't ground like the H&K's. Ah yes, did you check the knurl's pitch circle dia before cutting the stock dia to be knurled- thus avoiding "double knurling"? Just my two cents - Keep up the good work! DIYSwede
Fascinating. This is the first time I hear about this technique. I was about say that I do not like the single wheel knurling as it exerts too much force on the spindle. This is when I noticed the chips flying and I realized what it really was. It looks very efficient and apparently creates good results. For the mini lathe I now bought a scissors-type device, for the reason above. Had I known of this technique, I would have rethought my purchase. And, of course, kudos for the building technique and skills. Regarding the bandsaw; I can only concur. I bought a cheap one, and then wondered if it was not exaggerated. After a few weeks using it, definitely very useful (Güde MBS 1100).
Thanks for your kind comment. Yes, it's totally different to form knurling which is used by the most people. Cut knurling introduces almost no forces to the machine spindle. It's really cool to see the chips flying during knurling:) The scissor-type knurl tools are of course the better choice over the one wheel form tools but cut knurling is definitely more fun ;) Oh yes, a little bandsaw would be great and would make work a lot easier. I don't know the price of the güde but i found, bandsaws aren't that cheap...
I think you can get the 1100 model from Güde or Scheppach around 200 € if you pick the right time. Got mine from Bauhaus in Switzerland
I will watch this over & over!! You are obviously a very skilled metal worker & I would like to see a video on file skills, you have a deft hand....
Thank you very much for your kind comment! I really do appreciate that! :)
Awesome work! Now I also have a desire to build that tool. 😎
Thank you! You'll be happy to have one. It's really fun to use it. And good cut knurls are extremely satisfying :)
👍👍👍
Well done. The Quick product is fantastic, I used to sell it here in New Zealand many years ago. The beauty is it actually cuts the material and not swage it up, which puts a lot of radial force onto the job and in many cases does work so well. I might consider making one for my Myford. Ian langley retired fitter and turner. Cheers.
Thank you! Yes, it's really cool to see the chips flying away as the knurl gets cut. Cool to hear, you sold the quick products!
@@WeCanDoThatBetter The quick Knurl product was one of those products that once demonstrated the customer purchased so they really sold themselves.
JbLa mucha
That is a very good implementation of a cut knurler. Congratulations on a fine build, and excellent results. The 20/25mm shank version of the Zeus RF1-231 is quite similar to yours.
Thank you very much for your kind comment! I have looked up the Zeus tool. Yes, it looks very similar to mine but no commercial tool can do a cross knurling and a straight knurling with this design as far as I know.
@@WeCanDoThatBetter www.hommel-keller.de/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/GA_zeus_231_EN.pdf This shows how their version works, top right of sheet (much more complex to build than yours). Also has a lot of useful data on feeds/speeds and adjusting. Overall your implementation does the same, for a lot less money. I am presently making a work alike of the other RF1-231, buying the knurls from H&K. I found them actually affordable (but not inexpensive)
I just built a copy of your cut knurling tool but not from your drawings, just as near as I could prom this video. I bought exactly the same wheels as yours and they cost me £60 plus a bit of postage. I have only tested it on aluminium and it works well, but I didn't realise just how many shavings come off the work when cut knurling. I really need a blower on the job all the time to get rid of it all. The shaping of the main component was done on my little mill so mine looks just a little different from yours. Many thanks for a good design.
Super ! Mais il faut commander une fraiseuse au Père Noël !!! LOL !!! Great ! But you have to order a milling machine from Santa Claus !!! LOL !!!
Very nice work !
Thank you!
🔥🔥really good video 👍
Thanks a lot!
Tremendous project. Really impressed with the methods you've used to compensate for only having a mini lathe for machining. Cut knurling is as you suggest one of those little publicised 'black arts'. Difficult to get hold of clear in depth explanations on the subject. What I do see if a similarity to rotary hex and square broaching in as much as the cutting action is produced by by axial offset. You really should seriously consider selling some PDF plans for this device. You have another subscriber👌
Hey thanks for your comment and for subscribing! :) That's what I found too, there is not that much information about cut knurling out there. And that's what draws my interest. Rotary broaching is the next cool thing I want to try and build a tool for. I have the PDF-plan thing in mind ;)
I have to say, this is very good
Thank you very much!
Great job, thanks from Poland
Thanks for your comment! Greetings
Love what you do with simple equipment! You are a fantastic machinist. I would love to see any dimensions you can provide. I know you have commented that you will try to get detailed diagrams later but any guidance on even rough sizing will be much appreciated.
Hi and thanks for your kind comment! I now added the plans to my patreon page if you are interested.
👍👍👍
You have amazing talent.
Thank you very much!
Nice build. For the straight knurling, the height of the tool is critical to avoid a twist. You can make minor adjustments to the wheel angle, but the height needs to be correct otherwise the kurl will twist depending on the x axis position. Also, you might want to consider a hardened steel thrust washer rather than the brass one as there's a lot of force on it and lots of chips find their way in there and wear it down. A roller bearing is another option. Nice tool though. Flood coolant will get the best knurl finish too btw.
Thanks for your comment and advise. That's very helpful. Didn't thought that the centerheight is so critical. I designed the tool in such way, that it should be on centerheight cause of it's 16mm shank but have to proof that. And yes, I thought about a hardened steel washer but because it's easier, I first went for the brass one. Perhaps I change this someday :) And flood coolant might be the best but also the also the best way to create a real mess on the machine :D
@@WeCanDoThatBetter No worries. I had a job a while back where i had to straight knurl some 8mm dia stainless bars, 150mm long and they needed to be perfectly straight. I got a good education on straight knurls from that job!
Really nice job 👏
Thanks!
Great machine job i have to do the same i have some deep cut knurls to mount have not had time to make. I have a knurl set but the depth of cut is finer the main reason i got ruffer knurls which are more pronounced.
Thank you! Knurling is a not that easy. One has to try and practice a bit
Nice job ! Well done,
Thank you!
Beautiful!
Thank you!
Very very good job
Thank you very much!
Super Job 👍👍👍
Nice work.
Thank you
Nice Work 👍
Thank you very much!
Good job 👍
Thank you very much!
Just goes to prove "Necessity is the mother of invention", if all you have is a lathe you make it work.
Thanks, yes it will work anyway :)
good looking tool thanks for sharing
Thanks for your comment!
so lovely mate
Thanks!
Nice work
Thank you very much!
Thanks for sharing!
You are welcome. Thanks:)
I built on of those about 10 years ago. Mine was a quick and dirty job that took all of 20 minutes to make from one piece of scrap 3/4 inch round rod. I work in a food plant where 99 percent of what we cut is stainless of various grades. I'm here to tell you that cut knurler is the ONLY reasonable way to get a decent knurl on stainless. Go for it.
Haven't tried in steel yet.
Fantastic!
Thank you!
Good job👌🏻
Thanks!
Fantastic tool ! Knurling is a big problem on small machines even with the scissor type knurling tools as it is easy to run out of cross slide travel but your little knurling tool would eliminate that problem - just need to remember to order the knurling wheels with the sharp edges and not the rounded o chamfered ones !
Thank you! Even with my tool I run out of travel but when you swivel the compound slide a bit, the tool gets a bit further back. In my case that was enough.
Not totally true. My simpler cut knurler does work with my chamfer-edged knurling wheels.
@@kencroft7933 Good for you 😀
A wonderful video! Thank you for time to make this. You used some very interesting techniques! I am curious - why did you run the lathe backward on the second pass of the cross-knurling?
Thank you so much for your appreciation! To answer your question: during the second pass of cross knurling the knurling wheel is leant to the left (-45degree). In this position, it will only cut, when the lathe is running backwards. It's a bit hard to explain. Hope that helped a little bit.. :)
👍👍👍
On the forward pass, the tool gets pressed against the holder body. In reverse, you want the tool to pressed against the holder body again. If he didn't reverse direction, it would press against the outer washer and probably unwind the locking screw and fall apart.
Absolutely great craftsmanship! Wirklich tolle Abreit - gratuliere! Cutting knurls is supposed to create the best results on hard and tough materials like stainless. Could you comment or maybe show in the future how the tool performs in practice, especially with stainless? Does it take a lot of trail and error to get the tool working perfectly? Angles, speed, feed, exact diameter required (multiple of the tooth spacing)? What would you do differently in the future. For example the hardened bearing thrust washer suggested by Lorro Symonds? By the way, what is the material you are using for the head? It looks very nice. A ferrite chrome steel?
I've been looking for something on the topic of cut knurling for a while and not finding much, so thank you for this video. You've got another new subscriber. Would you be open to some constructive feedback? If so, read on... I think your videos are interesting and generally well made. Would you consider adding some verbal descriptions of what you're doing, and of your thought process behind why you're doing it that way? The text notes are good but, for me personally, seeing and hearing at the same time makes it easier to follow along. Thanks again!
Прикольно! Красиво! Плюсанул. Но можно же сделать все гораздо проще! 14мм стальной квадрат, в нем паз 8мм под накатку, ось стальную каленую вставить и все! Сделал себе пару прямых и две пары 0,8 и 1мм шаг косых накаток. Тоже самое, но все проще в разы и колесики накаток не так сильно изнашиваются. У этой и моих накаток есть существенный недостаток - длинную деталь будет отжимать, надо делать двухколесную накатку с диаметральным расположением и механизм схождения и тогда хоть на шпильках накатывай!
Felicidades muy bonita herramienta, un saludo.😃
Nice trman..good job mate
Thanks!
cutting the off center peace with a carbide insert ahows some balls
Haha yes :D It actually worked great. These are iscar inserts, I think I never chipped one until now.
you should tilt the knurl in a tool post so, that you have 1-1.5 degree of back angle. the knurl must cut only with it's front edge.
Yes, I actually did that.
Geezer machinist here. Nice work.
Thank you very much! :)
👏👏👏👏👏👍👍👍muito bom mesmo parabéns 😁
Beach Boys, good vibrations (when drilling). Oh, yesssssssss
Does knurling work on any diameter, or do you have to turn the workpiece to a certain diameter? Great work any way, the tool looks very solid and your attention to detail is great!
6:09 watch out for angry turkeys breaking into the shop space.
Haha :D Do they sound similar? I'm not fimiliar with turkeys :)
I would love to be able to buy printed plans of many of the things you make, but especially this one
The plans are now available on my Patreon page: www.patreon.com/wecandothatbetter
Hello! I really enjoyed this video and feel very inspired to try and make a cut knurling tool myself. I saw that you have a link to the manufacturer of the wheel, but I’m not 100% sure what I am looking at on their site. Can you tell me, is a “cut knurling” wheel itself physically different from a form knurling wheel, or is it just the process of feeding into the work that makes this a “cutting” operation? Also, what is the angle and/or pitch of the knurling wheel used on this project? Thank you so much! Subscribing to your channel for sure!
Hello and thank you for your comment! As you said a cut knurling wheel is different from a form knurling wheel. A cut knurling wheel has to have sharp and ground edges whereas a form knurling wheel has chamferred edges. The wheels I used were 21,5x5mm with a 8mm bore and a pitch (is this the right word?) of 0,8mm. For straight knurling you need a wheel with 30° angled teeth and for angled knurls you need a wheel with 90° straight teeth. Here you can buy it for example: www.hoffmann-group.com/DE/de/hom/Modulare-Zerspanung/R%C3%A4ndelwerkzeuge/R%C3%A4ndelrad-PM-AA/p/290261-21%2C5X5%402F0%2C6?wayIntoCart=PDP&tId=
Could you add information in the descriptions wich material you use for the parts? Im pretty impressed on what you do!
I now added the detailed plans to my patreon page. Material is written in the video. All parts 42crmo4 steel except for the shaft which was mild steel I guess and the brass shim.
😀 bravo 👍
Thanks:)
Muito bom !
Your videos are really great. Many thanks for that! I have a question: As I understand it, the circumference of the workpiece must be a multiple of the distance between the teeth on the knurling tool, right? Otherwise the grooves on the workpiece would not be so clearly separated from each other at the end. Or am I missing something?
feel so good!
Thank you!
Hey, who says you can’t do Everything on a Lathe! Nice Work 👍
haha, thank you :) Almost everything ;)
wow magnific!!!!
Thank you! :)
Amazing video! Your content is always exceptional. Did you make plans for this? I would enjoy trying to create this as well if you had dimensions. Thank you for your content!
Thank you very much for your kind comment! I really do appreciate that! I began to make plans but haven't finished them yet...
Just watched your build of cut knurling tool, lovely job, one comment, you didn't show how you achieved the +/- 45* angle for indexing lines, did you use a Digi inclinometer / angle gauge on the vertical faces to get exact 45*?
Beautiful work! A problem I noticed in your processing, namely you use too high revs and when cutting and milling. Try with lower revs and you'll see that you don't get your blue span out anymore. At the 100mm disc mill, the 80-100rpm speed is enough! Only for aluminum or plastic parts use a higher speed in the rest, lower revs and tools will have a longer life! I hope you don't mind, it's just a recommendation! Good health and growth for new projects!!!
You realise that the machining sections of the video are significantly sped up, don't you? Also, the modern mini lathes don't have any gearbox, so you just cannot get a lot of torque at very low speeds. There isn't really any choice but to bring the revs up so you can get them to cut!
Браво! 👍колоссальная работа, я а даже смотреть заебался, а тут столько фрезеровки на токарном 😁 мастер! Моё почтение 💪💪💪🔥
большое спасибо!
Great video on a worthwhile engineering exercise. How many hours did you spend making it?
Thank you very much! I haven't count the hours I spent on this tool but it was over 3 weeks and I guess 30 h perhaps. But really can't tell exactly
Nice , very nice
Thanks my friend!
Nice tool, nice results! Some comments if I may: - not sure if you have contact at the face of that ring as well as on the taper. If so, you're overconstrained, you'll have to choose one (taper or face) cause you can't really have proper contact on both. - take care with those long sleeves near a machine tool BR
Thank you for your comment and feedback! That's right I tried to machine the parts that both parts bear at the bevel and at the face. I machined it by feeling and thought that both surfaces bear in the end. But you're right that might be critical because it's probably overconstrained. Have to think about that one more time. And thanks for your advise regarding my long sleeves. I'll take care
Do you make Drawings for your projekts? or do you just do it? I find it very impressive what you are doing on what seems to be a very small mashine! If you could share some more dimentions it would be amazing! Im planing to diy this wonderfull tool Keep up the great content!!!
Thank you very much for your kind comment! I just made some rudimentary drawings before starting the project. But I'm working on detailed drawings for this tool. It's not done yet, too much things to do parallel :) But when I'm done, I will add it to the discription.
@@WeCanDoThatBetter sounds awesome! I understand the time problem... i have to much projects in parallel too. still looking forward to your drawings!
Отличный накаточный инструмент. Надо будет тоже подобный сделать. А то у меня пока только из колёсика от зажигалки.
большое спасибо
interesting concept, but as far as labor intensive, you could buy a decent clamp style knurling tool probably cheaper than you can build one of your design. One more thing, knurling is normally a forming tool used to raise the existing surface dimension to increase the dimension of an existing shaft by, ie restoring a press fit etc. where as your design is obviously a cutting tool, obvious by the chips in the machining process you demonstrated.
Thanks for your comment! Yes it was labour intensive to built but that's exactly the tool I want. Off course you can buy everything and the scissor-type knurling tools work fine to. But that's a totally different procedure. One forms the knurl needing high forces and pressure the other cuts the knurl with almost not pressure and with a very fine well formed result. What you described to increase the diameter is at most for improvising.
Excellant point!
Wish you'd have described the materials used, disliked the lathe noise, wish you'd described the process a bit with why's and how's and such. Gave it a thumbs up, good work overall for a one man crew. ;)
Hey, thanks for your feedback. I have to add this in the video discription. I used mild steel for the tool shaft and 42crmo4 toolsteel for the other steel parts. If you have further questions let me know. You're in the video I have not much explanations as I thought it's too much to read.
I like how you say the knurl looks promising. Like as if it looks bad. 😂 But I do want to say... Who t.f. taught you how to use a lathe? 😳😳 I have never in my life... ever see someone... use a lathe as a mill. That actually works really well. I'm genuinely surprised.
:D haha, thank you very much for your kind comment! I really do appreciate that! If you have nothing else, you have to get creative with what you got :) Now I have a little milling machine which makes work a bit easier.
Ich bin wirklich beeindruckt auf was für kreative Ideen du kommst um verschiedenen Teile zu fertigen. Hast du eine Lehre in diese Richtung gemacht, oder hast du dir das alles selbst beigebracht? Ich hätte zwei Projekt Ideen die wirklich sehr nützlich sind.
Hey, vielen Dank! Freut mich sehr. Nein, eine Lehre in der Richtung habe ich bis jetzt nicht gemacht. Welche Projekte sind es denn? :)
@@WeCanDoThatBetter Ich hätte da an einen Schnellwechselhalter mit Schwalbenschwanzführung, für deine Werkzeuge gedacht. Und was ich persönlich an meiner Drehmaschine habe, und was ich sehr hilfreich finde, ist ein kleiner Teileapperat in den man Spannzangen spannen kann, der anstelle des Werkzeughalters kommt. Diesen Teileapperat kann man auch noch um eine bestimmte Gradzahl drehen das ermöglicht es Löcher in bestimmten Teilungen und in verschiedenen Neigungen zu bohren oder fräsen, und noch viel mehr.