scissors knurling tool print HERE

[Buckshot]

What sort of oil or coolant do you guys use when knurling?

I use dark pipe threading oil.

Rick

[flatlander]

I bought one of the chinese scissor-knurlers last year while working on a couple of rifle rests in stainless that required a whole bunch of knurling for the leg leveling & elevation knobs. While knurling knobs for the first rest, the upper roll & axle galled & seized. I really wanted to finish the first rest in time to display it at our gun club's annual gun/collector show, and didn't have time to work out a repair for the knurler, so ordered another one, and worked on other details of the project while waiting for UPS to deliver the 2nd knurler.

The first tool had shorter arms than the one I bought to replace it, and the 2nd one has worked fine, producing nice sharp-pointed knurls. It takes several passes to get the depth & finish I want in stainless, but it was still working as well when I finished the 2nd rest as it was when I started using it. I kinda doubt either one of these knurlers were made to withstand regular use on tough stainless (this was all unknown alloy SS from a surplus yard - some magnetic, some not), and there's probably a better lube/coolant than the WD40 I used.


Now I'm not sure where I got either one of these tools - most of my stuff comes from Enco or KBC, with an occasional purchase off e-bay. But so far, it looks as though the 2nd tool (with the longer arms) is the better of the two. What sort of oil or coolant do you guys use when knurling?

[Buckshot]

I have to ask: What did you do to that image?

In computer years my old HP 1 gb camera is about a hundred :-). Add to that a fairly rudimentary photoprogram and your enhancements to a less then perfect photo are WAY limited.

Rick

[Paul Alciatore]

I have to ask: What did you do to that image?

Evan,
It looks like he used a lot of edge sharpening or enhancement when what was needed was some gamma correction.

I use the "curves" function in Photoshop for bringing out the details in the dark areas of many digital photos that other wise would be hard to see. I think that the gamma characteristic of digital cameras is very different from most films and is their worst problem.

[lazlo]

I bought a scissors type from ENCO. Not the Eagle Rock at $128 but the cheap ones. It works but is sloppy and the knurls do not track in line. The 2 arms are pivoted on a shouldered bolt and the fit is rather casual. The top knurl is about a 32nd behind the bottom knurl. BTW, the knurls supplied with it are crap. Plus the knurl axles are merely pressed into the arms making it a PITA to change wheels.

Rick, I bought one of those Chinese scissors knurlers from Enco and it has similar problems like what you're describing. Your's apparently has an overbite -- on mine the knurl wheels are offset about a 32nd on the center axis of the knurler, so the teeth don't line up.

I'm glad someone else is describing the lousy build quality -- I've seen several posts saying that their's is "fine." I've never seen a real Eagle Rock, but the Chinese copy looks like someone chipped it out of a raw piece of slag with a flint tool. Like you say, the knurling wheels are some kind of barely hardened carbon steel. If you have one of these you really want to get some quality HSS knurl wheels.

I was going to make a shop-made scissors knurlers from the HSM article last Fall, but I stumbled across a brand-new Quick knurler on Ebay for $110 (!)

[Evan]

I have to ask: What did you do to that image?

[Buckshot]

I had a couple folks e-mail me about the mod to the scissors knurl, so I'm posting a photo:



On the left side of the arms you can see the additions. I should have put them on the right side. I pressed out the issue axles, reamed the holes and as mentioned above, used .250" drill blank material for the new axles. With a slot ground in each end, the steel sheet metal 'keeper' sits in the slot and keeps the axles from working out.

Loosen the buttonhead setscrew and push the keepers out of the slot and then you can push the axles out to change knurl wheels. Since some of the knurl wheels I have are 1/4" wide I made spacers. Merely drilled and reamed some 1/2" drill rod with a 1/4" hole and then parted them off like fat washers.

Rick

[Evan]

Popular plans Rusty, getting close to 400 page views.

[Buckshot]

..........Great set of plans. I bought a scissors type from ENCO. Not the Eagle Rock at $128 but the cheap ones. It works but is sloppy and the knurls do not track in line. The 2 arms are pivoted on a shouldered bolt and the fit is rather casual. The top knurl is about a 32nd behind the bottom knurl. BTW, the knurls supplied with it are crap. Plus the knurl axles are merely pressed into the arms making it a PITA to change wheels.

I substituted 1/4" drill blanks for the axles, then ground a slot in the side of each to accept a steel shim in the form of an arm that is attached via a button head hexscrew.. This locks the axle in place, yet swing it up out of the slot allows the axle to be simply pushed out for wheel changing.

Rick

[DeereGuy]

The spring is definately a good idea. I built mine a little different. Mine will self align to the centerline of the part and I am not sure that this one will.

[BadDog]

One suggestion, add a hairpin spring to that design to hold them open against the nut. I have a smaller Boyar Shultz sissor knurler that is made on a different principle, and I generally like it better, but the main point is that it has a spring to hold it open and BOY does that make it more convenient.

[Evan]

If anybody else has plans for similar small projects they would like to share I will be happy to host them on my site in the same manner as Rusty's. I will be putting that knurler on my ever growing list of things to do.

[mochinist]

I bought one of those for work about two weeks ago and let me tell you, I feel like a fool for using the old style knurl for all these years.


Thanks for the plans, when the shop is slow, I will have the guys make some up for each lathe.

[7018]

I have 3 or 4 plans for the scissor knurling,But these seem to be the best so far.Thanks for posting them...

[Your Old Dog]

As YOD has pointed out, they are also available inthis months ENCO hot deals cat. for 28 bucks... But wheres the fun in that?

As I bang this responce into the computer Athur Mometer says it's 12 freaking degrees out there. In here is where the fun is !!

BTW.....Nice job on the project and the drawing