I'm not a machinist, I don't own a lathe - likely never will. I don't even know how I found my way to this video. Having said that, this was absolutely fascinating. I will never look at a knurled handle on a tool the same way again.
Since I like technical information and explanations more than just "hey look what I did!" video's, your channel has become one of my sincere favorites to learn from and the first place I check when I'm trying to figure something out. Keep em coming Joe! You're doing a fantastic job.
As a true beginner, I find your videos absolutely invaluable in my quest to learn. I recently took delivery of an EISON 9X49 Bridgeport Clone variable speed mill and an EISEN 12X36 Engine Lathe. I wouldn't be nearly as far along the road to successful operation without your videos. I don't have enough years left to garner the expertise of most of your subscribers but it is fun learning. Flying is easy compared to becoming a competent machinist. I should have paid much more attention in math class. Congratulations on your daughters promotion to 1LT. I spent 20 years as an Army Aviator (4 years at Randolph AFB) and my wife spent 23 years on active duty and retired as a US Army SGM; you are justifiably proud of your daughter. Thank you to her for her service. Happy 4th of July from Lake Havasu City, AZ.
Joe, Thanks for a great video on a subject that is not often seen on the other channels! Congratulations to your daughter and also to you and your wife on raising her.
I worked on a knurl yesterday. I was pretty sure there was a need for the diameter to but close to some setting. In the end, I just ran it. I appreciate this very much. There were lines in my finished work, so now I know about that as well. Very informative. Thanks, neighbor!!
Great video, Joe. The good, the bad & the way to fix it. Especially nice to see a proud father encouraging the next generation - good grounding shows! They are our legacy to the world and I'm just as proud of mine!
Awesome! 1st LT! My boys are former Air Force (so was my dad). And Clickspring (Chris) is the channel that caused me to buy my first lathe (not last). That guy is amazing. He made files the other day. His buddy (This Old Tony) is a hell of a craftsman too. I found your channel by bouncing off of those two channels and then found Adam (Abom) from here. I like the way this community works...
That is how I do knurls, heavy cut right off slow start. This is especially true on harder materials. Thanks for sharing and great video of the knurl shots.
To traverse a knurl along a shaft, I put knurl holder slightly out of square with the work. Keeping the knurls NOT over center of work, this put in a slight knurl entry angle as moving down the work piece. Learned this 50+ years ago from my Navy machinist teacher. Neither he nor I have luxury of having a lot of ‘special tooling’ available. ADD, he & I flood knurls and work piece with cutting oil ! Maybe that’s so we can’t see what’s happening? Yes, knurling is still mystery magic to me, although, Joe, you’ve explained more about it. Thanks . NorMag Gunsmithing Fredonia WI
Just want to say thanks Joe. I've never had much success with knurling for years but after watching this I was able to teach an apprentice to knurl with near perfect results on every part. That kind of success early on helps to build great confidence in someone just learning to be a machinist.
I'm doing machine shop classes in school and as part of it we had to figure out how to do knurling. The teachers and machinists wouldn't tell us anything. I made sure that the feed matched the tooth per inch of the knurl. I first tested on a scrap part using a scissor type knurl tool and on that same part, the knurl came out fine, then on a second attempt, one of the wheels did a double track while the other only did one. Then I tested again on the same part and the knurl came out fine. When I did the knurl on the actual part, it did the double track on one of the wheels again. I asked the machinists in the shop and they had no idea why that could have happened. I hate making a mistake and not being able to learn from it. I don't feel like I learned anything from this whole experience. So I'm thankful for your video exploring a fix for this specific issue. It is clear that there is a more to knurling than just applying the tool to the part and I wish they hadn't left it up to us to figure out because now I've ruined the knurl on my part and doing a crappy job feels really bad.
Who down votes and why? Haters are gonna hate. Joe you add real value to America. By teaching people you help reduce scrap. You help people advance their careers. You help employers be more profitable. I am very grateful for the time you spend. Congrats to your daughter 1st Leut is a huge deal.
I agree. Some people might just be jealous of Joe's talent to spread the wisdom ;) And by the way, not only America. People all over the world can learn from this.
Good knurling demo Joe. You discovered the same trick I did after many years of knurling. Diameter doesn't matter as long as opposing knurls are set deep enough on the first pass. It does take a little practice to set the depth just right. The reason it's possible to get a perfect knurl on any diameter is that the knurling wheels "slip" slightly to fit into deep grooves made on the first rotations. After the initial slip the wheels continue to track as the knurls get deeper. I use a scissors type knurling tool with 14 pitch diamond knurls and heavy flow of motor oil on the top wheel. One pass left to right with heavy feed and return pass right to left to starting point completes the knurl on aluminum. A few more passes are needed on mild steel but the same procedure works.
Thanks Joe.I've been working in a machine shop for 55 years.If I had seen your teach in at the start of my working life it would have saved me a great deal of problems.Congratulation to your Daughter making officer in the USAF..As a matter of interest I am the bloke that designed/invented the Catsclaw Systems that,(I'm told,are ), often deployed at USAF bases gates.
Joe, good video. The first project I had to make in high school metal shop was a center punch, and it had to be taper turned and knurled, and heat treated. Clamp knurling tools are the the easiest on cross feed screws on small lathes. The old push knurling tools could destroy cross feed screws over time.On another note, I like the way you present your info. By the way, tell your daughter congrats for her noteworthy achievement. I was in the USAF from 1966 to 1971. Hoorah!
Love your videos Joe. I've knurled many projects in the past and I have to say, the guys coming up through the ranks as machinists stand to learn and obtain a wealth of information that you freely share. Thank you Joe, your videos have taught an old guy new tricks as well. Thank you so much.
Hi Joe Once again another well made how to, it's always nice to know someone else does things the same! I have always used the crush method but my wheel pitch is a bit finer than yours but I have never gone back over my work the other way. Never occured to me! I have never worried about the "ideal diameter" and my knurls come out pretty good on all my work. I do leave my knurl diameter a mm or two larger than the finished diameter and that way when you get to the end of your knurl, you are not troubled by a burr. I usually put a round nose tool on the ends of the knurl just to remove any gnarly bits, without touching the finished smaller diameter! We'll done Pete Albany, Western Australia.
Thanks for the video. As a relatively new machinist I really appreciate the info you provide. I just want to pass on some additional info that I found regarding knurling which seems to be very little out there. I found a knurling calculator app. that gives you a size for the material being knurled in relation to the tpi of the tool. You plug in the tpi of the tool and your material diameter. The calculator gives you the a size to turn the material down so the teeth of the tool line up as the two turn. I've used it numerous times and have had great success so far. This is the same as your formula on your white board. thanks again Joe.
73-year-old hobbyist here, in Taiwan. Turned my first knurl yesterday, in brass. Result: not the world's best, but it is _my_ best (and only). Next one will be better. Thanks for the help, Joe.
Love your attitude Odonnol. It’s great to have the time and patience, as we older folk do, and keep our great hobby and our brain, alive and well. Good luck with your knurling projects old mate.
@@crustyolcoot6646 Thanks! Did my 2nd ever knurl last week-an end cap for a pin vise. And it did come out better. Another thing that I recently got help on from UA-cam was soldering aluminum. I'd tried a couple years ago and failed. This time I watched YT videos first, got the temps better, and succeeded. As it turns out, you can solder aluminum to itself, and/or steel, iron, brass, copper. Who knew? The internet is great.
Hey mate. It sure is a great resource for tutorials and such. I was trained as a machinist in a past life and regaining some of the old skills hasn’t been as easy as I thought it would be. Joe mentions muscle memory at one point and that has a bit to do with it too. The feeling you have when shit is about to go down like broken taps or drills etc and the automatic response takes time to regain. The satisfaction of simply creating something beautiful is still there which I’m grateful for indeed. The old cholchester model we trained on turns up next Monday and I couldn’t be more excited. Having equipment I know will help the quality of work a lot I reckon. Hot chips on the neck or forearms hurts a touch more than it used to but it doesn’t take long and those little buggers will hardly be felt once more I hope. Cheers mate.
Congratulations to your daughter thank her for her service. Love this tip I have had trouble with knurling going to give it a try with my home made scissor knurling tool.
Joe I watched this vid. a year and half after you posted it. In college I was taught to apply a lot of pressure with knurl but never the why. From watching your vids. over the last few months I have gained a lot of knowledge and a better understanding of what I was taught and knew. Thank You and Merry Christmas to you and yours 2018
phenominal amount of useful information and quality of information in your videos, I've watched most of them multiple times and still learning a lot. keep up the great work, Congratulations on your daughters promotion and and much respect and appreciation for her serving! Happy 4th to you and your family!
Thankyou. I really appreciate your videos. 21 years with a Jet 13x40 lathe. Bought it new and hadn't a clue, but I was able to make parts on it. You sharing your knowledge is invaluable to people like me as I had no one to teach me. I tried to knurl for the first time today. Looks like a scissor type radius edge knurl is in my future.
Does that practice also work on something like 4130? Got my first knurling tool yesterday and spent the evening in the shop. Learned real quick about keeping your oil brush away from the knurl wheel! At this point, I’m certain that knurling is voodoo.
@@ryanjones9305 voooooodooooooo 🤣 At this point I am just watching out of a craving for shop tome. I don’t even have a mini-lathe yet. So yeah, it’s ALL voodoo! 😅
Over 50 years since I did any knurling on a lathe using a full diamond single wheel knurl on some mild steel stock for my A-level Metalwork practical exam. Never realised there were so many other types. Always was told back then to get a good strong bite too. Glad to see it is still the best way! 😁
I wish you and your family a happy and safe 4th of July. Congratulations on your daughter achieving 1st Lieutenant. I produce a lot of knurling in stainless steel with scissor knurling tool using most of the time 21 pitch knurling with bevel edged wheels. Reducing the diameter to within 0.002" to 0.003" greater than the calculated exact diameter by your formula seems to always produce the perfect diamond pointed knurls for me. There is an art to knurling. I think the hardness of the material and sharpness of the knurls has a lot to do with finding the successful best position of the heavy bite into the material.
Most of the time it is 0.750" or smaller in diameter (e.g., see a 1144 stressproof example www.homemadetools.net/forum/small-machinist-jacks-whats-your-box-2016-tool-giveaway-51860#post75292 ). It seems the larger the diameter and softer the material, the more foregiving the results will be with knurling when the circumference is not exactly an integer multiple of the knurl pitch. I also modified the sissor knurling tool to allow hand tightening without a wrench for setting a better feel for the "crush" adjustment (see www.homemadetools.net/forum/knurling-tool-improvement-17860#post24656 ). Other than dwelling too long at either end of the knurling process it is a consistent method of making good knurls every time.
Thank you. Yes, larger and softer allows the "slack" to form with less effort. The amount of "slack" per indentation goes up as the circumference goes down. HMT is new to me. I live on a plantation and got into machining as a way to build parts and tools for this operation.
Thanks for the video, Joe! I'm a 22 year old shop owner and this video helped a lot! Never run knurls on my haas before, but I have to do it this week. -Pete
Thanks for this video Joe, recently ran into issues with my coarse knurl tools. Great info here and this will definitely be a good help next time I use it. Cheers
Another great video, clear, concise, and loaded with information based both on theory AND experience! I've always had mixed success with knurling, now I have an idea why and better yet, what to do about it. Congratulation to your daughter, also.
Hey Joe, first off, congratulations to your daughter.....and of course you the proud Dad. I really love your videos, as a novice to machining I really enjoy the theory component on the whiteboard, the commentary and the practical, a very well presented and enjoyable experience.
Good demo Joe (as always). I was taught to tighten the wheels on the part (as it's spinning) until both wheels are tracking. This method has worked well for me. I've found straight knurls to be even more difficult to setup than diamond knurls. With straight knurls the axis of the wheels has to be perfectly aligned with the axis of the part, otherwise the lines spiral around as you feed along the part. Diamond wheels seem a little more forgiving in that regard.
I actually time my straight knurls. I back off the pressure after a small penetration and half a revolution and physically put the lower wheel in the upper wheel track. Works perfectly 100% of the time.
Good demo Joe. I'm a heavy hitter with shop math but I never bother when I emboss a knurl and this video demonstrates clearly the futility of doing so. One tip I might offer is to only engage half the knurl roller width when starting in harder materials like steel. Doing this allows easier initial penetration. F= P/A For the Gold medal it would have been handy to include some good techniques for "framing" the knurl. You know like undercutting each side etc.
I congratulate your daughter for her amazing achievement and dedication to our people and our country! I bid my gratitude from the bottom of my heart. Thank you!
Thank you Joe - heavy pressure is clearly the way to go - messed around with various materials and the "correct diameter" and always ended up with so-so knurls - tried the heavy bite from the get-go and got great results.
Thanks Joe, for the best knurling explanation I have seen. You had me running to my workshop to see if if my diamond knurl wheels were LH and RH. I hadn't even considered this before. Regards and congratulations on your daughter's progress. Chris Humphris
Thanks Joe, was getting ready to make brass spider adjusters and couldn't remember the formulas! It works well with the 68 Dorian fine. Perhaps more critical with the fine knurl. Enjoyed the video AND have great 4th. I'm also very proud for you and your daughter's service and achievements! Thanks, Tom Eyssen
New hobbyist/machinist here. I've knurled twice since watching this video, and using firm pressure, both knurls were great. I assumed that I would have to cut my material to a diameter that was a multiple of the knurl wheel diameter. This was not the case. I now just dive-in with a firm pressure and it seems to track each time. Thanks Joe!
That calculated diameter thing does increase your chances of a perfect knurl, but the extreme pressure start is certainly a fantastic trick to know. Glad it helped you out.
Thanks for sharing this, and congrats to Victoria. What a great achievement! I know you're a proud papa. I thank her for her service and your family for your contributions to the greatest nation on Earth.
I have watched this video a couple of times and as with today's viewing, I'm sure that this is one of the best uses for 30 minutes of my time on the internet. Your instruction is clear, concise and easy to remember! You're the guy!
Hi Joe. Another great video. I've only had minimal experience with knurling...with matching results. I feel like I can now cut a knurl with a level of confidence that will produce acceptable results. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge and experience.
relatively new to machining and tool and die making and i love your videos. My team lead who has done this 26 years watches you too. Thanks for your insight and its good to see someone who knows what theyre doing
Good stuff Joe - nice close up pics. I tend to use my spindle handle sometimes so as to be able to go super slow...using my 'straddler'. I have generally found like you - plenty of pressure initially helps to almost guarantee a good pattern. Of course, things do change a bit once you get onto steel.
I actually make knurls complete. Bodies, shanks and the actual wheels and there is a lot that goes into making a professional one. I also knurl work for customers using an apposing 3 wheel knurl unit where the workpiece is fed right through the unit. This means I can knurl 4 foot bars without flex (convex knurls) or having to come off the job to move more bar out of the chuck. The phrase you're looking for when the knurl wheels are not marking the bar as they should is meshing. I use two ways to mesh-in my knurls correctly using a 3 wheel apposing knurling unit. The first you mentioned, rotate the chuck a revolution or two but by hand not under power or you risk scrapping the job ( you may need more rotates depending on how steep your crown is on your convex knurls) until you see the pattern pressed into the bar. If it's meshed correctly then simply put the machine into your desired traverse speed and off you go (on an apposing 3 wheel knurling unit you turn down the bar end the depth of knurl required on the drawing, touch on with the wheels and that's your depth set), you don't add more pressure once started normally). The second is to run one of the wheels (there will be two right hand and one left hand on an apposing 3 wheel knurl) a thou or two closer to the bar than the others and that will normally press in a good pattern for the other wheels to mess-in to. It doesn't always work but most of the time it does. I will make a video when I get time of how knurls are made and I'll show you how to knurl extra long bars over 3 feet long.
The educational part on the whiteboard followed by the 'workshop practice' part of your videos is excellent and necessary. I believe that car drivers who know how their car works make better drivers. It is suprising how many people don't know what joins the engine to the transmission of a car yet they know where the clutch pedal is. Good stuff Joe.
Hi Joe When i was taught in the sixties as a machine operator to knurl, the diameter meant nothing. it was all about the pressure of the cut and the position of the face of the tool and material Which proves your points of pressure and position of tool.it also says to me that basic techniques havent changed much over the years. Keep em coming Joe
Thank you for all the great information that you share with us i have learned a lot from you. This is the first time i have commented to you. KEEP UP WITH ALL THE GOOD INFORMATION.
You say your not any good at knurling but those look good to me. There are so many skills being lost in this trade, glad to see you demonstrate and explain techniques. Happy to have subscribed to your channel Joe, thank you.
Proud father and daughter - cool. Some good news is always great to hear. I was going to tell your about Clickspring, but you got there as well. I have tried his rope knurl and it does work. Mine not nearly as good as his, but the theory is sound. Cutting the knurl vs. tracking the circumference is critical. I used a piece of acetal in the dividing head for test cutting before actually making the final cut.
Thank you! I’ve never been able to produce an even nearly presentable knurl after wasting a lot of stock and time with calculations and adjusting my diameters. This positively works!
Whenever I watch content creators like you I can't help to think, you're a part of the last great educators. Everyone else has sold out for profit, and though you may collect some Adsense, I believe you're here to benefit your trade and that's sir is respectable.
Thanks Joe, this explains my unfailing luck at knurling- I'm heavy-handed and mainly knurl plastic and aluminium, using coarse knurls - the starting pressure obviously gets the knurl deep enough to be synchronised ( I don't even know if my knurls are diametral pitch based or tpi, and I'm not sure that matters , as long as the tooth depth is big enough to bridge the gap as your experiments seem to show). It'd be interesting to see how effective this approach would be with the fine knurls you showed just before you started machining, my guess would be that the starting diameter would be much more critical since the teeth couldn't bridge too much of a gap, no matter how hard you bullied the stock. Definitely much more than just "some things you should know about knurling", more like "almost all you need to know, and make you think about knurling". Great work. [Edited to overpower my spellchecker:)]
These videos are really wonderfully informative and entertaining...I am a retired Aircraft Propeller Blade Technician...I really enjoy the measuring, set ups and the ease at which You perform these Lathe demonstrations...thanks so very Much..!
Great job sir. A lot of information. I looked up at the time stamp and this was posted to 6 years ago. It's a little late, but congratulations to your daughter. I am retired Air Force myself, I hope she is doing well.
Joe Pie, great video as usual. Taking a deep initial bite with the knurls really seems to be the key, formula or not. I use a couple more tricks not mentioned in the video that might be helpful: - It's easier for the knurl wheels to bite deep on less material, so start your knurl with half of the wheels hanging off the end of the part if possible. They tend to bite deeper and start more reliably. In most cases, you'll come back later to clean up that corner with a turning tool. - Rather than positioning the knurls and then cranking down on the scissor mechanism, I prefer to back off the cross slide a little, tighten the scissor nut, and then drive the cross slide back in to within .010-.020" from center. The point here is to allow a deeper bite without needing so much torque on the scissor nut. It takes some practice to get a feel for it. On work hardening stainless (304, 316, etc) a single pass of a deep knurl seems to work a little better than multiple passes, in my experience, so the above points are more important. If you want to use the diameter formula for a critical part, try to account for the depth the knurls bite. Use that reduced diameter in the formula. For example, if each wheel bites in .010", your 1.250" part is really 1.230" in the formula. It seems though, as your video shows, as long as you take a deep bite, and the knurls aren't too coarse, it usually works out fine. Hope that helps!
Great vid man, never liked doing knurling and always try and avoid it, this gave me inspiration to not be as afraid of the process, gonna give it a blast on a part for a customer this week (practice part first though)👍
Hey Joe. Please pass on my Congratulations to your daughter. Well done! Also, another excellent video. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. I've learned so much from you.
I have had very good results with square shouldered knurls (in a standard holder such as the aloris or armstrong) in a traveling scenario by setting the tool post at 5-7 degree angle (to mimic a beveled knurl) it reduces pressure required to press the knurl into the work. Thank you for your videos! From one Joe the Machinist to another😁
This is clearly the best knurling demo on UA-cam! Your suggestion of taking a heavy bite to initiate the knurl follows closely the recommendation given by Accu-Trak on their website (accu-trak dot com, click Technical Info). Being a beginner, I still indicate everything to square including the knurling tool. This eliminates the cockeyed track and uneven knurl you mentioned. Wow, your daughter just became an officer in the USAF! These achievements happen because of good parenting for the last 20+ years. Congratulations to her and the entire family.
Disagree with below! I once worked in the office of an engineering firm some 40 years ago. I always wanted to know how knurling was achieved without compromising track pattern for different diameter bar stock. You have explained it all completely. Thank you.
Love the shout-out to Clickspring - that bloke is bloody good, and his knurls turned out really nice. The clock is finished - now he's working on a replica of the Antikithera Mechanism. Can't wait to see how that turns out. ☺
I highly recommend straddle knurl tools on cnc lathes. We have roller shafts we have to put a 2mm pitch knurl 700mm long on these conveyor shafts and it forms them so much nicer than a cut knurler and there is nearly no load on our machine. We have found that the knurl lasts longer as well and the point doesn't degrade as quickly.
HELLO JOE, I WATCH YOUR TUTORIALS ON A REGULAR BASIS AND I ALWAYS LEARN SOME THING AND EVEN THOUGH I AM IN MY TWILIGHT YEARS I AM NOT TOO OLD TO LEARN, SO THANK YOU AND KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.
A fascinating video once again Joe, I have learnt a lot from this. I had no idea that the diameter /versus the TPI of the wheels had any meaningful relationship when trying to knurl. Of course when forced to actually think about it, it's bloody obvious! Once again thanks for the wonderful presentation of a not easy subject. And congratulations to your daughter for her achievement. I wholeheartedly support those who choose to serve in their respective countries military. My own Great nephew has recently finished 9 years service in the Royal Air Force, as an armourer, including two stints in Afghanistan arming Tornado GR3 aircraft..
I've found a perfect pointed diamond knurl really bites into my hand, so I reduce the knurl depth at bit for some flatness, or else sand/file the tops of the diamonds off to where I get a good grip but feels comfortable.
You sir, have a new subscriber.
Please continue your dedication to eradicating my ignorance.
It is much appreciated.
Thank you.
I'm not a machinist, I don't own a lathe - likely never will. I don't even know how I found my way to this video. Having said that, this was absolutely fascinating. I will never look at a knurled handle on a tool the same way again.
Check out your local makerspace. You can give it a go and maybe make a steam engine or something
Since I like technical information and explanations more than just "hey look what I did!" video's, your channel has become one of my sincere favorites to learn from and the first place I check when I'm trying to figure something out. Keep em coming Joe! You're doing a fantastic job.
You are a great teacher. Simple, to the point and very helpful. Thanks for taking the time to make these Joe!
i have been a machinist for 58 years. Joe is the best instructor on the internet. I learn something on every time I watch.
Thank you very much.
As a true beginner, I find your videos absolutely invaluable in my quest to learn. I recently took delivery of an EISON 9X49 Bridgeport Clone variable speed mill and an EISEN 12X36 Engine Lathe. I wouldn't be nearly as far along the road to successful operation without your videos. I don't have enough years left to garner the expertise of most of your subscribers but it is fun learning. Flying is easy compared to becoming a competent machinist. I should have paid much more attention in math class. Congratulations on your daughters promotion to 1LT. I spent 20 years as an Army Aviator (4 years at Randolph AFB) and my wife spent 23 years on active duty and retired as a US Army SGM; you are justifiably proud of your daughter. Thank you to her for her service. Happy 4th of July from Lake Havasu City, AZ.
Thank you very much and thanks for your family service as well.
You are doing such great things for American Manufacturing with these uploads. Thanks again
Joe, Thanks for a great video on a subject that is not often seen on the other channels! Congratulations to your daughter and also to you and your wife on raising her.
I worked on a knurl yesterday. I was pretty sure there was a need for the diameter to but close to some setting. In the end, I just ran it. I appreciate this very much. There were lines in my finished work, so now I know about that as well. Very informative.
Thanks, neighbor!!
Joe, Thanks for the refresher course! You do your home work! Congrats to your daughter.
I am very proud of her. Thanks
Great video, Joe. The good, the bad & the way to fix it.
Especially nice to see a proud father encouraging the next generation - good grounding shows! They are our legacy to the world and I'm just as proud of mine!
Awesome! 1st LT! My boys are former Air Force (so was my dad). And Clickspring (Chris) is the channel that caused me to buy my first lathe (not last). That guy is amazing. He made files the other day. His buddy (This Old Tony) is a hell of a craftsman too. I found your channel by bouncing off of those two channels and then found Adam (Abom) from here. I like the way this community works...
That is how I do knurls, heavy cut right off slow start. This is especially true on harder materials. Thanks for sharing and great video of the knurl shots.
To traverse a knurl along a shaft, I put knurl holder slightly out of square with the work. Keeping the knurls NOT over center of work, this put in a slight knurl entry angle as moving down the work piece. Learned this 50+ years ago from my Navy machinist teacher. Neither he nor I have luxury of having a lot of ‘special tooling’ available. ADD, he & I flood knurls and work piece with cutting oil ! Maybe that’s so we can’t see what’s happening? Yes, knurling is still mystery magic to me, although, Joe, you’ve explained more about it. Thanks . NorMag Gunsmithing Fredonia WI
Just want to say thanks Joe. I've never had much success with knurling for years but after watching this I was able to teach an apprentice to knurl with near perfect results on every part. That kind of success early on helps to build great confidence in someone just learning to be a machinist.
Thanks for the comment. Show that apprentice my channel for homework.
I'm doing machine shop classes in school and as part of it we had to figure out how to do knurling. The teachers and machinists wouldn't tell us anything. I made sure that the feed matched the tooth per inch of the knurl. I first tested on a scrap part using a scissor type knurl tool and on that same part, the knurl came out fine, then on a second attempt, one of the wheels did a double track while the other only did one. Then I tested again on the same part and the knurl came out fine. When I did the knurl on the actual part, it did the double track on one of the wheels again. I asked the machinists in the shop and they had no idea why that could have happened. I hate making a mistake and not being able to learn from it. I don't feel like I learned anything from this whole experience. So I'm thankful for your video exploring a fix for this specific issue. It is clear that there is a more to knurling than just applying the tool to the part and I wish they hadn't left it up to us to figure out because now I've ruined the knurl on my part and doing a crappy job feels really bad.
Thank your Daughter for her service!!! Thank you for some great videos!!
I am very proud of my Daughter Victoria. She is smart and motivated. Thank you.
Well, with seeing how you are, I can see where she gets if from!! :)
Thank you very much for that.
Who down votes and why? Haters are gonna hate. Joe you add real value to America. By teaching people you help reduce scrap. You help people advance their careers. You help employers be more profitable. I am very grateful for the time you spend. Congrats to your daughter 1st Leut is a huge deal.
I agree. Some people might just be jealous of Joe's talent to spread the wisdom ;) And by the way, not only America. People all over the world can learn from this.
Good knurling demo Joe. You discovered the same trick I did after many years of knurling. Diameter doesn't matter as long as opposing knurls are set deep enough on the first pass. It does take a little practice to set the depth just right. The reason it's possible to get a perfect knurl on any diameter is that the knurling wheels "slip" slightly to fit into deep grooves made on the first rotations. After the initial slip the wheels continue to track as the knurls get deeper. I use a scissors type knurling tool with 14 pitch diamond knurls and heavy flow of motor oil on the top wheel. One pass left to right with heavy feed and return pass right to left to starting point completes the knurl on aluminum. A few more passes are needed on mild steel but the same procedure works.
Your explanations are brilliant. I like hearing about displacing material.
Thanks Joe.I've been working in a machine shop for 55 years.If I had seen your teach in at the start of my working life it would have saved me a great deal of problems.Congratulation to your Daughter making officer in the USAF..As a matter of interest I am the bloke that designed/invented the Catsclaw Systems that,(I'm told,are ), often deployed at USAF bases gates.
This is the best class on knurling i have seen... Thank You Joe... We appreciate Your Daughters service to Our Nation..
Thanks. I admire her greatly. She made Captain. Amazing young lady.
Joe, good video. The first project I had to make in high school metal shop was a center punch, and it had to be taper turned and knurled, and heat treated. Clamp knurling tools are the the easiest on cross feed screws on small lathes. The old push knurling tools could destroy cross feed screws over time.On another note, I like the way you present your info. By the way, tell your daughter congrats for her noteworthy achievement. I was in the USAF from 1966 to 1971. Hoorah!
Congrats to your Daughter we appreciate her sacrifice and dedication to our beloved country
Thank you. My pride is beyond words. My Father was a Staff Sgt in the Air Force and he would be extremely proud of his grand daughter. I am.
we are all very proud of your daughter , tell her thanks for her service to the country and its people ,,,, RESPECT 100%
Thank you. She has recently been approved for the rank of Captain. I admire her greatly.
Love your videos Joe. I've knurled many projects in the past and I have to say, the guys coming up through the ranks as machinists stand to learn and obtain a wealth of information that you freely share. Thank you Joe, your videos have taught an old guy new tricks as well. Thank you so much.
Hi Joe
Once again another well made how to, it's always nice to know someone else does things the same!
I have always used the crush method but my wheel pitch is a bit finer than yours but I have never gone back over my work the other way. Never occured to me!
I have never worried about the "ideal diameter" and my knurls come out pretty good on all my work.
I do leave my knurl diameter a mm or two larger than the finished diameter and that way when you get to the end of your knurl, you are not troubled by a burr. I usually put a round nose tool on the ends of the knurl just to remove any gnarly bits, without touching the finished smaller diameter!
We'll done
Pete
Albany, Western Australia.
Thanks Pete.
Thanks for the video. As a relatively new machinist I really appreciate the info you provide. I just want to pass on some additional info that I found regarding knurling which seems to be very little out there. I found a knurling calculator app. that gives you a size for the material being knurled in relation to the tpi of the tool. You plug in the tpi of the tool and your material diameter. The calculator gives you the a size to turn the material down so the teeth of the tool line up as the two turn. I've used it numerous times and have had great success so far. This is the same as your formula on your white board. thanks again Joe.
73-year-old hobbyist here, in Taiwan. Turned my first knurl yesterday, in brass. Result: not the world's best, but it is _my_ best (and only). Next one will be better. Thanks for the help, Joe.
Good luck.
Love your attitude Odonnol. It’s great to have the time and patience, as we older folk do, and keep our great hobby and our brain, alive and well. Good luck with your knurling projects old mate.
@@crustyolcoot6646 Thanks! Did my 2nd ever knurl last week-an end cap for a pin vise. And it did come out better. Another thing that I recently got help on from UA-cam was soldering aluminum. I'd tried a couple years ago and failed. This time I watched YT videos first, got the temps better, and succeeded. As it turns out, you can solder aluminum to itself, and/or steel, iron, brass, copper. Who knew? The internet is great.
Hey mate. It sure is a great resource for tutorials and such. I was trained as a machinist in a past life and regaining some of the old skills hasn’t been as easy as I thought it would be. Joe mentions muscle memory at one point and that has a bit to do with it too. The feeling you have when shit is about to go down like broken taps or drills etc and the automatic response takes time to regain. The satisfaction of simply creating something beautiful is still there which I’m grateful for indeed. The old cholchester model we trained on turns up next Monday and I couldn’t be more excited. Having equipment I know will help the quality of work a lot I reckon. Hot chips on the neck or forearms hurts a touch more than it used to but it doesn’t take long and those little buggers will hardly be felt once more I hope. Cheers mate.
Joe - I have to say that the experience you bring and the clarity and thought you bring to your subject is very valuable.. thank you.
Thank you.
Congratulations to your daughter thank her for her service. Love this tip I have had trouble with knurling going to give it a try with my home made scissor knurling tool.
Joe I watched this vid. a year and half after you posted it. In college I was taught to apply a lot of pressure with knurl but never the why. From watching your vids. over the last few months I have gained a lot of knowledge and a better understanding of what I was taught and knew. Thank You and Merry Christmas to you and yours 2018
I do not own nor have ever used a lathe, but I watched your whole video. You are a great teacher and presenter!
Thank you very much.
berzerkrobot
phenominal amount of useful information and quality of information in your videos, I've watched most of them multiple times and still learning a lot. keep up the great work, Congratulations on your daughters promotion and and much respect and appreciation for her serving! Happy 4th to you and your family!
Thankyou. I really appreciate your videos. 21 years with a Jet 13x40 lathe. Bought it new and hadn't a clue, but I was able to make parts on it. You sharing your knowledge is invaluable to people like me as I had no one to teach me. I tried to knurl for the first time today. Looks like a scissor type radius edge knurl is in my future.
Every time I machine a good knurl, I chalk it up too an accident.
I used to. The high pressure initial bite is the key. Once its tracking, you can reduce the pressure and adjust as necessary.
Does that practice also work on something like 4130?
Got my first knurling tool yesterday and spent the evening in the shop. Learned real quick about keeping your oil brush away from the knurl wheel!
At this point, I’m certain that knurling is voodoo.
@@ryanjones9305 voooooodooooooo 🤣 At this point I am just watching out of a craving for shop tome. I don’t even have a mini-lathe yet. So yeah, it’s ALL voodoo! 😅
I fucking hate knurling!!!!!!!!!!
Yep
Over 50 years since I did any knurling on a lathe using a full diamond single wheel knurl on some mild steel stock for my A-level Metalwork practical exam. Never realised there were so many other types. Always was told back then to get a good strong bite too. Glad to see it is still the best way! 😁
I wish you and your family a happy and safe 4th of July. Congratulations on your daughter achieving 1st Lieutenant.
I produce a lot of knurling in stainless steel with scissor knurling tool using most of the time 21 pitch knurling with bevel edged wheels. Reducing the diameter to within 0.002" to 0.003" greater than the calculated exact diameter by your formula seems to always produce the perfect diamond pointed knurls for me. There is an art to knurling. I think the hardness of the material and sharpness of the knurls has a lot to do with finding the successful best position of the heavy bite into the material.
What's the typical range of stock diameters you work with?
Most of the time it is 0.750" or smaller in diameter (e.g., see a 1144 stressproof example www.homemadetools.net/forum/small-machinist-jacks-whats-your-box-2016-tool-giveaway-51860#post75292 ). It seems the larger the diameter and softer the material, the more foregiving the results will be with knurling when the circumference is not exactly an integer multiple of the knurl pitch. I also modified the sissor knurling tool to allow hand tightening without a wrench for setting a better feel for the "crush" adjustment (see www.homemadetools.net/forum/knurling-tool-improvement-17860#post24656 ). Other than dwelling too long at either end of the knurling process it is a consistent method of making good knurls every time.
Thank you. Yes, larger and softer allows the "slack" to form with less effort. The amount of "slack" per indentation goes up as the circumference goes down. HMT is new to me. I live on a plantation and got into machining as a way to build parts and tools for this operation.
Usually not bigger than 4 inch and down to .062
Thanks for the video, Joe! I'm a 22 year old shop owner and this video helped a lot! Never run knurls on my haas before, but I have to do it this week.
-Pete
Check into 'cut knurl' tooling Pete. It may cost you, but its worth the investment.
Thanks for this video Joe, recently ran into issues with my coarse knurl tools. Great info here and this will definitely be a good help next time I use it. Cheers
Good luck!
Another great video, clear, concise, and loaded with information based both on theory AND experience! I've always had mixed success with knurling, now I have an idea why and better yet, what to do about it. Congratulation to your daughter, also.
Hey Joe, first off, congratulations to your daughter.....and of course you the proud Dad. I really love your videos, as a novice to machining I really enjoy the theory component on the whiteboard, the commentary and the practical, a very well presented and enjoyable experience.
Good demo Joe (as always). I was taught to tighten the wheels on the part (as it's spinning) until both wheels are tracking. This method has worked well for me. I've found straight knurls to be even more difficult to setup than diamond knurls. With straight knurls the axis of the wheels has to be perfectly aligned with the axis of the part, otherwise the lines spiral around as you feed along the part. Diamond wheels seem a little more forgiving in that regard.
I actually time my straight knurls. I back off the pressure after a small penetration and half a revolution and physically put the lower wheel in the upper wheel track. Works perfectly 100% of the time.
Good demo Joe. I'm a heavy hitter with shop math but I never bother when I emboss a knurl and this video demonstrates clearly the futility of doing so. One tip I might offer is to only engage half the knurl roller width when starting in harder materials like steel. Doing this allows easier initial penetration. F= P/A
For the Gold medal it would have been handy to include some good techniques for "framing" the knurl. You know like undercutting each side etc.
Rob B a+
That always looks good to finish one that way.
I congratulate your daughter for her amazing achievement and dedication to our people and our country! I bid my gratitude from the bottom of my heart. Thank you!
Thank you. She has worked very hard to get there.
Thank you Joe - heavy pressure is clearly the way to go - messed around with various materials and the "correct diameter" and always ended up with so-so knurls - tried the heavy bite from the get-go and got great results.
It has served me well.
Thanks Joe, for the best knurling explanation I have seen. You had me running to my workshop to see if if my diamond knurl wheels were LH and RH. I hadn't even considered this before. Regards and congratulations on your daughter's progress. Chris Humphris
Thanks Joe, was getting ready to make brass spider adjusters and couldn't remember the formulas! It works well with the 68 Dorian fine. Perhaps more critical with the fine knurl. Enjoyed the video AND have great 4th. I'm also very proud for you and your daughter's service and achievements! Thanks, Tom Eyssen
Congrats to your daughter and Thank her for her Service they don't hear it like they should
Thank you very much.
Just a simple thank you for some very very well thought out lessons or teaching class. I like your style Joe.
Thank you very much. I hope you enjoy the material.
Hi Joe, Tell your daughter congrads and thank her for her service. As far as knurling video, great as always. Keep up the great work. Thanks Jim
Will do. Thanks Jim.
New hobbyist/machinist here. I've knurled twice since watching this video, and using firm pressure, both knurls were great. I assumed that I would have to cut my material to a diameter that was a multiple of the knurl wheel diameter. This was not the case. I now just dive-in with a firm pressure and it seems to track each time. Thanks Joe!
That calculated diameter thing does increase your chances of a perfect knurl, but the extreme pressure start is certainly a fantastic trick to know. Glad it helped you out.
Good Job Joe. I like your approach to making these videos and the way you work.
excellent video and something ive been wanting to try... thanks for the starting info! congrats to your daughter and i thank her for her service
Thank you. I am proud of all 3 of my kids.
Thanks for sharing this, and congrats to Victoria. What a great achievement! I know you're a proud papa.
I thank her for her service and your family for your contributions to the greatest nation on Earth.
Thank you very much. We are very proud of her.
I have watched this video a couple of times and as with today's viewing, I'm sure that this is one of the best uses for 30 minutes of my time on the internet. Your instruction is clear, concise and easy to remember! You're the guy!
I appreciate that. thank you.
Hi Joe. Another great video. I've only had minimal experience with knurling...with matching results. I feel like I can now cut a knurl with a level of confidence that will produce acceptable results. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge and experience.
Loved it. These technical videos are truly educating Joe - really appreciate it.
Thanks Brad. Sorry I missed you at the bash.
Excellent theory and demonstration, just got my first knurling tool in the mail today, really appreciate all advice in this video.
Glad it was helpful!
relatively new to machining and tool and die making and i love your videos. My team lead who has done this 26 years watches you too. Thanks for your insight and its good to see someone who knows what theyre doing
Thanks Guys.
Good stuff Joe - nice close up pics. I tend to use my spindle handle sometimes so as to be able to go super slow...using my 'straddler'. I have generally found like you - plenty of pressure initially helps to almost guarantee a good pattern.
Of course, things do change a bit once you get onto steel.
Nice video Joe. A subject I've been curious about for some time. Great demonstration. 👍
I actually make knurls complete. Bodies, shanks and the actual wheels and there is a lot that goes into making a professional one. I also knurl work for customers using an apposing 3 wheel knurl unit where the workpiece is fed right through the unit. This means I can knurl 4 foot bars without flex (convex knurls) or having to come off the job to move more bar out of the chuck. The phrase you're looking for when the knurl wheels are not marking the bar as they should is meshing. I use two ways to mesh-in my knurls correctly using a 3 wheel apposing knurling unit. The first you mentioned, rotate the chuck a revolution or two but by hand not under power or you risk scrapping the job ( you may need more rotates depending on how steep your crown is on your convex knurls) until you see the pattern pressed into the bar. If it's meshed correctly then simply put the machine into your desired traverse speed and off you go (on an apposing 3 wheel knurling unit you turn down the bar end the depth of knurl required on the drawing, touch on with the wheels and that's your depth set), you don't add more pressure once started normally). The second is to run one of the wheels (there will be two right hand and one left hand on an apposing 3 wheel knurl) a thou or two closer to the bar than the others and that will normally press in a good pattern for the other wheels to mess-in to. It doesn't always work but most of the time it does. I will make a video when I get time of how knurls are made and I'll show you how to knurl extra long bars over 3 feet long.
Man this one I am going to have to practice some. I have lost any knurling skill I ever had from school 20 years ago and I need it now!!
I tried your knurling tip today. Works great 😊💪
Add force and the result becomes perfect!
Thanks for your great videos. Thanks for your daughters service.
The educational part on the whiteboard followed by the 'workshop practice' part of your videos is excellent and necessary. I believe that car drivers who know how their car works make better drivers. It is suprising how many people don't know what joins the engine to the transmission of a car yet they know where the clutch pedal is. Good stuff Joe.
I always explain both. Even to my kids. It really helps some people to better visualize the overall task.
God bless your daughter. May she have a wonderful career in usaf.
Hi Joe
When i was taught in the sixties as a machine operator to knurl, the diameter meant nothing.
it was all about the pressure of the cut and the position of the face of the tool and material
Which proves your points of pressure and position of tool.it also says to me that basic techniques
havent changed much over the years. Keep em coming Joe
Ditto. Congratulations to your daughter. My wife is in the Air Force, so it hits home for me!
Thank you for all the great information that you share with us i have learned a lot from you. This is the first time i have commented to you. KEEP UP WITH ALL THE GOOD INFORMATION.
You say your not any good at knurling but those look good to me.
There are so many skills being lost in this trade, glad to see you demonstrate and explain techniques.
Happy to have subscribed to your channel Joe, thank you.
Thanks 👍
Proud father and daughter - cool. Some good news is always great to hear.
I was going to tell your about Clickspring, but you got there as well. I have tried his rope knurl and it does work. Mine not nearly as good as his, but the theory is sound. Cutting the knurl vs. tracking the circumference is critical. I used a piece of acetal in the dividing head for test cutting before actually making the final cut.
Thank you! I’ve never been able to produce an even nearly presentable knurl after wasting a lot of stock and time with calculations and adjusting my diameters. This positively works!
It sure does.
Good Job Joe, I like your approach to making these videos and the way you work. keep em coming
last time i did a knurl over was 50 years ago when i was in school,i never knew there were so many knurls,excellent
Whenever I watch content creators like you I can't help to think, you're a part of the last great educators. Everyone else has sold out for profit, and though you may collect some Adsense, I believe you're here to benefit your trade and that's sir is respectable.
Thanks. The adsense money is OK, but thats certainly not what motivates me.
Thanks Joe, this explains my unfailing luck at knurling- I'm heavy-handed and mainly knurl plastic and aluminium, using coarse knurls - the starting pressure obviously gets the knurl deep enough to be synchronised ( I don't even know if my knurls are diametral pitch based or tpi, and I'm not sure that matters , as long as the tooth depth is big enough to bridge the gap as your experiments seem to show). It'd be interesting to see how effective this approach would be with the fine knurls you showed just before you started machining, my guess would be that the starting diameter would be much more critical since the teeth couldn't bridge too much of a gap, no matter how hard you bullied the stock. Definitely much more than just "some things you should know about knurling", more like "almost all you need to know, and make you think about knurling". Great work. [Edited to overpower my spellchecker:)]
Thank you very much.
These videos are really wonderfully informative and entertaining...I am a retired Aircraft Propeller Blade Technician...I really enjoy the measuring, set ups and the ease at which You perform these Lathe demonstrations...thanks so very Much..!
Thanks for watching.
Great job sir. A lot of information. I looked up at the time stamp and this was posted to 6 years ago. It's a little late, but congratulations to your daughter. I am retired Air Force myself, I hope she is doing well.
Awesome as always Sir 👏 Congratulations to your daughter, bless her
Joe Pie, great video as usual. Taking a deep initial bite with the knurls really seems to be the key, formula or not. I use a couple more tricks not mentioned in the video that might be helpful:
- It's easier for the knurl wheels to bite deep on less material, so start your knurl with half of the wheels hanging off the end of the part if possible. They tend to bite deeper and start more reliably. In most cases, you'll come back later to clean up that corner with a turning tool.
- Rather than positioning the knurls and then cranking down on the scissor mechanism, I prefer to back off the cross slide a little, tighten the scissor nut, and then drive the cross slide back in to within .010-.020" from center. The point here is to allow a deeper bite without needing so much torque on the scissor nut. It takes some practice to get a feel for it.
On work hardening stainless (304, 316, etc) a single pass of a deep knurl seems to work a little better than multiple passes, in my experience, so the above points are more important.
If you want to use the diameter formula for a critical part, try to account for the depth the knurls bite. Use that reduced diameter in the formula. For example, if each wheel bites in .010", your 1.250" part is really 1.230" in the formula. It seems though, as your video shows, as long as you take a deep bite, and the knurls aren't too coarse, it usually works out fine.
Hope that helps!
Great vid man, never liked doing knurling and always try and avoid it, this gave me inspiration to not be as afraid of the process, gonna give it a blast on a part for a customer this week (practice part first though)👍
perfect explanation of the process. Joseph, you are my hero!
Beautiful work! I've always been amazed with these textures, these are perfect!
Thanks Chubbza5. Good to hear from you.
Great Video Joe! I am a fan of the heavy initial pressure also.
ATB, Robin
Hey Robin. It really does work well. Thanks for checking in.
Hey Joe. Please pass on my Congratulations to your daughter. Well done!
Also, another excellent video. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. I've learned so much from you.
I second that Tom... great video presentation - it comes across that you have a wealth of experience. Thanks for passing it on. John.
Thank you.Machining and design is all I have ever done. I find the combination of art and technical very interesting. Glad to share.
Hi Joe, Nice video.
If your not TDC on the part would that change the effective diameter, possibly causing the irregular pattern?
.
Unlikely Phil. Positioning of the rollers is much more important for a straight knurl since the upper and lower wheels must fall into the same groove.
Their are certainly a lot of opinions on knurling. Maybe one per channel. Thanks for the video.
Thanks Joe for this demonstration. In 18 years of working in job shops in California, I only used a knurl a couple times.
I have had very good results with square shouldered knurls (in a standard holder such as the aloris or armstrong) in a traveling scenario by setting the tool post at 5-7 degree angle (to mimic a beveled knurl) it reduces pressure required to press the knurl into the work.
Thank you for your videos!
From one Joe the Machinist to another😁
This is clearly the best knurling demo on UA-cam! Your suggestion of taking a heavy bite to initiate the knurl follows closely the recommendation given by Accu-Trak on their website (accu-trak dot com, click Technical Info). Being a beginner, I still indicate everything to square including the knurling tool. This eliminates the cockeyed track and uneven knurl you mentioned.
Wow, your daughter just became an officer in the USAF! These achievements happen because of good parenting for the last 20+ years. Congratulations to her and the entire family.
Disagree with below! I once worked in the office of an engineering firm some 40 years ago. I always wanted to know how knurling was achieved without compromising track pattern for different diameter bar stock. You have explained it all completely. Thank you.
Love the shout-out to Clickspring - that bloke is bloody good, and his knurls turned out really nice. The clock is finished - now he's working on a replica of the Antikithera Mechanism. Can't wait to see how that turns out. ☺
He is a talented guy. A true craftsman.
I highly recommend straddle knurl tools on cnc lathes. We have roller shafts we have to put a 2mm pitch knurl 700mm long on these conveyor shafts and it forms them so much nicer than a cut knurler and there is nearly no load on our machine. We have found that the knurl lasts longer as well and the point doesn't degrade as quickly.
HELLO JOE, I WATCH YOUR TUTORIALS ON A REGULAR BASIS AND I ALWAYS LEARN SOME THING AND EVEN THOUGH I AM IN MY TWILIGHT YEARS I AM NOT TOO OLD TO LEARN, SO THANK YOU AND KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.
Thank you very much.
Congrats for your daughter! Thank her for her service from me!
Thank you!
A fascinating video once again Joe, I have learnt a lot from this. I had no idea that the diameter /versus the TPI of the wheels had any meaningful relationship when trying to knurl. Of course when forced to actually think about it, it's bloody obvious! Once again thanks for the wonderful presentation of a not easy subject. And congratulations to your daughter for her achievement. I wholeheartedly support those who choose to serve in their respective countries military. My own Great nephew has recently finished 9 years service in the Royal Air Force, as an armourer, including two stints in Afghanistan arming Tornado GR3 aircraft..
I have a great deal of respect for all the members of our armed forces. Congrats to your great nephew.
I've found a perfect pointed diamond knurl really bites into my hand, so I reduce the knurl depth at bit for some flatness, or else sand/file the tops of the diamonds off to where I get a good grip but feels comfortable.
Agreed.
That'd the idea, a good grip from the knurl biting into the skin - you can always put lotion on after!