Knurling machine

I was browsing on the bay again and came across this custom knurling lathe and it has ( to me ) an interesting design for mounting the knurling tool .

It now has me thinking of making a tailstock mounted unit using an old small 3 jaw chuck

I have only included a photo of the chuck as the rest of the machine was just a rudimentary home made lathe with a simple power feed . Ebay.com .au search for lathe newly listed if you want to see the rest

And no i'm not the seller or designer !

That's clever engineering

Definitely worth a look: **LINK**

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Special-Custom-Continuous-Knurling-Lathe-/191953648713?hash=item2cb1543c49:g:GQIAAOSwHoFXvjwi

MichaelG.

Edited By Michael Gilligan on 25/08/2016 06:45:45

That's a great piece of Aussie ingenuity. True bush engineering.

You'd think it could get a bit exciting knurling 6 metre (20 foot) lengths of pipe in it if things got the slightest bit out of whack with great long ends hanging out of the machine in each direction. I suppose the rpm would be low so you might keep your head if you got in the way of a flailing end that bent at right angles etc. Maybe.

Not sure what the purpose of teh piece of 1" square tube handle-looking-thing on the "carriage" is, with the handwheel attached to it. Any ideas?

And what would one use a 20-foot length of knurled copper nickel pipe for anyways?

Thanks for the link Michael- i must get off my butt and work out how to do that !

Hopper,

I agree ! It's not a machine i would look forward to running ! It would be like running a lathe that is set up to part off washers - one at a time by the thousands ! 

I have no idea what copper nickel pipe is used for let alone a knurled 20 ft length !

The handle looks like it may be some sort of release for the saddle drive - maybe push down then wind the knob  to lock the handle down and it releases the chain drive ? Bush machinists half nut !  Or you just hang on to it for dear life when things go wrong with 15 ft of pipe flailing around behind the head stock !  It even has a vibration dampening spring to prolong your white knuckle adventure !  Bush machinists amusement ride !!!

Ian.

Edited By XD 351 on 25/08/2016 09:05:03

I envisage the chuck with the knurls rotating, while the only movement of the bar is linear, ie., non rotating, so it could be as long as you like.

Ian S C

+1 for Ian's interpretation of the machine.

Neil

Cupro-nickel pipe is your typical quality replacement brake pipe for cars and trucks, so fairly high pressure and corrosion resistant. No idea what else it might be used for. Max inch and a quarter, if it was imperial when new. I was wondering how each 'bed length' gets fed in without excess knurling in one place (or maybe it doesn't matter?).

Just noticed that the power switch has two speeds - beginner and experienced speeds perhaps ? Or hang on and really really hang on !

It really does look like something that should have a saddle on it - the horse riding type that is .

Could possibly be a disused prop from the tv show Get smart?

KAOS torture lathe !

What could possibly be made with knurled brake pipe ?

I would have thought the forces generated in the knurling process would have swaged the copper pipe before cutting a proper knurl .

Guess we will never know but still think the design of the knuling tool is special !

Ian.

Curtain rail if around a 25mm diameter pipe? Any other sugestions?

Cut up and used as cores in injection moulding, maybe?

Steve

Yes, I agree. The 'T' structure on the carriage is probably a clamp to grip the work (different Ts required for different diameters) and the chain drive draws the carriage along the bed, pulling the work through the knurls. The lever on the carriage is probably for engaging/disengaging the carriage from the chain, mainly, I would guess, when quickly resetting the carriage back to the chuck end after drawing a 'bed-length' of work through

Roger

Well it looks like I've been beaten to it !

The 3 wheel knurling tool already exists and is made by dorian tool international.

They have a youtube channel just search for dorian tool and Look for three wheel knurling tool .

I don't think I would like to have to pay for one but they sure look nice !

I still may make something similar but by using a 3 jaw chuck from a C2 lathe .

I had a look at cupronickel on wikipedia - interesting material.

It has a very high resistance to corrosion from seawater so it is used for piping and in heat exchangers.

I'm wondering if the knurl is for grip on a handrail or something ? maybe it is to key the surface for some type of coating like a plastic sheath?

Ian.

Edited By XD 351 on 26/08/2016 05:09:47

Knurled and chrome plated pipe is very common for hand rails.

I have an idea for a similar knurling tool, two of the jaws with diagonal cut rollers, and one with a plastic back up roller, just an idea at the moment.

Ian S C