Three Wheel Knurling

Whiling away a snowy afternoon - far to cold to go to the workshop, I came across this 3 wheel knurling tool Three Wheel Knurling Tools (industrydepot.com)

My musing suggested that it looked a lot like a modified 3 jaw chuck, and I wondered about getting one of the very cheap 3 jaws off Ebay, and "modifying" it.

Any thoughts?

Do three jaw knurling tools need different wheels?

Standard knurls work just fine in three wheel "nutcracker" type heand squeezed knurling tools so should be OK in that device.

I suspect a lever operated chuck will be better than a conventional key operated scroll one as giving more feel as to what is going on. cam ring operation rather than scroll would be better engineering but whether it matters in practice I know not.

Feeding and workpiece stability might be a problem. I'd mount it on the toolpost in the same manner as my Coventry die head and hand feed.

Don't really see the market. Price is comparable to, may be higher than, a cut knurling tool which is far better for industrial applications. Way to expensive for home shop guy or gal.

Clive

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Although it bears a superficial resemblance to the “very cheap 3 jaws off Ebay” … closer study will reveal where the cost lies [the devil is in the detail].

Each jaw slides on a vee, with an adjustable gib strip … and I presume that’s for more than just show.

MichaelG.

Can't see any great need for super precision or stability in the sliding jaws. My "nutcracker" knurler is quite flexy, you can feel things moving around as the knurls settle into engagement, yet works just fine.

Ordinary chuck jaw slides should be more than adequate unless the chuck is either very poor quality or well used.

Most DIY scissor knurling tools aren't anything like as stable as a half decent jaw yet they generally work OK. Even the arms on my Marlco exhibit some flex despite battleship build quality.

Once the knurls are settled into the job they are largely self stabilishing.

Clive

Looks pretty impressive … if you need its capability [which, presently, I don’t]: **LINK**

https://youtu.be/B9g6zDGcIzM

MichaelG.

Like this ? Noel

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Optional anwers :

1. Yes I do
2. Not much … the Dorian one doesn’t have angled knurls

MichaelG.