Thumb screws

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frugal":3ufmz5op said:
Have you looked at computer suppliers?

Quite a lot of high end PC cases have the lid held on with thumb screws.
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The trouble with the ones for PC cases is that they're very small and short. Might be ok for some applications, though.

Lee Valley hold a wide variety in different sizes. They lack the bling factor of brass, however.
 
EdSutton":2nle090s said:
Well that's a beautiful screw Wayne, very nicely executed.

Its just the small matter of a level of engineering skill equal to yours and owning the necessary equipment thats holding me back!

Now if Elk River was just down the road from North Derbyshire I'd be calling in for a tutorial, but somehow I can't see that happening...

Ed
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For what it's worth; before I bought a small machinist lathe, I used to do these using my drill press and hand filed the knurls. Not the best solution to be sure, but out of necessity, one must occasionally be creative and just "make do". I sometimes make my own lathe tools out of old files. Where there's a will....

I happen to have several hundred standard profile knurling wheels. All but a very precious few are the typical diagonal and straight knurls of various pitch. If you or anyone else want a few, let me know. I will send some for the cost of shipping. I have no need for so many, and would like to see them go to a good home.

Also, if anyone has (or knows of) any decorative knurling wheels for sale or trade, please let me know. Thank you.

Cheers,
Wayne Anderson
 
Thanks Wayne, I had been mulling over the possibility of an improvised lathe, using an electric hand drill ( I don't have drill press) and then hand filing the knurling as you suggest. I wasn't really sure how successful it would be though.

Of course, if anyone on the forum wants to sell a small metal lathe then let me know- I would be interested.

That's a very generous offer to send over some knurling wheels, if I'm honest I wouldn't be completely sure what to do with them if I had them. I assume a lathe is fairly essential? I did some basic metal turning at school (albeit over 20 years ago) so I think I could have a reasonable crack at it if I can get my hands on a small (cheap) lathe.

Cheers, Ed
 
EdSutton":1ovq35y6 said:
Thanks Wayne, I had been mulling over the possibility of an improvised lathe, using an electric hand drill ( I don't have drill press) and then hand filing the knurling as you suggest. I wasn't really sure how successful it would be though.

Of course, if anyone on the forum wants to sell a small metal lathe then let me know- I would be interested.

That's a very generous offer to send over some knurling wheels, if I'm honest I wouldn't be completely sure what to do with them if I had them. I assume a lathe is fairly essential? I did some basic metal turning at school (albeit over 20 years ago) so I think I could have a reasonable crack at it if I can get my hands on a small (cheap) lathe.

Cheers, Ed
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Its not strickly neccessar to have a metal lathe. A drill press or securely mounted handdrill and an improviced clamp to hold the knurling wheel holder and the appropiate angles (depening on the knurl profile) would suffice. A metal lathe would be much more easy to set up and get consistant setup and results.

pc_knurling.gif


setup_knurling.gif
 
This cropped up elsewhere in the last few days and the resourceful Mr Cohen posted a link to an ingenious tutorial of his own devising.

It does, however, send us on another pursuit since a quick google on the subject of brass hose fittings failed to turn up anything quite like Derek's recommended hardware, although there are lots of knurled brass fittings available.
 
I'd be very wary of trying to knurl a piece in the drill press. There are large forces applied to the workpiece - I certainly wouldn't want to try it.
Find someone with a metal lathe to turn them for you.
Cheers
Philly :D
 
Philly":iqi6i7ai said:
I'd be very wary of trying to knurl a piece in the drill press. There are large forces applied to the workpiece - I certainly wouldn't want to try it.
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At the risk of topic drift, there are two kinds of knurling tool.

The older, simpler, cheaper type pushes two knurls onto the workpiece. This puts massive forces onto the fixture doing the pushing, normally the top slide.

edit: linky

http://www.technologystudent.com/equip1/knurl1.htm

The solution, and a classic shop-made project in engineering circles, is a knurling tool where the two knurls are an adjustable distance apart, such that the two knurls can be put at almost opposite sides of the workpiece.

edit: linky:

http://www.haythornthwaite.com/Knurling%20Tool.htm

Thus, the (high) forces on the two knurls are mainly trying to tear apart the knurling tool, rather than push on the top slide. The knurling tool can of course be made robust enough to resist this force.

The thought of knurling in anything other than a suitable lathe is rather frightening.

BugBear
 
IMHO, if one is going to cobble together a knurled screw from brass hose fittings and a bolt, it would seem better (to me) to solder the components together, rather than use epoxy. I generally plan for a plane to be around for many generations, and the epoxy bond will likely fail at some point during that time, especially between two metal surfaces. -wayne
 
As a result of not really finding what I wanted in the way of thumbscrews, I have somewhat embarked on a journey into engineering. Yes I know this is a woodworking forum, but it is related and hopefully of interest to some members.

Since the last round of posts on this thread I have acquired a metalworking lathe, complete with a collection of tooling, from a fellow forum member;

2608903292_a0f064b4f2.jpg


After a considerable amount of cleaning and setting up the machine is operational and appears to be running nicely, so I have made a start on my first items, namely brass thumbscrews.

Here is my second effort (I'll keep the first one to myself - lets just say it was a valuable learning experience!)

2608078927_1b690dcbf3.jpg


2608905856_e9dffd1330.jpg


I'm quite pleased with it and also found the process of making it really enjoyable. Now in terms of man hours its not efficient (yet) and amortising my investment so far these currently stand as the 2 most expensive bolts I've ever handled at just over £50 each, but hey I'm on a journey.

The engineers among you will notice that the knurling is not perfect - I had real trouble getting the pattern to match up. I understood that when this happens the thing to do is reduce the diameter slightly and try again - I did this several times and never quite got there. Any tips would be greatly appreciated - I'm not an engineer so you can safely assume pretty limited knowledge on my part.

I'm now thinking about the turned metal parts I can incorporate into my furniture. I'm also thinking that I can make some small wooden parts on this machine (within reason) when the need arises.

Any comments / suggestions for improvement appreciated.

Cheers, Ed.
 
Never known the diameter to be a problem. Diamond knurling like this is normally done with two knurls in a frame, is this so with yours Ed?

Roy.
 
Others may have had a different experience Ed but in my case failure to get a decent knurl was usually caused by not having the two knurls on the centre line of the piece being knurled so that pressure was applied more to one knurl than 'tother.

Roy.
 
Nice lathe and first/second thumb screw.

Turning 'small' wooden and plastic parts would be easy to do. You might want to fit a tool rest to the lathe to do some more freehand / freeform and get some gouges. (Never ever try than with metal esp ferric metals). With this perticular lathe design mind the dust with the bearings and pulleys.

To have this type of knurling to work correct to get a crisp and clean diamond pattern the tool alignment is critical. Both wheels should engage at the same time at the same angle. Carefully set the tool up with the lathe stopped and don't rely on the scales and markings, check the angles and position of the cutting edges against the work piece using feeler gauges, engineer square, calipers when approiate.
 
Good work - was it milled from a single piece or joined together?

When are you going into mass production but not at £50 each! ? :)

Rod
 

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