Aloris BXA-19 knurling tool

[Defender92]

Full disclaimer… I’m a big machining amateur.

I was excited to receive my BXA-19 from eBay today. I had previous “success” in the past on my Atlas 12” with an Amazon scissor knurling tool.

I quickly slapped it on my lathe. Lined it up good enough and had at it. It was doing ok for a while then it got jammed up. I noticed one of the suppled knurls (Accu Trak 25 TPI) had a chip. That was there before I started.

When I say jammed up it slightly moved the QCTP, started smoking and destroyed the knurling it was making.

So I took the knurls out and put in some Chinese made knurls. Again, ran ok but then jammed up.

What’s my most likely problem here? I haven’t yet leveled my lathe. I’m pretty sure it needs adjustment. The BXA-19 appears fully functional without anything broken or missing. I’m really hoping I didn’t just waste $200 on a broken BXA-19.

My gut tells me my bed isn’t straight because it’s not leveled. That’s why it will go about 2-3 inches fine then it fails. My second guess is I’m just doing something wrong.

I did order two new sets of knurls and a replacement screw from Aloris. While I’m waiting for those to arrive I should probably research the proper way to do knurling.

I also had to set my compound up in a 90 degree angle. It was the only way I could use the BXA-19 on my lathe. I can’t find a user manual for the BXA-19. Can any one help me?

 

[mmcmdl]

Build a hinge into it so it floats , most likely you're off center .

 

[Defender92]

Build a hinge into it , most likely you're off center .

What do you mean by hinge?

 

[WobblyHand]

Did you lubricate both the work piece and the pins? You need to use lots of cutting oil when knurling. And you need to be on center - the knurls need to be exactly on the top and bottom of the work piece. The inside of the knurl and the pin look like insufficient lubrication. You may need new pins.

 

[Defender92]

Did you lubricate both the work piece and the pins? You need to use lots of cutting oil when knurling. And you need to be on center - the knurls need to be exactly on the top and bottom of the work piece. The inside of the knurl and the pin look like insufficient lubrication. You may need new pins.

I only used lots of cutting fluid on the knurling wheels. What kind of lubricant do you recommend for the pins?

What’s the easiest way to line up the tool to the center?

Is the Aloris 19 a good tool?? I bought it because it looked like it was easy to use and beefy.

 

[WobblyHand]

I used something like a detergent motor oil for the pins. Usually before knurling, I pull the pins and clean them and smear oil on them and reassemble the knurls. Sometimes I add machine oil to the pins when knurling a longer length. At least on my lathe, the knurler sounds different between being well lubed and starting to need lubrication.

Not sure about the easiest way, but I close up the knurl until it almost touches at top and bottom and eye the alignment as I move the X axis back and forth. The closer the knurl is to touching, the easier it is to determine if you are at the peak.

Beats me if it is a good tool. Haven't used a 19. I'm surprised you got a chipped knurl, to begin with. I would have stopped and not used it and called Aloris for replacement (knurl). Was the box damaged in anyway when you received it? Dent in box, or stuff coming out of the box? Evidence of common carrier mishandling? Maybe that's water over the dam.

Usually the pins are hardened, so I'm a bit surprised at the wear in the photo. Is that really a gouge or surface dent in the pin, or is it an illusion?

 

[mmcmdl]

That type of knurler isn't the best , what happened to the scissor type from your other lathe ? I would be using that one .

 

[Aukai]

I have found that with my scissor knurler that a 6" machinist rule under the top roller, and checking for level will get me closer than eyeballing over the top looking down.

 

[erikmannie]

Did you overdo the “depth of cut”? That is, I wonder how it would work out if you just started out with a very light pass.

When I do knurling, I never do a deep “form depth”. It is amazing that the knurling lines always align up with themselves on subsequent passes.

 

[Winegrower]

I suspect it did the same thing for your eBay seller.