Which is something I did on a regular basis when I was a teen.
I am still looking for some application of blacksmithing that would be useful in some practical way (as opposed to making decorations). That was the attraction of the chuck key straightening.
I agree with Lloyd in that it was not the most practical thing to do.
When my daughter went to college for a black-smithing course, one of the first exercises was straightening out old horse-shoes. They then went on to make things out of them.
I think forged metal is generaly stronger than machined. You could make tools such as screwdrivers, punches, chisels, or knives. Anyway you look at it, it is good to have more skills and abilities. A guy I worked with at the machine shop had a friend in school. The guy was working on an art project and he was trying to make a piece of steel round using a forge, anvil, and hammer. The guy I worked with saw a metal lathe in the shop and asked his friend why he didn't just turn it on the lathe, the guy didn't know how to use a lathe. So the machinist helped him machine the round part. The point to this being that the more you know, the more capable you'll be to pick the best process to make what you need to make.
The ends are bat ends - like switches. And that could be a copy of a short one.
Did it have a raised center that cut into the hole ? Even that is possible.
The S curve might have been from the chuck rotating on the ways.... But I suspect it was set for another reach over tool. - Kinda like a nut driver that fits over the end of the key and over the rods. That might have been a motor drive chuck key. You know managers - more and more and faster..... ;-)
Mart> >> Yep, particularly on tools, Loyd. I can't stand to feel sharp edges on
That's what it is for, so that the pin would stay in the middle.
I thought that a knurl was a pattern where the ridges would be a lot closer to each other, in this case they were relatively far from one another, in relation to their height.
Yes, they are lines, I would say 1/8" apart. I can take a picture if you want. Their sole purpose is to keep the pin centered. I would not want knurling on the part of the pin that I grip.
Ignoramus25152 fired this volley in news:qdKdnYaNiqPhEczUnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com:
Just so we keep this on the up-n-up... the "knurl" on your part is probably not done with a knurling wheel, but with a press, and a die and punch, both equipped with an edge that can stamp the grooves into the pin. Likely, the pin is rotated once, twice, or three times to get the spacing of the grooves approximately (but not precisely) distributed around the circumference.
Because the pin is small, it doesn't take too many "stripes" to make it enlarge, and work of a tiny diameter isn't as conducive to wheel knurling as larger work.
O.K. It is common to make a straight knurl to give something to bite into the body of the key so the handle won't slip out. Sounds as though yours was a diamond knurl instead -- not quite as good for the purpose, but probably what he was set up for.
I agree with others that that was not the original handle, just a well made shop-made one. Depending on the size of the chuck key, they either have a much shorter T-handle, or a handle which has one end squashed down to an oval flat for the thumb, and the other end a plain bar, still not as long as yours is. I prefer the T handle to the one with the thumb rest, because you can easily use it in either of two
180-degree separated orientations, so the wear on the gear teeth is evened out a bit more. Even so, I've seen them so badly worn that they won't work either way around.
Unlikely, as that it most likely the key for a Jacobs style drill chuck, not a lathe chuck. Though I do have a 3-jaw lathe chuck for my Compact-5/CNC lathe (5" swing) which uses a drill chuck type key to rotate the scroll plate relative to the body.
:-)
Then you could perhaps have gotten the story which went with the chuck. I would have liked to hear that.
Well ... that *should* be a straight knurl, but it sounds as though he has a diamond knurl instead. That will still hold in the body, but not as well as the straight knurl would.
From the Manufacturer The Jacobs K5 T-Handle Chuck Key with 7/16-Inch pilot size can be used for Jacobs 20N chuck and other compatible chucks with 7/16-Inch pilot size. The Jacobs K5 is equipped with Nickel T-Handle grip styles to increase leverage and user comfort, while the soft steel handles limit the potential for dangerous fracturing under excessive loads. Each Jacobs K5 T-Handle Handle Chuck Key includes a one year factory warranty. The Jacobs K5 Thumb Handle Chuck Key is a part of Jacobs comprehensive selection of precision crafted keys to meet any need.
Product Description Soft steel handles limit the potential for dangerous fracturing under excessive load. Self ejecting models with spring-loaded ejectors ensure key disengagement after tightening.
(soft steel handle == easy to bend to pretzel shape)
But have you seen a K5 key? I think that this is such a big chuck, and they key is simply different. I have a small collection of Jacobs chucks and keys (11N, 14N, 16N, 18N, 20N IIRC, though I may get rid of the 20N). The other keys are as you describe. But 20N is a giant chuck.
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