Congratulations to Mr. Bill B of California. Bill opted for the "Drawings Only" version of the Heavy Duty Knurling Tool Kit. He has done just an awesome job of the build and created a fantastic tool for himself.
I asked Bill to give a quick summary of his build experience and to explain how he got that gorgeous blue!. Here is what he had to say.
"I built this heavy duty knurling tool based on design information included on Doug Gray's website. Doug sells drawings for the tool, but also has several build kits available which include the materials. I had all of the materials on hand - except for the spring - so I just bought the plans.
Doug's plans and build notes are excellent. I built this tool using his exact measurements, and where a tolerance was specified, built to half tolerance.
The build went with no problems and the end product is quite heavy duty yet has the feel of a smoothly operating, precise tool. My first use was a knurl for the tool's Tensioning Knob. Without any practice and no repeats, the first knurl came out nearly perfect
I cold-blued the tool's 1018 steel plate parts using Birchwood-Casey's Super Blue. For prep, I used medium emery cloth to remove mill scale and followed that with fine emery and a thorough cleaning using denatured alcohol. Then I blued the parts -- repeating the process to deepen the blue -- and followed that with an over-night soaking in motor oil.
I am quite happy with this tool. It produces a nice knurl and is far easier to use than the old clamp-style knurler I have been using. Many thanks to Doug for providing another excellent product!"
Great job Bill and thanks for the kind words.
