Can you renew the knurling on reloading dies?

[pertnear]

If it was up to me, it would be illegal to have a pair of pliers near a reloading bench! J/K

I do a little swapping & I seem to get my share of loading dies with "plier-marks". A die may be ugly but that's just cosmetic & if it's polished inside it'll work just fine. I don't know how knurling is done but can a die body be "re-knurled" with a matching pattern to clean it up?

[pastera]

If you have a lathe and the correct knurls you should be able to refresh the pattern - depending on how bad the damage is it might not restore 100%
I have a few that I inhereted from my Dad that have been similarly treated - I just overlook it as long as the working surfaces aren't damaged. If the next person to inheret them wants to call me a knucklehead for something I didn't do, they'll have to wait in the long line for the things I have/will screw up.

[country gent]

If the dies are hardened much you risk damaging the knurling rolls when redoing it. I would recommend a jewelers file triangle or knife file and recut by hand sort of like checkering is done, The actual pattern is determined by the rolls speed and feed of the set up so matching in a machine may be hard to do. The fine cut jewelers files will do a nice job and the set will be handy for other projects

[M-Tecs]

Most die bodies are case hardened so that is a no go. Some parts are soft so you could use a hand checkering file or with a lathe you can re-knurl. Matching the teeth per inch could be a challenge.

They do make hand knurl tools. I have never used one so no comment as to how well they work. https://www.mcmaster.com/knurling-tools

Most diamond knurling is 90 degree so square files match the form best. Form knurling is the most common but some is cut knurled.

[jimkim]

You could just turn the old knurl down and re-knurl the surface. It would be a bit smaller in diameter, but I seen this done. It wasn't a die though.

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[Dapaki]

You could re-knurl it but you need to know the spacing.

https://hhtools.nl/assets/files/nieuwe-producten/dorian-knurling-tools-2016.pdf

I would do it for you for free (time dependent) but my new lathe doesn't arrive for a month. Shoot me a PM and maybe I can work on them next winter when I have downtime?

[jmorris]

When I have modified dies I hat to heat them up to remove the heat treat. You might chuck it up in the lathe and attempt a cut with HSS before you wreck a knurling too that likely cost more than the die, if you just bought a new one and didn’t waste the time trying to make it look pretty on the outside.

A checkering file would be a cheaper tool to ruin.

[ulav8r]

Use a triangle or square file. Light pressure on the first stroke will determine if the body is soft enough to cut without ruining the file. Trying with a knurling toolruns too much risk of messing up the die and the tool.

Knurling tools use hardened cutters that are straight or angled. The angled cutters are what are used on loading dies and they come in several different spacing which create different size diamonds. Most likely the knurls used on dies are a standard size but any size knurl can be recut with a single size file.

[EDG]

Hardened dies cannot be re -knurled.
The whole concept of being obsessed with scarred up knurling is a dead end.
Just get rid of that die set. Some one that does not care about the knurling will buy it.
Then buy a die set that is cosmetically perfect.

If you look at any manufactured item too close you will find some sort of defect even though it might be microscopic.

[country gent]

The big problem with this is once scared and the metal is gone it cant readily be replaced to make it right again. The way to make it perfect again would be to turn it down sleeve it back and then re knurl the sleeve. This would involve a shrink fit joint, turning and truing the sleeve once installed and then knurling it. A lot of work for cosmetics. Some dies font even have knurls just flats

[1hole]

Most dies are case hardened - VERY hardened. Knurling wheels are well hardened and tempered but they aren't even in the same ballpark of a cased die.

Cutting die knurling away on a lathe may seem good but it's difficult to do cleanly and demands a carbide cutting tool or high-speed grinder to handle the file-like hardened skin.

You can get an auto repairman's "thread gage" for checking bolts at most hardware stores for not much, they can tell you what the knurling pitch per inch is.

I hate plier buggered dies and lock rings too but they are a fact of life with many used dies. It's only cosmetic so I leave them as they are, a botched "fix" can easily make things worse.

[rbuck351]

How do you damage a file hard piece of steel with pliers. They can't be that hard as most pliers can be filed. Anyway you should be able to dress them with the right file. It would at least make them look better.

[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

Knurling a sleeve would work. I’d turn down the damaged area (preferably with CBN, if available), knurl a sleeve, and then press it on. If you go this route, be sure to knurl the stock Before you drill and bore it out. Otherwise you run the risk of distorting your bore with the knurling process.

[M-Tecs]

The whole concept of being obsessed with scarred up knurling is a dead end.
Just get rid of that die set. Some one that does not care about the knurling will buy it.
Then buy a die set that is cosmetically perfect.



This is by far the most cost effective method to deal with this subject.

[mdi]

I wouldn't try re-knurling mainly because the dies are hardened after machining and any hand tool probably wouldn't work. Since a lot of reloaders don't have a lathe, many will just live with it, but if the appearance bothered me, I would make up a mandrel (a piece of all thread longer than the die and mount the die on the rod), Chuck the die/rod in a drill and turn the die against a bench grinder wheel, removing all knurl and scars. Then polish with emery cloth and oil. Thread files, checkering files, jeweler's files won't cut the hardened metal, but a stone may. Lot of tedious work though... (scroll to "hard Arkansas "files" https://www.danswhetstone.com/)

[44magLeo]

Harbor freight sells diamond jewelers files. They should cut without hurting the files. Don't cost much.
I broke off a tap, I bought a set of diamond bits for a Dremmel tool They worked well to cut the tap up enough to remove the pieces. Taps are very hard.
So if those cheap tools can cut a tap then they can cut a die body.
Leo

[rbuck351]

I just tried a regular file on the knurl of a set of dies and it cut in a bit. They are hard but not as hard as HHS tools let alone carbide or diamond. The diamond files HF sells should work well to dress the knurl but you are not going to put them back to new.
EDG and M-TEC are correct. Sell them on S&S and buy a new set. It's the only way to make them new again for less than the cost of a new set.

[tdoor4570]

Who cares about the outside, the inside is whats important . they are made to be used not looked at. at least mine are used and not admired.

[gwpercle]

If you don't have all sorts of milling machines and fancy equipment you can touch it up with Swiss Needle Files ... After all , Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the Sistene Chapel by hand and it came out OK .
Gary

[W.R.Buchanan]

Just use a file on them if you don't have the right tools you won't be able to re-knurl the surface, and even if you did the likelihood of duplicating the original pattern or getting it started in the same grooves is almost impossible.

Also it should be noted that knurling is done by displacing metal. The metal needs to be soft in order for this to occur. If the die ws soft on the outside you could go on and knurl a new pattern, but it probably would look like ship.

Just use a file and clean it up as best you can then use a wire wheel and buff it hard which will even out the finish. That's as good as it will get.

Selling them and ridding yourself of this problem, is by far the best answer suggested in this thread.

Randy

[1hole]

After all , Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the Sistene Chapel by hand and it came out OK .
Gary

Took him awhile tho! ;)