Quote:
Originally Posted by Stumble
I have a local machine shop that does a great job knurling drums, but I haven't asked about refinishing. The machinist is also a sailor, and understands the issues.
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And there are definitely issues to be understood. I had some chromed
bronze drums (Harken) where the original knurling was just too smooth. These were brand new drums, and under light load they seemed fine, but under heavy load the
sheets would slip, even with the drum completely wrapped. I tried several different sheet brands and types, but the problem persisted. The same loaded sheet would grip fine on my "pebbled" secondaries, but the knurled primaries would always slip.
Harken had no solution for me, so I had a local machine shop re-knurl and chrome the drums. Unfortunately the knurling was too aggressive and I couldn't ease a loaded sheet without excessive wear to the
sheets. It took some time with a file and emery cloth to take the edges off the knurl. They now
work well, but I need to have them re-chromed.
So, knurling has to be done just right -- not too much and not too little.
Of course Harken's
current winch drums use a completely different design.