Chinese innovation - square holes from a standard mill

[Doug Coulter]

We don't hear much about the Chinese actually innovating and inventing. But this is pretty cool. It was sent along by a friend who liked to amaze my engineers by whipping out a wood mortise bit to show them a square hole in wood -- this is something well beyond that.
http://youtu.be/agiHZOsMR34

[Starfire]

They also make round pegs

[chrismb]

We don't hear much about the Chinese actually innovating and inventing. But this is pretty cool.

..but unfortunately this is not a Chinese invention!...

What we hear most of are Chinese copies, of which this is one.

I read of this in one of Martin Gardner's maths books when I was a little lad, when he was talking about curves of constant width, of which this is an example.

The earliest I know it to have been invented is the 1970's, but whether it has an earlier origin than that even, I don't know.

[Doug Coulter]

Probably yeah, the math's been around -- the Wankel is what it reminded me of. But you couldn't actually buy a milling tool that made square holes yet so the idea was sterile in western hands.

Would you like it if people said - assuming your fusion device works, that it was anticipated by Einstein, and all you did was copy his ideas?

[chrismb]

I'm pretty sure I've seen them for sale before.

[Doug Coulter]

Not here in the most insanely large and diverse machine tool sellers like McMaster-Carr. Maybe Jerry has seen one?

[Laurence Upjohn]

Hi all;
The script on this video is Japanese so maybe this is Japanese tooling rather than Chinese after all. LRU.

[Jerry]

The chuck is called a Watts Chuck, made by the Watts Brothers Tool Works in Wilmerding PA. It can also do hexagonal and octagonal holes.

[Jerry]

Some more info: The original patent was applied for back in November 1916 and the patent, #1241176, was granted September 25, 1917 to Harry J. Watts of Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania.

The one in the video is a refinement of the nearly century old tech by Dijet in Osaka, Japan

[Doug Coulter]

So, where could I buy one? You seem to be concentrating on the chuck, and yes, I noticed a wobble, but it seems the bit also is special? Would it break the bank?