Good fortune has struck!

[OGYT]

Thanksgiving is in order... early! Her Majesty came out to the shed this morning to bring me a piece of mail. It was from Australia!! A package from our own Hughie! I opened the package and what should appear before me eyes... magically, I might add (after I got all the tape and bubblewrap off, of course) ... an exceptionally well made Thread Chaser - of 10 tpi!! And the package included a matching ferrule to go on the handle. You just can't beat that! :D

As soon as I saw it, I knew I was in for a treat. I quit working on the little cedar box I was turning, so I could put it in a handle.
This chaser is heavier built than the normal thread chasers you see in the catalogs, and it works much better than the 16 tpi chasers that I bought! I think it's due to the size, as my benefactor said in his note... the heft, and the direction of movement of this one, being the same for both types of thread, makes it much easier for my shakiness to control than the Crown tools. (direction of rotation changes, but the movement is the same for both, male and female threads.)

(Pic 1) The handle is part of what's left of an old Bois d'Arc fence post - I made it long enough to brace it under my forearm and elbow as I'm chasing the threads. I left the tenon on it in case I wanted to modify the handle a bit. But after using it this afternoon, I know that won't be necessary.

(Pic 2) The shank is about 10mm round, and has grooves around the circumference, that I wish all my tool shanks had, for the epoxy. It's made with a flange on the shank that mounts flush against the end of the handle, which makes it look classy good!

I made some male threads in Mesquite that had a crack and a worm hole in the threads. Beautiful. I made some female threads in a chunk of Black Walnut. Also beautiful. (Now if I could only get 'em to match up) :doh:

I still have a ways to go, but I'm getting there, now, thanks to Hughie. If you ever get a chance at any tools of his own manufacture, go for it. They are exceptional!!
Thanks, again, Hughie! :2tsup:

[Cliff Rogers]

Ooops, you have done it now, Hughie is about to get a flood of orders. :2tsup:

[OGYT]

Didn't mean to get you in trouble, Hughie. :sayitaintso: :U

[Gil Jones]

Whoa, fine looking thread chaser, and handle too!!! :2tsup:

[rsser]

Second that. Work of art.

[hughie]

Al,
Thanks for the thumbs up, much appreciated.

If anybody else has an interest in the thread chaser PM me, and we can work something out.If there is much interest then I can bulk buy [as I used the last of it on Als one] the steel and keep the price down. As it is I reckon it would a minimum of half the going rate of any thing out there at the moment.

Its made from a carbon steel which produces a very fine edge. Hardened to around 67 Rockwell C and then ground. Its a two in one tool doing both internal and external threads.

I always found it a pain :~ having to buy two when one would do. Turning tools are dear enough as it is....as much as I like my tool collection :U

[Rookie]

Good stuff Hughie.

Anyone notice the world shrink a little just then?

[TTIT]

Hughie that looks so good I'd be tempted to try threading just to get hold of one. Top stuff :2tsup::2tsup::2tsup:

[OGYT]

I used it again this morning, and it works easier... just keeps getting better. 10 tpi works really well on wood that isn't so dense. If I ever find a piece of wood without worm holes and cracks, I'm gonna be in heaven!! :D

[Richard Findley]

Looks good guys:2tsup:, I can't quite get my head around how the chaser works for the male thread though:B, I'd love to see pictures of it in action! I've only ever used the traditional sort from Crown and Hamlet.

Cheers,

Richard

[rsser]

Use one cutting face on the outside of a tenon?

[OGYT]

As you're looking at it, with the cutting face up, the right side is for the male threads, and the left is for the female threads. You don't use the hook on this tool. You go into the work from the tailstock end; instead of moving the tool sideways for the male threads, you move it straight towards the headstock... just like you would for the female threads if you don't use the hook to hold it. Works much better than trying to use that hook... much easier to make threads. I'll try to get Her Majesty to take some photos of it in action. :U

[orraloon]

What RPM do you need? My slowest is 450 so will that do.

Regards
John

[hughie]

[What RPM do you need? My slowest is 450 so will that do.


John,
From my point of view the slower the better, hmmm might be a bit fast. It can be done you just have to move more quickly with your hands.

Have a look at the Sorby site they have one of the best 'how to' section, failing that google Fred Holden+thread chaser his description is darn good as well.

hughie

[OGYT]

John, Hughie's right, because all that is written on it that I have seen, recommends something near 100-200 rpm. You do have to move your hands a lot faster when you spin it faster.
Having said that, I'll say this: I've always believed that the smoothest cuts in any wood are light cuts made with sharp tools, and made at highest rpm possible. The thread chaser requires light cuts by the nature of the tool. So, I figure... what the heck... gotta take light cuts, why not cut faster?
At 200 rpm, I used a 16tpi thread chaser (before Hughie's arrived) and Mesquite wood. And it was chipping off the tops of the threads before I could get the cut deep enough, even though I was tryin' to use a light touch. Kept trying 'til I used up that chunk of timber. The next cutoff (also Mesquite) I picked up had a tenon to fit the Compac chuck on Little Vic.
So I put the timber on my Little Vic, whose lowest speed is 689 rpm (1725rpm motor), and I did turn useable threads at that speed. The 'arc' of movement has to be made at a faster pace... and you truly do have to take very light cuts, or you'll stuff the threads and have to start over. I had to start over a couple of times, but I did finally cut useable threads at that speed.
I also had to have some pretty long threaded areas... over 3/4" of threads. Here's why: in order to be able to see what was happening and in order to 'feel' the chaser being pulled through, it has to be against the wood, cutting, for a long enough period of time... for me.
At least a whole second (I didn't use a stopwatch) of time is necessary for me to manage it.
At 200 rpm, I can have the chaser against the wood for a second or so, give or take (tool Contact Time), and the tool won't transition across more than say about 3/8" to 1/2" of wood... (It really depends on the diameter of the piece, too. So there are a lot of variables to contend with.)
But at 689 rpm, in order to have that much tool contact time, the length of the thread area increases... because the tool is moving farther... Make sense?
Anyway, if you'll allow for really long threads, it can be done at even greater speeds... then, you can cut off some of the threaded wood, to have only a couple of turns of threads.
The first box I made like this (16tpi) you had to turn and turn and turn the lid to get it screwed on all the way... then the threads took up the whole inside of the box, and you couldn't have put more than a couple of dimes in it. :) That's how I learned you can trim the threaded area, after you get them made correctly.
Hope this makes sense to you. If you go to Fred Holder's Site, and read that tutorial, you'll see the diagram of the "arc" of movement.. as I described it. You're really making a full circle of movement, but I'm considering just the little arc you make when you move toward the wood, touch the wood, and pull away from the wood...
That's all... like Minnie Pearl, "... I'm threw talkin', now."

[scooter]

Link here (http://www.toolsforworkingwood.com/prodimg/ms/pdf/MS-THRDCH.pdf)for the Fred Holder info.

[orraloon]

Hughie & Al,
Thanks for the info. I have considered thread cutting but my instincts tell me I am not up to it yet. That push in job looks better than sliding along the rest but at my lathes lowest speed I would not be confident of getting away with it. I have even toyed with the idea of taking some lidded boxes to work and threading them on the metal lathe. A method of mounting them centered would have to be worked out first. One of those things on the to do list.

Regards
john

[RETIRED]

Hughie & Al,
Thanks for the info. I have considered thread cutting but my instincts tell me I am not up to it yet. That push in job looks better than sliding along the rest but at my lathes lowest speed I would not be confident of getting away with it. I have even toyed with the idea of taking some lidded boxes to work and threading them on the metal lathe. A method of mounting them centered would have to be worked out first. One of those things on the to do list.

Regards
johnMake up a false spindle the same thread as your lathe and hold it in a 3 jaw chuck. Voila!! a metal turning wood lathe or maybe a woodturning meatl lathe.:D