Thread: Wooden screws and nuts - assistance?

This would probably be the most visible place to ask. What are you after?

Ive used this thread cutter with great success.. made shelving for my parents.. 1.jpg2.jpg

Just make sure you test the timber first.. some dowels I've used did not thread well .. most likely due to grain of the dowel.. where when thread is cut, it crumbled big time... fortunately for me only two or three dowels did not go well...
size of shelving 2400mm height x 1500mm wide x 400mm deep..

There are a couple of recent issues of Australian wood review where Ian Wilkie has excellent articles on cutting the male and female threads in timber.

I could prolly dig out the issue numbers but I'm pretty sure you would find them if you look.

Cheers
Bevan

I suspect you are talking at cross-purposes, prle77 & Enfield guy. The 'nut' on a guitar doesn't involve any sort of threading, other than threading the strings over it....

If it did, I'd be happy to help.....
Cheers,

Originally Posted by elanjacobs

This would probably be the most visible place to ask. What are you after?

Apologies for the delay - gallstone attacks are rude buggers with no manners.

I'm after, say, one metre of threaded rod of approx 25 mm to 30 mm (external) diameter, and its sister "nut", length in the vicinity of 600 mm, with an external size adequate (maybe 75 mm square?...) - enough surface area on its bum to adhere it to a wooden panel running perpendicular to its length. These lengths will be cut down to, say, 150 mm or so, and mounted inside a (guitar) speaker box, and the threaded part will "wind out" from the internal sides of the box to directly couple the magnet of the speaker to the box, hopefully causing the whole thing to resonate like crazy; the opposite of "normal" practice, which seeks to isolate the speaker from the box.

Though my woodworking skills are OK, this is not something I want to attempt.

Any takers, or advise on where I might get it done? I'm in Vermont, Victoria.

Cheers!
Bob.

Ok, as usual, I jumped to the wrong conclusion! I saw "guitar" & "Nut" and thought you were talking about something entirely different! I now have a better idea what you want, but not absolutely sure. My reading is that you want about a metre of screw thread that you are going to cut into approx 150mm lengths, and a 600mm long "nut" that you also wish to cut into shorter lengths.

The screw is straightforward, although it would be easier to make in a couple of shorter lengths if it's to be turned rather than made with a dowel-making machine. Bought dowel would probably do the job in your case - it doesn't have to be pretty, since I'm assuming it will be well out of sight. Dowel is often slightly undersize, but that won't matter much in this application, wooden screws are better slightly loose than over-tight. Depending on the wood you choose, the thread can be done either with a 'traditional' thread-box or by using a router jig. Both methods can be used to thread any length of dowel you choose.

The nut part is something else. From your description, I gather you envisage starting with something 75mm square and 600mm long? This implies tapping it along the grain. I don't have the gear to tap a hole that long (I doubt anyone does) but even if I could, I would not advise doing it that way. Threads tapped along the grain crumble badly and are quite weak. If you want strong, durable threads, you need to tap across the grain. You can chase quite good threads into end-grain with a thread-chaser, turners do it routinely, but this method is only practical over short distances, usually less than 20mm, and such threads are still weak compared with threads made cross-grain. So my advise is, figure out exactly how many nuts you'll actually need and make the blanks so they can be tapped across the grain. Most taps of 25mm or more diameter should be able to tap to about 100mm deep.

Cheers,

This is great information! Thank you!

OK - the first thing I'll do (after home stuff this morning......) is to work out the lengths of each (screw and thread) that my little project requires.

It's still beyond my meagre hacking skills, but I'll get to that later........

Cheers!
Bob.

Originally Posted by IanW

Ok, as usual, I jumped to the wrong conclusion! I saw "guitar" & "Nut" and thought you were talking about something entirely different! I now have a better idea what you want, but not absolutely sure. My reading is that you want about a metre of screw thread that you are going to cut into approx 150mm lengths, and a 600mm long "nut" that you also wish to cut into shorter lengths.

The screw is straightforward, although it would be easier to make in a couple of shorter lengths if it's to be turned rather than made with a dowel-making machine. Bought dowel would probably do the job in your case - it doesn't have to be pretty, since I'm assuming it will be well out of sight. Dowel is often slightly undersize, but that won't matter much in this application, wooden screws are better slightly loose than over-tight. Depending on the wood you choose, the thread can be done either with a 'traditional' thread-box or by using a router jig. Both methods can be used to thread any length of dowel you choose.

The nut part is something else. From your description, I gather you envisage starting with something 75mm square and 600mm long? This implies tapping it along the grain. I don't have the gear to tap a hole that long (I doubt anyone does) but even if I could, I would not advise doing it that way. Threads tapped along the grain crumble badly and are quite weak. If you want strong, durable threads, you need to tap across the grain. You can chase quite good threads into end-grain with a thread-chaser, turners do it routinely, but this method is only practical over short distances, usually less than 20mm, and such threads are still weak compared with threads made cross-grain. So my advise is, figure out exactly how many nuts you'll actually need and make the blanks so they can be tapped across the grain. Most taps of 25mm or more diameter should be able to tap to about 100mm deep.

Cheers,

The AWR #92 & 93 has two excellent articles for making threaded rods and nuts. As Enfield Guy said, Wilkie did an excellent job showing how it's done.

It is something I've been keen on doing for ages for quite a few jobs.

If you don't get a bite or not luck yourself, consider dropping me an IM. I'd love to make a few and this would give me the impetus to do something new

Carbatec have Wood Thread Box sets up to 1.5 inches diameter.
wood thread box Search Results

No idea how good they are.


Cheers

Graeme

Originally Posted by GraemeCook

Carbatec have Wood Thread Box sets up to 1.5 inches diameter.......
.............No idea how good they are.......

Graeme, I've had a go with one only, a 3/4" job, and it did the job. However, you have to be a lot more selective with your wood when using the traditional threadbox, many of the woods I like to use for threading don't respond well to the V-cutter system they use. When the cutter dulls, which happens very quickly in most of our siliceous hard woods, it starts chewing up your dowel rather than cutting threads. But if you stick to woods that cut easily, they can produce very acceptable results.

The taps they include with these sets are ok, but only just ok, imo. The threading section is very short & they tend to wander in the hole because they have nothing to help keep them straight. I had a friend with a large metal lathe make some much better examples for me. Compare the custom job (rear) with the tap that comes with a 1 inch threadbox: 1 inch.jpg The pilot extension on the home-made tap is longer than necessary, but it sure works well and since I almost never tap stopped holes, it's perfect for my needs.

If you only want to make a few things with wooden threads, a set like Carbatec's is probably your best bet, but if you ever get serious about threading wood using a router is a better (imo) alternative for threading wooden screws. (Warning: it can be a bit addictive! ): 6 Clamps done.jpg

A threading jig requires nothing more than a couple of bits of scrap wood & is simple to make, and with a carbide cutter, you can produce miles of thread very quickly & easily. You don't have to spend $30 for a carbide bit, an old 1/4" HSS drill bit can easily be ground into a serviceable cutter, which will cut a moderate length of thread between sharpenings if the wood isn't too siliceous. This video shows a threading jig in action cutting a very large screw, but the same principle works just as well with smaller diameter screws.

If you have good self-control, you should be able to stop after making the few screws you think you need......

Cheers,

Outstanding videos!

That bench!

Originally Posted by woodPixel

...That bench!....

I guess you mean the one I'm using in the demo, wP? That's my new "portable" bench, the story of which was written up here. It was conceived as a bench-top bench but it took a bit of a left turn during the early construction phase & ended up as something quite different from the original concept. It was a serendipitous turn, as it turned out. I'm really pleased with the final result. It sits beside my main bench, with the "moxon" vise side facing out, most of the time. Apart from making it just right for sawing dovetails at, the extra height compared with my main bench makes it a better place to work at when something needs to be a little closer to the looking-gear....

Cheers,

I watched the second video, which was MUCH better than the original (first part, at the show) and was watching what you were doing.

My eyes kept being drawn to the bench and how damned LUSTEROUS it was.... Better than my dining table

So, in a fit of jealousy I'm outside having a plunger coffee studying the articles in the two magazines to gleen any tricks I can for making the nuts. What is a shame is its pretty obvious that you had lots to say and the articles feel edited down to fit their proscribed space. These mags become reference material for me (and others?) and another page or two surely wouldn't kill them.

On the back burner was a nice big bench to replace the current Festool fold up... And with that was a big screw vice for the front and side. Seeing this request (sorry to hicjack!!) has made my "just do it" itch crank up a thousand percent....

Oh, some fat 50mm screws!!!

hi graeme that box cutter is exactly what i've suggested.. Used it to make that shelf (see images above) basically threaded dowel and threaded nuts to hold the shelf... so shelves are adjustable by winding nuts up / down...

wood thread box works fine.. although adjusting the knife is a bit fiddly..