Thread: Making wooden vise screws

its partly cos i have the timber, partly as they look cool. they will be 28mm thick so enough meat and should they snap, i'll find something else. to use. I have already sliced the timber Hex shaped so just need to get my entusiasm/rythm back to continue. thanks for the input.

All good Fumbler - at 28mm they should be strong enough for a wood vise. If in doubt, keep the shafts short so if someone leans on them really hard they can't put as much strain on them. The couple of handles I've busted over the years have broken where they get crimped by the edge of the metal T-piece. The softer the wood, the more it crimps & wears at these points. But I probably use my vises more than average & the failures happened after many years of use, so your handles may well last a lifetime or more...

You usually don't need to tighten a wood vise super-tight, and short bars are actually more convenient when spinning in & out quickly (I'm assuming this is not a quick-release job you are making the handles for) and . I'd prefer the bar on my main vise (above) was a bit shorter than I made it, but I didn't make that decision 'til I'd used it a bit. By that time it was too late, so it was a case of make another or get used to it. I decided on the latter...

Cheers,

Originally Posted by IanW

All good Fumbler - at 28mm they should be strong enough for a wood vise. If in doubt, keep the shafts short so if someone leans on them really hard they can't put as much strain on them. The couple of handles I've busted over the years have broken where they get crimped by the edge of the metal T-piece. The softer the wood, the more it crimps & wears at these points. But I probably use my vises more than average & the failures happened after many years of use, so your handles may well last a lifetime or more...

You usually don't need to tighten a wood vise super-tight, and short bars are actually more convenient when spinning in & out quickly (I'm assuming this is not a quick-release job you are making the handles for) and . I'd prefer the bar on my main vise (above) was a bit shorter than I made it, but I didn't make that decision 'til I'd used it a bit. By that time it was too late, so it was a case of make another or get used to it. I decided on the latter...

Cheers,

Thanks Ian, i'll keep the length in mind, and am not sure what vice they are for, my mate just said can you make these, and i said yes.

Hi all. I have just picked up a 60° router bit as my first step towards cutting some timber threads. I think I read some other info about this. Would anyone be able to put the links up here?

Hi MA, these are the threads I could find quickly. They are all started by me - I'm not blowing my own trumpet, I just seem to be the wood-thread tragic of this forum....

1. A very early thread (rather sparsely illustrated).

2. A better introduction to the topic with more pics.

3. Making the ancient style tap.

4. Making handscrews.

5. Making bar clamps.

6. Some other applications for wooden screws

That will get you started. At the risk of more blatant self-promotion, here are a couple of videos of me performing:

Tapping

- and threading.

There are other videos on the web, and possibly other heads on the forum that I didn't find, so if anyone has anything to add, go ahead. If you like, I will put all the links together as a sticky, for future reference..

Cheers,

Thanks Ian. You are to blame for encouraging many of us so I am happy to blow your trumpet instead .

I don't post often so hopefully this is OK. I Thought I might post my experience to assist others there are several threads on this threading business (sorry couldn't resist). I researched for ages on what method to use for my leg vice screws 2½" at 2 threads per inch in my future Moravian workbench (instead of my B&D workmates). I came to the conclusion that for a wooden thread this size the easiest method for me with tools I had available was as per Carter's Whitling on youtube Carter's Whittling - YouTube . He goes into a lot of detail about sizing and each stage of the process. This is very similar to the AWR article and videos on YT noted in several posts here and Ian's knowledge of course. A "thread box" this size seems only to be available from a German manufacturer great quality product but best part of AU$2k!

I did my prototype in scrap pine which I knew might chip but its a prototype to see if I could do it. The tap part was easy (used an old file for the tooth) and heat treated etc. The follower was just a piece of tin in the pine block. The thread wasn't that bad but as other comments in other posts suggest setting the 90º router bit in the correct spot to cut the thread on the screw took about a foot of practice thread. Front to back was the easiest but getting the depth just right to cut a thread that fitted the nut without binding but not too sloppy took a couple of goes.

The hardest bit for me was making long accurate dowels at 2 and 2½" diameter and cutting holes at 2" and 2½". Hole saws are not accurate enough. So forester bits it was. I tried two methods for the dowels router bits and turning spindles on the lathe. I was aiming for accuracy (which it turns out is not that necessary). The router method was OK using a jig shown by the Wood Knight on YT but still leaves slightly flat surfaces. The tricky thing on the lathe is accurately turning a spindle 2-3' long. Turns out a chair makers rest is what I needed so there is no need to keep moving the normal short rest - that will be for the production model.

Learnings -

• the dowels do not need to metal machine grade accuracy they just need to fit the holes with a few thou gap. I will do these on the lathe as I can make the spindles fit the holes with sanding. The router method still requires sanding and may not match the holes. Spinning 1" and 1¼" roundover bits are not for the faint hearted even on a cast iron router table and are fiddly to get even and accurate over that diameter (unless you have an expensive router I guess).
• 90º not 60º is right for wood I have seen a research paper somewhere (edit found and added) doing the destructive testing to confirm answers the profile questions earlier possibly.
• Getting 3"+ starting timber (straight fine grain hardwood) is also not easy so my first was laminated seems to be no problem.
• Pine did give tear out but I wasn't particularly slow or careful feeding the blank through the cutter (once it worked I was excited and just went for it!).
• I will set up entry and exit guide holes prior to the cutting rig to improve accuracy and figure out a way to evenly turn the dowel feed.
• To answer the question over on another thread I cut the nut by the push method and drew back to clear cuttings in a gap between the follower and the nut being cut.

I did this a while ago whilst I search for suitable hardwoods here in WA of this size. I can get Jarrah as they demolish old houses and the beams tend to be 3x4". Just have to get bits that are gum free and straight grain. Hopefully it doesn't chip like the pine did. My bench will be from some Tuart I've picked up at the wood show wet so has been drying for 4 years now so soon. I might have enough of the 4x4" left to turn these - denser than Jarrah and gum free. The larger pergola post jarrah will be good for the hubs. Maybe I will look for some dry Applewood from down south.

With any luck I can get this going to make a screw or two especially as American imports tend be be best part of US$130-300 (not really the issue just the achievement is satisfying). Maybe by the end of the year. Any further suggestions on timber we can source in WA for this would be great, maybe it's not that critical using the router method. Don't need great lengths just larger diameters.

Looks like you are well on your way, skywarka.

A comment on the chipping of your threads. Some pieces of wood, even those that normally thread well, will chip badly for reasons I've yet to figure out. I've never tried threading pine, so don't know what it's like, but the large rings of soft early-wood could be contributing to the chipping. I also see you are using a 90 deg. cutter which produces sharper tips on the lands that are more prone to chip (one of the reasons I prefer a 60 deg thread angle).

If the chipping persists when you move to "real" wood, there are a couple of other causes I've discovered. Number one is a dull cutter. If you have one of those "paddle" diamond files, try touching up the edges of the carbide inserts. That can make a very big difference to the quality of the cut. The other thing that can cause chipping is if the cutter is not quite in the right spot, but fore or aft by a teeny fraction. You'll still get it to cut a usable thread, but get chipping. I think it's because as the slightly-misaligned thread is forced into the first bit of thread in the jig it puts uneven side-pressure on the cutter, or something like that, but sometimes just a teeny tap to move the jig forward or back a fraction cures the problem. Usually, when everything is set up just right, I can feel it's spot-on by the way the screw feeds in nicely, with minimal resistance as the thread is cut. I've been at it for a year or two, and cut many screws, and although I can usually set up my jigs pretty quickly these days, occasionally It can be a bit frustrating getting it right, especially when I try to show someone else how easy it is.

Once I get any new jig set up & working well, I always make a short bit of thread on some scrap dowel, which I keep & use for checking the cutter is in the right position & at the right height next time I set it up. I feed the pre-made thread in til it meets the cutter, then switch on & cut a few mm of thread. I then back out & inspect the new bit of thread to check that it matches the "good" thread exactly. If the new bit of thread matches perfectly, all's well, if not, it's easy to see in which direction any corrections need to be made.

Turning the blank in at a even & steady pace definitely helps with the quality of the thread. I leave a short spigot on the end of my screw blanks, to which I attach a short crank handle: Crank.jpg

At least the "primitive" style tap is pretty foolproof, once you get these working, there is very little to go wrong...

Cheers,
Ian

Thanks for your response Ian.

All of you knowledge/experience above shows up in the two "runs" I did. In this picture the one showing the end fits the nut better after the first few turns dialling the router bit in and was my second run. It was from a 90mm square Bunnings pine DAR with coarse grain. Although it fits the nut well you can see the chipping all the way along the threads. So maybe just the wood. The other one, first run, is a little loose in the nut but chipping was much less. This first run was a laminate of two smaller sections of pine from Bunnies. So maybe grain direction helped. The glue join is just to one side of the top (diamond shapes in the grain).

Or it was the cutter, I bought a Bunnines cheapy to keep the experimental cost down and maybe it was blunted after the first run so second gave more chips. Or all of the above . When I was turning the dowel I could feel the resistance increase and decrease twice each a rotation as the end grain went past the cutter I think. I was also using my decades old small B&D ¼" router of fixed speed. There was minimal burning to speak of. Perhaps if I use my bigger router and wind the speed up for this small cutter it might help.

As you said the "nuts and bolts" still work but one looks better than the other. All fun in trying to achieve something that gives such a complicated looking satisfying result. I spent a week showing off my big screw to friends and family .

IMG_1608.jpg

Originally Posted by Fumbler

Yes, these are the ones.

ones a 1/2” and the other 3/4”

Ian, thanks, I have been commissioned by a mate for free of course to make him some vice handles, so wanted to make the handles look like a nut and bolt. I am using northern Silky oak and hope they turn out. Will post progress.

@Fumbler, how'd it go?