threading tools I made

[george wilson]

These are mostly quick and dirty threading tools I made when I needed them.

The double threading box was to make a kind of wooden caliper coopers use. they have a wooden bow,and a right and left handed threaded rod below the bowed top. This threaded rod has a handle in the middle. the caliper needs only a limited range of adjustment (and that's all it has).

The next group is of 4 taps I could lay hands on right away. The little one is a 3/8" tap I used on the embroidery frame I posted weeks ago,and may now be on page 12,unless it was saved in the FAQ section. I usually cut the threads with the metal lathe mounted with a router,which gives flawless threads for my very particular customers. The taps are made just to thread the holes.

3rd. picture is a closeup of how the taps cut. They have a hole drilled into the end of the tap,which the curl of cut wood comes out of. Then,a hole is drilled right at the end of the thread,and filed sharp enough to cut. Then,the tap is hardened. Works very well.

If I recall,these type taps were availably by 1820. I think they are the best,as you can easily keep them square when entering a hole.

The last shot is how the "V" cutting bits are mounted in the thread box. If you do not get these cutters good and sharp,slant their cutting edges forward,and get them at just the same angle,and in line with the threads in the back part of the thread box,they will frequently tear the threads off. Get them right,and beautiful results are had. I made the box out of walnut as it was handy at the time.

Once again,I need the tripod my wife took on her trip. The trouble with my small digital camera is,the button is hard to push,and always shakes the camera in closeups. No way to attach a cable.

[Barry Vabeach]

George, check the setup ( or menu or preferences or options) on your camera. Many of them allow you to set the amount of delay between when you hit the button and when the shutter opens - if you set it to 2 so 3 seconds, you can minimze the shake you get when you press the button. If you don't have that option, a less convenient option, that most cameras have is a delay of somewhere between 10 and 15 seconds - often called timer - the main use was when you put the camera on a tripod and then ran to get in the picture.

[george wilson]

I am aware of that on bigger cameras.I'll check on my little Canon powershot. Thank you. I just got this camera. I wanted a small camera I could easily carry around.

[Barry Vabeach]

George, if you have a power shot A, it mgiht be under functions, drive mode ( which shows an icon of a square box )- once you select it other options include a bunch of boxes, then a number of icons with a part of a circle with a number to indicate the delay.

[george wilson]

Barry,thanks,I got it on a 2 second delay. If I hold down the button,then let it go,it delays 2 sec. and takes the photo. I have a tremor anyway,have had for years. When I can touch work with even a small graver,I can steady up. Holding a camera in the air is another matter.Especially with that hard to push button.

[David DeCristoforo]

Hey George... Take a look at this:
http://www.kirkphoto.com/accessories.html

And here's an even easier and less expensive idea that really works:
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-...a-with-String/
Just be sure to use a string that doesn't have too much "stretch".

[David Keller NC]

"The trouble with my small digital camera is,the button is hard to push,and always shakes the camera in closeups. No way to attach a cable."

George - Apologies if this is review (i.e., you already know this), but there are several strategies for reducing camera shake. One's a tripod, of course, but there are several other ways to deal with it if you don't have one.

One's already been suggested - using the camera's timer. Another one is to increase the sensitivity of the sensor so that you can use a faster shutter speed. This, of course, used to be done with a faster film, but on a digital camera you can just set the ISO rating to a higher number. The "auto" function on the camera varies the ISO sensitivity, the shutter speed and the lenses' f-stop in what the on-board computer thinks is the best combination.

Normally, that's the lowest ISO sensitivity possible (lower numbers give less grainy images) and the highest f-stop possible (higher f-stops mean a greater depth of field - more of the background's in focus) with a shutter speed of 1/60th of a second.

However, if you manipulate the f-stop and the ISO setting, you can get a good exposure at 120th or even 240th of a second, which will completely eliminate camera shake.

You might try and ISO setting of 400 first - this is a good range that gives you an OK graininess to the image - certainly good enough for web photos, but will give you a very fast shutter speed in bright indoor light.

If that doesn't do what you want, try leaving the ISO setting at 400, and set the lens f-stop to f4 or f5.6. This opens the lens wide and gives you more light, which the camera will respond to by making the shutter speed even faster. The cost is that there's a very shallow depth of field, so the background will be blurry. That's generally not a consideration for taking images of tools, planks of wood, etc... where it just matters that the primary subject is in focus.