threading dowels

[paul wiser]

need to thread dowels to make nutcrackers. need some advice on threading with a thread box. a lot of the threads tend to chip. any suggestions???? have tried using linseed oil as a lubricant.

[Keith Outten]

Your gonna lose a large number of dowels you thread with a thread box by virtue of the technique.

Your best bet is to purchase a Beal Wood Threader, your success rate will improve dramatically.

[Paul Henderson]

What kind of dowels are you using are they store bought? ie. from a borg or did you make them if so what species of wood did you use?

These two questions are important because if they are borg bought economy dowels then they tend to be made of stuff like rattan or birch or whatever the manufacturer bought on the cheap. these species tend to not thread well. This is not to say you can't do it but you will most like break more than you thread. that said fruitwoods tend to make good threaded parts apple, pear wood, even hickory works pretty good.

As far as technique it is not the same as threading metal you don't want to keep backing up your thread box it should be a complete forward motion and for lubrication you should steer away from linseed oil as I have found it can cause more binding than plain wood you might try a little paraffin wax.


All that said good luck and let us know how it turns out. :-)

[Jerome Hanby]

Beall also sells dowels for threading. I bought hard maple ones from him and they are far superior to any I've found locally.

[Jerome Hanby]

Your gonna lose a large number of dowels you thread with a thread box by virtue of the technique.

Your best bet is to purchase a Beal Wood Threader, your success rate will improve dramatically.

Do you have the Beall threader? If so I've got a question. I've considered buying one and using it as a model to refer to in building a bigger version that would turn 3" screws. Do you think that their 1 1/2" threader design would scale up to handle 3"? I think I can make a tap (using saint Roy's example).

[Robert Rozaieski]

Problem is likely the dowels. I've threaded several, very successfully with the threadbox kit from Woodcraft. The main thing you need to ensure is that your dowels are truly the size they are labeled. If you need to thread a 1" dowel, it needs to be 1" exactly. If it's even 1/64" over sized, it will be a tight fit in the thread box and tend to chip threads. So first make sure it is definately the right size dowel.

Second, the type of wood makes a difference. Tight grained woods like birch or maple thread better than open grained woods like oak or ash.

Also, make sure the cutter is set right and very sharp. Don't assume it came out of the box sharp enough. If the threadbox cutter isn't set at the proper depth, then the mating nut that you make with the tap will be a tight fit on the dowel and the nut could chip threads.

Finally, there is one minor design flaw to these kits. They produce threads that come to a point instead of a small flat on top. This makes the very tip of the threads kind of fragile and since it's short grain, there will inevitably be some very minor chipping to the tips that is just unavoidable. I have not noticed that it makes any difference in use, but if you look real closely at the threads you can see some very small chips and that might bother some people. If it bothers you, then these kits are not the way you want to go as it is pretty unavoidable because of the shape of the threads. I suppose you could manually knock the points of the threads off with a little sandpaper, but that would seem a lot of unnecessary work to me, at least as far as function is concerned.

[Zach Dillinger]

Do you have the Beall threader? If so I've got a question. I've considered buying one and using it as a model to refer to in building a bigger version that would turn 3" screws. Do you think that their 1 1/2" threader design would scale up to handle 3"? I think I can make a tap (using saint Roy's example).

If you can make the tap, St. Roy style, you can use the tap to make a screwbox. Episode 2407 of TWWS (available online at http://www.pbs.org/woodwrightsshop/s...son_video.html) will show you how. Making the tap is the hard part!

Good luck,

Zach

[Jerome Hanby]

If you can make the tap, St. Roy style, you can use the tap to make a screwbox. Episode 2407 of TWWS (available online at http://www.pbs.org/woodwrightsshop/s...son_video.html) will show you how. Making the tap is the hard part!

Good luck,

Zach

That's the direction I'm headed now, just always wondered how easy it would be to build a Beall style thread cutter. I've got zero desire to do it the hard way unless that's the only way .

I have 3/2" thread kit from Woodcraft, I was thinking of using it to work my way up. I could make the 3/2" "nut" and "bolt" with the bolt starting life as a 3/2" tenon on a 3" dowel. Then install my carbide v cutter on the 3" part of the dowel just above the 3/2" threaded part and use it in conjunction with the 3/2" nut to cut a 3" nut. Once I have the 3" nut, I can use it to build a threadbox to cut 3" bolts.

If I could build the Beall to handle 3" then I could skip straight to making the tap and use some flat metal pieces on the nut making jig to catch the threads on the tap.

[Keith Outten]

Do you have the Beall threader? If so I've got a question. I've considered buying one and using it as a model to refer to in building a bigger version that would turn 3" screws. Do you think that their 1 1/2" threader design would scale up to handle 3"? I think I can make a tap (using saint Roy's example).

Jerome,

I own the very first model Beal Threader, I guess I have had it for almost twenty years. I mounted a small Craftsman router on the thread cutter and today it looks like an antique compared to my other routers

I would expect that you could scale up a Beal threader, the concept of machining the threads with a router bit should be the same on larger size threads up to a point. Zach is probably right that if you can make the tap you can use it to make the threading jig.

I found out many years ago that you must have perfectly round dowels to cut threads on the Beal jig, it makes sense that this also applies to a threading box as well.

I have really enjoyed making wooden nuts and bolts for projects over the years. I wish I had more time to make more, I have been wanting to make a U bolt for a long time. BTW if your going to make wooden nuts you should also make your own open end wrenches I made the one in the picture from ash and the walnut nut and bolt was made from a tree that grew smack dab in the middle of Williamsburg Virginia. When they cut the tree and counted the rings it was determined that it was planted about 1776. I purchased the lumber from Richardson's Mill in Williamsburg a long time ago and I saved all of the lumber for making special nuts and bolts for my friends. The next one I make I intend to laser engrave the ANSI markings on the bolt head.
.

[Jerome Hanby]

The wooden wrench looks really cool!. I kept using the word nut because it was easier than typing "the fixed position wooden thingy on the vise that has a tapped hole that the threaded shaft screws into".

I might make some smaller threads for clamps if I happen to have the right scrap sitting around, but my only firm threading goal is a massive set of screws for vise action.

[Jerome Hanby]

If you can make the tap, St. Roy style, you can use the tap to make a screwbox. Episode 2407 of TWWS (available online at http://www.pbs.org/woodwrightsshop/s...son_video.html) will show you how. Making the tap is the hard part!

Good luck,

Zach

I think there I also an episode that shows making the tap, but i can never find it online and my local PBS, hmmm what's the technical term, oh yea, SUCKS. I've seen the video you referenced (and I watched it again off of your link!). The tap episode doesn't seem to be available online.