How to modify a veneer press screw for removable handles

[John Coloccia]

I ran into a problem today where I was making a gluing fixture with veneer press screws, but the handles ended up too close together. I finally decided to simply make the handles removable. You would think this is a straight forward task, and it is, but it took a good number of minutes of thinking about it, and then some experimenting to figure out what the easiest way to do this is.

So here's my simple way of doing it. Maybe it will help someone else.

[John Lifer]

Don't know if I'd say this was simple OR easy. I think I'd say vacuum veneer press, but you did get them off.

[John Coloccia]

I almost did. I wasn't satisfied that it would work well enough for what I need for one particular body style. For that style, I need to get a lot of force concentrated in a very small area, and a press screw fits the bill here.

[Floyd Mah]

Several things came to mind while watching your video.
1. Use an angle grinder to remove the peen-over of the end of the screw. It's a more efficient tool than the woodworking tool for this type of work.
2. Heat the handle if you intend to reposition it over the end of the screw. That will expand it so that it will fit tightly.
3. Alternatively, if you intend to use one of the handles to tighten the screws, file the cavity so that the fit is less tight so that you can slip it on and off without force.
4. If you intend to use the handle to tighten the screw, you can still run into the problem of the screws being too densely packed to operate the handle. If you can weld, make an extension with one of the handles, using a socket extension on the other end to allow you to use a ratchet handle, torque wrench or power tool to advance the screw.
5. Since veneer press screws are not cheap (which is why I haven't gotten around to purchasing a set), why destroy $200 or more worth of veneer press screws to get the acme threaded screw? I would go to a site like www.use-enco.com and buy some acme threaded rods and nuts and use them to make a dedicated fixture at half or less the cost. You can fit two acme nuts on the end to use for turning the screws.
6. Maybe consider a cam-action clamp for setting the press. You can still incorporate a screw for augmenting the final force.
And, wow, that video was way too long to just say that "I ground the end of the screw off to remove the handle", although I would have to say that the use of power chisel was inspired (I have to remember that one).

[John Coloccia]

Hi, Floyd. I didn't destroy anything at all. The handles slip on and off and function perfectly. If anything, I improved them and it makes me think that a truly good press screw should have a removable handle, possibly attached by a bolt if you really need a securely attached handle for some reason (say, the screw is mounted upside down). The length of the handles is 3", so I now only need 3" of clearance minus half the width of one screw. There's no danger of interference if you don't put them close enough to interfere. With the handles removed, you could always just use a wrench to turn them too, so technically it's impossible to put them too close, now.

I do most of my videos in real-time to show the actual process with no tricks and no hand waving. For example, one of the problems I had was that I had to be careful not to let my air hammer tip go too far into the handle. The only one I had that would work is sharply tapered and I needed all the help I could get keeping the tip from getting jammed in the handle. Leaving the end of the screw intact, as opposed to simply grinding it all off, gives me badly needed extra length so the tip doesn't need to go in as far. Will it work with screw ground flush? I don't know. I don't think so, actually. It will certainly cause other problems, at any rate. I suppose you could just use the edge to try and just grind off the peening. Either way, my experience with higher torque tools like that (and tools like die grinders, which would have been my choice because I happen to have several laying around) is that my clamping arrangement was not secure enough to be safe. In addition, the video also shows the clamping arrangments I used, including the idea of pounding it through a dog hole in my bench. Not only does that arrangement work well, but the wooden blocks serve a dual purpose. They not only stabilize the handle and protect the bench, but because I clamp it before I whack it, the wooden blocks catch the screw so it doesn't come shooting out. Maybe it's a long video for such a trivial task, but what seems obvious now in restrospect is not always so obvious when you actually have to do it for real. I think it's far more useful just to show the entire process, warts and all, so there's no mystery for anyone that actually wants to attempt this.

Personally, I wish more people would post videos of actual working, including setup, mistakes and all that other boring stuff. I think it's exactly that kind of experience that you miss when you simply read from books or watch woodworking magic tricks as opposed to doing an actual apprenticeship. You miss the actual "working" part. Here's some wood...I'm going to drill these holes, cut to that line, and Abaracadabra (or Badda Bing, Badda Boom if you grew up near me) here's what it looks like after I scratched my head for another hour figuring out how to transfer the angle and line up my drill press, screwed up 5 test pieces before deciding to cut inside the line and then pare/file/sand, cut myself, and then cleaned up all the evidence. LOL.

But yeah, I could have just said, "You can make the press screw handles removable"

[Chris Tsutsui]

Nice, I laughed when you said you are doing this video in real time.

I watched the video even though I didn't know what a veneer press was... As long as you have commentary to keep viewers entertained, then I don't really care if I'm going to need to modify a screw or not... heh

I watched it because you have forum rep and it didn't dissapoint. It's refreshing to see a video every now and then from forum regulars. Thanks

[Chris Padilla]

I will chuckle, John, if I see a WTB ad in the classifieds asking for spare veneer press handles because you misplaced yours although I guess you can lose up to 4 and still be okay.

[John Coloccia]

I will chuckle, John, if I see a WTB ad in the classifieds asking for spare veneer press handles because you misplaced yours although I guess you can lose up to 4 and still be okay.

I've actually been looking for a source for the nut anchors. I have another press I want to make and I'd like to just reuse these screws.

[Peter Quinn]

Nice solution John. I see a man who needs a bridgeport for christmas! Perhaps the next step is to tap a thread to put in a set screw to hold on the handles for situations where that might work better, then go into production......I'll take 6!

[John Coloccia]

I actually almost did bring in a mill some time ago, but it just never happened. I wouldn't have room for one now. You might be surprised, though. Clamping this on a mill and maching it wouldn't be all that straight forward. How do you clamp something that's a foot tall but only 3/4" wide? How do you keep from destroying the threads? If you had a deep vice, you could clamp it sideways but the handle extends past the top of the screw on both sides, so now you need to angle the head just to get access.

This is interesting, actually. How WOULD you work with something like this in a mill? I'm sorry, Peter...I don't mean to put you on the spot or pick on you. I come from an engineering background, but I've always been a "get your hands dirty" engineer, so I'm always thinking about the details of going from a great idea into actually making it work, and I'm just fascinated at just how difficult it can be to work out the "trivial" details sometimes.

Anyhow, for all you machinists out there if you really wanted to mill this thing, how would you do it? Specifically, how would you clamp it? Maybe there's some fancy vice out there I'm not familiar with, or some technique I don't know...either way, I'll learn something.

[Peter Quinn]

In the millwork shop I'm at we have one gentleman that was a machinist for years, he always seems to find a way to get oddly shaped items clamped up. Fences, hold downs, wierd machine mods of all kinds are required. I'm convinced there is almost nothing that can't be secured to a bridgeport table. He has some metal working screw clamps, sort of like the wooden ones with two handles, but far more precise, and made of metal. For this though a good maple twin screw clamp might also work given how small the cut is. I've used these to clamp a tall object hanging off the end of the X-Y table, you clamp the clamp to the table with the sort of bridgeport equivalent of bench hold fasts, but they bolt into the ways, you clamp the press screw in the clamp, you take of the whole top of the peen and perhaps a bit of the handle too. I think you could grab the square shoulder at the bottom of the handle, or if not maybe use v-blocks and some neoprene sheet to protect the threads. I'm also thinking it might be possible to run the threaded part horizontal, using the twin screw clamp to grab the handle and the table vise to hold the clamp, and sweep the peen off moving front to back/left to right with a long mill, or maybe up and down with something like a slot cutter or key way cutter? There are also blocks that fit into the vise to grab round objects, so that or even a set of wooden clamping blocks, like two strips of maple with a core box slot up the middle could work. The real tricky question is how did they make the first lathe without a bridgeport, and how did they make the first bridgeport without a lathe?

I've always wanted to have an old bridgeport out in my garage, and this summer I'll be knocking the old garage down, maybe I can fit one in the new one. I know I sure can't get one into my basement. I hate rushing odd projects through at work during lunch. They sure are fun to play with!

[Wes Grass]

Mill? Like to trim the peened area off? Lay it down across the vise and mill it off. Could partially drill and tap before milling while you're at it. Holding the bare handle would be trickier, but not too much trouble if there's enough of them to justify the effort.

ACME taps are expensive, so making the 'nuts' probably wouldn't be cost effective unless you're gonna do hundreds. So I'd do as suggested earlier and buy ACME shaft and nuts. Weld a nut at the end of each shaft, and weld a nut to a flat plate with a couple holes drilled in it. If you're not putting a ton of torque on these to begin with, plain old V thread shaft would be fine too. ACME is better under load because it doesn't bind up from the thread angle creating a wedge.

[Floyd Mah]

A slot cutter would work well. Just clamp the screw to some V blocks and use the slot cutter to shave off the small amount of peened metal. If you keep the crank handle on the bottom, you can cut two of the sides with one setup and then rotate 90 degrees and cut the other two sides.

To keep the handle from falling off the screw, drill and tap a hole for a screw in the handle since the cast iron is soft and easily threaded. Drill a matching hole in the acme screw, slightly larger than the O.D. of the screw. You only need to prevent the handle from falling off, so only the hole in the handle needs threading.

As for the acme nuts to allow you to use the screws in another application, you could weld some acme-threaded nuts to some of the metal plates used with earthquake anchoring. Drill a few holes for attaching screws and you would have extra nut anchors. Just thread a bolt onto the nut to hold it square to the plate before you do the welding. I wouldn't pop the end of the screw through the dog holes since you might burn the bench while welding.

In fact, I made room for a mill in the space under my garage by cementing the unfinished space with the help of my wife. 100+ bags of cement! Thank goodness HF had a small cement mixer on sale. My garage had gotten so crowded before then that I had to go outside to change my mind.

[John Coloccia]

I hadn't thought of V blocks. I would normally try to avoid that with threads for fear of messing them up, but with acme threads it would be fine.

[Floyd Mah]

A way to clamp screws with threads that are standard, i.e. "V" shaped, is to axially slit a nut that fits the screw with a saw, thread the screw in and then clamp the nut in a metal vise. The screw will be clamped by the sides of the nut without damage to the threads.