I was gathering material to make one myself but time, money and my lack of skill and confidence got the best of me.
I’ve watched many of those vids and if I had a good supply of material maybe I would have gone for it. I had bought some but then I realized that I had some 1-1/2” dies so I needed to get larger diameter stock, thats when I checked out what was available in the ready made dept.
I have other stuff to learn on and I am hoping the tap holders will work out as well.
For a tap holder I found it easiest to just use a morse taper jacobs chuck with the tail stock spindle/needle dialed back so it can free turn in place but is still being held centered within the taper section. For a die holder I took a chunk of aluminum pipe and cut some delrin inserts for each end: one replaceable and sized for the different diameters of dies with a grub screw to hold both in and the other side just with a 1/2 thru hole that fit over a transfer punch gripped in the same morse taper jacobs chuck (this time held solid in the quill, the holder does the rotating instead of the chuck). Not as pretty and elegant as some, but its more than adequate for the times I've needed it.
I had visions of cutting a mt2 taper and all the goodies. Just hard to get material. Shipping was as much as the metal in most cases. Must be the pandemic making me impulse spend. I made a mandrel today to do some trimming on an adjustable 2240 tube cap that I had ordered from Serbia and wouldnt fit. I use some 5/8” redi rod cut down and threaded it pressing the die with my tailstock chuck, it works but a floating holder would have been less risky. I can always make do and this was a splurge.
These were what I was talking about here. You're certainly set now with what you have ordered, but this was a pretty quick and dirty setup that had worked for me using materials that I had sitting around the shop.
Ive done a few quick and dirties, Im still working on accumulating odds and ends to work with. Thats a good example you have there
It came and seems to be well made with close tolerances but not too tight to use a split die on.
The set screws dont seem to be that great but I replaced the main insert holding one with a cap screw, it threads nicely. I cross drilled the head and pressed a piece of drill rod so I dont need the hex key.
Someone one another site mentioned a spring loaded holder so I found a spring that fits nicely but I havent tried it yet.
I rarely ever use dies. Only takes a little longer to single point and the results are worth it. Just takes a little practice to gain proficiency. I usually don't thread utilizing the back gears to run real slow as many do. I run a faster spindle speed but you gotta be on your toes on coarser threads!
There are no dies for this particular thread anyway.
Acme threads. I think it takes three separate dies to accomplish this thread. Imagine trying to force a die cutting that thread in 1 pass. Left hand thread. Had to use back gear for sure. Notice the tool bit is on the back side. An Acme form bit I ground by hand. I calculated the thread depth and cut to that number. It fit perfect first try. Only .002 backlash, it's a feed screw with a dial having .001 increments. For a lathe tailstock.
A carriage lock bolt I made for my one of my lathes and then case hardened. 5/16-18 it only takes a few passes.
Sight adjustment screw with proprietary thread on a BSA #22 sight. For a prewar BSA rifle
In my dreams, lol.
X2!
Once I tried to single point a 10mm thread and all was going well till the previous cut was missed when engaging the leade screw and the work was messed up. One of the issues with my Chinese bench top lathe is that the slowest spindle speed is too fast for disconnecting the leade screw at the right time at 150rpm. LOL...a die is a lot more predictable! ?
C'mon, It's not really that hard. ?
Just get some practice with it. If you have trouble PM me. I'll try to help.
If you're worried about crashing it do a left hand thread for your first time.
You can do it too ?
BTW I usually do 3/8 inch and under at over 200 rpm. Lowest speed before using back gears on a South Bend 9 is 235 rpm. You have to concentrate.
I used my tap and die holder tonight and the addition of the spring seems to be a keeper. It worked well to keep pressure on while tapping, like an extra hand.
C'mon, It's not really that hard. ?
Just get some practice with it. If you have trouble PM me. I'll try to help.
If you're worried about crashing it do a left hand thread for your first time.
You can do it too ?
BTW I usually do 3/8 inch and under at over 200 rpm. Lowest speed before using back gears on a South Bend 9 is 235 rpm. You have to concentrate.
Yup cutting threads really is a skill you should really want to learn and practice. It is one of the most useful and rewarding skills that you can utilize on your lathe.
For instance if you ever wish to thread the end of a barrel,,,,, you will never get a die to cut perfectly concentric threads in alignment with the bore.
Like most things,,, You will learn and practice it when you want to learn it. Perhaps you just dont know that you want to do it yet. LoL!
I found a good solution was to place the tool upside down in the holder, run the lathe in reverse, start threading from chuck to end of work, keep the half nut engaged when reversing by hand, advance the tool another .005 and restart the lathe to take an additional pass. No issue with "missing the number" or crashing the chuck at all since the tool is being reversed back to the start point by hand.
