DIY screws

I was asked to make some one inch brass screws to a particular design. I've never made screws before and I was not sure that I could get them threaded properly, or to make the heads nicely rounded.

Here's the result, and the brass rod I made them from:

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get the threading die started I had to taper the end of the rod

I had trouble making the heads round so I made curved lathe tool for the job. I've never been taught how to set up a lathe or make tools but it seemed to work fine. I'll have go at anything!

Here's a screw being turned in the lathe:

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cut the slot in a power bandsaw, since I can never get them right with a hand hacksaw.

Does anyone know if dies are available to cut the thread on wood screws, i.e. a tapered thread?

Reply to
Matty F
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Very beautiful work :)

Reply to
Tim Watts

Likewise. Its gratifying to see someone can still do that!...

Reply to
tony sayer

Have Google on BSPT.

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Reply to
Nitro®

go into wood, mainly out of brass but also steel if that is possible. Large brass screws are very expensive in small quantities, and I need maybe one or half a dozen of lots of different sizes (to match those in 100 year old vehicles if you must know) After making machine screws as above, I though maybe I could buy dies that would cut a suitable thread. I could buy a screw cutting attachment for a lathe but that is very expensive. Unless I invent or make one! Hmmm there's an idea.

Reply to
Matty F

Thanks! There is not a lot of room in the workshop. My messy bench is on the right:

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Reply to
Matty F

What you want is a ball turning tool. See:

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made one for my lathe and it's great. You start going round looking for shafts that need spheres (I'm not going to say knobs!!) on the end.

Reply to
Scott M

That's very clever. The tool I made just has a quarter circle shape. Since the head of the screw is very close to the chuck jaws I have to be careful.

Reply to
Matty F

Make one.... Go on.... You know you want to :-)

A 'form tool' that's called. Can put quite a lot of strain on a small lathe but a valid way to do things all the same.

Reply to
Scott M

Thanks for that, Scott. Impressive; I must follow all the links through. Rob

Reply to
robgraham

Cutting a tapered thread can be done on a lathe, between centres with an offset tailstock (so you turn a taper). I'm pretty sure there's no die available - what diameter hole would it have? They are produced commercially by squishing (tech term there) between

2 halves of a tool.

Phil.

Reply to
Phil

My pleasure, Rob.

There's two schools of thought on making these. If the one above can be considered 'vertical' the alternative is using a boring head in the horizontal plane.

I don't have a mill (so no bore head) so I made the vertical one and two different sized arms; one for sitting on the cross slide and the other for use on the vertical slide to allow bigger diameters to be turned.

Reply to
Scott M

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8 has a drawing of a tool...

Thomas Prufer

Reply to
Thomas Prufer

Reply to
tony sayer

Stupid question time now.

What sort of lathe moves the chuck in and out and left and right, instead of the cutter?

Dave

Reply to
Dave

I was just going to say exactly the same thing! I was gobsmacked by your talent with an angle grinder :-)

Reply to
The Medway Handyman

I was wondering that, but I also wondered if he'd clamped the camera to the tool carriage (what's that really called?)

Reply to
Tim Watts

It's an illusion, watch the bed below the chuck.

Reply to
pcb1962

You want to build a Quorn:

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Reply to
pcb1962

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I've seen them in many a book and to this day I've still no idea what one does, but they don't half look good! :-)

Reply to
Scott M

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