Thread die-holder

[Orjan72]

Hi all,
I just made myself a Die holder to go in my drill chuck (tailstock). I was my first effort at true dimensions in steel. It turns out all it took was; quit being a sissy and give the carbide insert something to chew. I did 1mm cuts and voila, good chips, nice finish and no vibrations. Only one thing I did not think of: when boring to true dimension I probably should have waited for the piece to cool down. I got a 0,10 mm play after it cooled down.

The holder itself was made from the top of my head, thinking of some designs I've seen on this site. I filed a flat for a grub screw and will drill and tap in my mates pillar drill. (I have no 4 jaw for this lathe).

All in all it was a good day in the basement ;D

Orjan

 

[don-tucker]

Don't forget to put a cone on the end of the middle screw to be able open up the die,well done to you
Don

 

[Orjan72]

My cheapo dies are not slitted and can not be opened up, is this a concern you think?
I plan to get better ones eventually ( too many things on the to-get list, funding not approved yet ), If they are more than 25mmØ I can bore out some more and make a grub screw with cone as you suggested. Am I understanding your point?

Orjan

 

[cidrontmg]

As don-tucker said, you should be able to open up a split die (with the cone-pointed screw), so the 0.1 mm play will be just about the ticket. It might even be too little ;D
Split dies are the way to go, they can be adjusted to give the screw exactly the tightness that is required for the job. Split dies usually have more than one seat for grub screws (2 to 4 plus the wedge screw). Un-split dies work, of course, but they´re better for redressing a screw that´s been damaged than really making a new thread.

 

[Orjan72]

Gotcha!

New dies are on the list.
I'm relieved about the gap/split situation, I guess my inexperience with turning steel came to the rescue there mate

Orjan