I’ve been reading The Workbench Book by Scott Landis. There’s a fascination section on the kinds of vises that were used before perfectly milled, metal vise screws were available.
(One screw was made by wrapping a metal cylinder with two metal rods held side by side, then the two helix-shaped rods were separated. One was soldered to the cylinder and became the threads; the other helix was soldered to a mating piece that became the nut. Clever!)
There was picture of a wooden screw, more than an inch in diameter. Landis claims that it is easy to cut a wooden vise screw with hand tools (making a matching nut is the hard part)! Then there’s the Beall Wood Threader ( http://www.bealltool.com/threader.htm ) for cutting threads on wooden dowels using a router, but it’s ‘way too expensive just to satisfy my desire to try out the technique.
Is there an inexpensive way to rout evenly spaced threads on a dowel?
Janet
Edited 1/5/2003 4:01:01 PM ET by DWREAD
Replies
Janet,
I don't know about routing threads (I never touch a router these days) but many of the catalog companies sell armstrong powered taps and dies for cutting threads in wood. Without checking I think Woodcraft and Highland Hardware carry them. The good news is that they're cheaper than a new router bit.
Alan
Hi Janet,
A thought came to mind that a router with a V cutting bit mounted over an opening in a frame could cut threads on a wood dowel. The frame would have 2 holes just slightly larger to accomodate the dowel and the spinning bit lowered to the dowel to the proper depth. The dowel is attached securely to a metal threaded rod at one end that is mated to a stationary nut attached to the frame and in alignment to the dowel inserted into the 2 holes. A crank would be nice for turning the threaded rod (and dowel). You need to find a threaded rod with the desired pitch you wish to cut on the dowel. Diameters do not have to match.
I seem to remember an old article in FW that describes the technique. Are you sure you don't want to use steel threads to make a vise? Sure last longer than wood. Machine tool catalogs list steel acme threads and nuts. Steel woodwork vise components are available from woodwork catalogs. Good luck.
Ed K.
Janet,
When I was bulding my workbench I investigated making wood screws for the vises. I figured it might be economical if I could also build regular vises too for clamping. I was advised by those at woodcraft that had done this before that special dowel material needs to be used. Specifically, boxwood is the preferred and with a tight tolerance. You can order the blanks..a little pricey..
For a workbench, I was told, a minimun of 1 1/4" was needed. The costs add up fast..and the utility as compared with a metal vise is questionable. It would look great, to be sure, but I decided the funtionality of the workbench was more important than the look value. My two cents
Truthfully, Ed, I'm sure I do want to buy a woodworking vise. The wooden screw would be an exercise.
I recall a wooden screw and nut sold in stores that carried cooking utensils. Never did figure out what it was for.
Janet
Hi again,
That wooden screw and nut probably served as a nut cracker.
A way of hand cutting a large screw would be to cut a long piece of paper,(adding machine paper?) to the width of pitch desired, and wind it around the hardwood dowel. Mind the right or left hand helix. Then with a back saw with a depth guage attached, carefully cut along the helix and start a-chiseling and a-rasping. This is how old printing press screws were made. Your Workbench book shows a way of carving the nut to fit your screw in 2 halves. Maybe a rotary carving tool with a V side cutting burr would work. It does sound like a fun challenge.
Ed K.
Hi Janet ,
The old timers used to cut a thread chaser on the side of a piece of steel, copying the threads on the mandrel of the lathe for pitch . Then having turned a hard maple dowel of the right diameter , stroke the threads on the dowel.A similar action for the the inside of the hole in the nut.Chasing threads is fun till you bash into the shoulder and strip them off. Seriously though why not buy an acme thread and nut? I have chased threads in ivory,(source antique hair brushes) Boxwood and maple with success.
Jako
Mainly, it's because making one from scratch appeals to the Luddite in me--which is an admittedly small amount. Give me modern conveniences any day! Still, many tools of yesteryear have (IMHO) an intrinsic beauty that I can't ignore....
Janet
Hi Janet
The only way I can think of to satisfy both modern convienence and the Luddite in you is to build a thread cutting jig for the router. I think there was one in FWW a while ago .However I don't remember if it covered internal threads .Otherwise, if you have either a really slow lathe or better yet, a treadle lathe and start chasing them!
Above all have fun Jako
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