A tap for my headstock thread

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cd

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This might no be the right place for this so mods please move it if you need to.
I want to buy a tap to match my lathe headstock 3/4" 16tpi. I have seen some good ideas for chucks and other lathe jigs in the articles section of http://woodturningonline.com and many seem to use hardwood tapped to screw direct to the headstock. I am wondering if anyone here has tried this and if anyone knows where I can buy a suitable tap preferably online

cd
 
cd,

Ian Wilkie did an article on this in #147 of GWW (May '04) and suggested Tracy Tools Ltd as a good source for taps. One suitable for your headstock was quoted at £4 + 20% to cover VAT and postage.

Cheers, Alf
 
Hi CD,

I think Mike Darlow has given a good description of the possibilities an problems of tread cutting in wood in page 129 - 186 of 'Woodturning techniques' ISBN 1 56523 148 1
He shows that cutting a thread in axially grained wood with a (metal cutting) tap gives poor results.
He suggests to convert a fastener to a woodcutting tap as a simple way to cut female threads.

It might be worth looking into Fred Holders 'Making screw threads in wood' ISBN 1 86108 195 2. Equally negative about using metal cutting taps in wood.

Hans
 
Thanks for the link Alf
I'll get in touch with tracy tools after Christmas and get one, for a fiver its got to be worth a try. :)

Hans I'd also read that sometimes its not too easy to get good threads from a metal cutting tap but I think if I choose some hard close grained wood it should be ok, anyway for the price of the tap it seems silly not to try. Besides I dont think my skills are up to hand cutting threads yet :oops:

I'll let you all know how I get on in the new year.

cd
 
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