Does anyone know where to find straight thread 3" ABS fittings

[Don C Davis]

I have been trying to find 3 inch sewer cleanout adapters to rob the male and female threads off of them to make threaded tops for vases/urns but I am having huge difficulty finding straight threads on them. I would love a lead/link to somewhere that has them. I have also looked into brass fittings, and I can find threaded plugs, but not female connectors to get the female threads from--so I would also welcome info on brass fittings.

Thanks for any input/advice

 

[Mike Brazeau]

If you move to Canada, you should be able to pick up at any HD or Lowes or good hardware store., All of our plumbing is ABS. PVC is used for exhaust vents for furnaces and water heaters. 3" seems rather large.

 

[Don C Davis]

Thanks Mike, but I’m not leaving Georgia

 

[William Rogers]

You can find brass here.

https://www.fromwalnuttoantlers.com/shop/20375753/brass-threaded-inserts

 

[Don C Davis]

I am aware of that fellow, I am seeking raw brass components

 

[Bill Boehme]

There are straight pipe threads, but finding what you want might be an exercise in futility. You need to look for one of the following:

• NPSC -- American Standard Straight Coupling Pipe Thread
• NPSM -- American Standard Straight Mechanical Pipe Thread
• NPSL -- American Standard Straight Locknut Pipe Thread

Here is some information from The Engineers Toolbox on straight pipe threads. You need to be aware that straight pipe threads do NOT provide a complete air/watertight seal.

Lee Valleey has 1⅝" gold plated box rings.

 

[Emiliano Achaval]

I make hand chased threaded inserts out of Boxwood or Lignum for my high-end Koa urns. Putting some plumbing PVC on someone's final resting place, hmmm... Mike Mahoney does something similar to my inserts.

 

[Rick Brantley]

Hi "that fellow" here - that's the nicest moniker I have been given in a while!.

 

[Russell Nugent]

Putting some plumbing PVC on someone's final resting place, hmmm

Works just the same and simply looks like some black threads on each piece that are completely out of view when the urn is closed for the final time.

 

[Clifton C]

If you google "brass closet spud" then hit images, you might find what you are looking for. I turn a mandrel with a slight taper, jam fit the male side to turn off as many threads as I want, then another for the female side to cut down and dress up the flange and turn the corners off the flats. No issues turning brass with regular HSS turning tools.

 

[john lucas]

For an urn you only need 2 or 3 threads so it should not matter if they are tapered. Just shorten the thread length. I have done that in years past and it works. Now I just make a threaded insert using either my Baxter threader or Chefwarekits threader.

 

[Richard Coers]

The part to find straight threads is not in the piping, but in the drain itself. A shower pan or bathtub drain has a two part drain. A flange with a gasket that slips through the hole on the inside (male threads), and another flange with internal threads from the bottom. Edit; tapered threads work just fine if you take the ends of the threads. The taper at the end provides plenty of clearance, so the lid of the urn gets tight before the threads tighten on the taper.

 

[Don C Davis]

For an urn you only need 2 or 3 threads so it should not matter if they are tapered. Just shorten the thread length. I have done that in years past and it works. Now I just make a threaded insert using either my Baxter threader or Chefwarekits threader.

Hey John, what do you turn the inserts out of, and how if I may ask?

 

[Don C Davis]

Clifton and Richard, thanks for the leads--I appreciate it- I will be researching both of those pieces of information.

 

[Don C Davis]

Clifton, do you know of a source where I could find such brass fittings with a 3 inch opening?

 

[Bill Boehme]

Clifton, do you know of a source where I could find such brass fittings with a 3 inch opening?

The largest size available is 2".

 

[Rick Brantley]

Don, go to Home Depot and open a 2" brass no-calk shower drain. The locknut becomes your female part and is approximately 3". It's called a 2" drain because that is what pipe it fits. Like I said when I began making these as part of my hobby and selling them to defray the cost of my woodturning, anyone could do this. Over the years I have wasted a lot of time, materials and money to figure out how to make rough brass plumbing parts something I could use and share with woodturners, but it was worth it. I am blessed to have met some of the kindest and most talented woodturners through the threaded brass inserts. Take care Don.

that fellow

 

[Don Wattenhofer]

Wood is hygroscopic which means I believe that it will always react to changes in moisture and I will begin to see a reduction in moisture as the heating season begins. The thought of trying to mix wood with metal or plastic, which expand with increased temperature and shrink with decreased temperature, seams like a recipe for failure especially on a 3" thread. The brass inserts that were referenced have been used by one of two members of my local club and they did not work well.
My personnel choice for threading wood is the small trim router mounted on the cross slide of my ancient Lablond lathe and I cut the threads in what ever wood I am using. The threads should be a coarse pitch ( I used 11 pitch on the urn in the profile picture to the left) and loose fit to account for dimensional changes and or out of round.
The excessive threads that someone mentioned is solved by simply removing some of the female thread such that only 1 to 1 1/5 turns are needed, which would be difficult to do in the brass.

 

[Mike Johnson]

Stabilizing the wood, would resolve the issues with expansion and contraction with environmental changes in humidity and temperature, this would also allow for better thread cutting. Eclectic E-6000 adhesive cures in a pliable bond which allows for expansion and contraction compared to other glues and epoxies that cure hard and brittle. Bonding two products with different expansion characteristics is always a concern, the larger the pieces the more movement you will see.

 

[stu senator]

.... a pliable bond which allows for expansion and contraction compared to other glues and epoxies that cure hard and brittle. Bonding two products with different expansion characteristics is always a concern, the larger the pieces the more movement you will see.

In addition to the flexible adhesive you must leave a gap between the mating surfaces to allow the different materials room for expansion or contraction and this allows the adhesive to move without exceeding it's shear strength.
Stu

 

[Don C Davis]

Thanks folks, good intel here.
Rick, I appreciate that info very much--I will check that out!

 

[Don C Davis]

Those threads are beautiful Don!!

 

[Don Jarvie]

We all need to keep in mind that sometimes it’s easier to buy something that works than try to Mickey Mouse another. Having recently completed a urn and tried to make the HD stuff work it would have been easier in the long run to buy something that will fit right.

 

[Don Wattenhofer]

Stabilizing the wood, would resolve the issues with expansion and contraction with environmental changes in humidity and temperature, this would also allow for better thread cutting. Eclectic E-6000 adhesive cures in a pliable bond which allows for expansion and contraction compared to other glues and epoxies that cure hard and brittle. Bonding two products with different expansion characteristics is always a concern, the larger the pieces the more movement you will see.

If "Stabilizing the wood" means impregnating with a a resin that would require a vacuum chamber, which to me does not seam to be a reasonable solution. The problem with environmental changes can be managed as long as you use a coarse pitch and a loose fit. The better thread cutting part of your comment I have solved using thin CA and I don't need to impregnate the entire piece. Lets say that I wanted to show off and cut threads in end grain white pine (I have done it), first I would soak the bore with CA and when that is set cut the thread to a partial depth and then resoak with CA before making the final cut. Please excuse the poor quality photo it was taken with film before I had a digital camera or a seamless back drop.
This walnut urn which I did in the mid 1990s has a nominal 2 1/4 - 8 thread with a very loose fit, I still have it and the threads have not bound up after more than 20 Minnesota weather cycles.

 

[Don Wattenhofer]

Those threads are beautiful Don!!

Thank you Don.
I would like to add that the threads on that piece were made possible using the CA technique described in my reply to Mike Johnson

 

[Matthew Ferriter]

Something like this?

https://www.homedepot.com/p/NIBCO-3...Cleanout-Adaptor-with-Plug-C4816HD3/205808372

 

[Don C Davis]

Matthew, thanks but that's tapered

 

[Matthew Ferriter]

Matthew, thanks but that's tapered

Oh right.

For almost $500 you can get a 3" tap:
https://www.victornet.com/detail/NPS-3.html

And about $400 for a 3" die:
https://www.victornet.com/detail/RD-3-8-I.html

Probably not helpful.