What is the best choice for tpi for hand chasing threads?

[Jesse Tutterrow]

One of the things I want to learn this year is how to hand chase threads. I have watched Batty's and Sorby's videos on the subject. Sorby offers tool sets in 20, 16, and 10 tpi. What would each tpi be used for? Which would be the best to start with?

 

[Bill Boehme]

I would think that 16 TPI is a good one to start with.

 

[Dwight R Rutherford]

For domestic hardwoods like Maple, Ash and Walnut I think 10tpi works best as the threads are more robust than the finer tpi’s. The harder exotics like African Blackwood and Ebony take 16tpi well.

 

[john lucas]

I think 16 is good to learn on. I have chasers from 11 to 32 and 16 is probably what I grab the most.

 

[Jesse Tutterrow]

For domestic hardwoods like Maple, Ash and Walnut I think 10tpi works best as the threads are more robust than the finer tpi’s. The harder exotics like African Blackwood and Ebony take 16tpi well.

I think 16 is good to learn on. I have chasers from 11 to 32 and 16 is probably what I grab the most.

I was leaning towards 16 tpi as the middle ground, but I work with domestic hardwoods. So should I go with 10 or 16 tpi?

 

[Clifton C]

I'm not as proficient a thread turner as I'd like to be. I have 12, 20 and 16. I have better luck with the 16 but that might be because I bought it first have used it more, and maybe have more confidence in it. I can get the 20 to work, but mostly in hard, oily exotics or for domestics Bradford Pear and hard maple.
I've heard of practicing on PVC pipe or Corian. Some folks have a secret concoction they wipe on before threading, wax sometimes, I've heard of soap/alcohol
mix and even one with glycerin, mine has some toad toes and eye of newt but I'm not sure it's helping...Stack the deck in your favor, a "hard" hard wood, and practice practice practice...

 

[Mike Johnson]

I have glued rings of Corian material into several projects over the years and threaded this material when the wood was too soft to take a thread. On a threaded box you really don't see the Corian rings on the finished item with the lid attached, choosing the right color of material can accent the piece.

 

[Gary W Miller]

I recently bought Sorby 16 tpi chasers. Interestingly, I actually ordered 20 tpi because I was told that the narrower the pitch the easier it is to learn to chase. However, they sent 16 tpi so I decided to give it a go. I used Costello Boxwood ( not a true Boxwood but similar qualities). I found I could chase pretty good threads after few trys so I'm keeping them. If what I was told is true, you might find it difficult to learn using 10 tpi. Like others, I suggest going with 16 tpi.

 

[john lucas]

In theory changing the speed of the lathe would allow you to chase threads with any pitch and be fairly comfortable with it. As the pith gets courser you have to move the tool faster and withdraw it quicker if you use the same pitch for every thread. 20 tpi needs really good woods to get a clean thread. That's why I suggest 16 because it works well around 500 rpm which is as slow as many lathes go.

 

[Jesse Tutterrow]

Thanks everyone. I purchased the sorby 16 tpi set for Hartville Tools. Originally I was going to use their current promotion of 10% off but after a call to them I found that my club gets a 15% discount everyday. I got to save a little more than expected.

 

[Emiliano Achaval]

I would think that 16 TPI is a good one to start with.

I also would say 16 is a good tpi to start with...

 

[Joe Breslawski]

What a TRAIN WRECK - Maple ~ the maple just rips the thread off on one side - with the other side a nice thread!!! I've recently bought Sorby 16 tpi chasers - so will have to try a different wood.

 

[john lucas]

16 is good. The biggest problem by far whenmlearning chasing is not using good wood. Maple is not good. Most woods common to.the Continental.us are not good. Boxwood is by far the best. Blackwood and Cocobolo is good. I would have to go home and look in my books to tell you other woods. I use mostly the Baxter threader from Best wood tools precisely because it's hard to get good threading woods around here. With that threader that uses your lathe to.cut threads youncan use virtually any wood.

 

[hockenbery]

As @john lucas said. Few North American hardwoods thread well with chasing

I have had good success with dogwood and Holley

CA can Often improve the threads and keep them from breaking

 

[john lucas]

This is from Fred Holders book. Woods that are good. Lignum Vitae,Boxwood, Osage Orange,Desert Ironwood, Redheart, Black Locust, Holly and Mesquite. I might ad I use Katalox that I get from www.bigmonklumber.com. You can call Pete at Bigmonk and ask him what woods he has that people recommend for thread chasing. I have had mixed luck with hard maple but my friend Mark StLeger used it quite successfully. Mark also sells thread chasing tools. PVC and Corian are good practice materials.

 

[GRJensen]

I stabilize domestic hardwoods (maple, cherry, etc.) in Cactus Juice, then use them for threaded inserts. Once you stabilize, they take threads just fine.

 

[Glenn Lefley]

But once there stabilized they are plasticized, just like pvc. So awesome for threading.

 

[Emiliano Achaval]

I tr

I stabilize domestic hardwoods (maple, cherry, etc.) in Cactus Juice, then use them for threaded inserts. Once you stabilize, they take threads just fine.

Tried some stabilized woods, with Cactus Juice. I found them way too dusty. Was it just me, or do you find your dusty too?

 

[robo hippy]

I don't know if any one besides me has tried this, but when using my Bonnie Klein threading set up, if the wood is being difficult, rather than use CA glue, after cutting the threads about half way down, I use some walnut oil and wax on the threads. Lubing up the wood seems to help keep it from chipping. Still have to work on hand chasing some time... guess I have to get a set of tools first...

robo hippy

 

[GRJensen]

Tried some stabilized woods, with Cactus Juice. I found them way too dusty. Was it just me, or do you find your dusty too?

I use a little bee's wax on the blanks ... keeps the dust down and lubes the cutter.