Thread Chasing with Hawaiian Woods

[Emiliano Achaval]

After 2 days of practicing, I was able to successfully turn a small threaded box. I got a set of 16 TPI chasers... I finally figured it out. With my video set up, my friend Adam Luna was guiding me from Denver Co. Almost like having him sitting on my shoulder, instant feedback, what a great way to learn, and teach. My investment in the computer, software and cameras its definitely paying off...
I'm using Lychee. The tree was huge, very old. I had it for about 12 years in my wood pile. It is obviously very dry now...
Never used it because it is kind of unstable for bowl turning, had several cracked. So, I cut some pieces for boxes.
I will not go out and buy wood, so I wont be turning any of the traditional woods for chasing, Box wood, Lignum Vitae, etc. Next I will try Koa'ia, a denser type of Koa... Then, I have some dry Mesquite... Anybody does thread chasing with woods that you can find in Hawaii? I'm guessing Koa might not be dense enough, but I will try....
A turner from Uruguay suggested I try Waiawi, also known as strawberry Guava. Is it worth trying it? Is it dense enough? I haven't had this much fun at the lathe in a while!!

 

[Bill Boehme]

That sounds fantastic. I just read your thread on WoW and could feel your enthusiasm. I bought a set of Sorby thread chasers that included the gauging tool and video over a year ago and so far I haven't done much besides watching the video and thinking that I'll try it when I get a "round tuit". Now my interest has been rekindled and maybe I'll practice this weekend on some PVC before graduating to real wood.

 

[Emiliano Achaval]

That sounds fantastic. I just read your thread on WoW and could feel your enthusiasm. I bought a set of Sorby thread chasers that included the gauging tool and video over a year ago and so far I haven't done much besides watching the video and thinking that I'll try it when I get a "round tuit". Now my interest has been rekindled and maybe I'll practice this weekend on some PVC before graduating to real wood.

Its a lot of fun! To the point of addiction, haha. Once I realized that it wasn't as easy as Allen Batty makes it look, I decided to just practice, and if a box came along, the better... That made my level of frustration go down a few notches. And then, magic happened!! The 2 threads matched perfectly... Give it a try!! Aloha from Maui

 

[hockenbery]

Thread chasing is one of those things that give instant reward when you get it.

I had the good fortune to get a class from Alan Batty in an AAW trade show.
Three or four of us were standing next to Allen for about 20 minutes.
Enough time for Alan to turn several sets of threads.

Alan's tips that lead to success.....
Speed - slow the lathe until you can see the threads on the spindle.
Chamfer the leading edge of where you will strike the thread
Be sure to have a place to come out of the thread so you can disengage the thread cutting.
Strike the first thread on the chamfer using the 2nd or 3rd tooth of the chaser.
With each strike work more to parallel with the work piece with the leading tooth coming out of the wood further down the thread until the full thread is struck.

Amazingly when I got home I cut threads in my first practice piece and had matching threads that worked on the second piece.

I have a piece of lychee lying around somewhere a threaded box may be in its future.

 

[john lucas]

Emiliano Did you see my last thread on WOW. I played with putting a negative rake on my chasers like you mentioned that Alan does and it does seem to improve the cut. I think for new turners it might also be more forgiving. Can't answer your questions about wood. I am always trying to find wood that works because most of what I have available around here in Tennessee are too soft. The Osage Orange would seem to be hard enough and some of it is but there must be a difference in trees because some will take really clean threads or work well with my spiralling tool, others just seem to chip at the points of the thread. So I buy exotics from BigMonk lumber and use whatever Pete tells me others are using.

 

[Emiliano Achaval]

Emiliano Did you see my last thread on WOW. I played with putting a negative rake on my chasers like you mentioned that Alan does and it does seem to improve the cut. I think for new turners it might also be more forgiving. Can't answer your questions about wood. I am always trying to find wood that works because most of what I have available around here in Tennessee are too soft. The Osage Orange would seem to be hard enough and some of it is but there must be a difference in trees because some will take really clean threads or work well with my spiralling tool, others just seem to chip at the points of the thread. So I buy exotics from BigMonk lumber and use whatever Pete tells me others are using.

I did read it. The thread chasing title caught my attention... Interesting idea... Happy new year!!

 

[Emiliano Achaval]

Thread chasing is one of those things that give instant reward when you get it.

I had the good fortune to get a class from Alan Batty in an AAW trade show.
Three or four of us were standing next to Allen for about 20 minutes.
Enough time for Alan to turn several sets of threads.

Alan's tips that lead to success.....
Speed - slow the lathe until you can see the threads on the spindle.
Chamfer the leading edge of where you will strike the thread
Be sure to have a place to come out of the thread so you can disengage the thread cutting.
Strike the first thread on the chamfer using the 2nd or 3rd tooth of the chaser.
With each strike work more to parallel with the work piece with the leading tooth coming out of the wood further down the thread until the full thread is struck.

Amazingly when I got home I cut threads in my first practice piece and had matching threads that worked on the second piece.

I have a piece of lychee lying around somewhere a threaded box may be in its future.

Thank you for your time! Happy new year!

 

[AlanZ]

Emiliano, you are really embracing the video technology.
Real time one-on-one tutorials (virtual handholding) allows people to work together, regardless of geographic location.

Sometimes all it takes is for someone else to look at what you are doing, and suggest minor tweaks.

With real time two way communication programs like Zoom, Skype, Google Hangouts, and FaceTime it's like a video phone call.

Showing live video (one way) to large audiences is easy with Facebook Live and YouTube Live

Happy NewYear
Stay connected, and turn safely.

 

[Emiliano Achaval]

Emiliano, you are really embracing the video technology.
Real time one-on-one tutorials (virtual handholding) allows people to work together, regardless of geographic location.

Sometimes all it takes is for someone else to look at what you are doing, and suggest minor tweaks.

With real time two way communication programs like Zoom, Skype, Google Hangouts, and FaceTime it's like a video phone call.

Showing live video (one way) to large audiences is easy with Facebook Live and YouTube Live

Happy NewYear
Stay connected, and turn safely.

If i didn't have my video equipment, and the software, i would still be trying to do threads.... I think thats a great name "Virtual Handholding" Thats exactly what it was!! Did another box today, next its some eccentric pendants... Aloha!

 

[Dean Center]

Emiliano, from my limited experience with Koa, I don't think it has the qualities that will produce good threads. Of your available woods, Milo seems like it might have a chance. And Kou, if you have a time machine.

 

[Emiliano Achaval]

Emiliano, from my limited experience with Koa, I don't think it has the qualities that will produce good threads. Of your available woods, Milo seems like it might have a chance. And Kou, if you have a time machine.

A friend here told me to try Milo.... I have some, but... It's one of the softest woods ever. Maybe its dense... It cuts like butter, compared to Koa. Koa seems much harder, and beginners have a hard time cutting the end grain clean... Yesterday, I tried Ohia. Ohia is very heavy, and hard. But, not dense enough. Threads were crumbling, I was only getting dust. Today I tried Koa'ia, a much denser Koa. Made some decent threads, but not as goos as the ones I can make with Lychee. With Lychee I get little ribbons, long, delicate...
I will try Milo next... Kou, interesting you mention it. I just got my very first piece ever. And the real Kou, not the Tahitian common one found on all parking lots in the islands. Kou its supposed to be softer than Koa, thats why it was the preferred wood of the ancient hawaiians. Not sure about the density. My next question is worthy of a new thread. Density and hardness... Aloha, and Happy New Year.

 

[Emiliano Achaval]

Emiliano Did you see my last thread on WOW. I played with putting a negative rake on my chasers like you mentioned that Alan does and it does seem to improve the cut. I think for new turners it might also be more forgiving. Can't answer your questions about wood. I am always trying to find wood that works because most of what I have available around here in Tennessee are too soft. The Osage Orange would seem to be hard enough and some of it is but there must be a difference in trees because some will take really clean threads or work well with my spiralling tool, others just seem to chip at the points of the thread. So I buy exotics from BigMonk lumber and use whatever Pete tells me others are using.

John, I would like to see a picture of the negative rake grind... I'm guessing you have to give the tool more angle when cutting? Hmmm Thank you and ALoha