Workbench #10: Making Wooden Nuts

Thanks Mr. Carter for the videos! Did you find the idea in a book or did you come up with them on your own?

-- Hand Crafted by Brett Peterson John 3:16 http://www.TheCrookedNail.blogspot.com

A friend and I did research on the internet and looked at some books to get the info we needed to make a tap. The idea for the screw making jig was mainly due to the Beall Wood Threader. I used the same concept, just made it myself and enlarged it for the size of screw I wanted.

-- And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord... Colossians 3:23

VERY cool, and VERY clever. Thanks for sharing.

-- Backer boards, stop blocks, build oversized, and never buy a hand plane--

I love the video- very informative! Keep them coming!

-- It's the best woodworking show since the invention of wood... New episodes Wednesdays at: http://www.stumpynubs.com

This is really cool. I’m fond of your voice for some reason. It’s got a soothing, craftsman sound to it. You should probably get into the TV business;)

-- My dad and I built a 65 chev pick up.I killed trannys in that thing for some reason-Hog

A clever technique very clearly explained. Thanks for that, got me thinking.
What would you (or anyone else with experience of wooden thread cutting) say is the minimum diameter for a screw made this way?
I am findeing it impossible to get my hands on left hand acme threaded rod down here for a wagon vise I am wanting to build. A 1” to 1 1/4” screw would be ideal, but is that going to thin?

Excellent video, good camera work and explaination of your processes. How did you go about laying out and cutting the groove in the ‘tap’ dowel?

Ron

-- Ron, Eugene, OR, "Curiosity is a terrible thing to waste."

Thanks for the comments. I find it a little weird talking to a camera but I might get more use to it in some time.
To answer jeth, I think a 1” screw would still be possible. Instead on 2 tpi though I would probably do 4. I am accually going to make a tap for a smaller screw in the future for bar clamps. I am not sure what size yet, but between 1”- 1 1/2”.
To answer Northwest29 I will eventually do a video on making the tap and figuring out the pitch of the screws. To lay out the lines I wrap a piece of grid paper around the dowel with the lines marked on the paper. Then I mount it on the lathe, only to hold the work, while I use a handsaw to cut the kerf for the spiral following the lines on the paper.

-- And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord... Colossians 3:23

Nice video, great idea. You are right up therre with Roy ;-))

-- "some old things are lovely, warm still with life ... of the forgotten men who made them." - D.H. Lawrence Wake Up America!! Please read; http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/01/26-0

Thanks for the complement, but thats almost Roy Underhill heresy claiming I’m close to equal with him, haha. We did look at one of Roy’s books that talk about making taps to get some of the info we needed.

-- And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord... Colossians 3:23

I saw Roy doing this on PBS. It is on the to do someday list. Glad someone proved it really works ;-))

-- "some old things are lovely, warm still with life ... of the forgotten men who made them." - D.H. Lawrence Wake Up America!! Please read; http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/01/26-0

Great video and great job on the workbench. There’s something intriguing about making a wooden screw. Keep the vidoes coming, there great.

-- Julian

Mr. Carter you are a genius, thank you for sharing your video. May I ask the angle you have set for the pitch, is it 3 degrees? we will try to replicate it in our country for our personal use amongst freinds.

-- timber715 - Manila, Philippines

I don’t know what the angle is. I used grid paper wrapped around the tap with the lines drawn on the paper. It all depend on the diameter of the tap and the number of threads per inch. I will soon this week make a blog on how to acually make a tap and screw jig, so if you wait you can see. And feel free to copy the idea, thats why I posted it here. Its not my idea anyways, its based off traditional taps.

-- And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord... Colossians 3:23

if you do have a protractor and the guide I would appreciate it can check it sooner, but all is well as I can wait for your blog if ever.
Thank you again for imparting the knowledge.

-- timber715 - Manila, Philippines