Holding threaded items for machining in the metal lathe or mill
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- čas přidán 9. 09. 2024
- Techniques to hold threaded work for machining. This can include bolts, threaded rod, or many other items such as tool parts or parts you have made. Threads can be easily damaged by the jaws of a chuck. There are various methods of protecting the threads from damage such as wrapping then in sheet metal such as aluminum, making a split bushing, split nut, or collets. Here I discuss those methods and show a thread holding collet that I made for my projects. Thank you for watching.
I like the way you worked from one "solution" to another, thinking about it, then trying another method and so forth. Your video is useful not only in learning how to hold threaded material for machining, but also a method for solving those thousand and one problems that we hobby machinists run into. Thanks for a great video. Keep up the good work.
I really like the idea of making your own chucks, casting them and machining them from Al yourself is a concept that had never occurred to me.
I was tasked with making or modifying odd bolts and screws a couple of jobs back. Previous machinists would just clamp down on the threads in a 3 jaw chuck. That isn't the way I like to do things, so I came up with a similar solution to yours. I started using hex nuts as a first step. Eventually, I made fixtures to secure what I was working on. Considering this is a hobby of yours, Well done!
That's bad ass! More critical than what I'll likely ever need, but still slick.
Thanks for the great video. I enjoyed watching the progression from one idea to the next, and you ended up with an excellent solution.
what i do when i need to machine a threaded part on a lathe is take a piece of round stock, then clamp it in the chuck. then i drill and tap a hole through the stock. this ensures that the hole is concentric to the chuck as long as you don't unclamp the stock. then i torque the threaded part in the hole. as long as you do all of the machning with the spindle rotating clockwise the part won't come loose. this also works with threaded rod. all you have to do is jam a nut against the stock. i've used this method for machining thousands of parts and it has never failed me.
This is the second time I watch this video and it is an absolute delight. Your dialog is at a different level, it is just so mentally satisfying.
Great design! I have been looking for this type of design to chuck threaded workpieces. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for the tip...being a newer user with just a mini-lathe this worked great for me to hold small spools to face cut them.
I made a threaded brass collet the last time I had to do this. I didn't think of multiple slits though. I only did one, but it worked for me.
Nice video... I'd love to see a follow-up video demonstrating on how to make the thread holding collet :)
I just did a similar project and I purchased a bolt that was not threaded the full length of the shank. I gripped the bolt at the unthreaded portion in the chuck jaws. For your example with a full thread, it can be simplified by just using an off the shelf nut and cutting it in three piece just like you did with the aluminum casting. I used a cutoff wheel in an 4" angle grinder. I use this method to chuck wood projects in my metal lathe for precise turning (don't you dare tell anyone).
Thanks for the idea, you saved me some serious time.
I love your ability to make things. Thanks for the video.
Nice technique! Thanks for sharing.
The object is to be happy! This is someones interpedation of his work. I respect that, and all of you have a great day! My problem is the best speed to use!
I use 2 nuts with a spring washer in-between. put these into the chuck.
Another way is to custom fit alloy nuts using the same way as before.
For larger-scale production, you might consider using threaded soft jaws on a chuck - that way you can open the jaws further to just slide the bolt in and out, without needing to thread it in and out each time.
With the adhesion of dissimilar metals, I'm sure that the aluminium is a great option to hold that steel rod tight.
thanks for helping my non creative brain in a split second. didn't even need the whole video hahaha
Very nice. I believe that would be a perfect, low cost, very effective method. Thank you.
Good ideas and a well thought out video. Thanks 👍😀
Thank for sharing that great idea of yours.
This is a good idea, good work!. Making the threaded collet from Al should make it grip steel parts more firmly than hard steel, will try that. I have used a similar idea for reusable split threaded steel inserts in C5 collets on my lathe. If the outside is turned and the internal thread is single pointed (not tapped) to a good fit, then concentricity and axial alignment should be close to optimal. More accurate than any method gripping the outside diameter of the thread. Its of course less work to use double nuts, a piece of thin Al or brass or other quick methods to chuck the thread if accuracy is not important. But if You need to align a long ready made thread with a say a bearing, this seems to work very well.
Brilliant solution!
Thanks for sharing, I will need to do bolt mods for a project. Great video.
Very interesting, thanks very much for sharing!
Although i find this method excessive, I concede it is technically better than my usual leather strap. The only ways i can see to improve your homemade collet is to add a flange at the forward end to use as a datum for depth and to add a lockable bolt from the rear to give a depth limit
Regards!
Great Idea, excellent approach and execution. Hats off my friend.
Good video, I like the homemade collet, that's the whole point of being a builder of whatever variety. We love to make stuff and create, I'd make a set from 8 to 3/4 maybe some metrics, when the need arises, you've got the tools.
Well done thoughtful and practical..Very good advice..
That's a very ingenious way of doing it. I work in the industry and my coworker wich is pretty good at cn Lathe (sorry I don't know all the english vocabulary for machining) told me that when machining with a threaded part he just holds it in soft clamps adjusted to the right diameter and don't squeeze it too tight. But I guess that you don't have as much clamps to spare as him ;)
Nice video, A tip: You could also saw a nut that fits the bolt in two and but them around the bolt, you can use 2+ splitted nuts to hold the bolt more firmly.
I learned something. Thanks!
Excellent, just what I needed. I decided to have all the grub screws on the dickson toolholders machined so they are flush with the top of the holder, and also brass tipped. A lot of screws to turn and bore, and short length to work with. As you say, shim stock sleeve works but it's too fiddly and twists the screw very easily. This is perfect!
Thanks for sharing. A great idea well thought through
Thanks for sharing. Great work and I look forward to watching more of your channel.
Great idea. Thank you for sharing.
You came up with a good method. Some people just wrap the threads with wire. Another approach might be to thread the inside of a round sleeve to match the bolt. Thread the bolt in until it comes out the other end just flush and weld it. After your milling is done, just grind off the weld.
Great video! Thanks for the idea.
Nice production quality of the video. Narration voice is also at good level and nicely modulated in tone. My take away from your effort is showing people how to think creatively and be resourceful. Some posts offer other good additons/solutions to the challenge at hand. Keep up the good work ! THANKS FOR SHARING !!
i've only turned down the head of a bolt once and the way I did it was I put a fixture in the chuck with a threaded hole in it then put my bolt in that with a lock nut on it. just tightening it down will leave it running out badly so I indicated it in before fully tightening and it worked just fine for me. given that I only had to do this once and I already had the fixture it seemed the best way to do it for me.
Great video, excellent idea. Bravo
nice Idea, and well thought out, keep up the good work.
I have 2 ways I use to turn threaded rod, screws or bolts. The first and most popular "go to" way to do it is just chuck up a nut in the jaws, thread in the rod or bolt but also ad a jam nut to keep it from turning. Nuts are not always made right and some are out of concentric so it is best to chuck it up lightly and spin the chuck to check alignment and then adjust a bit. Once it is running fairly true do the turning you need to do.
The 2nd way I use is to find a aluminum or steel bar large enough and chuck it up tight in the jaws. Next true the end, then drill it out and tap it for the thread size of the bolt or threaded rod you are working with. Then thread the bolt in with a jam nut and do your work. This method will assure your threaded bolt or rod runs true.
I do like the idea of slitting the rod 3 ways and thus eliminating the jam nut. I would still mark it so I could put it back in the jaws the same way it was originally when drilled and tapped. This would get you a more true running setup as most jaws are going to be .003 to .005 out and are going to be consistent so you can put that threaded Collette back in next time and get it to run more true next time. I just bought a large 14x40 lathe and the chuck seems about the same and has around .003 run out. though on this lathe I might be able to fix that.
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nice collet.
Nicely done.
Good information! THanks for sharing.
Very nice presentation....calm , informative, excellent ....I subscribed & will look forward to watching more....thank you....jm
Great idea... If you are desparate , use a self centering 4 jaw chuck... places less pressure on the thread.
Great video.
Thanks for sharing your idea!
I made pretty much the same rig only I have a 80mm chuck and there is no room to have the bolt (much less with a collet holding it) go through the small hole in the chuck. So I made a short version with the web facing out...works well.
Great video very smart
That is awesome dude thank you for the video
Oh buddy thank you very very much for the advise and explanation . I just subscribed to your channel.
thanks for the information
cool just new to lathing very helpfull thank u
Great idea.
Hinti
Nice video! I just mashed some threads on a Grade 8 bolt I was machining shorter (double sided reversed/regular thread jackscrew bolt). The alum scrape worked OK but a threaded collet seems much better.
Great job, very innovative solution.
Loved it. Great video ;)
lovely video
Very good tip. Thanks. :)
At my old job, I would typically drill and tap machinable or "emergency" collets to the correct thread size.
have you looked at a square or hex collet block/ collet holder, usually they're made for C-5's but you could get come blank collets, thread them for what ever you like and hold it in the 3 jaw. as an added benefit you could transfer the work into a mill vise and leave it in the collet holder, you could even use it for a basic angle divider, providing you needed 1/2, 1/3 or 1/6's
Index a piece of hex stock to the #1 jaw, drill and tap or single-point through, face the end, and slit the length. A plug in the far end can serve as a stop for length and the adapter will run true if indexed when reinserted in the same chuck.
Nice idea. A lot of work though. Just use an mt - er collet adaptor to fit your spindle. Or a straight shank to er if your spindle doesn't have a taper
Thanks for the great idea!!
Correct and most accurate method I find is to just machine a piece of material, drill, tap for bolt to cut, then put that in the lathe and run lathe backwards or forwards depending on the side of bolt you are facing or turning down. Done. No wrapping, guessing, or cussing.
Awesome vid, tnx for sharing this helpful idea!!!
Bravo, nice machinest tip.
I like it. Very nice. I'm a new bee too. I get a lot of info from CZcams.
Thanks for the share. Although the collet you made would work best, instead of the three jaw, if you used the chuck that accepts collets. Just need to add threads to the outside of the nice collet you made. But, if all you have is a three jaw then working with what you have makes things interesting and fun.
great work!!
Cool idea. I would have just gotten 2 nuts for the bolt I was using, and then tighten the 2nd one against the first one and chuck up the first nut.
Now that borders on pure genius. Why don't you make these for sale or send this idea over the pond for "those guys" to make them to sell to us guys. As for making one for each size bolts, hey they make collets for every size imaginable . Great idea but what do I know....Ken
Kenneth BartlettThese already exist on the market.
I've machined a hexagonal shaft so that I could use spring collets and I put the rig in a 3 jaws chuck.
Brilliant! thanks
He didn't use a nut because he was, for whatever reason, worried about concentricity. This may have been a bit of a waste of time for what it is, but hey- it's something that will repeat good, have whatever you're turning true to the pitch diameter, and was a good learning experience. What's to dislike?
Great photography there bud, and a nice little hobby idea for a batch run :) subbed :)
Time consuming to make, but rigidity is king!
nice work
good idea ty for sharing
Excellent
Why not just tighten a nut up to the bolt head (or 2 nuts against each other), then use the 3 jaw on those to turn the bolt head?
Also, if your jaws aren't centered, that offset will wreak havoc on everything you machine with them. See about how to turn them to true. It's not simple but it's well worth it.
Marking the orientation of your piece can do wonders for repeatability.
ExtantFrodo2 He explained why. Because nuts are rarely perfectly concentric. Meaning there is more material one side of the nut vs the other. Meaning the bolt would have a wobble when spinning, regardless of how true the jaws are.
Richard Smith yes true about the possible wobble.. I like the wire idea wrapping the thead best so far? ????
Great thinker, Thanks.
The next development is to turn-up a collet-shaped blank from aluminium, drill and thread it, run a slitting-saw across it front and back. You will then have full all-round grip on the thread without distortion.
Well, you know what... I like it...
Outstanding
Subscribed!
Well done video.
Holding threaded items is always an issue. Even with your home made collet, you are chucking on the major diameter of the threaded item. You will still be pretty darn close.
Rather than casting the bushing, simple bar stock of the correct size, turned true and bored then threaded will work just fine.
A collet chuck is the best for me but many times, esp when starting out, you do not have this kind of equipment. Most lathes can accept a 5C collet chuck or adapter and it is a worth wile addition when you can afford it. Even the inexpensive China made collets work well, most home shops are not working to the tight tolerance that better colllets are made to. I think the China collets I have are ground to 1/10000 ( 0.0001) which is good enough for the girls I go out with LOL!
Nice solution to a common problem :D
Thanks Great Idea.
Use a regular or a coupling nut and Crazy glue, when done heat it up and the glue will release.
Or a lock nut, but keep the lock nut outside the chuck.
Just no real aggressive cuts, keep the work from getting hot!
Nice
Thank you soooooo much
Soft jaws are an option as well but it won't hold as nice as the collet you made. My only issue with your jig is that the time it takes to make the collet like that will be kind of lengthy, wouldn't it? I can see this being practical for you, as a hobby, but me working as a machinist, this may be not so practical because it's for ones size thread and takes too long to make. I can see this practical in the shop if the shop needs to produce a mass quantity of these bolts but even then, a CNC would be more efficient. Great idea! I enjoyed watching :)
good idea. what about a longer, tapered tube and a draw bar through the lathe head?
So for every screw size (imperial or metric) that you might encounter - you will machine a holder? If you work primarily with one screw size - your idea is very good. Otherwise - just use a thin aluminum or other soft material wrapper like you demonstrated yourself in the beginning. Also is all you want is to cut off the head of the bolt with a saw - concentricity is irrelevant so you can just chuck the head itself or an extra nut threaded on the bolt you are cutting
Dude, I figured out this problem as soon as you showed the example. This video must be for absolute beginners?
Tap a peice of stock and use a jam nut
exactly.