-

T H R EA D C U T T I N G
M ET H O D S
A TREATI SE ON THE OPERATION AND U SE OF
VARIOUS TOOLS AND MA CHIN ES FOR FORMIN G
S C RE W THREAD S , IN CLU DIN G THE A P PLICA
TION OF LATHES , TA PS , D I ES STANDA RD A N D .

S PE C IAL ATTA CHMENTS , TH READ MILLIN G

MA CHINES , A N D THREAD -R
OLLIN G MA C HIN ES

F RA N KL I N D .
J O N E S
Assocun Emm a or M A C EIN ERY
A WBOI or Tw o m Bouno,
" “
P mm
o AND M mm c,
“
Hu mm m m
us M cu M ov
. .
"
mm
ETC .

F I R S T E D I TI ON

NE W Y O RK
THE IN D U S T R IA L P R ES S
LO ND O N : T HE H
MA C INE RY P U BL IS HING C C .
, LT D .
 Co m
mn e t .

BY

S
TH E IN DU T RIAL PRESS
 THE universal use of the screw thread either as a fastening de
vice or for transmitting motion fromone part of a m
,

achine to
another combined with the numerous conditions under which
it is used has led to the developm ent of m
,

any different kinds

of tools and m
,

achines for forming screw threads These tools .

vary from the hand operated tap or die t o the specialized semi
-

automatic and fully automa tic machines capable of t hreading

duplicate parts with considerable rapidity While m uch has
beenpublish ed on thread cutting practice m ost of this m
.

- aterial
h as been of a m
,

iscellaneou s character and there is evidently

need for a general treati se covering the various m
,

achines and
auxilia ry eq uipm ent u sed for this im portant branch of m achine
sh op wo rk .

The purpose of thi s treatise is not only t o describe all the

importa nt types of tool s m , achines and m
, ethod s which ha ve
been developed for producing external and internal screw threads ,

but to show the relation between the difi erent processes If

the screw thread problemw ere m erely t o determ
.

ine how to
cut a thread of the required size pitch and accuracy it w ould in
most cases be relatively sim ple but like other m
, , , ,

anufacturing
problems it is usually co m
, ,

plicated by the fact that the work m ust

be done on a commercial basis The various m ethod s of form
,

ing screw threads are fam iliar to practically all m

.

achinis ts and
machine shop foremen but comparatively few know t o what
m
,

g e neral class of work each ethod is best adapted While .it is

O ften difii cult t o decide this qu estion an understanding of the

reasons why difl erent types of threading tools and m
,

achines
'

were originated and the kind of work for w hich they are gener
ally used will at leas t sim plify the problemgr ea tly A special
efl ort has been m ade to include in thi s book all th e inform
.

ation
vi PREFA CE

possible pertaining either to the adaptability of various types

of tools and machin es or t o their relative merits as app lied t o

difierent classes of work

'

This treatise deals with difl erent standard form

.

s of screw

threads ; general thread cuttin

- g practice in engine lathes or
other machines using a singl e point tool ; the special auxiliary
-

thread cutting mechanisms and attachments applied to engine

-

lathes or other machines ; the design operation and application

, ,

of various classes of threading dies and taps ; sta ndard and special
threading m achines ; tapping machines and attachments ; the
causes of defective and inaccurate screw threads ; thread mill
ing m achines and their use; and the production of screw threads
by the rolling process It was nei ther possible nor desirable
.

t o illus trate an d descri be every difi erent design of machine or

tool used in connection wi th external and internal thread cut -

ting operations although many variations in design have been

,

featured whenever there seemed to be a good reason for so doing

The assistance of manufac turers of thread cutting equipm
.

- ent
in supplying drawings photographs and information is m
. , uch
appreciated as this coop eration has made it possible to prepare
am ore co m prehensive treatise and one of greater valu
,

e t o those
interested in this general subject .

F D J
. . .

w Y ou , J uly ,
 C O NT E N T S

C HAP TER I

T HREAD —FO R M I N G P RO C ESSES A N D CLA SS ES OF S C RE W

THREAD S
P m
m
General M ethods of For ing S crew Threads D ifierent
m m
For s of Threads and their I portant Features

CHA PTE R II

GENERAL -
THREAD C UTTI N G P RA CTI C E IN LATHE

A pplicationof Engine Lathe for S crew C utting U se of

A uto matic Th rea ding Lat he —

1 4 43

CHA PTE R III

TH READ -C UT TI N G AT TACH M ENTS

A ttach mnte s for C utting Screws L ad
of Large
or Special e

Pitch Thread chasing A ttachm

- ents of Turret Lathes — o
44 7

CHA PTE R IV

THREAD —C UTT I N G D I ES A N D T H EI R APPLI CAT ION

Types of Nouopening and Self Opening
- - or A uto mat i c

D ies C utting Speeds for Threading Dies 7 1

—
1 17

CHAP TER V

C H AS ERS —
FOR THREAD C UTT I N G D I ES A ND C HAS ER
GRI N D I N G
Hobbed a nd M illed Chasers An gle of Chaser Th roat
and
'

Efl ec t on A ction of D ie Steel for D ie Chasers 1 18 —

134

C HA PTER VI

D IFFERENT CLA S S ES OF TAP S A N D CAU SES OF ERRO RS

IN T APP ED HOL E S

D ifierent D esigns of Solid and C ollapsing Taps D iam

et er of Hole before Tappin g Speeds for Tapping 13 5 - 16
4
V II
vrli CONTENTS

CHA P TE R VII
D IE A ND TAP H OLD ERS A ND REVERS I N G CHU C KS
—

PA GES
Floati ng, Releas ing, and l ingn
No re eas
- D ieholders
-

F rictional and Reversing Tapping Chucks 1 65 - 1 86

CHAP TE R V III

TAPPIN G MA CH I NES
Tapping Machines of Horizonta l and Vertical D es igns
Nut Tappers of Semi autom
- atic and Fully A utomatic Types 187 —2 1
3

CHAPTER IX
STANDARD A ND SP E C IAL TH READ IN G MACHINES
Bolt C utters V erti cal
Threading M achines Stud
t hreading Machines equipped with M agazine Feed 2 14 -
2 26

CHAP TE R X

THREAD M ILLI NG
Milling Threads with Single and M ultiple C utters
C lasses of Work for Threa d M illing M achines —
2 2 7 24 5

C HAPTE R X I

THREAD M ILLI N G MACHINE S A ND AT TACHM ENTS

Various D esigns of
Th read M illing M achines Hobbing
Method of Thread M il ling .
—
2 46 2 7 8

CHAPTE R XII

THREAD ROLLI N G

Types Th r r lling M achines

of ead o
- A dvantages a nd
Ra ge o Th read rollin
n f -
g P rocess .

CHA PTER X III

C U TT I N G A N D G RI N D I N G P R E C I S I ON S C RE W THREAD S
m
C o pensati ng for E rrors Th read Grinding M aking
P recisionS crews for S cientific Instru ents m .
3 22 -
33 7
 T H R EA -
D C U T T IN G M ET H O D S
'

M -
AD FO RM IN G PRO C ES SES A ND C LA S SES
OF S CRE W
THREAD S

THE formation of accurate and interchangeable screw threads

o n a co mm ercial or mnuf tu ing
a ac r basis has been a diflicult
proposition in many machine hop
s s The extent of the difii
.

c ulties en countered in connection with thi s work may depend

largely upon the m eaning of that indefinite term accurate and
also upon the length of time that is allowed for the screw cutting
-

operation On m any classes of threading work the degree of

accuracy com bin ed with the speed of production dem
.

anded
makes screw cutting a troublesome operation and even when the
, ,

conditions are not unu sually severe the production of sm

,

ooth
eerrect ly form ed threads requires tools that are properly m
, ,

ade
an d app lied While som e equipm ent is incapable of producing
good screw threads regardless of the tim e that m
.

, ight be ex
p ended ( either becau se it w as poorly con s tructed to begin with
or is in bad condition) many notable improvements have been
made in screw thread form ing tools and m
,

- ethods and in this

general review of t he subj ect the m ore im
,

portant types of tools

or machines for producing scre w threads will be described .

In this book those features that have a direct bearing on the

,

accuracy of screw threads and the speed of productio n will be

consider ed as well as the relative m erits of difierent types of
'

tools or m
,

a chines and the general clas ses of work for which they

G eneral M eth ods of Forrh ing S crew Threa ds The two

general methods of form ing screw thread s m
.

ay be de fined as the
2 —
THR EA D C UT TIN G METHODS
cutting m ethod and the rolling or displacem ent m et hod Some
of the various m odifications of these t wo general m
.

ethods will
be outlined The cutting m. ethods as applied to exte rnal threa ds

1 . By taking a number uccessive cuts with a single point

of s -

tool t ha t is t rav ersed along t he part t o be th readed a t a ra t e per

revolution of the work depending upon the lead of the thread .

( C ommon method of cutt i ng s crew thre ads in the engine lathe )

By ta king succes sive cuts with a m
.

2 . ultiple point tool or

-

chaser of the type used to some extent in conj unction with the
engine lathe and on lathes of the Fox or monito r types .

3 B y u sing a too l of the die cla ss which us ual ly h a s fo ur or

more m
.
,

ultiple point cuttin

- g edges or chasers and generally fin
ishes the thread in one cut or passage of the tool .

4 B.
y a single rotating mi lling cutter which form,
s the threa d
groove as either the cutter or the work is traversed axially at a
rate depending upon the thread lead
m m m
.

5 B y a
. ultiple rotat ing illing cutter wh i ch co pl ete s a
thread in approximately one revolution of the work .

When screw threads are produced by the rolling or displace

ment m ethod there are two general processes :
,

1 By rolling t he blank in contact with a revolvable disk or

roll the periphery of which has either a single thread or a m
.

,
ul
tiple thread corresponding in pitch to the thread required .

2 By rolling the blank in contac t with flat dies having pa rall el

.

ridges which are spaced in accordance with the required pitch

and w hich formthe screw thread
Internal screw threads or those in holes m ay or m
.

ay n o t be

produced by the sam e general m

, ,

ethod that is applied to exter

nal work There are three com
. mercial me t hods of importance ,

namely :
1 By the use of a single point traversing tool in the engine
-

lathe or a m ultiple point chaser insom

.

- e cases
By m eans of a ta p which in m
.

2 . achine tapping usually fin

, ,

ishes the thread in one cut or passage of the tool

m
.

3 B y a. rotati ng milling cu tter of either the single or the u l

 CONTROLL IN G M OTION OF TOOL

Cont rolling M ot ion 0! Thread forming Tool - The general .

methods of controlling the motion of a thread forming tool

-

relative to the work for generating thread grooves of helical or

m
,

a al form vary ,
according t o the type of tool or achine
used for the screw-cutting operation C onsidering first the
.
, ,

action of the tool while cutting a thread groove there are three
general m
,

et hods of securing the necessary motion :

1 The tool holder or carriage (or the work in so m
.
- e cases) is
traversed by a l ead screw driven by gearing of such a ratio that
-

the relative m otion of the tool per revolution of the work is equal
t o t he lead of t he screw t hread required
The m
.

2 . otion is obtained by the direct action of a lead

screw w hich is not driven through gearing an
, d has a lead equal
to that requ ired on the part t o be threaded
m m
.

3 The
. tool when in the for of a tap or die a y be self -
pro

pelling or self leading the tool m

- oving each revolution a distance
,

equal to the thread lead as the result of its screwing action ,

caused by the location of the cutting teeth along a helical path .

A fter a thread cutti ng tool has completed a cut it is usually

-
,

necessary to return it to the starting point either for the pur

pose of taking another cut ( s when using a ingle point tool)
a s -

or for removing the tool fromthe work (as when withdrawing

a t ap or die from the threaded part ) This return m ovement
may be obtained by the following m
.

ethods :
1 By a hand or power traversing m
. ovem ent of the tool
carriage or holder in the direction of the axis of the work after ,

withdrawing the cutting tool or tools for clearing the screw

2 . reversing the rotation of the work or tool pindle for

By -s

backing a noncollapsing tap out of a hole or for unscrewing a

-

nonopening die fro mthe threaded part

- .

3 By runni
. n g a tap or die
,
at a slower speed than the work
while cutting the thread and then at a fas ter speed for unscrew

When a thread is being formed by the rolling process the tool ,

if of circular shape simply m

,

.
,oves at right angles to the axis of
the work for bringing the roll into contact with the part t o be
4
—
THREA D C UT TIN G METHODS

threaded and for removing it after the thread has been formed .

Int he case of fla t t hread rollin

-
g dies the blank t o be t hreaded ,

is rolled between a stationary die and a movable die having a

S election Thread o ming M et hod

of -f r of the most im .
-One

portant questions relating to the formation of screw thr eads rs

the par ticular m ethod that should be em ployed for a certain
class of work What is the m
. ost rapid method of performing
the screw cutting op eration without sacrificing the necessary
-

accuracy ? That is the question that has often puzzled shop

foremen and superintendents and one that is not answered inthe
same way by those who have studi ed the problem of screw

thread production Variations of practice in difierent shops are '

often due to the fact that the equipm

.

ent at hand is used not be

cause it is considered the best but because there is no choice
In other words the amo unt of m
.
,

, oney appropriated for new tools

is often the real reason why difl erent types of tools are used for
'

the same general classes of work While each class or type of

threading forming tool or m achine has a definite field in som
.

- e
cases these fields overlap and then judgm
,

ent experience and rec

ord s of past perform
, ,

ance mus t be utilized in deciding what

method is to be employed
A mong the im portant factors that afiec t the thread form ing
'
-

methods m ay be m entioned the diam eter of the screw pitch of

thread degree of accuracy necem nu m
,

a ry ber of parts to be
threaded location of thread material of w hich par ts are m
, ,

ade
and the relation of threading operation to other work w hich m
, , ,

ay

precede or follow it No in fl exible rule can be given as a

guide and the different factors m en tioned m ay be co m
.

bined in
various ways thus changing the problempartly or entirely
,

O ther conditions peculiar to any one job m

.
,

ay also have a decided

cfl ect on the exact m ethod of procedure This m atter of select

'

ing equip m
.

ent for the p roduction of screw threads involves not

only a study of the difi erent classes of work for w hich various
types of tools are adapted but a careful inves tigation into the
perform ance of different m akes of tools of the sa m
,

e class or type
The difierence in the quality of tools of t he sam
.

e class accounts
 SCREW T HREA D D EFIN ITION S 5

for many variations of opinion O ne m a n contends that a cer

.

tain type of tap or die is incapable of accurate work but if the

truth were known the general type m
, ,

ay be entirely satis facto ry

when properly m
,

ade or applied This is also true of thread .

forming tools of other classes In dealing with the various types

of thread form ing equipm
.

- ent the kind of work and the particular

ad vantages of each type will be enumerated in as specific a m
,

an

ner as seems practicable U nfortunately however it is n

. ot , ,

M ble t o deal with this qu estion of selecting thread -forming

tools in such a definite way that instructions may be followed to
t e letter and without the assistance of experience and judgm ent
h
In order to avoid any m
.

S crew Thr ead Definition s is

understanding or confusion regarding the term s that m
.

ay be

used throughout this treati se som e definitions relating t o difi er

'

ent parts or elem

,

ents of screw th read s will be given

The dis tance fromthe center (or t op) of one thr ead
.

P itch —

to the center of the next thread m

.

ea sured parallel t o the axis

,

of the screw This de finition applies w hether the screw has a

ngle thread or is of the m
.

ultiple threaded form The word

“i
-
s pitch is frequently used to denote the num
.

ber of threads per

inch For example the expression six pitch screw is used
,
“
-

t o indica t e t ha t t he screw has six t hreads per inch This usage

om m m
.

of the word pi tch is s eti es confusing and is not reco

uad The distan ce that a thread advances in a single

—

turn or the distance that a nut would advance in an axial direc

tion if tinned one com
,

plete revolution The lead and pitch of a .

ngle
si screw t hread are equal ; t he leed of a double t hread is
twice the pitch ; the lead of a triple threa d is three times the

P itch Dia m
The pitch diam
eter — eter which is also known
eter and as t he efiec tiv e diam
,

angle diam
.

"
as the eter is
'
”

equivalent t o the outside diameter m

,

inus the depth of one

thread The pitch diameter of a screw having a single thread
.

with angular sides is the dis tance between the points at which
n
a line pass at right angles through t he axis of the screw inter
sects the sides or slopes of t h e thr ead .
6 T HRE A D CU T TIN
- G METHO DS
Root M elee — The m inim um diameter of a screw or the
diam eter across the bottomor root of the thread m easured at
m m
,

righ t an g l t o t he a xis o f the scre w T he roo t di.a et er is al so

known as the core diameter .

”

Root of Thread . The root is the bottom of the groove which

forms a thread whether the thread is external or internal
The nam
.
,

C rest of Thread — e applied to t he curved or rounded

t op of a Whitworth thr ead .

S lope of Thread .
—
The straight part or Side of a thread .

An g le o f T hr ead —
The a ngle between t h e sides or slop es

measured in a plane intersecting the axis of the screw

F orm
.

f
o Th r ea d . The shape or contour o f the outline of the
thread in a plane intersecting the axis of the screw .

M ultiple Thread — A screw thread that is formed of t wo

or more single threads For instance a double thr ead is a
multiple f orm having tw o separate or single threads starting
,
.

diametrically opposite or at points 1 80 degrees apart ; a triple

thread has three single t hread s starting at points 1 20 degrees
apart ; and a quadruple thread has four single threads starting
at points 90 degrees apart A multiple thread is used to ia
.

crease the lead of a screw without weakening it by cutting a

coarse single thread .

adopted standard inregard to the formor contour of the thread

itself and as to the pitch or number of threads per inch for a
,

given screw diameter .

S pecial S crew Thread — A screw thr ead having either a

modified formor a pitch which is either greater or less for a
. .

given screw diam eter than the adopted standard

A num
.

Difl erent Forms of S crew Threads —

ber of difl erent
'

are shown in the accom

.

thread form s panying illus trations

which include the nam es and proportions of the threads Dif
ferm t forms have been originated and adopted at various tim
.

es ,

eit her because they were considered superior to other exis ting
form s or because of the sp ecial req uirem ents of screws used on a
certain cla ss of work So m e of the more important and desirabl e
.

features of a screw thread are as follows 1 The thr ead should .

 CLA SSES OF SCREW THREA D S

Unit ed S tates S tandard Thread

m
N u ber of Th reads per Inc h Corresponding to a Giv enD ia mt e er

per In
mt
D ia e er
ch per Inch

Dept h of T h read a nd Wdt h of Fla t

t

Widt h of F i at Wi dt h of Flat

0 00 81
8 TH READ - C UTTIN G MET HODS
be of such a shape that the tool for producing it can be easily
made 2 The cutting edges of the tool S hould not be so pointed
. .

or delicate that they are easily worn away by the cutting action

m
.

3 It should be po ssible to tes t the dia eter and form of the

t hread wit h a m inim umof m
.

eas uring an d in
g g g 4
a The
formshould be such that a good bearing between a screw and
. .

nut m ay be obtained without unnece s sary care and re finem ent

in cutting and m easuring 5 The angles of the sides should be. .

as acute as is consistent with the required strength because the ,

greater the angle the greater the friction between the threads
,

of a bolt and nut and al so the greater the force tending to burst

the nut .

Pig . x
. Th e U nit ed S t at es S tandard T hread a nd h
th e S arp V-
t h rec d

United S tates S tandard

Thread This formof thread is com —

mouly used in the U nited S tates ; it is also known as the Sel lers
.

thread as it was originated by William Sellers The accone

,
”
.

panying table gives the numbers of threads per inch for outside
diam eters ranging from 1 ; inch up to 6 inches inclusive
3

The U S standard formhas largely replaced the Sharp V thread

, .

. .
-
,

because of its superiority A S the U S standard has a flat

top ( see Fig r) 1t 1s not so easrly m
. . .

.
j ur
,
ed as a shart h read
and taps and dies wear less at t he points of the t eeth and retai n
their size longer S crews having U S standard threads are
from one eighth t o one fourth stronger to res ist tension than
. . .

- -

screw s with V t hread s because

- for a given outside diam
, eter , ,

there is a larger root diameter or efiect ive area For instan ce .

,

a U S standard screw thread of 1 inch outside diameter and

. .
 CLA SSES or SCREW TH REA D S 9

eig ht t hreads per inch has a root diam eter of inch whereas
a screw of corresponding outsid e diam
,

eter and pitch but with

a sha rp V threa d has a root diam
,

-
,eter of 5 inch The rela .

t ive st ren gth v ari es according to the S iie of the screw the
sm a ler U S ta dard cre being approxim
,

l s n. s . w s ately one fourth

-

st ronger t han those having V th rea ds whereas the larger S izes

-
,

are on ly about one eighth stronger in ten sion

-

-
S h arp V thr ead The t op and bott omor root of t his thread
fo rmare theoretically sharp (see Fig
.

but in actual prae

t ice the thread is m
.

ade with a S light flat owing t o the diffi culty ,

of producing a perfectly S harp edge and becau se of the tenden c y

Fig . 3 . Th e W
h it wort h
or Bri tis h
S t andard , w ic is used P rin h h
cipally

in Great Britain, and t h e Bri ti s hA

ssociat ion S t andard

of s uch an edge t o wear away or becom e battered This flat is .

usually equ al t o about one tw en t y fif t h of t he pitch al though -

,

t h ere is n o generally recogn ized standard Owing to the diff:

lt ies connected with the V t h read t he t ap m
.

cu anufacturers
-

agreed in 1 90 9 to discontinue the m

,

aking of sharp V t hr ead -

t aps except when ordered O ne advantage of the V th read is

-

t ha t t he same cutting tool m

, .

ay be u sed for all pitches Whereas

w i t h t he U S standard form t h e width of the po int or the flat

, ,

. .
,

v ari e s according t o t he pitch This is one of the reasons why

.

a great many V th reads are still in use The V t hread is also

- -

regarded as a good formwhere a steamtight joint is necessary

.

otive work have this form

,

an d many of the tap s u sed on locom

IO THR EAD CU TTIN G - MET HODS

Whi tworth S t an dard

Threa d The Whitw orth or British —

standard thread is used principally in Great Britai n This .

thread is not as easily produced as the U S standard form al . .

though it has som

,

e advantages especially on screws subjected ,

to heav y service AS the Whitworth thread is rounded at the

.

root and crest (see Fig there are no sharp edges or corners
fromwhich fractures may start S crews and nuts having t his
.

formof thread will also wo rk well together af ter continued

.

heavy service In the U nited S tates Whitworth threads have

been used on special screws and on a grea t m
.
,

any st ay bolts for

the fire boxes of locomotive boilers A series of tests have ia .

dica t ed that the Whitworth thread is somewhat stronger than

the U 8 standard form
. . .

Pip s. Th e Ac m St
e ndard
a Th read a nd th e S mm i Th read

Bri tish AM tandard Thread This formof thread

tion S —

is similar to the Whitworth thread in that the root and cres t

are rounded (see Fig The angle however is only 4 7 de
minut
.
, ,

gree
s 3 o es a nd t he radius of t he roo t a nd cre
s t are pro

port iona t ellarger This thread is used in Great Britain and

y
t o som e extent in other E uropean countrie s for v ery sm
,
.

, all
screws Its use in the U nited S tates is practically confined t o
the m anufacture of tools for export This thread systemwas
.

originated in S witzerland as a standard for watch and clock

screws and it is som
,
“
etimes referred to as the S wiss small
screw thread S ta ndard
”

Acm
.

e Threa d The A cme thread (see Fig 3) is extensively

. .

used at the pres ent time in preference to t he square thread ,

I2 THR EAD C — U TTIN G MET HODS

Briggs S tandard P ipe Threa d — The original Briggs tand

s

ard pipe t hrcad had a und crest m a nd mg but

o t his for mw as

difi cult t o produce an d it has been odified as showninfi g 4 , m .

t he root bein g sh a rp and t h e t op fl at Th e t aps used in con .

nect ionwith t his nda rd have a taper of inch per foot on the
st a

diameter The t ool used for cut ting this thread ona t ap or 0 n a
.

lu
p g t ha t is t o be inser t ed ina t apped h ole should be set a t righ t
angles to the axis of the work instead of locating it square with
,

F rench and International This formof thread is

S tan dard .

prac tically the same as the U S standard al t hough a clearance

. .
,

space is ordinarily provided at the root by increasing the d epth .

Th e Prench a nd Incernatienal S yet e mS t ndard

a Thread and th e
Harvey G rip T hre ad

The shape of this clearance is left to the m anufacturer but it ,

is not to exceed one sixteenth of t he height E of the original

-

triangle ( see Fig The In ternational C ongress which adopted

this standard at Zurich in 1 8 98 reco m mended a rounded
.

, ,

profil e at the root as shown inthe illus tration .

Har vey G rip Thr ead -

The characteris tic feature of t his
.

thread is that one side inclines 44 degrees froma line at right

angles to the axis w hereas the other side has an inclination as
,

only 1 degree as shown in Fig 5 This form of thread is some

tim
, . .

es used when there is considerable resistance or pressure in an

axial direction and when it is desirable to reduce the radial or
bursting pres sure on the nut as m uch as possible .
 CLA SSES or SCREW THREA D S 13

Trapezoidal or This form of t hread difi ers

Butt ress Th read
fromt h e Harvey grip th rea d inthat the side intended to receive
.

t he t hrust is perpendicular to the axis of the screw i n s tead of be

in g in clin ed 1 degree ( see Fig and the top and root are flat . .

The pitch of a t rapezoidal t hread is equal to twice th e outside

diam eter divided by the constant 1 5 .

Lowen h erz Th read The Lowenh erz thread (see Fig 6) is

.

intended for th e fine screws of ins tru m

.

ents and is based on the

metric system It has been adopted by t he Bureau of S tandards
iform
.

as there has been a la ck of u n ity in t he screws applied to

Am erica n m ade instrum
- ents .

Fig . 6 . Th e Trapezoidal or But tr es s T h r ea d a nd t h e Lewenh erz

T h
r ead

C adillac S crew Th read This formof t hr ead is a cross be

.

tween the U S standard and t he S harp V thread t he t op of the

. .
-
,

thread being flat and t he root sharp T h e i ncluded angle is 60 .

degrees
T he S oci ety of A utom
.

S A E S tandard
. .
—
otiv e E ngineers
dard (som
. .

screw sta n etim es referred t o as t he A L A M standard)

is the sam e as the U S standard but t h e num
. . . .

ber of t hreads per

inch for a given diam
. .
,

eter is grea ter Thi s sta ndard was adopted .

because the pitches of t he U 8 standard threads a re t oo coarse

for som e classes of autom
. .

obile work especially w hen t he ,

threaded part is subj ected t o constant vibration In addition

d ard for diam
.

t o the original stand ard t h ere is a speci a l stan eter s

larger t ha n r é i nc h which incl ud es a coarse sy stemand a fine

,

syst em of pitches .
 CHA PT ER II

m engine lathe isindispensable for m any screw cutting -

operations partly because it is adapted to a wide range of

,

pitches and diameters The swing of the lathe ei ther over t he

bed or car riage equals approximately the maxim umdiameter of
.

external screw thread that can be cut and the num

, ,

ber of pitches
varies according t o the change gear m echani sm but is u sually
,

large enough for all ordinary requirem

,

ents There is also an ad

.

vantage in most instances in being able to cut thread s on the

same machine that is used for the turning operation because ,

the thread is then cut concentric with other finished surfaces .

A well constructed lathe is also capable of very accurate thread

-

Conditions Go verning U se of Lathe for S crew Cutting .

The conditions under which the lathe is commonly used for cut ~

ting screw threads are as follows

1. When a part has been turned and one or more screw threads
must be cut t o complete it .

2. When t he screw t hread is not standard or is so large in

diameter that the use of a tap or die is no t practicable .

3 When there is not enough thread cutting to warrant t h e

use of m achines or equip m ent designed prim

.

arily for screw cut

4. When the lathe i s the o nly m ean s available in which ,

case
it is sometimes applied t o screw cutting operations which could
-

be done m ore effi ciently in som e other way

m
.

5
. When the lathe is the only achine available that wi ll cut
thread s of the required standard of accuracy
The engine lathe equipped with a single point tool is alm
.

- ost
invariably used for cutting screw threads on parts that are
u
 T HR EAD CUT TIN G IN THE LATHE 15

turned init but it is seldomused for threading operations on

,

parts that have been previously turned in another type of ma ~

chine ; in fact when threading operations are preced ed by turn

ing operations the former are as a rule perform
,

,
ed in the , ,

machine that did the turning whether it is an engine la the or

som e other formof lathe or turnin
,

g machine For instance .

,

in the turret lathe and automatic screw machine practice dies ,

are used for most external thread cutting operations and ta ps

-

for internal work The object of cutting the screw threads in

the sa m
.

e machine is to avoid a second operation on another

machine and at the sam
, e tim e to secure accuracy by cutting the
, ,

threads before the position of the work has been disturbed If for .
,

example a piston rod has been turned in the engine lathe and
,
-

a screw thread is required at the pis ton end for receiving a

nut the lathe would of course be used for cutting that thread
, , ,
.

On the other hand when cutting a screw thread is the principal

operation the engine lathe m a y either have co m
,

petitors or be
If the part is sim
,

out of t he race entirely ply a screw and the

.

only operation is that of cutting the screw thread a special

threading m achine of the die class or a thread milling m
,

achine
might be used in preference to the lathe If a thread m - illing .

mac hine or die type of thread cutting machin e were not at

-

hand the lathe would generally be used unless the num

, ber of ,

parts to be threaded were large enough to warrant installing a

machine des igned especially for screw cutting .

Posit ion of Tool and T raversing M ovement —

The cutting
end of a single point thread tool is shaped t o correspond to the
-

cross sectional shape of the thread groove in a plane intersect

~

ing t he axis of t h e screw . The t ool should be so loca t ed wit h

reference t o t h e pa rt t o be th rea ded t ha t t h e an gle o f t he t h re ad
cut by t he t ool will be t he sa e as the t ool an gle a nd sm
o t h a t t h e

sd
i m f the thread will inclin
o eq ually with reference to the axise

of the screw To secure t h e correct thread angle ( assuming that

the tool is properly ground ) the upper face m
.

ust lie in a plane

,

coincidi ng with the axis of the screw ; in other words if the up

m
,

per face were flat and horizont a l it should be at the sa e heig ht

A comm on m
,

as the lathe centers eth od of setting a tool so

.
x6 THR EAD CUT TING
- mT s Hoos

t ha t each side will have t he sam inlin ti n i

e c a o s by using t he
gage intended for testing the tool when grinding it This gage
m m
.

( one for of which is shown at A Fig 6 ) is si l

py placed agai ns t ,
.

t he t urned surface t o be t h readed , incase t h e t h read is st raigh t

or cylindrical and the tool is adjusted u
,
ntil the cutting point fits
accurately into the V shaped notch in the gage
-

Special gages are som etim

.

es used for setting t hreading tools

mking t h m
,

especially w hen a rea d g g

a es of t he plug for or cut

ting other precision S crew threads The tool setting gage may
be inthe formof a cylindrical plug which is accurately centered
.

and has a 60 -degree groove cut int o it assu ing t hat t he gage , m
is intend ed for U 8 standard thread tools When a tool is to
be set t he gage is sim
. . .

, ply placed between t he Centers of the la d?

and t he t ool is adjusted until t he cutting end accurately coin
‘

cides wit h t he groove of t he gage Th e la t t er my a also be pro

mean
.

vided with s for set ting the t ool at the correct height or so
that t he t op surface lies in a plane int ersec t ing t he axis of t he

t he t ool n
co sis ts of as mll plug whi h i
a c s insert ed in a hole ex

tending crosswise through the body of the gage This hole is .

so loca ted t ha t on e side is exac tly inline wit h th e axis or center

line of the gage The plug projects far enough so that its
.

lower side can be used for setting the tool which is done by simply ,

adjusting the tool until the upper face bears evenly on the lower
side of the plug

S om
.

e gages of this general type consist of a centered arbor

upon w hich is m ounted two close fitt ing S leeves The inner end
- .

of each sleeveis beveled to an angle of 30 degrees so that as , ,

the sleeves are placed in c ntact they form a 60 degree groove

o -

The opposite end of each bushing may also be gro und t o forma
.
,

55
—degree groo v e for Whitworth thread tools In setting a tool ,
.

these bushings are pushed up against the cutting end and a ,

piece of whi te paper is held beneath the line of contact so that

any error in adju stm ent m
,

ay easily be observed The center .

line of t he tool or a line bisecting th e cutti ng end should be at

right angles t o the axis of the screw regardless of w hether the ,

scr ew is straight or tapering although this pract ice is varied

,
 THREA D CUTTIN G IN TH E LATH E \
17

in t he case of a Whitwor t h t hread This point will be con .

sidered la t er

m m
.

In order to for a co plete th ead wi t h a single point tool

r -

a num ber of cuts are required t he num

,

ber depending upon the

,

pitch of t he t hread and t he corresponding dep t h of the th read

groove On all standard engine la t hes a gear driven lead-screw
.
-
,

is u sed to t raverse t he tool a di stance equal t o the lead of the

thread for each revolution of the part being threaded Gear
m m
.

ing of t h e correct ratio ay be plac ed in po sition each ti e a

screw thread of difi eren t lead or pitch is t o be cut or t h e gearing
may forman integral part of t he machine and be so arranged
,

Fig . r. h
S traig t nd
a A ngular M et hod s of f eeding T ool w h e n
C utting Th read in Lat h e

tha t t he necessary com bination can be engaged by sim ply

shifting t h e controlli ng handles or l ev ers .

M eth ods of Feeding Tool Inward Th e inward feeding .

movement of a tool for each successive cut may be ei t her at

right angles t o t he axis of t h e screw thread as i ndicated a t A , ,

Fig 1 or at an angle of 30 d egrees as show n a t B With t he

latt er method t h e com
. .
,

pou nd rest is set a t anangle of 30 d egrees .

If the lathe is not equipped wi t h a com pound res t t he feeding

movement must be as shownat A The obj ect iont o this method
,

is that the cutting actionis not so good as w henone edge of t he

tool does practica lly all t he cutting as a t B and the o t her edge .
,

moves parallel t o t he opposi t e side of t he thread T he angular

method of feeding t he tool does not tend t o tear t he t hread as
.

when t he tool is fed straigh t in a nd a sm oother t h read is cut

,
.
18 THR EAD C - UT T IN G M ETHODS

mo t of the metal h been removed by the angular feeding

A fter s as

mt hod the tool my be moved traight in to take a light fini h

e ,
a s s

ing cut .

The thread tool illustrated at C is intended especially for

feeding in a t nangle This t ool is given t op rake and all t he
a

m
.

cutting is done on one side A S the illus tration shows t he co

.
,

pound rest is set at an angle of 30 degrees for cu tting 60 degree

-

thread s such as the U S standard or sharp V threads The

.
-
. .

point of the tool fo rms one side of the thread as it feeds in at

this angle and the cutting edge form s the opposi te side This .

form of tool cuts easily because of the top rak e or slope and i t
S om
, ,

is particularly ad apted for coarse threading operatio n s e

tim
.

es eu ordinary thread tool i s used for taking a light finishing

cut after roughing out the thread with a tool of the type re
ferred t o .

returning t he lathe carriage and t ool to t he starting po int for

taking another cut after one or m ore cut s have been com pleted
One m ethod is by disengaging the carriage fromthe lead screw
.

and returning it by hand ; the other is by allowing the carriage

to remain in engagem ent with the lead screw and reversing the
-

lathe or lead screw at t he com

- pletion of each cut If the num
m
.

ber of t hreads per inch ont he sc rew bein g cu t is a u lt iple o f the

n umber per inch on the lead s crew the carria ge m ay be disen

gaged and reengaged with t he lead screw at randomand the

,
’
-

tool will always follow t he original or first thread groove tha t

was cut ; when the n um ber however is not a m ultiple of t he
num ber on the lead screw the tool m
, ,

- ay not en gage the thread

properly When it is neces sary to adopt som e m
,

. ethod of

keeping the tool in the ri ght relation to the work if the screw is
quite short the carriage m ay rem ain in engagem
,

ent with t he

lead screw until t he thread is finished but for cutting cone

-

m
, ,

pa ra t iv ely long scre w thread s this e thod of r eturning the

carriage would require t oo m uch tim
,

e and it can be returned

more quickly by hand When lathes have exposed ch ange
gears m arks are som etim
.

, es made on the gears to insure re

engaging the carriage lock nut th the lead screw at the right
- wi -
20 THR EAD CUT TIN G
- M ETHODS

t hread groov e and m ov ed equal xth

back a dis t ance t o one si
-

inch or one lead screw thread it would not be opposite

-

a thread groove on the work ; the sam

, ,

e would be true for a

backward m ovement equal t o two three four or fiv e threads
movem
, , ,

on the l ead screw but a

- ent of six lead screw threads
,
-
,

or one inch (as indi cated by B) would bring the tool in line with
a thread groove eleven threads away fromthe point of disengage
,

ment ; therefore by always reengaging t he carriage with the

,

leads crew when one of the graduations representing an inch

of trav el is inline wit h t he zero m ark t he tool will follow the ,

original cut If in the preceding example the number of threads

m
.

per inch being cut were t enins tead of eleve n r a ny ot h er ev e n

num ber a half inch of backward m ovement would have located
the tool directly opposite a thread groove ; hence if the four m
,

ain ,

divisions on the indica t or di al prev iously referred t é were sub

divided making eight divisions in all any of these half divisions
, ,
“
could also be used for catchin g the thread when cut ting an ”

even num ber of t hreeds per inch If I n} t hreads per inch were .

being cut those graduations on the dial representing a move

ment equivalent t o two inches or twenty t hree thread s on the
,

work would be used when reengaging the carriage and lead

screw . For instance suppose there are four m ,
ain di visions on
the dial each representing one inch of carriage travel and num
bered I 2 3 and 4 as shown ; then if engagem
,

, , , ,
ent were made
for the first cut when say line No I was opposite t he zero
mark either this line or line N o 3 two di visions fro mit would
.
, ,

indicate the point of engagem ent for su cceeding cuts Som

.
, , ,

e
indicator dials have a circle of graduations for ev en num
.

bers of
threads per inch representing a half inch carriage travel ; an
,
- .

other circle of graduati ons for odd numbers representing inches

of carriage travel ; and a third Circle for fractional pit chm
( like 1 1 } thr ead s per inch ) repre senting two inche s of carri ag e
travel
m
.

C uttin g M ulti ple S c rew Thr ea ds — When cutting ulti ple

screw threads the general method of procedure is about the sam e
as for single screw threads except that the lath e m
,

ust bege a red

acco rding to the num

,

ber of single t hread s per inch or with ,

 THREAD CUTTING IN T HE LAT HE 21

reiere cen t o t h e lead of t he not t he pit chnd provisiona

must be made for locating 1 when cutting the difl erent

thread grooves The tool m
. ay be located ( I ) by indexing or

t urning t h e piece being t hreaded a frac t ional part of a rev olutio n;

( )
2 by se tt ing the co m pound slide parallel with the screw thread
being cut so that the slide can be used for adjusting the tool ;
(3 ) by dis e ngaging the lock -nut fro m the lead -screw while the
lathe spindle is stationary m ,
oving the carriage the required
distance ; (4) by engaging the lead screw at the proper time
-

( with the lathe in m otion ) as

,
S hown by graduat i on s o n the
thread chasing dial or indicator .

In dexin g for M u lt ip le Th rea d C u tt ing — W h

. en t he screw is

indexed for locating the tool In co nnection with thread cutting ,

it is given one half turn for a double thread one third turn for
- -
,

a triple thread one fo urth turn for a quadrup le thread and so

-

Aneasy m
, ,

on ethod of indexing for a double t hread when the '

work is held between centers is sim

.

ply to remove the part

fromthe lathe and turn it one half revolution by placing the
-

driving end of the dog in the opposite slot of the facep late The
objection t o this m
.

eth od is that any error in the location of the

faceplate slot would be rep roduced in the screw thread A n
other com mon m
.

ethod (when using the change gear type of -

lathe) is t o disengage t he stud gear and idler gear after m arking

whatever tooth happens to be in m esh and then turn t h e spindle
,

hfl i a revolution for a double thread one third revolution for

-
,

a triple thread etc If the ratio of the gearing between the

,
.

s tud and the sp indle were other than I t o I this would affect
the indexing m ovem ent ; m
,

oreover in order to apply this

method the number of teeth in the stud gear m
,

, ust be evenly
divisible by 2 for a double thread 3 for a triple thread and so
A convenient m ethod of indexing m
, ,

on -
ultiple threaded screws
is by m eans of a spec ial faceplate form
.

ed of t wo parts one of
which is free to rotate after loosening the clam
,

ping bolt Gradu .

a t ion s on the edge or periph ery of one plate are used for turn

ing the adjus table section the required amount .

th e of Com poun d Re st for A djust ing Tool — When a lathe

.

has a compound res t this may be used for adjusting the tool
,
22 THR EAD CUTTIN G M ETHODS
—

when cutt ing the diff erent thread grooves of a m ultiple screw
thread The compound rest is set parallel to t he axis of the
.

screw as shown in Fig 3 and after on

,
. e thread groove is cut the
, ,

tool is moved a distance equal to the pitch of the thread or one

half the lead for a double thread one third the lead for a triple
-
,

th read etc When the feed screw has a graduated dial this
-

adj us tment of the tool can easily be made The com pound mt
,
.
,

method is very convenient and has the advantage over the use
.

of a special faceplate that parts m ay be held in the chuck for

Fig 3
. . Commu d RM M M el to Afl o d S w lor M m M
ing Tool w en ut t i g M elan
h C n
ie T read h

internal threading operations The accuracy of the tool.

justment and of the screw that is cut depends upon the accura cy
of the feed screw of the co m
- pound rest slide ; ordinmly t he
-

errors fromthis source would be so sm

,

all as to be neghfible .

Adjustin g Tool b y S hh t ing Ca rriag e

—
When a tool is lo

cated for cutting different thread grooves of a m ultiple screw

thread by shifting the carriage and tool the adjus tm ent m, ust be
such that when the tool is in the correct position the lock nut
-
, ,

may be reengaged with the lead screw If a double thread

- .

is being cut ha ving a lea d n inch

of , say , o e , t he t ool could be
 TH R EAD CUTTIN G IN THE LATHE 23

located for cutting t he second thread groove by disengaging

t he lock nut ( with t he la t he spindle sta t ionary ) and m
-
oving the
carriage back a distance equal to t he pitch of t he t hread or onel ,

half inch If the adjustment were equal to t he pitch plus the

lead or t he pitch plus any m
.

ultiple of the lead the t oo] would ,

s till be in position for cutting the second thread groove In .

a ctually cutting a screw th read it wou ld of course be necessary

to m
, , ,

ove t he carriage far enough for the tool t o clear t he end of

t h e work before star t ing ano t her cut ; for in stance if t he tool
were 1 0 inches fromt he starting end and a double t hread having
,

a one inch lead were being cut the ca rriage should be m

- oved
at least 1 0 5 inches This adjustm
,

. ent could also be obtained

in this particular case if the lead screw had an even number of
,
-

threads per inch by moving the carriage and tool inch (pitch
,

of thread ) and then aft er reengaging the lock nut turning

,
-

the lathe backward t o secure the necessary addi tional movem

,

ent .

Whe t her or not the lock nut can be reengaged with the
-

lead sc rew aft er shifting t he ca rriage a given distance m

- a y be

determ ined as follows : If the ca rriage is m oved a w hole or even

num ber of inches (not fractional) t h e lock nut canbe reengaged
-
,

wi t h any lead screw having a w hole num

- ber of threads per
inch If the number representing t h e carriage adjustment is
.

fractional the number of threads per inch on the lead screw -

must be divisible by the denominator of the fraction

,

U se of In dicator for M ult ipl e Th rea d C utt ing The thread

chasing dial or indica tor m ay som etim
.

es be used t o advantage
for engaging the tool with the difl erent m ultipl e th read grooves
when cutting a screw t h read of this kind By m eans of the

indicator the engagem

.

,
ent of the lock nut with t h e l ead screw
- -

is so timed that t he tool after taking a cut through one thread

,

groove will be in position to cut the oth er groove or grooves

as the case m
, ,

ay be before feeding the tool in w a rd i n stead of

finishing one groove at a tim

, ,

e To illu strate suppose a double

.
,

threaded screw is t o be cut having a l ead of in ch G inch pi t ch)

or two single threads per inch A ssum e tha t t he l ead screw of
.
-

t he lathe h as 4 threa d s per inch the i n di ca tor wormwh eel 24 -

teeth and t he dial 6 m

,

,
ain divi sio ns representing inches of
,
24 THR EAD CUTT IN G MET HO DS
-

carriage travel and 6 s ubdivisions representing half inches of

m
,

ca rriage t rav el Since t he nu ber of t hreads per inch is nin

eve

th is case t he lock nut m

.

ay be engaged with the lead crew w hen

- -s

s opposit e t he zero m
,

an y div ision line on t h e dial i arh and the

tool will follow the original cut A fter taking a cut in one
thread groove and m
.

oving the carriage back to the starting

point the lock nuts are next engaged when the zero line is
-

midway between any two lines on the dial ; the tool will then
,

Pig 4 M ult iple Tool for Cutting h

Bot Groove. of D ou le b
m
. .

Thr ea d si ult aneously

cut another groove m idway between the firs t one or a dis tance ,

f romit equal to the pitch of the thread If there were an odd .

num ber of single threads per inch say three engagement would
be m ade on any m
, , ,

ain division line for cutting one groov e of a

double thread and onany subdivision for the o t her groove
,
.

M ultiple Tool for C utting M ultiple Threads The dif .

ferent thread grooves of a m ultiple screw thread m ay be cu t

at the sam e time by using a t ool for each groove the tools being
.

The D ale m
,

spaced according to the pitch of the thread ultiple .

tool holder is shown in Fig 4 This particular holder is arranged

. .
 THREAD CUT TIN G IN T HE L AT HE 25

for cut t ing quare th reads although the sam

s e general type m ay

be applied to other forms The m

,

ain part of t he holder A is

.

ch anneled or grooved t o receive t he cutti ng blad es or tool s .

Th e space betw een th es e t ools is regulated by the dis tance piece

B and they are held at anangle by tapering s trips C (see end
This inclination varies with the pitch and diam
,

v iew). eter of
t he screw thread The t ools and strips B and C are held in
.

position by set screws D The tapering part E above the tools

-

provides a horizon ta l surface for clam

.

ping t he tools in position

in t he t ool holder When this holder is used for cutting A cm
- e
or other screw t hreads of angular form t he tools are held in a
.

Pig .
5 . Correct nd Incorrect
a P osit ions of Tool for T aper
T hre ad C ut t ing

horiz ontal position by inserting a tapering piece beneath them

as shown at F A fl at plate is then applied to t he t op t o forma
.

bearing surface for the tool holder clam ping screw The blades
- .

used in t his holder are of the same section throughout their

lengt h t o provide for repeated grinding .

P ositionof Tool for C utt in g T a per Th r ea ds I t is the gen .

eral practice int he U nit ed S ta t es to set a tool for cutting tapered

screw thread s as shown at A Fig 5 or so tha t the sides of the

,
.
,

a d inclin
t hre e equally wi t h reference t o a line perpendicular t o
the axis of t he screw The principal reaso n why taper threads
.

should be cut with the too l in thi s po sition is t hat taper taps are

made int his way or with the threads normal t o the axis If the .

t ool were set in t he po sition shown at B or so t hat t h e sides of

t he t hrea d incline equally with reference to the tapering surface ,
26 THR EAD CUTTING
- MET HOD S

obv iously such a t hread would be fit ina hole t apped wit h

a poor

a nordinary t aper t ap hav ing t h reads nor a l t o t he axm

is as a t A .

If the hole and the tapering part which screws into it were both
t hreaded nor ml a t o t he surface as a t B, th e t hread would be
satis factory unless there were an unusual am ount of ta per In
extrem
.

e cases angle at (see diagram B) of one side of the thread

might b mll t h
,

e so s a at t he radial or burst ingpressure ont he nut

would be excessive owing t o the wedging action It is the .

practice to cut Whitworth pipe threads and most other Whit

worth threa ds w hich are tapering with a tool set perpendicular
to t he side of the tapering surface as shown at C because the
am
, ,

s e 13 0 15 that are used for parallel threads can then be used for

taper t hread s If a tool used for parallel thread cutting were

.

set at right angles to the axis on e side of the crest of the thread

would not be cut to a circular formif the tool were of t he shape

,

illus trated because the curved cutting edges would be the sam e
distance fro mthe axis of t he screw and only one side of the cir
,

cu lar part of the t oo] would cut This difficulty is not encoun
.

tered with the thread fo rms like the U S stan dard or V threads
- . . .

The top cutting face of the tool should lie Ina horizontal plane
coinciding with the axis of the work for all taper thread cutting
It is m ore im
.

uch m portant to ha ve the tool at the same height as

the lathe centers when cutting taper threads than w hen cutting
parallel thread s for the reason that a section parallel to the axis of
a cone is not straight but curved ; consequently not only is the ,

angle of the thread changed but a curved tapering thread ah a is

produced .

Adjusn nent of Lathe for Taper Thread C utt ing A n engine

lathe equipped with a taper attachm
.

ent should be used for taper

thread cutting if possible When t he required taper is obtained
,
.

by setting the tails tock c d center t he thread will not ad vance at

'

a uniformrate or forma true helix especially when an ordina ry

,

bent ta il driving dog is used This drunk en thread or error is

- .

caused by the angularity between the driving dog and the face
plate which causes the rota ting speed of the work to vary dur
,

ing each revol utio n The bearing surface between the la t he

.

centers and the work centers when t he tail stock is ofiset is

-
28 THR EAD CUTTING METHOD S
-

ing turning and planing t ools When the angle of the cutting .

edge is being tes ted by a gage t h e lat t er should be held in t h e

'

sam
,

e plane as t he cutting edge as at A Fig 6 and not at right

angles t o the front side as shown by t he dotted lines assum
.
, , ,

ing
otch in the gage conform
, ,

t hat the n s to the standard th read

angle If the clea rance angle of a tool is 1 5 degrees the angle

. a ,

in a plane at right angles t o t he front face is about 6 1 degrees

45 m i nutes w hen t,
h e angle in t h e plane of t he cutting edge is 60

Fig . 6 . M et h od s of gagi g n Thread-cutt ing Tools

degrees ; hence if t he tool w ere ground t o fit a gage held as

,

shown by t h e dotted lines at A t h e angle of the cuttin g edge

would be t oo sm all A t B is shown a sim ple formof gage for
,

testing U S standard threa d cutting tools These tools have a

. .
- .

flat end or edge equal in width t o one eighth t he pitch of th e -

thread This particular gage has notches m

. ark ed for difieren t
pitches The tool is first ground t o a 60 degree angle the V
.
—
,

shaped notch in t h e gage b ei n g used as shown at d The point .

is then ground off t o t h e right wid t h or until t h e tool fit s into a

notch corresponding t o the required pitch as illustrated at a , .

A n A cme thread gage is shown at C This gage also has .

 T HREA D C UTTIN G IN THE LATHE 29

no he for difi erent

pitches The degree notch at t he end
'

tc s .
f
ag-

of the gage is u sed first for t es ting the a n gu lar s ides o f the tool
whengrinding as at g The shallow notches are u sed sim
. ply for
testing the wid t h of the cutting edge at the end as at h the
numbers opposi t e the notches representing t he num
,

ber of
threads per inch The angle between the side and the end m ay

be t ested as illust rated at j The tool m

.

ay al so be set square
.

with t h e work by placing one edge of t h e gage against the

turned surface and adju sting the tool unt il it coin cides with the
gage as indica t ed by the dotted lines at j The width of an
A cm
, .

e thread tool equals x pitch

Test ing W idt h o f Fla t End o f U S S t andar d an d A cm e . .

Thr ead Tools The wid t h of the flat or end of ei t her a U S

.

standard or A cme thread tool m a y be m

. .

easur ed by using an

ordinary m icrom eter as illust rated a t D In m easuring t he

icrom
.

tool a scale is held against the spindl e and anvil of t he m eter

icrom
,

an d the end of the tool is placed again st thi s scal e The m .

eter is t hen adjusted t o t he position shown and for a U S

in c h is subtrac t ed fro mt h e read
. .
, ,

standard thr ead tool ,

ing ; t he result equals t he width of t h e tool point w hich should

equal one eighth t he pitch For an A cm
- e t hread tool
inch is sub t racted fromthe m
.

icrometer reading t o obtain t he

,

width of t he tool point The constants and

w hich are subtracted from the m
.

icrometer reading are only

correct when the m icrometer spi ndle has t he u sual diam eter

of inch The value or constant for any o t her spindle

diam eter could be obtained by m
.

ultiplying twice the spi ndle

diameter by the tangent of one half the thread tool angle
‘

A n ord inary gear tooth ca liper m

.

ay a lso be u sed for testing

t h e width of a th read tool point as illust rated at E If t he

measurement is made at a vertical distance x of i inch fromt he
,
.

points of the caliper jaws the values previously given for U S

,
.

sta ndard and A cme th read s should be subtracted from t h e

.

caliper rea d ing to obtain the ac tual wid t h of the cutting end of
th e tool .

When a tool for cutting a U 8 sta ndard thread is accurate . .

as to t he angle and width of the po int or flat an accurate screw ,

3 0 TH R EA D -GUT TIN G DIET HODS

my ea ily be cut by the following method

a s First turn (or grind)
:

the screw blank t o the outside diameter of the screw within

whatever lim its of accuracy are considered necessary Before .

starting the thread cutting operation

- adjust the tool inward
,

until its front edge ju st touches t he surface of the blank and th en

feed the tool inward for taking successive cuts until it has m
,

oved
a distance equal to tim es the pitch of the thread If
the cross feed screw does not have a m icrom eter dial for m
.

- eas
uring the m ovem ent of th e tool the m ovem ent of the tool
slide m a y be gaged by attaching a pin or block to it and m
,

eas ~

uring froma fixed pin or block In the case of an A cme thread

the in ward m
.
,

ovement of the tool should equal one half the

-

pitch of the thread plus inch .

Width of Tool P oint for C utt ing S quare Threads In order .

to provide clearance bet ween the threa ds of a square threaded -

screw and nut the width of the thread groove in the nut is made

so m
,

ewhat greater than one half the pitch of the thread The
- .

width of the point of the tool for cutting external screws with
q
s u ar e threads shoul d be exactly equal t o one-half the thread
pitch but the wid t h of a tool used for cutting the threads on
,

tape which are afterward t o be used for tapping nuts should be

slightly less than on e half the pitch so th at the cutting teeth are
-

a li t tle wider than t he theoretical sta n dard wid th The t hread .

groove cut in the nut will then be slightly wider than t he t hread
onthe screw thus providing the n
,
ecessary clearance Aninside .

threading tool for threading nuts evidently should be of the

sam width
e as t he t eet h on t h e t ap, or sligh t ly wider t hanon e~

half the pitch The widths of the points of tools for all ordina ry
.

pitches from : to 1 4 t hreads per inch are givenin t he table on

page 3 2 w hich includes tools for threading t aps cutting screws
, , ,

and cutting the threads in nuts .

U se of Thread C h as ers in the Lat h e — A chaser is a form

of threadi ng tool having a num ber of teeth ins tead of a single
point like the threading tools com monly used for screw cu t ting
in the engine la the although the term thread chasing is often
,

used t o indica te the cu tting of a thread wi t h a single point t ool

- .

The two general classes of chasers ( exclusive of those used in

 T HR EAD CUTTING IN TH E LATH E 3 I

dies) are h and chasers and th reading tool chasers The form er .

are hand con t rolled and t he latter are rigidly held in a tool
-
,

holder and used like an ordinary lath e t hr eading tool Two

types of hand chasers are shown at A and B in F ig 7 F ormA
.

is used for chasing external thread s and formB for int ernal
. .

threads When the tool is in use the cutting end is supported

by som e formof rest held in the t oolpost These hand chasers
.
,

are conv enient for truing up battered threads or for reducing

th e size of a part wh ich has been thread ed by e it her a die or a

M ach i ner y

Fig .
7 . H and Ch a sers T h
r eadi ng T ool Ch a sers

single point tool Tools of t his kind are especially adapted for
.

brass work The chaser used in any case has teeth spaced t o
.

co rres p ond t o the pitch of t h e t hread This formof tool canbe

.

applied t o the work qui ckly and without gearing t he la t he for

a t h rea d cutting operation
- .

Threading tool chasers w hich are held rigidly in t he tool

holder are used practically the sam e as a singl e point tool the -
,

lathe being geared for traversing the tool along t he w ork in

order t o cont rol the lead of t h e thr ea d Tools of this kind cut
th reads rapidly and m
.

ay be u sed for rou ghing out thread s pre

parat ory to finishing t hemwi t h a regular single-point tool .

3 2 THR EAD UTT IN G
—C M ETHOD S

M any crew th reads are also finished com

s ple t ely wi t h chasers
of t his type al t hough t hey are not adapted for ext rem
, ely accu
rate work unless t he teet h are ground aft er hardening be
cause t he pitch of t he chaser teet h is aff ected m
,

ore or less by
t he hardening operatio n A threading tool chaser for a U S
. . .

standard thread is shown at C The spaces between t he tee t h

extend to a sharp v ee instead of having flats t h e sam
.

e as t he
cutting ends in order to provide clearance for t he top of t he
,

t hread .

Width s of Ends of Tools fo Cut ting S qua e Th ead

r r r s

The pitch of t he chaser teeth does not always equal t he pitch

of t he t hread to be cut For in s tance t he chaser illu stra t ed at
.
,

D h as a pitch double t hat of t he screw thr ead E very altern

. ate

groove is engaged but as t h e la t he is geared for t he pitch of

,

thread to be cut each tooth of t he chaser follows the th read

,

groove t h e sa me as t hough it w ere a single tool C h ase rs are

.

so m etim es m ade as shown a t D for cut t ing very fine threads ,

because in this way larger and stronger teeth are obtained

,
.

Whitwort h form
,

Tools for C u tt ing Whi twort h Thr eads .

of thread or t h e British stand a rd m

,
ay be cut by u sing a single
,
 TH R EAD CUT TIN G IN T H E LATHE 33

to ol of t he formillustrated at A Fig 8 This tool is so shaped,

. .

that it finishes t he rounded crest of t he th read as well as t he

angular sides and t he root A s this tool is ra t her diffi cult to
make many Whitwor t h threads especially in jobbing and repai r
.

, ,

shops ,
are cut by using two tools as illu strated at B One .

finishes t h e angular sides and t he root w hereas t he o t her is ,

u sed for finishing t he cres t of t he thread as t he illu stration

In British m
,

show s . achine shops t hreads of ordi nary pitches ,

Fig . 8 . m
Difl er ent For s of Tools f or Cutting Whit wo t h Th r r eads

are often cut as indicated at C A fter t he angular sides and .

root of t he th read have beenfinished by a tool havi ng a rou nded

point t he crest of t he th read is rounded off by using a hand
,

chaser The radii of bo t h t h e crest and t he root of a Whit

wor t h th rea d equal 3 7 3 tim
.

es the pitch and t he dept h of the

tim
,

thread equals es the pitch The angle between t he

s as m
.

side easured inan axial plane is 5 5 degrees .

C ut t ing a Th rea d wi t h a R ev ol ving Tool W h en it is nec e

s .

sary to t hread a part th a t will n ot swing inthe l a the onacc ount

of a proj ecting m em ber tha t will not cl ear t he l a the bed it is ,

34 THR EA CUTT IN G
D — M ETHO DS

s om etim es possible to m ount t he work on t he carriage and t e

volve t he tool The work is bol t ed or ot herwise atta ched t o
.

t h e carriage so t ha t wh atever surface is to be th read ed is con

centric wi t h t h e lat he spindle The t ool m ay be fast en ed t o on e

of the jaws of a chuck to provide radial adj ustm

.

ent and the

thread is t hen cut in t he usual m
,

anner .

Formin g T h r ea d s by a R ev ol v in g S t ee l D i sk S crew th re
.
a d s

have been form ed onm anganese st eel pins studs et c by t rav , , ,

ersin g a rapid l y revol vi ng hardened tool s teel dis k along

- t h e

blank to be threaded The disk has a V shaped edge or peri phery -

of the sam e angle as t he t hread and serves to formt he thread

.

g roove Thi s d is k h as a pe ripheral s peed varyi n g bet w e en

m
.

3 0 0 0 a nd 4 0 0 0 feet per inute a n d when a t

,
h r ead is being fo rm e d ,

the edge of the disk is forced against t h e slowly revolving blank

The heat generated by friction softens t he m
.

aterial so tha t t h e
disk rem oves the stock in t he formof sm all t hin sca les Th e
operation is slow and expensive and this m et hod has been em
.

ployed because it seem ed t o be the only practicable way of

doing t he work The attachm ent consisting of the disk disk
g pulley and suitable spindle bearings was m
.
,

spindle d rivi n
, ,
ount ed
on t he slide rest of an ordinary la t he t he disk being driven
-

independe ntly from an overhead drum The blank t o be

,

threaded was m
.

ounted between t he lat he centers and t he disk

traversed along by t he lead screw of t he lat he the sam
- e as when
cutting a th read in the usual m
,

an ner This rapidly revolving

disk operates in prac ti cally t he sam
.

e way as t he well known -

friction saw except t hat it is necessary to avoid excessive heating

,

of t h e steel t o be thr eaded as t his would injure t h e quali ty of

the st eel and m

,

ight burn the t hread When t he hardened

disk is at work t h e tem per is not drawn (although t he m
.

, a

t erial being th readed is hea t ed su fficiently t o soften it) be ,

cau se t he disk is revol ving very rapidly and the work slowly so ,

that any section or u nit of length along t he periphery of t he

disk is in contact wi t h t he work a very short tim e as com pared
wi t h a given point on t he work ; consequently t h e disk has a
mu ch greater time for cooling t han t he work which accumulat es
,

t h e generated heat .
3 6 T HR EAD CUTT IN G
- M ET HOD S

varying the forward cutting speed and for reversing the rotation
of the spindle the latter being effected automatically at the com
,

p let i on of the cut The carriage has front and rear tools and
when the m
.
,

achine is in operation these tools are fed in auto

mat ically to the required dep th ; the carriage is then traversed
,

along the bed by a central lead s crew and when the tools reach
the end of the cut they are autom
,

,
atically withdrawn and the
ca rriage is returned to the s tarting point The tools are then .

fed in again far enough for taking a new cut and the cycle ,

of operations is repeated until the thread is finished to the size for

which the machine is set when the feeding of the tools is auto
m
,

a t ically stopped .

C utt in g Tool s of A utomatic L athe There are four po siti ons

or holders for cutting tool s on the autom

.

atic lathe (see Fig .

For external work two tools are u sed one being located at the
front and the other at the rear as previously m
, ,

,
entioned When .

cutting a thread close to a left hand shoulder the two left hand
- -
,

positions or holders are utilized and if the shoulder is on the

opposite side the t wo right hand holders are em
,

,
- ployed By .

using t wo cutti ng tools for external work it is possible to have ,

one tool cut one wall or side of t he threa d while the other tool
operates onthe opposite side of the thread When t he tools are
applied in this way they m
.

ay be ground with t op rake in order

,

t o secure a better cuttin g action Wh en cutting an angular .

thread such as the A cme o r a worm thread a square nosed -

r ughing tool s sometimes u sed mt he rear and a formfinishing

, ,

o i -

tool in t h e front A finishing tool of the gooseneck or spring

type is recom mended A nother method of cutting a thread of
.

sim m
.

ilar form to unt a single square nosed roughing tool inad

is o -

vance the front and rear tools The square nosed tool then cuts
o f - .

a rough groove which is finished by t he t wo fo llowing tools ta king ,

sh earing cuts on opposite sid es of t h e thread When cut t ing .

a square thread a roughing tool which is about

, inch narro w
, ,

is used and the thread is fini shed t o the required size by a tool
,

in front When cutti ng a double thread both threa d groov es

.
,

may be cut simultaneously by u sing four tools ; t wo parallel

roughing t ools operating in adjacent grooves are located at the
 TH R EAD CUTTING IN T HE LATHE 37

rear and tw o fin ishing tools at the front of the m achine C hange

gears are em ployed for adapting t he m
.
,

achine to cut threads of

difierent pitch
m m m
.

C ontroning M ech anis o f A u t o at i c Lat h e On e of the i .

portant features of this la t he is t he back shaft which controls

-

the traversing movement of the carriage and the points of

reversal as well as the inward and outward m
,
ovem ents of the
cutting tools When t he carriage reaches the end of its travel
at the com pletion of t he cut it com
.

es against an adjustable
,

Pig . t o. ( A and B ) S w in gin g Typ e of Int erna l T hr ea din g Tool

h older .
( C ) Int ern a l T reahdin g Bar wiht C h as er

collar on the back haft The result is that the back haft is
-s -s

d this end wise m

.

shifted longitudina lly an otion throws into

engagement a mechanismat t he headstock end of the m
,

achine ,

which causes the back sha ft to revolve one half revolution

- - .

This rotationserves a double purpose in t hat it with draws the

t wo cuttin g t ools from t he work and at th e sam e time reverses

the m
, ,

otionof the lathe spindle Whent h e carriage reaches the

end of the retu rn m
.

ovem ent caused by the reve rsal of the spin

,

dle and lead screw rotation it encounters ano t her stop on t he

-
,

back shaft so t hat the latter is again shifted in the opposite

-

direction This endwi se m ovem

,

ent again cau ses the b ack shaft -

e half revolution which autom atically m

.

t o rev olve on - oves t he

,
3 8 THR EAD CUT TIN G
- M ETHOD S

tool s inward for t he next cutting stroke The tools are mov ed a .

little far t her inward for successive strokes by a rat ch et an d pawl

mechanism
m
.

In t ernal Th rea d C u tt ing on A u t o a t ic Lat h e T h e au t o .

matic la t he may be used for internal as well as external t hread

cuttin g Operations One type of tool holder used for in t ernal
.
-

work is illustrated at A and B in Fig 1 0 This t ool holder is-

. .

known as the clapper box type because it has a block which

-

is pivoted t o pe rm
,

it swinging t he tool holder up out of t he way

-

Fig 1 1. Arrange mnt

e for Cutting Threads on Chuck Jav a in
Aut omt i Lat he
.

a c

as s hown at B This type Of tool holder is especially des irable

.
-

when using plug gages for testing the size of the work because
the tool holder can readily be m
,

- oved out of t he way for in

serting the gage and it is not necessary t o di sarrange t h e au t o

matic stops nor run t he ca rriage back beyond its regular point
of reversal Th e tool holder for internal t hreading m
-
ay be pro

ishncutt er A n
.

v ided with a roughi ng cutter followed by a fin .

internal th reading bar h aving a chaser (see sketch C ) is some

tim es u sed
A n interesting exam
.

ple of internal th read cutting performed

on the autom atic lat he is illustrated by t he dia gram Fig 1 1 ,
.
,
 THR EAD CUTTING IN THE LATHE 39

which repments a plan view and illustrates a method of cutting

the semi circular threads along the rear sid es of chuck jaws
-
'

These jaws are held in special fixtures mounted on t he tool

slides and the threading tool bar is he ld in the lathe spindle and

is supported at t he outer end in a follow rest

- When the lathe
.

is in operation t he tool slide and the work mov e in

,
- ward and ,

after the work is traversed past the cutting tools the slida ,

m
i n
“
Th ree Lam e of n and Relieving Type
Ta

7
7ff
;f La m
Taper and Relieving Type
e of

The autom
.

atic t hrw ding lathe illustrated in Fig 1 2 is capable of

.

cutting either a straight or ta per thread on a tap and relieving

the thread at the same time This lathe of the quick t etum
. is -

type the
,
being drawn back t o the starting point after
the lead screw nut has been released at the end of the cut It
- .

is similar in rs pec t t o the quick return type of automatic

-

lathe intended primarily for cutting scre w threads of relatively

fin
m
e pitch WM is so designed t hat t he work revolves continu
mfion The weight A (see Fig 1 2 ) ca uses t he
,

ou sly in one .
.
40 THR EAD —CU T TT
NO METHODS

rapid return movem ent of the carriage after the cutting tools
have withdrawn and the lead screw nut is released The travers
-

ing m
.

ovement of the carriage is controlled by stops on the

back shaft B and the shock at the end of the rapid return move
-

ment is absorbed by an adjustable air cushion formed in cylinder

C This m achine has a taper attachm ent which operates on the
sam e general principles as the taper at tachm
.

en t o f an engine
la t he The ia and out movement for relieving the teeth of t he
- -

tap is derived from cam rolls D carried by the faceplate

.

These rolls which are spaced according to the number of re

m m
,

ciprocat in g ove ent s required engage a plate att ached t o

arm E This armin turn is fastened to rock shaft F which

,

through a lever ( not shown) im parts a cross m

.
, , , ,

- ovement t o the
guide 6 of the ta per attachm
,

ent and to the tool slide The ln

-

ward or cutting m ovement is positive whereas the return m

.

ove
ment is derived froma spring
.
,

- —
C hange gears for S crew cutt ing Lathes —
The combination .

of gearing required for cutting a thread of given pitch seldom

needs to be determined by t he lathe operator because if t he , ,

lathe is of the type having ordinary change gears an attached

-
,

ta ble or index plate S hows what gears are needed ; similarly ,

if t hc la t he is of t he q uick chan e
-
g gea r t ype, t h e posi t io s n
of

whatever controlling handles there may be are also indicated by

a table for threads of different pitches included in the range of the
machine Occasionally however a machinist or toolmaker finds
it necessary to determ
.
, ,

-
ine what change gears are required par
t icularly for so m
,

e special thread cutting operation

- .

In order to calculate w hat size gears should be used for

certain pitch of thread the n umber of threads per inch that
,

be cut when gears of equal size are placed on the lead screw and -

spindle stud should firs t be determ ined either by referring to the

index plate or by actual trial ( If the m
,

ain spindle of the la the

.

and the sp indle stud are geared in the ratio of 1 to 1 the number ,

of t h reads pinch t ha t will be cut when usin

er g gears of eqnal
size will correspond t o the number of threads per inch on the
lead -screw ) This number which will be referred to as t he
lathe screw con st ant is written down as the num
.
,

,
”
erator of a
 THRE AD CUTTING IN TH E LA TH E 4 1

fraction and th e num ber of th reads t o be cut as t he denom i

nator The n um erator and denom inator are t henm
, ,

ultiplied by
som
.

e trial number until products are obtained which equal t he

numbers of teet h in change gears t hat are available For in
- .

stance if t h e la t he screw con

,
s tan t is 4 and 1 2 th read s per inch

are to be cut gears having 24 and 7 2 teet h could be u sed assum

, ,

ing of cou rse t hat such gea rs were supplied wi t h t he lathe

This res ult is de t erm
.
, ,

ined as follows :
a
12 e 6 7 2

The t rial number selected in this particular case is 6 and the

product of this trial number and t he num
,

erator of t he la t he
screw constan t equals t he number of teeth in t he gear for the
spindle stud whereas the product of t h e tria l n um ber and de
nom inator equals t h e num
,

ber of tee t h in t h e gear for t he lead

screw

C om
.

po und G ea ring f or Th read C utt ing In order to cu t

so m
.

e pitches it is necessary t o use a com pound trainof gearing

or four gears in stead of t wo The sizes of these gears m
,

ay

be determ
.

ined in practically t he same way as described for

simple gearing The lathe screw constant is w rit t en d own as
a numerator and t he number of threads t o be cut as t he de
.

nom inator of a fraction but before m ul tiplying wi t h t he t rial

number t he num
, ,

erator and denomi nator are resolved into

factors Each pair of factors (one factor in t he num
,

erator and
e in the denom inator are referred to as a pair ) is t henm
.

on ulti
plied by t he sam e trial num ber t o obtain values represen t ing
num bers of tee t h in gears t hat are avail able To illustrate .
,

if t he la t he screw con stant is 6 and r% thread per inc h is to be

cut the change gears would be c alcul a ted as follo w s
,
-

—
I é 3 6 X 28

The d riving gears inthis case have 7 2 and 4 8 tee t h and the
, , .

driven gears 3 6 and 2 8 teeth respectively When the lead of

, ,
.

t he threa d is expressed as a fraction of anin ch the correspond ,

3 8
4 2 TH REA CUTTIN G
D — M ETHOD S

ing num ber of threads per inch should first be determ ined In
the case of a single th read t he num
.

ber of t hreads per inch

,

equals 1 divided by t he lead .

Ch a e gears for M etric Pitch es
ng - S crew threads based on .

the m etric systemof m easurem ent usually have the lead of the
thread expressed in m illimeters If the lathe to be used has a
lead screw out according to t he English systemof m easurem
.

- ent
the change gears m
,

- ay be ca lculated as follow s : M ultiply the

l athe screw constant by the lead of t he t hread in m illimeters

and the product by 5 t o find t h e num
,
ber of teeth int he spindle
st ud gear . The gear on t he lead screw should have 1 2 7 teeth - .

Just how thi s rule is derived will be apparent by considering

a sim ple exam ple S uppose the screw is to have a lead of 3
millimeters and t he la t he screw constant is 4 The number of
.

m
.

thread s per i nch equals 3 be cau se there are illi

meters per inch The ratio of the change gears may be ex
,

pressed by a fracti onhavi ng t he screw constant as the num

.

erator
an d t h e num ber of threads per inch as the d enom in ator Thus .

number by which
T he first whole can be multiplied and
obtain a whole num ber as t he product is 5 ; hence the num era tor

and denom inator of t he fractional expression are m

,

ultiplied by
5. Th us

5 X 3 X 5 60
25 .
4 X 5 1 27

Therefore a t hread of 3 m
, illim eters lead would require a
oo tooth gear on t he spindle stud and a 1 2 7 tooth gear on the
- -

lead sc rew
-

If a screw having a given num

.

ber of th reads per inch is to

be cut on a l athe h av ing a m etric l ead screw first determ ine t h e -

metric screw co nstant or t he lead of the thread in milli

,
”

meters t hat wo uld be cut with change gears of equal size on -

t he spindl e stud and t he lead screw

- The product of t he num .
 CHA P TE R III
THREAD-GU TTIN G A TTA C H M ENTS

A S P E C IA L mechani m or som
s e formof attachm ent may be
used in connection wi t h t hread cutting operations ei t her in en
'

gine lathes turret la t hes or o t her classes of m achine tools

ay or m ot be em
,

which m
,

ay n ployed ordinarily for work of this

kind A n attachm
. ent is som etimes applied to an engine lathe
for cutting a screw thread of unusually large lead or for other
special operatio n s such as cut t ing thread s w hich di ffer slightly

in pitch fromt he sta ndard pitch Thread cutting attachm

,

ents
-

are also applied to som

.

e turret la t hes so t hat threads may be

,

cut by m eans of a single point tool or chaser whenever a tap or

-

die cannot be used t o advantage

A tt ach m
.

ents for C u tt ing S cr ew s of Large Lead When a .

la t he is u sed for cutting a sc rew thread of exceptionally large

lead or steep pitch the change gear m
, , echanismm
- ay be sub

j ec t ed t o exce ssive stresse s if the power for traversing the car

riage along t h e bed is transm i tted fromthe lathe spindle to t he

lead screw in the u sual m
- anner This is due t o the unusual
distance that t he carriage m ust m
.

ove along the bed per rev olu

tion of the work in order t o obtai na large lead F or ins tance
if the lead is such t hat the lead screw m
.
,

ust be revolv ed quite

-

rapidly t o m ove t he carriage and tool a di stance equal t o the

l ead of the thread each tim e the spindle m akes one revolution ,

the teeth especially on the first gear of the train m

,

,
ay be broken ,

as a result of the excessive stress O ne m ethod of avoiding

.

trouble of this ki nd is t o apply power directly t o the l ead screw -

instead of to the spindle ; m otio n is the n transm itted fromt he

,

high speed m
- ember of the gear train t o t h e low speed m
- em ber ,

as t h e lead screw drives the spindle and the load on the gear
-

teeth is reduced .
 THR EAD UTT ING ATTACHM ENT S
-C
45

A no t her met hovercom

od of ing t his diffi culty is by driving
the lead screw from the gear on the cone pulley a special at
-

ta chm sm it the m
,

en t or gearing being u sed t o tran otion On .

one design of lathe arranged in this way t he cone pulley h as a

velocity ten tim
,

es that of the spindle when t he back gea rs are

-

engaged ; consequently by using the rapidly revolving cone

,

gear as t h e driver in the t rain of gearing connecting with t he

lead screw t he stress on the tee t h is reduced proportionately
-
, .

If it is assumed t hat t he lead of a screw t o be cut is 3 % inches

an d tha t t here are 4 thread s per inch on t he lathe lead screw -
,

the spe ed of the lead screw relative t o the spindle speed is 1 4 to

-

1. By driving directly fromt h e cone gear however the ratio , ,

will be changed to 14 t o 1 0 because the cone pulley revolves

ten tim
,

es as fast as the spindle ; therefore the power necessary

for traversing the carriage is easily transm
,

itted through the

gearing and wi t hout overstressing the teeth The gearing on a
coarse thr eading attachm ent of this kind m
.
,

ay be arranged

as follow s : A double sliding gear on the reversing shaft in side

of t he head sto ck can be engaged either with the regular driving

gear on t he spindle or wi t h a sm all gear at t h e end of the cone

pulley For cutting threads of large lead t he sliding gear is

.
,

engaged with t he cone gear and the back gears are thrown into
-

mesh The sliding gear will t hen make t en revolutions t o one

.

of the spindle ; consequently if t h e lathe were geared to cut one

,

th read per inch it would cut a thr ead groove having a l ead of
,

t eninches when driving th rough t h e slid ing gear an d co ne p inio n

A nattachm ent of this kind m
.

ay be u sed for cutti n g oil grooves -

in cylindrical parts and for sim ilar operations as well as for cut ,

ting screws of large lead .

S pecia Lead screw for C oars e P i t ch es

l - A rear view of a
.

L odge S hipley lat he havi ng a special lead screw for cutting -

th reads of large lead is shown in Fig 1 Thi s auxiliary lead

. .

screw ext ends along t h e rear side of t h e bed and w he nin use t he

back gearing of t he headstock is engaged ; the drive is then from

,

t h e large back gear through the change gearing shown t o the

-
,
-
,

special lead screw

- A long half nut at t he b ack of t he ca rriage
.
-

engages t he thread s of the lead screw and is so arranged t hat it

-
46 THR EAD CUTTIN G
— 14171 110 05

my b
a e raised or lowered by a ca mpato erat ed by a handwheel
the front of the apron The lead screw is supported on the
- .

under side by a number of long shoes attached t o the lathe bed .

This lathe is equipped with the regular quick change gear mecha
-

nism and a lead screw at the front for ordinary thread cutting
- -

operations with leads ranging from to 2 inches The coars e

pitch threading attachment is used for leads varying from2 t o
.

1 5 inches

m m m
.

Oh inin g S light Var ia t ions in P it ch It is so eti es neces .

sary to cut a screw th read h av ing a pit ch which is sligh tly

Fig . 1. Att ach mnt f Cutt ing

e or Threads of Course Pit ch or
Large Lead

greater or less than standard A very sm all increase of pitch

.

may be requi red in order to allow for shrinkage of the steel in

hardening or if a screw is t o be fitted into a hardened pa rt ha v
ing an internal thread it m ay be necessary t o m
,

,
ake the pitch of
t he screw thread less than stand on account of shrinkage in
the nut or other part w hich is to receive the screw A
increase in pitch may easily be obtained by m
.

eans of a taper
atta chment but cutting a pitch les s than standard is m
,
ore

difficult
When a taper attachm
.

ent is used to increase t he pitch slightly ,

it is set at a nangle and t h e part t o be t hreaded is loca t ed at the

u m angle by adju ting the tail tock center ;

e s s consequently , t he
 T HR EAD CU TT ING ATTACHM ENTS
-
47

t hread tool will cut a st rai ght t hread or one of uniformdiam eter
throughout its leng t h but as t he tool point m oves alo ng an
angular path relative t o the m ovem
,

ent of t he ca rriage it travels ,

fart her than t he carriage The result is t hat t he pitch of t he

.

thread cut by th e tool is a litt le grea ter t han t he pitch for which
t he l a the is geared The am ount t hat t he pitch is increased
.

depends upon t he angle betw een t he axi s of t he work (or t he

angle to w hich the taper attachm ent is set ) and a line represen t
ing th e m ovem ent of the carriage The cosine of t he angle t o
wh ich t he w ork and taper a ttachm
.

ent should be set for obtain

ing a given increase inpitch equ al s t h e standard pitch (obtai ned

with the regular gearing) divided by t he increased pitch neces
sary t o com pensate for sh rinkage
If a screw thread m
.

u st be out having a pitch slightly less

than standard special equipm ent is required One m et hod is

to provide special gears which give a som

,
.

ew hat grea ter redu e

tion of the pitch than is necessary T h e taper a ttachm
. ent
is then u sed as previou sly expl ai ned t o i ncrease the pitch so
, ,

that it is below the standard ju st t he right am ou nt For in .

stance if t h e required pitch is

,
in ch instead of the stand ard
of inch (fiv e threads per inch) gears havi ng 83 and 84
teeth respec tively could be u sed t o forma com
,

, ,
pound train of
gea ring and reduce the inch pitch obtained with t he reg
-

ular change gea rs This reduction would equal asof

- .
inch ,

or inch In order t o increase t he pitch of inch to

inch th e taper atta chm
.

, ent and work are set at an angle ,

t he co sine of w h ich equals divided by equals

wh ich is the cosine of 3 degrees 4 0 m inutes A s t his exam ple
.

indica t es the pitch for which t he lath e is geared is divided by

,

the pitch required t o obtai n t he cosine of t he angle

A t tach m
, .

en t s for C h angin g t h e P i t ch L a t h es t hat a

. re u sed
extensively for precisio n screw cutting are som et h es equ ipped
with special com pensa ting a ttachm en ts for varying t he pitch
Th ese attachm ents m ay be u sed in som
.

e cases t o cut screw

threads which differ slightly fromthe sta ndard pitch as when
an allowance m ust be m kage or t he a ttac hm
,

ade for sh ri n en t
may be used t o com
,

pensate for slight inaccuracies in t he lead

48 THR EAD -CU T TIN G ME THODS

i
screw inorder t o cut t hreads t o a g v en pit ch wit hin as close
limits as possible M ost of t hese attachmen t s are designed t o
vary the pitch ei ther by im parting a turning m ovem
.

ent t o t he
nut engaging the lead sc rew or by shifting the lead screw itself
- -

The diagram Fig 2 illus trates how

,

ina lengthwise direction

slight variations m
.
,
.
,

ay be obtained by turning t he lead screw nut

-

or as a result of a difl erential motion between the lead screw and

-

the nut connecting with the tool carriage A nut of special

form is m
.

ounted in a bracket attached to the carriage so that it

Pig . 3 . O no of AM ch mnt f
e O bt nlnin
or g Sfig ht Varlsfi o min
Pitc h or for C
o ec
rr t ing Lea d -
screw Errors

isfree to turn P roj ecting fromthis nut there is an arm A t he

d of w hich is held firm ly against t h e edge of a com
,
.

en pensating
strip B by w eigh t C Th e s t ri
c a n be set in an inclined
position so that when armA is traversed along it t he nut is
.

, , ,

turned in one direction or the other thus inc reasi ng or decrees ,

ing t he pitch of t he thread cut by the lathe by advancing or ,

retarding the m ovem

m
ent of the carriage
Fig 3 i llus trates a type of com
.

The diagra ,
pensating a t
.
,

threaded sleeve A which is screwed i nto an outer sta tionary

,
.

sleeve B Th e lead
.
-screw is free to rota t e in sleeve A and it ,

can be moved in a lengthwise direction relative to sleeve B when

 THRE AD C - U TTIN G ATT ACHM ENTS 49

sleeve A is screwed inor out of sleeve B The turning m ove

ment of sleeve A for varying the pit ch is derived from a
.

pinion attached t o A which m eshes wi t h a rack C having at its

lower end a block engaging a slot in pla t e D This pla t e D is .

attached t o a slide E which is connec t ed t o the lathe carriage by

a rod F ; consequently slide E and plat e D m
,

, ove with the car

riage and when slot D is in an angular posi tion the resulting
ver tical movem
,

ent of rack C turns sleeve A and shifts the l ead

screw thus varying the pitch of t h e t hread cut by the la t he
,
.

Pig .
3 . Anot h e Fo mof Att a hment fo
r r c r b
O t aining S li g t h
V i tion in Pit h
ar a s c

Q uick t h readinmnt f Engin L th

g A tt ach The e or e a e .

H nd y quick th reading ttachm

e e ent how n in Fig 4 nd 5 i
- a s s a s

intended e pecially f cutting com

.

s par tiv ly hort t hre d n

or a e s a s o

duplica t e part v ying from n t thr inch in l ngth

s ar o e o ee es e

although it my be u ed f length up t i inche Thr d

,

a s or s o s x s ea

cutt ing can be done r pidly with t h tt chmnt wi ng t the

.

a e a a e o o

high speed at whi ch t he carri age is ret urned fromt h e end of

the cut t o the starti ng point This rapid return m ov em en t is -

eff ected by a quick return sleeve hav i ng a multipl e thread of

.

coarse pitch This return sleev e as w ell as t he th read ch asi ng

sleeve fromwhich the forw ard m
,

ov em
.

ent is derived rota tes

cons tan tly when t he at tachm
,

ent is in use T h e l engt h o f t he .

n e u m
travel in either direction is gover d by a to tic t p dogs
a ri - .
5 0 TH R EAD CUTTIN G
— M ETHODS

The chasing sleeve Y and the quick return sleeve H are geared -

together and rota te at the sam e speed as the lead screw The
- .

nuts Z anl attached t o rocker Q m ay be en g g

a ed w it h the
m
, ,

sleeves .Rocker Q is connected with t he apron by eans of

push shaft I th rough the handle indicated at X When the
- .

sp lit nut in t he apron is disengaged rota tion of the lead screw

-

will m
,

ove t h e carriage in one di rection when nut Z is engaged

with the chasing sleeve Y and the rapid return m- ovem ent is
obtained when nut Z; and sleeve H are in engagem
,

ent The
dogs T; and T2 determ ine the lim
.

its of travel by striking stop

Fig .
4 .
Q uic k-t h
rea di ng Att hmnt
ac e for E ngine Lat h e

pins on brack et J which throws the handle X and rocker Q to

,

the neutral po sition in which position nei ther nut is in engage

ment
,

If a right hand threa d is t o be cut the cha nge gears in the

- -

gear box of t he lathe are set for whatever pitch m

,

- ay be requ ired ,

and the regular reverse handle A is thrown down ward and left in
that po sition The atta chm ent should be clam ped tigh t ly t o
the bed by m eans of clam
.

p screw L at a point which will allow

of the d esired am ount of travel Handle X is placed in the
.

neutral position and t he t wo dogs T1 and T2 marked R “

,
”

( w hi c h signifi e
s right -hand ) are placed on shaf
,t 1 The latter .

is then connected with X by the taper pin S The dogs are set .

by running t he carriage by hand to the point w here it is to stop ,

and then sliding the corres ponding dog along shaft I until it eu
gages the top pin Assum
s — . ing that the first cut is to be taken
5 2 THR EAD —CU T TING MET HOD S

threading attachm ent revolves at the sam e speed as the lead -

screw ; therefore it is evident that when the lathe gear box is

,
-
,

set for 6 thr eads per inch the pitch of the thread cut by the
mnt will b m
,

a t tach e e t he sa e as t ha t of t he ch asing sleev e on t he

attachment If the gear box were set for 1 2 threads per inch
.
-
,

a thread of one half the pitch of the chasing sleeve would be cut
-
,

and so on it being possible t o cut any number of threads per

,

inch lis ted on the index pla t e of the gear box which is divisible
-

by 6 For exam
,

ple suppose that the chasing sleeve of the at

t ach m
.
,

ent has 4 threads per inch ; then with the gear box handle
-
,

set at 6 threads per inch a 4 pitch th read will be cut ; with t he

-
,

handle at 2 an 8 pitch thread ; with the handle at 1 8 a 1 2 pitch

1 -
,
-
,

thread ; with the handle at 24 a 1 6 pitch thread ; with the

-
,

handle at 3 a 24 pitch thread etc When the gear box handle

6 - -

is set at interm
,
.
, .

ediate positions or for pitches no t divisible by 6 ,

the thread cannot be picked up again w hen the second cut is

sta r ted because the chasing sleeve is always in m
, otion When .

cutting threads which are finer than those on the chasing sleeve
it is evident that the lead screw and attachm ent m
,

- ust rotate at
a reduced speed which reduces the speed of the return travel ;
,

therefore it is advisable to use a chasing sleeve having a pitch as

,

near as possible to the one that is t o be cut

A nattachm
.

Dir ect a cting Lea d screw

- - ent for cutting screw
threads rapidly on a lathe of t h e m
.

anufacturing type ( see fi g 6)

is so arranged that the carriage is m
.

oved along t he bed by the

direct action of a short lead s crew and without the use of gear
ing between the lead screw and the spindle The lead screw is
- -

in the formof an externally threaded sleeve and is m

.

ounted on
an exte nsion of the spindle When a cut is being taken the .
,

lead screw is engaged by two segm ent shaped nuts One nut is
- - .

shown at C and the other is on the opposite side of the lead

screw These nuts by traversing bracket J and the pull rod -

K transm it m
.
,

o ti on to the ca r riage

In order t o adjust the attachm

.
,

ent the carriage is located ,

in the position it should occupy at the beginning of th e cut .

The ri ght hand carriage s top is then placed against it and

-

fastened The bracket I should be located next t o t he head

.
 EAD CUTTING AT TACHM ENTS
THR —
53

stock and should be attached to pull

K which in turn is
-rod

red t o t he carriage by m
, , ,

secu eans of a grip screw With the .

carriage in this position han ,dwheel A is turned to the left thus ,

locating the t woarms B in the position shown which engages ,

-
the nuts with the lead screw S top D is next set so that finger
.

E will cc nt ac t mt h finger F The wheel A 1s now turned to the

the nuts fro the lead screw and t he m
m - r »

riage is moved f o rward t o the position it occupies at the end of

-
tun
ing
‘ ’
l ype

th e cut A fter wheel A is turned t o the right as far as it will go

the square corner of armB co m
.
,

es into contact with the

side of block 6 trip-latch H is set so that it engages
,

cu t t ing a thread the carriage is located in the starting

o w by the stop at the right ha nd side When the tool has
- .

f& in for taking a cut wheel A is t urned t o the left thus

, ,

the nu ts and lead screw The carriage moves forward

-

m
nu are automatically disengaged by the engagem
.

ent
54 THR EAD CUTTIN G METHO DS
—

of finger I wi th latch H T he tool is then withdrawn and the

.

carriage returned by hand t o the starting position This cycle .

of operations is repeated until the thread is finished The manu

m
.

fact uring lathe t o which this attach ent is applied is made by

the Porter Cable M achine C o S yracuse N Y
- .
, , . .

-
Thread chasing Atta chment The lathes of the Fox or m on .

it or type which are used so exten sively in the m anufacture of

brw fittings have a thread c hasing attachm
,

- ent that afiords a

rapid m The chasing attachm
,

eans of cutting sc rew thread s ent .

shown on the un iversal turret lathe in Figs 7 and 8 (built by the .

A cme M achine Tool C o C i ncinnati Ohio ) will ser ve t o illus ,

F ig .
7 . Front View of U ni e sal Tu v r rr et or M onit or Lat he eq uipped

trate th eimportant features com mon to attachments of this

The attachment has a round bar A extending along the
rear of t h e bed T his bar is munt d in b
o e eari ngs so t hat it is
free t o m
.

ove in an endwise direction A ttached to one end of

the bar there is an armB which carries the follower G The
.

follow er has several arm

.

s or section s which are threa ded like the

segment of a nut These segm ent shaped ends have t hrw ds of

-

difl erent pitches to m

.

atch the pitch of t h e thread on wha tever

leader C is being used When the chasing attachm ent is in m
the follower is placed in engagem
.
,

ent with this leader C which ,

is simply a short lead s crew and is co nnected th rough gearing

with th e m achine spindle As th e leader rotates an endwise
m mnt i
.
,

o ve e s irnpa rt ed t o t h e ch asing bar A and t o t he t hread

 35

chasing tool which is carried by a toolpost on slid e B which

in turn is supported by armF atta ched at the rear to bar A
, ,

. .

The leader is sometimes applied directly to the spindle in

which case it s pitch m
,

ust coincide with the pitch of t he thread

to be cut Ordinarily however it is mounted on a shaft and
.
, ,

is geared t o t he spindle int he ra t io of z t o x, t he leader rev olv

ing at one M
- the spindle speed When the la der is driven
through gearing the relation bet wm the pi tch of its thread and
.

the pitch of the thread onthe work depends upon the gear ratio .

In any case where gearing is used the leader revolves slower

,

than the spindle in order to increase its pitch and make the

and more d urable If the ratio of the gearing

.

pitch of the threa d on the leader would be double

thread to be cut .

ca rries the chasing tool is operated by crank

adju st the tool in accordance with the dia m
The slide is located for cutting threads on
a stop screw K The a rmF h as an exten
- .

front of the bed .

is in a horizontal position except

Wh en armF is shifted by the
,

tension the chaser bar is turned in

,

and leader are disengaged ; at the

wn fromthe work The tool s lide
- .
5 6 THR EA CUTTIN G neurons
D -

is prev ent ed fro m winging f

s art her back t hanis necessary by a

finger N , which engages a projection on the bed The part to

be threaded may either be held in some formof chuck on a
.

special arbor inse rted in the spindle or between centers

, the ,

in
outer center being carried in a hole the turret The tool rest - .

is clamped along bar A at the rear in whatever position is n

, ec es

sary for locating the tool relati ve to the part to be threaded

M eth od of U sing Threa d chasing A ttachm

.

- ent — When an .

atta chment of the type illus tra ted in Figs 7 and 8 is in use the
.
,

tool or chaser which is held in an in verted position is traversed

, ,

by the leader until the end of the cut is reached ; the follower is
then disengaged fromt he l eader and the tool returned for an
,

other cut which is taken as soo nas the tool is fed downward by
handle B These cuts m
,

ay be taken rapidly and a thread fin

ish ed in a surprisingly short tim

.

e The action of the chaser bar

may be controlled entirely by ha nd or may be partly regulated
.

by adjustable stops onbar A and a return spring One m ethod

When the chaser has m
.

of us ing s top s is as fo llows : oved for

ward the required distance a stop on the bar m akes contac t with
a fixed stop ( which m
,

ay be one of the bearin gs in which the

shaft slides and os cillates) and the angular flanks of the leader
thread force the follower out of engagem
,

ent and cause the

chaser or cutt er t o withdraw fromthe work Then a coiled .

spring or w eight acting on the bar causes it t o return to the

s tarting po siti on which is also regulated by an adju s table stop

, .

This operation is repeated until the thread is finished The

method of using a stop on the machine shown in Figs 7 and 8 is
.

as follow s : The stop P is set so that a spring ( not shown ) will

return the chaser just beyond the end of the piece to be threaded ,

and the follower G is so located relative to the leader C that it

runs 0 5 the thread of the leader when t he required lengt h of
thread has been chased
The followers of chasing attachments have teeth form
.

ed on
themby m eans of a hob This hob m ay be placed on the leader

spindle te m porarily o r cutting teeth m ay be form

.

ed at one
end of the leader thus co m
,

, bining the leader and hob in one

unit . When there is a star shaped follower having teeth of
-
 m ea n-c o mm a 1117 »
c
. m
a 57

e e al difierent pitches (as shown at C Fig

s v r the follower , .

is turned to locate in the working pod tion whichever end ,

corresponds to the pitch of the leader being used The leaders .

for t hread chasing la t hes sho uld be made of tool steel (not neces
o

sarily hardened) and the followers of a fairly soft m aterial such ,

The gearing connecting the spindle and leader of a thread

chasing attachment of the Fox type is commonly provided
with an intermediate or idler gear which can be engaged in
order to permit cut t ing left hand threads This idler gear is
-

m
.

oen t ed on a swinging plate and when cutting right -hand

threads the drive is direct fromthe spindle gear to th e gear
, ,

which dri ves the leader When it is necessary to cut left-hand

threads the idler is pushed over in m
.

esh with the spindle gear

and s t t he same time the leader gear is disengaged fromthe

, ,

spindle gear so that t he motion is transmitted through t he idler

This reverses the m otion of the leader and the m ovem
, .

ent of the
chaser on the cutting stroke It is the practice in som . e brass
working shops to reverse the lathe pindle for chasing left hand
s -

threads so that the leader will continue to revolve in the same

direction and the chaser will m ove toward the headstock of the
machine when cutt ing a lef t hand thread the same as for a
-
,

The leader driving and reversing m echanism of the uni

versal monitor lathe built by the D reses M achine Tool C O .
,

Ci ncinnat i Ohio is shown in Fig 9

, , Gear A is on the main . .

p
s indle and gear B drives the leader For cha sing right-hand
screw t hreads motion is transm itted directly fromgear A to
.

gear B but for left hand threads lever D is shifted to the posi
,
-
,

tion shown in the ill ustration The drive is then through gears
.

A , C, nd B Lev ee
a it h its boss wiv els in a bea ring
m
.

for ed int he headst ock and is held inplace by a set screw an

- d
plug engaging the annular groo ve N also carries the Lever D
sm
.

all int ermediate gea r C S tud . E which supports the leader

,

L a n
d t he large gear B, is loca t ed ec cent rically inboss F so that , ,

by swi nging lev er D in one direc t ion or t he ot her, t he di rect

5 8 THR EAD um-c s M TH E ODS
drive or the drive through the interm ediate gear is obtained .

The lugs G and H onlev er D engage a fixed pin K at t ached t o

the heads tock whi ch limits the m
,
ovem ent of the lever and
brings t he gears into proper mesh .

C hasing A ttachment Appli ed t o Tapering Work When a .

chasing attac hm ent of the type illustrated in Figs 7 and 8 is .

appli ed to t he cutting of tapering screw thread s the plate D is ,

tilted at an angle so that as arm F is traversed along the plate

, ,

it will be elevat ed thus causing the tool to cut a tapering thr ead
,
.

Loaded vt ng nd c
a ninz l l cch an m
ic

The inclination of this plate depends upon the relative lengths

of the two arms of the chasing lever the distance from the cut
,

ting teeth of the chaser to the center of bar A rep resenting one
armand the dis ta nce from plate D to bar A representing the

other arm
If the armB t o which the follower is attached were rigidly
.

connec t ed to bar A when chasi n g a tapered thread the follower

would move away fro mt he leader as the chasing tool and arm F
,

were elevated by the inclined plate D while traversing fromthe

sm
,

a ll to the large end of the tapering part being threaded

m m
.

An y such ove ent of the fo llower relative t o the lead er would

cause the chaser bar to lag behind and resul t in a loss in pi tch as ,
6o m n
ea -c o mmME a TH ODS
angles of the surfaces in contact In som e cases this difliculty
has been partly o v erco m
.

e by allowing t he follo wer to swivel on a

stud located at right a ngles to the axis of t he leader .

Instead of using parallel leaders for chasing taper threads ,

taper leaders have been em ployed in conj unction wi th an in

clined plate for gui ding the chasing arm When u sing a taper .

leader it is necessary to consider the bearing contact with

,

the follower which cannot be made to fit the leader thread

,

at all points For instance if the follower is fitted t o the small

.
,

Fig 1 1 . . b
Flexi le or Yieldin g F
ollower A r m
f or Holding Follower
ln Contnct v ft h S t nl‘ h t Lu d cr wh cn ch a

end of the l eader , t he angle of it s teeth will be greater than if it

were m ade to fit the large end of the leader The contact ont he .

driving side will be at one point only on each thread or toot h,

except at the small end If the follower is fitted to the large
.

end of a tapering leader a better hearing will be obtained al

, ,

though in any case a relatively small amount of follower sur

, ,

face will be in contact with the leader .

The diffi culties previously referred t o in connection with

t aper work have been ov erco m e by using a fl exible or spring
 THR EAD CUTTIN G AT TACHM ENTS
- 61

s uppor ted follower arm The yielding follower armor holder

of a Dreses universal m
.

onitor lathe is illus trated in Fig 11

This holder cmsist s principally of a short lever A which is

. .

clamp d to the chasing bar B and a yoke shaped armC t o

,

e -
, ,

the upper end of w hich the star shaped follower is attached

-

Interposed bet ween lever A and armC is a spiral spring D

.

-
,

which bu rs against one side of lever A and res ts in a pock et

found in armC When chasing a tapered thread this spring
connection holds the follower into engagem
.
,

ent with the leader

while the chasing tool travels fromthe large to t he small end
of the tapering screw thread
If t he chasing tool m
.

ust run close to a shoulder the guide ,

plate ( corresponding to plate D Fig 7 ) may be provided with

, .

a rather abrupt tapering shoulder for elevating the chasing

tool quickly at t he end of the cut .

Thread-c ut ting M echanism of Gish olt Turret Lathe While

m
.

most t hread cut t in g i n t h e t urr et la t h e is don e b y eans of t aps

or dies sp ecial sizes or pitches are often required which can be

,

cu t t o bet e
t r ad antage by u ing ei ther a single point tool or a
v s -

chas er Th e Gisholt turret lathe is so arranged that the car

.

riage can be traver ed by the lead crew when a single point

s -s -

tool or chaser is t o be used The l ead screw is driven through

.
-

change gears which provi de for cutting thirt y two difl erent leads
- -

or pitches ranging from 4 to 5 6 thr eads per inch

, These same .

gears also furnish sixt y four feed changes the necessary redue
-

tionof movem
,

ent for feeding being obtained by shifting a pull

p in wh ich change s the ratio of the gearing thro ugh which m otion
is t ransm itted fro m the change gears to th e l ead screw
- -

The arrangement of the mechanismon the carriage which

.

makes it possible to readily catch the thread each time a

cut is tak en is shown in Fig 1 2 The view at A illustrates
. .

t he old t ype, and t ha t at B, t h e new t ype s ign

These t wo de s

om ewhat but are the sam

.

'

difl er s ,
e in principle The lead crew .
-
s

nut has a number of equally spaced notches in flange j and ,

when the carriage is being traversed by the lead screw the

-
,

end of pull pin p engages one of thes e notches When the

- .

t ool reaches the end of its cut pull pin p is withdrawn an

-
, d
62 THR EA CUTTING
D — M ET HODS

th e carriage n by hand for taking anot her cut The

is ret ur ed .

different notches in the lead screw nut serve t he same purpose

-

as graduated thread indicator on an ordinary engine lathe

t he
in that they are used for engaging t he carriage and lead scre w at
-

t he right time so that the tool will follow the original cut or
,

thread groove The number of notche in any lead screw nut

. s -

depends upon the lead of t he leads crew on that particular

machine The lead screw nuts with leads of 3 4 and 5 inches
.
-
, ,

have notches so located that they reprw ent inches of carriage

travel there being three notches in t he lead screw nut of 3 inch
,
- -

fi g . u . h
T read -cutti mf
ng M ec hanis o Gish olt Turr et Leth e

lead four notches in the nut of 4 nch lead and so on The

,
-i
,
.

lead screw nuts having leads of 3} and 4} inches which are

-
,

found on two sizes of Gisholt turret lathes have notches repre ,

senting inch of carriage travel .

When cutting threads of even pitch such as four six or , , ,

eight threads per inch the pull pin 1: may be engaged with
-
,

any notch on the lead screw nut regardles s of the lead of

-
,

the lead screw and the tool will follow the original cut The
-

reason why any notch m

.
,

ay be engaged when t he number of

threads per inch is even is illus trated by the diagram A Fig , .

1 3 which shows a screw having four threads per inch Thus ,

if the m
.
,

ovement of the tool is 1 inch as represented by posi ,

 T HREA D CUTTIN G ATTACHM ENTS
-
63

tions nd b or any whole number of inches it will still rem

0 a , ain

in alignment with the thread groove The alignm

,

ent would
l o be m ain ta ined for half inch m ovem
.

as ents as indicated by
-
,

positions 0 and c If there were an odd number of threads per

.

inch as indicated at B it would be necessary t o engage the pull

, ,

pin with notches representing an inch of carriage travel as illu s ,

t ra t ed by po sitio ns d and c This requires t wo notches or any

.
,

Fig Relati on
13. b et ween P osition of T ool nd S a crew T h
r ead s

al N um
.

h aving Even. O dd. en d F ti n

rac o b e of T hrs reads per Inc h
m
nu ber evenly divided by 2 on those m achines where one notch
represen ts one half inch of ca rriage travels w hereas ont he other
-

ovem
,

machines any notch will catch the thread A m en t equiv .

alent t o i inch r é inch etc w ould locate the tool on line with
, ,

the t op of the t hread as illu strated at ] If there w ere 5 % threads

,
.

per inch t o be cut th e pull pin should be engaged only wi t h

,
-

notches representing two inches of travel or 1 1 thread s on t he ,

screw because a mov ement of on

,
e inch would align t h e t ool
 T HR EAD CUTT ING AT TACHM ENT S
- 65

wit h t he t op of t he t hread Diagra mC h w s o s a screw havin

g si
m mnt
.

th reads per in ch. Int his case, t he ove e should be equiv a

lent t 0 4 inc hes, threads If th e not ches represent inches
or 2 3 .

of arriage travel ; the engagement of t h e pull pin with the

c -

lead screw nut should be at points either four notches apart

-

or any number evenly di vided by 4 On the other hand if .

,

t he notches represent half inches of carriage travel engage

ment at points eight notches apart or any num
,

ber evenly ,

divided by 8 will catch t he full thread The various positi ons

of the tools in diagramC clearly show why the m
, .

ovement
mus t be equivalent to four inches or so m e m ultiple of 4
inorder t o again locate t he tool in alignm
, ,

ent wit h the thread

-
Thread chasing Att achment
of H art ne ss Flat Turret Lethe .

or screw chasing attach ment shown in

-

app lied to the Hartness flat turret lathe built by

81 Lam
,

son M achine C O S pringfield Vt This at

is sem i autom
.
, , .

- atic in operation the cutter or chaser

and returning autom
,

atically while the opera tor regu

gear A on the m ain

spiral gears and spline shaft B ; this shaft
through bevel gears C and D to vertical shaft
of which carries a spiral gear F that m eshes
G keyed to the special lea d screw H
,
The - .

a threaded plug or sectional nut K engaging

When the tool has been fed forward t he re
the adjustable collar L on th e extension end of
s trikes plug M with its projecting end thus ,

and allowing nut K to drop down on a flat part

lead screw A t
- .

the eccentric pin

66 THR EAD CUTT IN G
- METHO DS

as nut K is withdrawn the cutter bar is returned rapidly by the -

rack and pinion m

,

otion until a pin in collar T engages pin U ,

thus again turning shaft N to its former position which reen ,

gages nut K with the lead screw H and t hen t he cutting stroke
-

mll l
,

is repea t ed . The s a evee ay be used for disen in

g g g
a

the nut and withdrawing the tool by hand Wi th this arrange .

ment the main sp indle rotates continuously in one directi on

, .

A separate l ead screw and nut is required for each different

-

pitch which m
, ust correspond t o the pitch on the work For .

Fig . 15 . T hread-c hasing Attachment shown in Fig . 14 Cut ting n

a

Ext ernal Thread

taper threa ding operations the attachm ent is swiveled on its

,

base The chaser type of cutter or one having several teeth

.
, ,

is used for U 5 standard threads V thread s and Whitworth

. .
-
, ,

threads but single point cutters are recommended for square

-

nd A cm mu t
,

a e t hreads , as well as for all t hreads t ha t s ext e nd

close t o a shoulder The connections at both the headstock
.

and turret end swivel about vertical axes and the spline trans
mission shaft B slides through the headstock connection so that
lateral feeding movem
,

ents of the headstock or the indexing of

the turret does not interfere with the connection to the thread
chasing atta chmen t This attachm ent is adapted for internal
68 THR EA CUT TI NG
D- METHODS

ranged to disengage autom atically at the end of a cut In .

order to chase left hand threads with thi s attachment it is

-
,

sim ply necessary to shift the feed reverse lever on the gear box
-

at t he front of the headstock .

A tt achment for C utt ing Thr ea ds on Dri lling M achine A

eti m
.

drilling machine is som es used for cutting internal thread s

with a single point tool when the part will not swing inthe lathe
-

an d the use of a tap is not practicable A lead s crew of what .

Fig 17 . ( A) M et hod of C utting Th r eads o n Drilling M achine wit h

mnt
.

S in -
gl poi
e nt Tool ( 8 ) M akeahltt
. Arra ng e e for Cutting
T reads h on V ert ical Boring M ill

ever length may be needed is attached to the end of the cutter

bar or the latter is extended to form a lead -screw as shown at
Thi s lead screw engages some formof nut that is
,

A Fig 1 7 -

bolted to the baseplate of the m

. .
,

achine The thread on the .

lead screw correspond s as to lead with the thread t o be cut

-
, , ,

and as the spindle revolves the cutter forms a thread as it is

, ,

drawn down through the work by the direct action of the lead
screw The spindle m
. ay be returned to the starti ng position

by reversing it assuming that the machine has a ta pping attach

,
 m n
ea -c o mm ma a acrrsr m 69

ment or other means for rev ersing the rota tion When per
f m mu t
.

oring n operat ion of t his kind

a t he drill press spindle s

arrangem
,

be frw t o move v ertically With a makes hift . o ent f

th is kind intended for a special operation the cutter w ould not ,

require a special device for feeding it outw ard as it co uld be

reset for each cut without m
,

uch trouble .

Thread C utt ing on Vertical Boring M il — The vertical bor

ing mill is used quite frequently for cutting screw thr ead s with
a nh gia pom
- t t ool in order to finish a part com
, plete at one set
ting oi the work and to avoid a second operation Taps are
of ten used for threadi ng hol es of sm
.

all or medium size but occa ,

sion ally it is necess ary to u se either a single point tool or a

-

chaser for cutting a thread which is not standard or which

is too large indiameter for tapping When a single point tool
-

the cutter bar m

.

or chaser is employed - u st be traversed for

controlling t he lead of the thread This traversing m
,

ovement
is usually obtained by m
.

eans of special change gears which

-

are im ert ed in t he feeding mechanismat on

,

e end of the cross

rail . The change gears are used t o transmit m

- otion t o the
cross rail feed shaft and they are select ed with reference t o
-

the lead of t he t hr ead t o be cut t h e sam

,

e as t he ch an e-
g g ear s

of a lathe Whatever special eq uipm

,

. ent may be needed for

holding such gearing in position is supplied by m ost boring
mill manufacturers This is a simple and inexpensive arrange
ment as m otion is transm itted to the regular down -feed m
.

, echa
ni m of the boring bar or tool s lide through thes e extra gears
s -

Som
.

e bor ing mi ll manufacturer s supply this type of thread

ch asing attachment for ordinary threading operations such as
the cutt ing of t hread s in large pipe flanges etc but for m
,

ore ,
.
,

accurate work a special lead screw is used t o control the motion

-

of the tool slide A difierent l ead screw may be u sed for each
'
- .
-

pitch or lead of thread that 18 cut or variation s may be ob ,

ta in ed by driving a lead screw through change gearing

- - the ,

same as onan engine lathe .

A simple method of applying a lead -screw t o a vert ical boring

m ill is shown by diagramB Fig 1 7 Thi s is not recommended
,
. .

for gen eral appli cation but has been u sed to advantage when a
,
7 0 T HR EAD CUT TI NG
- M ET HOD S

machine was not equipped with a regular thread cutting m echa -

nismand it was particularly desirable t o cut the thr ead in the

boring m ill Som. e formof lead screw is attached to the end of
-

the tool slide and a nut which engages the lead screw is fastened
- -

in the central hole in the m

,

achine table The thread tool is

held preferably in a holder provided with some sim ple m
.

eans of
adjusting it when taking successiv e cuts A s the machine table.

revolves the lead screw and tool slide which should be free to
- -

move vertically are dra wn downward thus cutting a thread

, ,

, ,

corresponding to the pitch of the l ead screw

- .

O ne design of verti cal boring mi ll has a central boring bar -

with an i ndependent rotary drive With such a machine a

lead screw for threading operation s m
.
,

- ay be applied directly to

the upper end of the bar The split nut for engaging the lead
screw m ay be m ounted ona s tationa ry a rmor yoke which in
.

, ,

turn is held in position by shafts or studs far enough above the

end of the bar to perm it m
,

oving the latter to it s highes t vertical

position The nuts are opened or closed by a vertical shaft
.

having a lever at it s lower end wi thin reach of the operator .

With this arrangement the boring bar revol ves and the work
-
,

remains stationary while the thread is being cut If much .

thread cutting is t o be done with an attachment of this kind

provi sion should be m
,

ade for adjusting the tool radially by

applyi ng so m e for m of independent slide at the end of the boring

bar Threadi ng attachments of thi s kind are not in common

use beca use co m
.

paratively few boring mills are equipped with

auxi liary boring bar such as is found on so m
,

an - e of the larger
machines for performing high speed boring independently of t he
,

table rotation .
 CH A PT ER IV

G DIES AND THEIR G ENERAL

A P PLI CAT IO N

s crew threads are cut by m ean s of dies be ,

not only cut thread s very rapidly but

producing screws that m
,

eet
t s as t o accura cy It is im
. possible
all t he classes of work for which d ies are used ;
are applied ingeneral t o t h e t hreading of a large
the sm all and medium ized screw threads rang
-s
,

smalles t screw s bolts and studs up to heavy

fiv e inches indiameter or larger in so m

, ,

, e cases
,
.

of the rougher grades

and also a grea t deal

and sem i auto matic or

-

threading operations
not only of form
,

ing a
of doing it without removing the wo rk
the contrary dies are rarely used on the
gm echanismand is
,

its own screw cuttin

-

wide range of work rather than for m an

rt s in quantity like the turret lathe and

In so me ins tances the use of dies

w m
,

achine is not practica ble as for , ,

shoulder between the surface to be

well n line showing jus t where the

defi ed
-

of di es ends there are certain limiting

,

71
7 2 T HR EAD CUT TING - M ETHO D S

factors which should be consid ered In general as the pitch .

,

of the thread and its diameter increase beyond certain limits t he ,

use of dies decreases D ies may be employed for cuttin

. g threads
of coarse pitch but ordinar ily t he lathe or a t hrea d mi lling
, , ,

machine is used in preference Whe t her or not a die could be

used to advantage m
.

ight depend upon the type of machine em

ployed for the other operations such as turning etc and the , , .
,

number of pieces to be th readed or t he deg ree of accuracy re

quired In the manufacture of pipe dies are used for cutting the
.
,

threads even on the large sizes because they provide a rapid means ,

of doing the work and the pitches of the threads are fine in pro
portion to their diam eter A s the large dies used for pipe t h read
.

ing or other operations are quite costly they can only be em ,

ployed to advantage when the quantity of work warrants the

Dies are effi cient as a m eans of cutting screw threads because ,

they usually finish the tread complete in one cut al though two ,

passes or cuts are desirable for certain classes of work some dies ,

being arranged for taking a light finishing cut When cutting

threads of coarse pitch considerable m etal is rem
.

oved in a short
tim
,

e especially when a single cut is taken and although these

heavy cuts m
, ,

a y be dis tri buted between three or fo ur teeth at t he

throat of the die the difi cult y of obtaining smooth accurate

, ,

screw threads increases for the larger pitches D ies may be .

used for pitches up to one quar ter or one third inch or even
- -
,

larger but die threading operations of this kind are not common
,
.

When dies are used for cutting screws of coarse pit ch and of rela
tively sm a ll diam eter t he t orsional or twisting strain on the
,
o

work and t he resulting effect on the accuracy of the screw may

be so grea t t ha t t he use of a la t he or t hread milling m hin i ac e s

preferable if not necessary

When making any com
.
,

parison on th e basis of accuracy be

tween screw thread s cut with dies or by m eans of a lathe or
thread milling m achine it is important to rem em,
ber that there
are dies and dies In general a well cons tructed lathe or
”
-

t hread m illing machine will cut a thread that is m

,
.

ore accurate
as t o form and lead than a h igh grade die for the following rea
-
,
 THREA D C UTTING
- D I ES 73

sons : In t he first place a carefully ground single point tool or -

gle type m illing cutter is m ore accurate than a m

,

sin ul t iple point

-

die chaser or cutting edge w hich m ust be correct both as t o the

,

form of each too t h and t he pitch of the teeth ; second a die ,

which is self leadin

- g and not posi t ively controlled by a lead
screw is le s s likely to produce a thread of accurate lea d than a

single point tool or a rota ting m

- illing cutter that derives it s
mot ion directly froman accurate screw There is a difl erence '

S om
.

how ever in the self lea ding quali t ies of difl erent dies e of
'

the im
.
,

portant causes of inaccuracy in the lead of die cut thr eads -

will be con sidered later .The difl erence inaccuracy between the
best grade of die work and the product of the lathe or thread
milling machine is usually so small as t o be negligible for most
com mercial work w hich in conju nc t ion with the speed of dies as
am
, ,

eans of screw cutting accounts for the exte nsive application

of dies in all m
,

achine bu ilding plants

D ies m
.

Types of Nonopen - ing D ies ay be divid ed into t wo

general classes nam oved fromthe screw

.

ely t hose that are rem

threa d by being backed off or unscrewed and those that m
, ,

ay be ,

opened so that the cutting edges clear the screw thread thus
perm itting the die t o be rem
,

oved by traversing it over t he work

in a lengthwise direc t ion The nonopening dies are capable in -

som e cases of hand adjustm

.

ent but t he obj ec t of this adju st

ment is to vary the size of the die so far as machi ne thr eading
,

opera t ions are concerned There are four types of nonopening -

dies in com mon use w hich may be designated as ( 1 ) solid dies

.

or tho se that are rigid and incap able of any adju stm
, ,

en t for
varying the diam eter ; ( 2 ) flexible dies or those tha t are split in
e or m ore places and m ay be adju sted t o som e extent by com
,

on

pressing or expanding ; (3 ) sectional dies or those form ed of t wo ,

adju sta ble sec t io n s ; ( 4 ) rigid adju stabl e dies of the chaser type

having inserted chasers that m

,

ay be adju sted r adia lly withi n cer

tain lim i ts either for maintaining a standard size or for varying

t he size slightly
A com mon formof solid die is shown at A Fig 1 This form
.

is used for so m
. .
,

e bolt and pipe threading opera t io ns and for t he

rougher classes of screw cutting The accuracy of the die is
.

S!
74 THR EAD CUTTIN G METHODS
-

likely t o be im paired considerably by hardening and t here is no

means of reducing the diam
,

et er as it grad ually increases on

account of wear M ost solid dies of the rigid class are square
on the outside although som
.

,
e are round or of hexagonal shape .

The latt er are similar t o a nut except that they have flutes onthe
inside t o form cutting teeth and are m ade of hardened steel .

Dies of t his kind are used princip ally for repair work as they are ,

easily turned with a wrench and are convenient for t ruing or

recutting battered threads .

Fig . 1. Different Types of T hre ng

adi Dies

The split dies or those having enough flexibility t o perm it

adjustm t are m t shape s the three com monforms
,

en
,
ade indifl eren ,

being t h e spring screw die shown at B the acorn die C and

t h e round split die D w hi ch is so m etim
, ,

es known as a button
die A grea t m
,

any spri ng sc rew threading dies a re u sed on

autom a tic screw m achines for cutting t he sm
.

aller siz es of screws .

Th e die has four projectio ns or prongs on w hich the cutting

edges are form ed These prongs are quite flexible and m ust be
held inposi t ion whent he die is in use by som
.

e fo rmof external
ring or clam p M any of these clam
. pi ng rings are spl it on one
side an d t he sp lit end s are j oi ned by a screw w hich provide s ad
justm
,

ent for closing in t h e cut ting edges t o the required size .

7 6 THR EAD CUTTING
— M ETHODS

die older The outer end of each die prong is bev eled to
-h .

fit a corresponding conical surface onthe in side of the ad jus ting

cap A The base of the die which is ground true bears against
.
, ,

t h e end of the floating part B of the die holder an

- d has notches
which engage short driving pins The connection between .

part B and shank C is obtained through a cross pin E which

-
,

provides a amount of floating m ov men t Radial .

ad jus tment of the lands for the size of the die is oh

t ained by simply t ummg the adjustable cap A inone direction
’

0 1 the oth er after

'

3 the locking HU L
t oat ; The adjustm ent
derived in this way by m eans of the internal w nical surface
.

m . A eorn Die nd Die-holder

a

referred to serves to m ove each of the four lands an equal

am
,

ount radially so that the work of cutting a screw thread is

,

evenly distributed The acorn die like a spring may

d
i
e
.
, ,

readily be resharpened on the radial faces the

done mthe fl ute t h e sam
,

e as w ith a spring die

Round split or button dies ( one formof w hich is show n at D

.
,

Fig 1) are used pri ncipally on turret lathes and on

autom atic screw m
.

achines ; they are applied t o the same gen !

eral classes of work as spring screw threading dies The M r

dies are m
.

ore rigid than the spring dies if the latter are adju sted
by the usual ring or clam p but as previou sly m
,

ention
'

, ed th ey
, ,

are not so easily sharpened on the radial cutting The

initial cost of the button die how ever is less than th t a a
a t
d t he form er is not distorted as m uch m
, ,

spring die an

The sectional type of die form ed of two separate (E m

m
Fig 1 ) is ext ensively used in die stocks for hand
.
- f
 THR EA CUTTIN G
D - m as 77

screw -cu tt ing machines The outside shape of these dies varies .

The formshown has sides with a double bevel to give the two
.

die sections a tight grip in the holder and perm it reversing the
position of the die for cutting close to a shoulder Som e d ies .

of the taro piece form are round and are u sed in preference to
-

the kind shown at D which is split on one side only The

ta gmclai med for this type are that it does n
.
,

advan ot lose it s

shap e t he sam e as a die which springs together on one side only

and it canbe m
,

ore easily ground .

The rigid adjustable die of the chaser type (F Fig 1 ) pro

vides a convenient m
.
,

eans of adjus ting the die either t o com

pe sn
at c for t he wear of t he ch asers a mint i n t
nd a a a s a ndard
ize
s or to vary the diameter slightly fromthe tandard s . This

hort that the time saved by

s

t oo sm all to ofl set the difl erence in cost .

r design in general is also m

, , ore rigid than
and better adapted for taking heavy cuts
pitch when the thread is t o be finished by
nstructionof these dies varies considerably .

“
shown at F ( the c 0 h as four
firm ly over plates inthe body by screws
are supported laterally or at the sides
inding screws and are backed up at the
carried by a heavy adjus ting ring A
obtained with a set of chasers by m
.

eans
7 8 THR EAD-CUTT IN G mmn e o e

of an adjusting screw which changes the pod tionof the adjusting

ring and pins relative to the oval backed chasers
- .

R emo val of Non opening Dies from Work

- — A fter a screw
thread has been cut with a non opening die the latter
-
,

mov ed by unscrewing or backing it ofl the thread ed section

s s as is som et im
,

unle es the case t he part being t h read ed passes

clear through the die The latter m ethod is som

, ,

. etimes fol
lowed when a vertical spindle machine like a drill press is used
-

for threading plugs or other parts by screwing them down

t hrough a die attached to the table ; the finished work then simply
falls through the die The sam e m
. ethod has been employed
in threading taps It is espec ially applicable w hen there is a
.

square end on th e work or opening t o provide a convenient

'

means of driving by simply engaging the parts with a socket or

, ,

other form of driver on the spindle that readily releases af ter

t he work has passed t hrough t he die Whil e t his mth e od of

om
.

cutting screw threads has been utilized to s e extent in most

my
,

cases it is necessary t o back ofl a nonope

- ning die , a
n d t his a

be done in three difl erent ways : ( 1 ) the rotation of the work

'

may be reversed after the thread is cut ; ( 2) the die itself may be
reversed thus unscrewing it fro mthe threaded part ; ( 3) the
die m
,

ay be revolved in the same direction as t he work but at a ,

somewhat slower rate of speed while cutting the thread and

then at a faster rate so that the die backs off the threaded part
while it still continues to revolve in the sam e direction as the
part being operat ed upon T his t hird mt h e od is mpl y
e o ed o n
om e autom atic screw m
.

s achines .

Application of S elf Opening D i es

- The automatic or self
ost im
.

opening type of die represents one of t he m portant

developm ents in thr ead cutting tools There are two serious
-

objections to the non opening die : One is that tim

.

- e is was ted
while the die is backing off the threaded part The other and
often m
.

ore serious objection especially when threading tough

material is that the threads are frequently marred if not spoiled
,

entirely by th e backward m ovem

, ,

,
ent of the die This roughifl g .

or tearing of the thread is due to the fact that w hen either ,

the die or the work reverses there are chips left in front of the
,
 THR A E D CUTTING
— m as 79

cutti ng edges especially at t he t h roat of t he die ; consequently

, ,

as t he die moves back t hese chips or o t hers previou sly re

,

m oved oft en become wedged between t he lands of t he die and

the screw and rough en t he t hread or tear it as t he die is being
rem oved Trouble of t his kind m ay often be greatly reduced or

m m
.

p ractic a lly el imi na t ed by u sing dies having a m i nim u a ount

of relief The roughness of t he thread m ay al so be due pri

m arily to o t her causes F or instance som

.

. e grade s of soft

st eel are diflicult to t hrea d sm

,

st ringy oo t hly In such a .

case the only remedy is to use a steel higher in carbon or if a

, ,

g ood grade of material is not nece ssary a s t eel hi gh er in pho

, s

p h o rus and s ulphur The rough

. ne ss of a thre a d m a y b e a n d ,

often is due t o t he use of die chasers which are not properly

,

made or ground U nscrewing the die however has cau sed

much trouble and defects fromt his source may be avoided
.
, , ,

by t he use of self opening dies The la tter m

,

- ay al so increase
.

the speed of t hread cutting opera tions 3 0 or 40 per cent by

-

reason of t he rapid rem

,

oval of the self opening type after the -

thread is cut The additional com plica tion necessary in a

g die m eans a higher initial cost w hich is som etim
.

self openin
- es

t o be con sidered when the am ou nt of work is rela tively sm a ll

A n auto m
.

atic die is as a general proposition less rigid th an

, ,

a non opening die such as t he inserted chaser type especially

- -

after the parts have becom

,

e worn It is for this reason tha t

som
.

e self opening dies will not cut a sa tisfactory short t hread

-
,

especially if t he lengt h of t h e th read is about eq ual t o t h e w i d t h

of t he die chasers T h e ch asers spri ng out ward som ew h a t a t

the beginning of t he cut and m

.

ake t h e thread t aperi n g T hi s

error m ay be so sm
.

all as t o be n egligibl e w h en a good die is

used and in any case screws having a length equal t o sev eral
tim
, , ,

es t he die cha ser w idth will be cut straigh t except for a few
-

threads at the beginning and end of t he screw w here th ere may

be anappreciable am ou nt of taper A noth er difli cult y t ha t h as
beenexperienced with som e self opening dies is in t h e accum
.

- ul a
tion of chips in the die h ead which int erferes w i t h t h e ac tion
-

ovable m em bers and increases t h e am

,

of t he m oun t of w ear .

Much has been accom pli shed however in t he d esign of self

, ,
so that outward radial thrusts are taken directly by solid parts
o the die
f . The relative m erits of self opening dies and the solid
-

o n
r onopening type may depend upon t he length of thread to
-

be cut the type of m

, achine it s rev ersing speed and the number
, ,

of parts to be th readed
The difl erent dm
.

-
Types of S elf opening D i es .igns of auto

ma ti c or self opening dies difl er principally in regard to the

-

l it .
3 . G eo mt ierc S ty le D S ou-
opening Die-h eed

mechanismfor opening the die chasers at the n t a

a
a

after removing the die and the method of supporting t he

,
a

against radial thrusts Self opening dies m eneral are fe w

-
g
,
.
, ,

and m ner pa rt of the die body is attached to the turret w

These two m ain sections h
, ,

o r other part of the machine ave

a cert ain relative m

.

otion for opening the die or releasing t he

chasers fromthe work and for closing the chasers to the
ing position Thi s motion for operating the die m
. ay eith mbe

parallel to the axis of the die rotary or helical The , ,

.
 THR AE D CUTTING DIES
— 81

motion f t h ch
o ers for opening or closing t he die is com
e as

mouly de ived or
r controlled either fromcamsurfaces or t he
conica l surface of a sleeve in contact wi t h the chasers .

The t hree general m e t hods for opening dies of th is class auto

matically are by stopping t he travel of the turret at a predet er
m ined point ; by t he engagem ent of anoutside tripping finger ,

latch or lever on t he die head wi t h a fixed stop or plate ; and

-

by t he engagem
,

ent of t he end of t he work with a tripping plate

t n
loca ed i side t h e die M ost self opening dies are of the non
- .

Fig .
4 . open
S elf- ing D ie- h eed of Int ernal T rip Type

revolving type t he die remaining sta tionary while t he part to

D ies of thi s class com monly have a hand
,

be t hreaded rota t es
lever for opening or closing t hem S om e dies of t h e auto
matic class are designed to be revolved Several commercial
.

des igns of self opening dies will be described t o illustrate the

-

v ariation s in con st ruction and m ethods of opera tion

G eom
.

et ric -
S elf open ing D i es The stand ard design of .

Geom etric self opening and adjustable die (style D ) shown in

-

Fig 3 is intended for use on hand operated turret la t hes and -

autom atic screw m achines This die m

.

ade by t he Geom
. etric ,

Tool C o N ew H aven C onn is so arranged that it opens

autom
. .
, , ,

atically as soon as t he travel of the shank section of the

82 THR EAD CUTTIN G
- M ETHOD S

die h ad is retarded When used on the turret lathe the stop

- e

screw or rod of the turret slide m ay be set to s top the m

.
,

- ove
ment of the turret when the required length of th read has been
cut If desired t he die can be opened at any interm
.
, ediate
point by simply holding back on the lever for operating the
turret slide The die chasers are closed to the worki ng pod tion
-

af ter being opened by handle A projecting fromthe side The

.

die m ay al so be closed auto m

.
,

atically by screwing a pin into a

threaded hole opposite this handle and a ttaching a stop t o the

inst abl e S t op for Cont rolling Poin

t et v hieh Die t ri ps or om s

rear edge of the t urret s lide in such a pod tionthat it will engage
the pin as t he turret revolves S light variations in diame ter
.

( indicated by grad uation s at C ) t o secure a tight or loose fi tting

screw m a y be obtained by adjus ting screws B The radial
movements of the die chasers for opening or closing the die
.

are derived fromcams D which engage slots in the chasers on

the rear side The chasers are held on splines at one side of the
.

opening in which they are a close fit to pre vent tilting due t o

the cutting strain This style of die is m ade in sizes ranging
fromi t o 4 ; inches The sizes over and including i inch hav e
.

an attach m ent which perm

.

its taking roughing and finishing

cuts When the sm
. all lever B is turned to a position opposite
84 THR EAD CUTTI NG— M ETHOD S

The outside lever trip type is recommended for cutting short

t hreads of fine pitch because the chasers are relieved of all
,

third style of Geometric die ( style D D) is shown in Fig 6

A
applied t o a Cleveland auto m
.

atic screw machine This die .

was designed especially for use on the turret of the C leveland

machine but it can be applied to other automatic or semi
autom
,

atic machin es in which the operating requirements are

practically the same The die head is supported by a spring
- .

Pic 7 Closing Att hmnt

ac e t or S alt -
open ing Di e-h ead. appli ed to
A m
. .

a C
lev elan d ut o atic

mechanismbetween the head and shank which permits the

chasers to align themselves with the work and com pensate for
any slight inaccuracy in turret adjustm ent This floating con
nection al so perm
.

its a certain amount of longitudinal move

ment independent of the motion of the turret slide so that the
-

die is free to follow its own lead A fter t he turret slide stops
- .

its forward movement the die head has a slight independen

-
, t
movement which brings the lock nuts seen in the side of the
-

die head in contact with a hinged plate The movement of

- .

this plate releases the locking bolt and allows the chasers to
 m ea n -c o mm m a es 85

cp m mov e outward The point at which the die opens

or

m
.

ay be varied slightly by adjusting these lock nuts The

illustration shows the die a t the point where the tripping m
.

echa
ni sm is a b o u t t o
operate t he lock nut
-

having co m
,

e into con
tact with the tri pping

T h e arrangement
for closing the die
head aut o mt i
a cally is

A closing pin A is

W
attached t o the die
a s "
r! ”
S al! Die-h ead
head and mounted
.

abov e t he t urret t here

isa closing bar B having a bev eled pin which projec ts down
ward After a thread is cut by the die th e latter is carried
.
,

fig 9 . . l ance " -
S ell opening D i e- ea h
d on a Cleveland Automa ti c,

sh owing Closin g D evice

around as the turret indexes until the closing bar comes into

contact with the pin on the die The upper view shows the .
86 THR EAD CUTT IN G neurons
-

die head just at the

- point
clo ing and the lower view illusof s ~

tra tes how t he die is turned part of a revolution for closing as

the turret indexes
m
.

Namco S elf opening ie

- D s A N a co self opening die
- .

of the nonrevolving type is shown in Fig 8 and applied to a

-

C leveland automatic scre w m

.
,

achine in Fig 9 This is another . .

die of the type that opens when the turret slide reaches the end
-

of its travel When the forward m

. ovem ent of the slide is discon
tin ued further rotation of the screw thread draws the die head
-

forward thus releasing t he c hasers fromtheir bearing on the

,

Fig ro Diagra millu ng M eth od

s t rat i of ad juat in; Turret -
allde

m
. .

S t op for a Na ed S elf-
O pening D ie- he
ad

ca mring arm and

- allowing themt o spring open T he die is
s

closed by t he lever seenprojecting fro mthe side which serv es to

.

draw the body back into the hood thus bringing the chasers
into conta c t with the camring arm
,

- s Whatever variations in
diam eter m
.

ay be required are obtained by a sen sitiv e adjus ti ng

screw in the sid e of the die head

- The hand lever may be o
p .
-

crated autom atically by the rotatio n of th e turret as when the

die is used on an automatic screw m
,

achine The closing device

shown in Fig 9 con sists of a projecting plate or arm
.

. having an
inclined edge over which the closing lever slides as the die is
indexed past this po int The formand location of this closing
attachm ent varies m
.

o re or less for difierent machines

'

When t he die is used on the t urret lathe the general method

.

,
 THR A E D CUTTIN G
- D IE S 87

of adjust ing t he turret ide stop for controlling t he operationof

-sl

the die is as illustrat ed by t he plan view Fig 1 0 After the die ,

. .

is atta ched t o t he turret the first threa d is cut to the required

length and t he m
,

achine stopped wi t h t he die chasers still engaged

with t he t hread t he chasers being closed The turret slide stop -

is next adjust ed un t il t he slide m

.
,

oves back ward su fficiently to

take up t he lost m otion or longitudi l float at
na A inthe d e head
i -
,

and the die chasers spring open A no t her trial screw thread is
then cut and if the leng t h of the t hrea d m
.

u st be exact a slight
fur t her adjustm ent m The m
, ,

ay be necessary ethod of arrest .

Pig S ect ion u

al Vi w of No
e : xx-r z S eries m
Na co S elf
n ngem
. . .

openin ie- ead h sho ing A

v rra ent b
for O t ai ning Inst a n
rencona O pening A ct ion

ing the feeding m ovem ent of t h e t urret v a ries on di ff eren t

machines
The N am
.

co die heads do not have a cover or pl a t e infront

-

but are left open ; one reason for this co nst r uctionis t o permit a free
,

flow of oil t hrough t he die head t o fl ush or wash out t h e chips so

-

th at the die will be self clea ning Som

- e N am co die h ea d ( t h e
.
-
s

N o 1 1 2 2 series) are designed especi ally for c ut t ing v ery sh ort

.
-

threads or those of ordina ry l engths righ t up t o a shoul der if

necessary The die head is d esigned t o op en t h e c h asers i nst an
-
.

t aneously at a given po int T he t op or o ut er ends of t he c hasers

.

are not beveled as in the dies previ ously referred t o but h ave ,

squ are shoulders inst ead as show nby t h e sec ti on al vi ew F ig 1 r

The bearing arm s B of the camri n g m mon the t op of these

.
, ,
.
88 THR EAD UTTIN G
-C METHODS

shoulders until t h e chasers A pulled forward at t he end of th e

are

cut by the action of the screw thread ; the arms of the cam ring
then drop down into the lower shoulders as shown by the view ,

to the right thus allowing the chasers t o fly outward ins tan tly
, ,

in order to prevent interference with a shoulder onthe work .

The revolving type of Namco self opening dies is designed

-

for use on the A cme automatic m ultiple spindle screw m achin

o
e .

Fig 13 Hartneea S elf -

opening D ie- h
ead applied to a
A m
. .

Gri dley ut o atic

bolt and stud threaders and other machines in which the

,

work is held stationary while the die is revolved or in cases ,

where bo t h the work and die rotate The opening and closing
of the chasers is efl ec ted by the longitudinal m
.

otion of the M
relative to the body of the die the same as with the dm
, igns

previously referred to Th e floating style of revolving die

head is designed for threading parts that are not finished from
.

the bar at one setting but are chucked either by hand or from a
magazine for th e threading operation This floating m .echanism
 m ea n m
-c o ers ores 89

CO .
, C leveland , Ohio .

opening die is shown applied t o a Gridley autom atic in Fig 1 2 .

,

and in section in Fig 1 3 The cons truc tion of these dies varies
so m
. .

ewhat for difl erent sizes although they operate on the same
,

A and t he springs around them An equalizing collar provides

.

the driving connection between the body and t he shank and

allows the bod y w th its chasers t o float and thus center itself
i

relative to w of the work The chasers are held in

position in m slots in the body and their m ove m
.

c ents are
controlled by » ring B
a
r
By throwing over the locking lever
e

re of the main springs the camcrank D and

, .

C agains t the s .

turned thus closing the chasers The ca m

,

the cam ring ,

.

ring is held in t he closed position by the latch pin E which has

-

g surfaces for locking the camring One of these

,

two engagin .

6a
90 THR EAD CUT T ING
— METHODS

surfaces is regularly used for taking the finishing cut If the .

material is hard or the pitch coarse enough t o require two cuts ,

the roughing handle F is thrown over so that another surface on ,

the la t ch pin is utilized and holds the chasers in position for the
-

roughing cut A fter roughing out the screw thread the chasers
are set for the finishing cut by sim
.
,

ply throwing handle F back

to ts ori g nal position
i i The latch pin is contained in an eccen
-

tric sleeve which m

.

,
ay be turned to vary the position of th e cam

ring for adjusting the radial location of the chasers and the

Fig . x4. Walla S elf -

opening D ie- h ea d of M odel 8 mm m T

fini hed ize the work The size adjusting screws G are
s s of -

for m
.

aking this ch ange The two cuts ( roughing an

are seldomrequ ired for thread s sm
.

aller than one inch in

and x2 pitch but are intended to be u sed for coarse pitches
on m
,

aterials that are especially hard and tough The .

so that t wo roughing cuts and a fini shing cut m ay be if r

necessary without di sturbing the adjustm ent for the final or

Fig 1 2 illu strates one m
.

finishing size ethod of closing the die

autom atically A pin projecting fromthe side of the die en

. .

. ;

gages t he incli ned pla t e shown This self closing feature

-

on difl erent m
.

'

akes of m achines so far as its exact a ;,

t
9 2 THR EAD m
-e s M TH E ODS

por t direct ly back of t he cut t ing t eet h . This outer shell slides

in a lengthwise direction on the inner body of the die per

mit ting th m
,

e chasers t o openas it slida

s back nd
a closi ng t he
as it is pushed forward In action as soonas the t urret s lide
.
,

stops the die is auto matically tripped by a specially shaped

,

shoulder on the trip screw en

- gaging with the latch The open .

ing ac tionis as described int h e preoeding The die is closed by

the handle or pin which proj ects from the side coming in m
.

, a ,

l lc n
o Walla S ell-
o pening Die-h ead applied t o a Clev eland
Aut omtic
. .

tact with a stop where it is latched in position ready for e m

next cut S light diam eter adjus tments for m
,

aking the thread

either larger or sm
.

aller than the standard diameter are made by

turning a knurled and graduated ring .

Fig 1 5 illustrates t w o M odel B dies app lied to a Brown

S harpe automatic screw m achine This is particularly fim
.

work where a specially finished thread is desired ; one of the

dies is used to take the roughing cut and the other the finishing
cut These dies are closed autom atically by the rotation of
the turret the closing handles on the dies com
.

, ing into contact

with a stationary spring finger or other form of fixed stop .
 mm m
“
a -e s m
es 93

The operation of the same type of die on 3 C leveland auto

matic is shown in Fig 1 6 Th e die jus t described has in som
.

e
mu md
. .

eas re repla t he M odel V , which is shown on a drilling

machine in Fig 1 7 This is not a typical appli cation however
. .
, ,

as this design is used more generally on hand -operated screw

machines or turret lathes This is the simplest form of any .

m .

M W
87 . Thru d C ut fing ona D l m
W
m m
M S tationary Sd f wit h Revolvint T O of S elf-
open

M a e. h a s .

of t he t hree models It is opened autom

'

atically by the en
n mt of a latch projecting fromt he face of the die with the
.

work-holding chuck or som e formof stop that m ay be atta ched

to the machine The hand lever A on the die is intended for

-

operating it when setting up the m

.

achine A twist of the cross .

bar B at the t op of the lever releases the latch thus permitting ,

the die to open

D rilling m
.

achines are often used for thread cutting when

94 THR EAD CUT TING
- mu n o s

other type of machine The revolving or rimtrip type of

.

Wells self opening die M odel T is intended for application

-

on such machines as drill presses bolt cutters m

, ,

, u ltiple -sp indle ,

screw machines ,
etc This die which is shown applied to a
.
,

vertical spindle drilling machine in Fig 1 8 is tripped or opened

- .
,

by a ball shaped latch A w hich projects through an opening

-

This m
,

in t he side of t he die shell or body odel is closed by a

.

yoke pushing the outer shell forward or it can be closed by a ,

s top bearing upon one side on ly As arranged in Fig 1 8 stop

. .
,

una
mm
l ac e

. . Landl Rot ary Die- ea d h

B trips the die when latch d escended far enough to strike

A has
it When the spindle is raised stop C which carries a roller at its
.
, ,

end engages the upper end of t he sliding shell and holds it

,

sta tionary while the die body is pull ed up far enough for the trip

latch t o drop into place These stops m

. ay be adjus ted on the

vertical rod D for varyi ng t h e tripping and cl osing points in

accordance with the length of sc rew thread This die is adjus ted
by turning a sm
.

all screw in the die face which changes the po ,

sitio u of the stop for t h e tripp ing latch The chasers are the
sam
.

e as those in t he o ther m od els and their po sition in the

,

body and opening and closing m otion are exactly the sam e .

M odels B and V are equipped with or without a floating shank

perm
,

itting the die to adva nce upo n the work according to t he

96 THR EAD CUTT ING
- METHO DS

S a unit Grad uations on the rear of the die h ad indicate

as .
- e

the position or adjustment for difierent diameters A ny ad

justment is retained by m
.

eans of a lock nut Two closing pins

- .

M located diametrically opposite each other are fas tened at

, ,

their rear ends t o operating ring Q The cylindrical portions .

of these pins pass th rough adjusting r ing P and enter two hard
ened bushings 0 which p , t ive m
.

otion of the closing

ring with the rest of the except through the adjusting
wormH C losing ring N is subjected to pressure exerted by
.

Fig . ax. Landl Antomtla c S elf-opening Die-bu d

four springs When yoke ring R is m oved back ward by engaw

ment with the collar previously referred t o it transmits mot ion
.

t o operating ring Q and pins M A s this movement contin ues

the conical ends of the closing pins M engage bev eled at triwm
.
,

onbushings 0 and closing ring N because of the spring presen

, , ce ,

turns relative to the die head body and opens the die Four
- .

pins I are located on the front face of closing ring N

pins carry the blocks J which im part the rota ry m otion o
.

f t he
M ost of the cutting t m
,

c losing ring to the chaser holders .s fn

is taken by the large trunnions K t o which the chaser holdet s ,

are securely fas ten ed As t h e clo sing ring rota ta the hol d ers
.
,
 m n
-
ea e m s m
n s 97

of the o ing pins M are prevented fromleaving the

cl s

in operating ring Q The .

harpen ed
s

L andis automatic self open -

especially for application to

tc and is arranged to open

.
,

turret is stopped The con .

tch and coiled springs,

the four tangential chasers out of engage

-
Die hea d . A nautomaticor self-opening
type is shown in Fig 2 2 This die is one
. .

by the Eas tern M achine S crew C orporation

It is tripped by the engagement of a station
,

ever A w hich projects from the side and is

either
98 THRE AD CUTT IN G neurons
—

which comes into contact wi th the outer sleeve on the rear

side a nd holds it n
st a t io ary w hile t h e inner part of t he die
head is pulled back int o place Th e radial otionof t he chasers m
m m
.

for opening and closing the die is derived fro four ca s , there
being o ne ca formeac h ch aser T h ese ca s C are in t h
. e for m m
of bars having angular tongues at the fo rward ends which en
gage angular slots formed in the sides of the chasers When .

sleeve B is tri pped and flies back under the action of two spiral
springs it cam
, e the four cams C with it and the angular
a
,

m u . H t G A uto mfi c m
o-hu d o m mmm
-
r

ca m urface
s referred to force the chasers outward When
s .

the die head is closed sleeve C extends forward far enough t o

-

encircle the chasers and hold themrigidly so far as outward

,

movement is concerned The diameter of a screw thread cut

with this die m ay be varied above and below the no m
.

al size
within certain lim
,

its by an ad justing screw in the front face o

. f
the die w hich serves t o change th e position of t he lug a t
n
:

by trip lever A and conseq uently the longitudinal posi t io of

-

the chaser cam

, ,

s relative t o t he chase rs which are th us moved ,

slightly in ward or outward depending upon the direc tion in

m
,

w hich the adjus ting screw is t urn ed ( The ethod of a d jus t

ment on an H G die head of earlier des ign difl ers somewh at
.

'
~
I OO THR EA CUT TIN G
D - E
M T H DS O
C or t landt S r , New Y ork C ity )
. are m ade in difl erent styles or
types w hich are adapted to various classes of w ork These dies
may be tripped in three difierent ways : First by stopping the
.

travel of t he turret s lide ; second by the engagem

,

- ent of the end

,

of the work with a central s top located back of the dies ; and ,

t hird by the engagement of a sho ulder with a tripping fin ger

The style A which is the sim
,

or stop on the die head

- plest
formand is illustrated in Fig 4
.
,

2 has a yoke shaped end B con

-.
,

member
consisting of blocks
C to which are attached cross
bars that engage close-fit t ing
grooves on the sid es of the
dies This m ovable m ember
is free t o slide along the
yoke B either for tripping ,

and opening the die or for

closing it Each die is sup .

ported ia a radial direction

“9 4 M um “
mk “ b a block located between
‘

t li
in: “ d “ w e a e
e die and yoke B

When the die is tripped by arresting the m

.

otion of the turret

the action is as follows : The fram
,

e or yoke B of the die-head

st ops m oving forward and the m ovable m em ber containing the
dies continues t o advance as the result of the screwing action of
the thread being cut until each die section is in position to engage
a recess or notch in the block back of it A sm
,

all wire spr ing

interposed between the dies then forces themapart thus open
.

ing the die Wh en a center stop is u sed the same action occurs ;
.
,

that is the end of the stock engages t he stop w hich is located in

,

the shank and is adjus ted outward a dis tance depending upon
the length of thread to be cut Wh en the stock stri kes this
stop the movable m em
.

ber and the di es advance relative to the

die fram
,

e and the tripping action occu rs In order to res et t he

dies the sliding part of the die head m
, .

,
- ay be pu shed back ei ther

by hand or in any other suitable way The die head des i gnated
- .

as styl e E is similar t o the one jus t d escribed except that the ,

but are left square in order t o obtain an instantaneous opening .

Thi die head is adapt ed for cutting threads close to a shoulder

s -

mt my
.

The dia e er of t he screw t hrea d cut by t hese dies a be

varied somewhat by adjusting the supporting block s along the
inclined surfaces of yoke B S crews are provided for this pur
pose and the adjus tm
.

ent is indicated by suitable graduations .

The heads of these adjusting screws support the dies in an axial

direction when a thread is being cut The style B E rrington
.

w as.

die head is intended for application to a revolving spindle and

-

it m
,

a y be arranged to be closed by a foot treadle after it has

-

opened autom ati cally This foot treadle sim

,

.
- ply connects with
a yoke w hich en g g
a es a circular p la t e or disk a t t ached to the
mov able mem ber of the die head
- .

M urch ey C om bi nation Die .The special design of die shown

in Fig 2 5 is a combination turning facing and external thread
.
, ,

ing tool used for machining the part illus trated in Fig 2 6 The . .

work on this part is divided into a machining operation and a

thread cu t ting operation First the tool pas ses over the piece
- .

with t he threa ding die chasers A in the open position and the ,

four turning and facing tools B turn section b and face surface 0 .
10 2

T he shape of t hese t urning and facing t ools is indicated by t he

detailed sectional view taken on a line X X ‘

. A fter this w ork

has been co m pleted the tool is withdrawn and the die chasers
are closed t o t h e working position ; then the tool is m
,

ov ed for
ward for cutting thread 6 This automatic die is of the type
.

provided with an inside trip which operates when the trip points
C engage surface 6 on the w o rk Various designs of com bina
tion thread cutting tools have been developed by the m
.

an ufac
t urers of this die ( the M urch ey M achine Tool C o D etroit
M ich ) for perform
.
, ,

ing both external and internal thread cutting

-

operations in conjunction wi t h oth er work A com

,

bination tap .

Fig . 3 6. h h
Part w ic is M ac hined nd Threaded
a by Combination
Tool sh own in Fig 3 3 .

and die and also a com bination boring reaming chamfering , , ,

facing and tapping tool are illustrated and described in C hapter

,

VI .

C auses of Lea d Errors in Die cut S crew Threa d s

- — The .

ac curacy of a die cut thread depends primarily upon the cutting

-

edges of the die or formof the chaser teeth and the rate at which
the die advances for each revolution M ost dies are self pro
-

pelling or self leading and m

.

- ove along as t he screw is cut except ,

when the die is held stationary and the work is revol ved in ,

w hich case the act ion is reversed but is similar so far as the prac
tical result is concerned As is well known this m
. otion of the ,

die relative to the screw or vice rcrsa is due to the fact that the

cutting teeth lie in a helical path ; consequently as one tooth .

cuts a thread groove the nex t successi ve tooth follows in the

,
1 04 r an —
s ac c v rr m MEc TH ODS

self leading die of the adjustable class is so m

- e tim es afiec t ed by
adjusting it t oo m uch in one direction or the other from the
stan dard size for which the chas ers were hobbed There are .

certain lim its above or below the standard or nominal size

within which it is prac ticable to adjust threa ding di es without
s fiec t ing the lead t o any app reciable exten t If the diameter
for which t he die is adjusted is too large the lead of the thread
will be increased ; whereas if the die is adjusted t oo m
,

, uch
under size the lead will be reduced The changes in lead
,
.

mm m
m
eh owinx h ov Lu d of Th ru d vui ed

m
Dh ’ be by
m m
m
edj uefl ng Die Chn t oo uch ebon or belo ie
fer v hich t h e e ie int cn ded

due t o the angle of th e chaser t eeth rem aining the sam e for the
different diam eters This point is illustrated by the diagram
.
,

Fig 2 7 in which L represents the lead of the threading die ;

m
.
,

C a circumference correspondi ng to the standard dia eter for

which the die is intended ; C 1 a sm aller circum
,

f erence ; an
, d C} ,

a larger circumference A ngle a represents t he standard helix

.

angle or the angle of a path which co incides with the die teeth
m
.

If a t hread is cut to t his a ngle a o na circu ference C; t hat is

considerably less than circum ference C corresponding to t he
standard size of th e die the lead will be reduced from L t o L 1 an
d
if the sam e thread is cut on a larger circum
, ,

ference Cg the lead ,

will be increased as indicated by dimension This is what

happe ns when the die is adjusted for a larger or smaller diameter
than t h e standard ( It is assum
. ed that the adjustment is not so
 THR EAD CUTT I NG DIES
- 10 5

“
grea t as to cause t he heels o f t h e ch asers to drag excessiv ely

and prevent cu t ting a ct ion because of the lack of clearance ) .

Th e teeth of t he die nat urally t end to cut a t h read ha ving the

same helix angle as that represented by the helix angle to
w hich the chaser teeth were cut If the screw blank diam eter
.

is larger than the standard the die advances farther than it

,

should per revolution ; the result is t hat the lead is increased

and consequently in the case of a U S standard thread the
, ,
. .
,

wid t h of t h e fla t is reduc ed a t t h e top of t he t h rea d a nd in

left hand side of the thread groove as the die m

— oves to the left
The thread form undergoes a sim
.

ilar change if t he die is applied

to a diarneter mll
s a et t han t he st a ndard but in such
, a case t he
rate of advance per revolution is less than it should be and the ,

successive chaser teeth cut away the thread on the right hand
-

side of t he t hread groove as t he die m t th l f t oves o e e Th e fact

the fir t ca e m
.

that the lead is long in s entioned cau e

s s s each suc
cessiv e ch aser t oot h back of t he die t hroa t t o cut alo ng t he
left hand sid e of the thread groove as m
m
- entioned When the
than it should be the chaser teeth rem o ve m etal from
.

lead is
Th e efiec t w hich diam
,

t he opposite sid e of the thread section

'

eter adjust ment m

.

igh t have on the lead varies according to the

am ount of clearance which the chaser teeth have back of the
cutting edges t he smaller the cl earance the greater the effect
Lead variations in die cut screw threads are so m etim
, , .

- es due
t o a drag onthe die or excessive resi stance t o it s m otion such as ,

may result if the die is attached t o a heavy turret slide which -

does not ioflow up the die properly The com mon method of .

avoiding drag such as would occur if t he die were forced t o pull

a heavy turret slide along with it is by using a die-holder of the
-

type ( to be des cribed later ) which has a certain am ount of lost

motion or float so that the turret-slide may lag behind and t he
die will continue to advance ind ependently of it provided the
lost motion in the holder is no t com
,

pletely tak en up When

the die m
.

us t pull a slide along with it t he gibs of t he slide should

be loosened som ewhat to red uce t he friction as m
,

uch as possible .

Anexcefi iv e backward pull onthe die naturally cau ses the teeth
10 6 TH READ CUTTIN G - METHODS

to generate a helical path the lead which is som ewhat les s

, of

th an t he lead of t he die because t h e cut t ing edges

, on t h e rear

sides of the teeth are forced against the side of the thread groove

and gradually reduce the rate at which the die advances by ,

cutting on that side .

Wh n a die o other type of thread cutting tool prod uces a

e r -

sc rew thread which seem s t o be inaccurate the discovery is

md
,

of te n a e t ha t t h e defec t is in t h e t hread gage ra t her t han in

the tool itself The m anufacturers of thread-cutting equipm ent
.

frequently find that accurate screws and well con structed tools
-

are condemned because of inaccurate thread gages .

dies are self leading it is sometimes advisable to control

-
,

positively the longitudinal motion of the die relative to the

work This control m ay be utilized m erely to start t he die
tm
.
,

or the arrangemen ay be such that the longitudinal moti on of

the die is controlled positively throughout the entire screw

cutting operation This positive action m. ay be deri v ed from

a lead screw or from a cam depending upon the type of machine

-

etimes applied t o a threading m

,

A l ead screw is so m
.

- achine of
the bolt cutter t ype (as explained in C hapter IX ) especially when
-

cutting square threads or special form s such as the ratchet thread

,
.

For screw cutting operations of this kind if t h e die follows its

-

own lead the accum

,

ulated error is often considerable ; that is

the lead error betw een t wo threads m ight be sm
, ,

all but the

total error in the length of the screw or a section of it m
,

ight , ,

be consid era ble By using a lead screw the die is prevented

-

fromincreasing or decreasing the l ead but to secure satisfac

,
.

, ,

tory results it is essential that the pitch of the die teeth cor
respond to the leading m ovem ent obtained fromthe lead screw
,

If m
.

ore than one cut is required as when cutting a screw of ,

coarse pitch an indicator or thread chasing dial of the type used

,
-

on engine lathes for catching the thre ad is convenient on a die

threading m achine having a lead scre w

-

The general m
.

ethod of cutting threads on the automatic

screw m achine is t o use a camthat starts a die onto th e work
and then allows the turret slide to lag behind som
- ewhat so that
108 THR EA CUT TING
D — M ETHODS

a twist ing action that is encountered whenusing a die of coarse

pitch oncom paratively sm all diam eters
Taper threads m
.

C utting Ta per T h r ea ds wi t h D i es ay be
.

cut by using dies with chasers which taper to correspond t o the

taper on t he work and are arranged to m ove outward radially
as the die traverses to w ard the large end of the taper ; by u sing

dies of the solid or nonopening class which have t he sam

- e taper

Fig . 28 . Vi
ew s illust rating h ow Longit udi nal M ov ement of S olid
Die f or T aper T hr eadi ng is red uced as Taper increas es

as t ha t required on the work assum ing that the length of the

,

th readed part does not exceed t he lengt h of t he cutt ing edges on

t h e die or the width of the chasers ; by u sing di es intended for

parallel thread s and arranged t o ope n radially for producing a

taper thread The first type of die referred t o which h as taper
.

ing chasers th at m
,

ove outward in accordance with the taper

is preferable for the m
,

ost accurate work The solid or non

opening die which sim
.

ply tapers t o co rrespond t o the taper

is not only li m ited t o com
,

screw t h read t o be cut ,

pa ratively
short screw thread s but does n ot produce a very sati sfacto ry
 T HR EAD-CUTTIN G D IES 10 9

thread because ridges are left wherever each cutting edge stops
cutting The use of a so lid tapering die also subject s the work
to consi derable torsional strain ( which m
.

ight be objectionable )
because th ere are m ore cutting edges at work at the sa m e tim e
and the power required to turn the die increases as the length
and taper increases The greater the length the m ore cutting
edges wiIl be at wo rk simultaneously and t h e m
.

m
ore abrupt the
the number of revolutions of the die for com
,

taper the
pieting the thread The efl ec t of the taper on the num ber of
'

revolutions for co m
.

pleting the thread is illus trated at A and B ,

Fig 2 8 In one case the die moves inward a distance x before

the teet h cut t o full depth but when the taper is m
. .

, ore abrupt ,

as shown at B the die o n

, ly need s t o move longitudinally a dis
tance y in order t o cut the full depth of thread
The third m ethod m
.
,

entioned by which a die for straight

,

thread cutti ng is used for ta pering work may be applied to

cutting threads having a slight taper but is not recom mended
,

for the usual classes of taper work w hich include such parts as
,

wash out plugs for steam boilers the ends of faucets or cocks
-

of various kinds buflm

,

lathe pindle etc tapering i

'

, g s s A ,
d e.

of the non opening class does not req uire a throat or chamf ered
-

teeth on the lea ding side unless the ta per is slight because ,

several cutting edges begin work at the sam e time as indica ted ,

at B so that there is no need for a throat since the object of t he

, ,

ch amf ered edges in a straight die is to sta rt the cut gradually

between several teeth instead of having one leading tooth cut
,

the t hread groove to the full depth .

-
S elf opening Taper thr ea ding Di es
- A self opening die
-

g difiers fro mone used for parallel or

.

head for taper threadi n

the chasers m ove outward at a rate
of taper until the thread is cut and
, ,

clea r the work instead of

e co m
.

p l etion of the thread

ov em en t of taper thr eading -

tapering form er
I IO THR EAD CUTT IN G
- METHODS

depending upon the angle of the form er plate relative t o the axis
of the die T h e former plate ser v es about the same purpose
as the adju stable slide or bar of a taper attac hm
.

ent for the

engine lathe Taper threading die of the self ope ning class
. s - -

may be either of the inside or outs ide trip type

A Geom
.

etric die of the outside trip type is shown applied to a

turret lathe in Fig 29 A tapering plate A is attached to a
. .

Fig . so
. mt i
G eo er c ope n
S alt - ni g T am b

O uraid e Trip Ty pe
t h reading Die -
h ead of

taper bar B which is free t o slide over a guide of

, haped sec -
T s
tion This guide is atta ched to the front pa rt of the die h ead
.
-
.

but not t o the cam ring which is free to turn and carries a lug
D that is in contact with the form
,

er plate A stop F is clamped .

-
in the toolpost (or is bolted t o the side of the cross slide ) in
position to engage pin G projecting from taper bar B of the die
head This stop is so located that it holds bar B stationary as
.

t he chasers begin cutting the thread As t he die advances lug .

.

D slides along the tapering surface of plate A which causes t he ,

1 12 THR EAD CUTT IN G
— M ETHODS

wit h t he
cro - m
shaped gage or st op loca t ed in -
side t he die head

m
.

This gage is connect ed wit h t he t aper bar t hat carries t he for er

plat e,
a nd as t he chasers begincut ting t he t hread , t he gage and
taper bar are held stationary The length of thread that is cut
.

depends upon the position of the gage or stop which is set pre ,

v iously When the chasers have advanced the required dis

tance the camlug slide 0 6 the ta pering plate thus allowing the
.

cam controlling the chasers to m

,

ake a partial turn and

them quickly .

Fig .
3 1. mh i
G eo e
'
c Taper-
t hreading Die cl Infi da Trip Type

When dies of the form er pla t e type are in operation the chasers
-

follow the taper of the work au t omatically and no m

,

ore power is
required for cutting a taper thread than for cutting a
t hread of correspondin g diameter and pitch Tha e dim
it possible to do th e work rapidly and produce accurate mont hly
.

finished screw thread s The working edge of the former plate

ondi es of this class should so control the turning m
.

ovement of
the m ring that the resultant of the longitudinal and radial
movements of t he ch asers conforms to a straight line so t hat ,

t he tapering screw will not be con vex or concave Th e edge of .

 T HREAD C UT TING
- w as r 13

would be a true helix if the chaser camhad a

since it is m ore convenient t o m ake these ca m s

located eccentrically t o the axi s of the die t he

plate m ot be m
,

ay n ade truly helical especially ,

thread t o be cut is rather abrupt ; for cutting

slight taper it would no t be necessary t o
te as the error would be quite sm
,

, all ; in
edge not of helical form would produce
for o rdinary requirem cn ts .

stationary and the die head revolves it

-
,

llows : The bar to which the former plate

end which ru ns a round a
,

at right angles to the a xis

may be attached wherever
hold the form er plate sta

The cutting of square

s .
—

anufac t urers as a
car efully ,

are obtained While square thread s have

ei ther by the A cm e or another formsom
.

e ,

the square thread and occasionally they

,

r square th reading dies

have teeth that are slightly
Unless there is a little side
re frequently broken If the .

the side relief or clearance

5 otherwi se the die will not be properly

a very inaccurate thread as t o lead A .

preferably be controlled by a lead screw

-

bould be gi ven enough side clearance to

superior to the square

or taps the use of dies ,

S crew S tock The kind of

.
-

a ffects t he quality of thread

r other type of thread cutting
-
1 14 THR EAD CUT TIN G
— M ETHODS

tool ; in fact the tool is often conside red at fault when t he st ock
,
"
is the real cause of the trouble The scr ealled screw stock
may have fro m
.

to per cent of car bon with possibly

from per cent of sulphur ; from
,

to to pe r cent
of m anganese ; and phosphorus up to about pe r cent O r

per cent of m
.

din arily a steel containing fro m

, to rbon

is very satisfactory for thread cuttin g the carbon content pref

per cent or a little m
,

erably bein g about ore If there is

t oo little carbon in the s teel the m
.
,

etal is stri ngy or tends t o tear

and it is m ore diflicult to cut a sm
, ,

ooth thread .

Cutting S peeds for Thr eadin g Die s There are few if any
subjects connected wi th machi ne shop practice which are m
.
, ,

ore
diffi cult to deal with in a definite specific m a nner than the gen
,

eral subject of cutting speeds because there are so many differ

ent factors that m
,

ay have a decided efiec t on the speed for any

'

one operation If cutting speed data based on past records or

.

experience are not available a general idea as to what speeds are

practicable is better than no inform
,

ation w hatever For t his

reason general i nform
.

ation on cutting speeds for threading dies

will be given and while the speeds listed m
,

,
ay be subject t o

considerable variation they wi ll doubtless prove of some value

m m
,

as a st a rt ing p oin t until t e

s t s can be ad e t h a t w ill giv e or e

nearly correct cutting speeds

When experi m enting in o rder to determ
.

ine what speed is the

most economical the speed should be increased grad ually from a
,

safe or conservati ve speed un til it is as high as possible without

,

wearing or dulling the die chase rs excessively When a die is .

dulled it is not as easily resharpened as many other meta l

,

cutting tools and for that reason it is better to sacrific e the

cutting speed so m
, , ,

ewhat in order to keep the die in good cutt ing

condition for a longer period
Just what the cutting speed in feet per m
.

inute should be de
pends not only upon the k ind s of m aterial being cut but also
upon the pitch of the thread and the kind of cooling compound
or oil used on the die The National A cm e Co gives the fol
lowing general data on cutting speeds based upon a vast am
. .

, ount
of experience in screw cutting : U nder no rmal conditions a die ,
1 16 T H RE A CUTTI NG
D - M ET HOD S

Table II . Revolut ions per M inut e for givenS urface S peed nd D ia

a mte er

Table III Th read C utt ing S peeds for D

ies Based on Re m ing
ov an
m
.

E qual A oun t of M et al per M inut e

m
D ia et er of Rev olut i ons per S urfac e S peed
m
.

Screw Threa d Mi nut e O ut side D ia et er

die found t o operate satisfactorily when cutting a th read

is
ina certain material whatever fractional part of a cubic inch of
metal is removed per minute is determined and then cutting
,

,
 T HR EA CUTTIN G
D — E
DI S 11
7

spe eds for t he sam e m aterial and for coarser or finer pitches
are based on rem oving an equal am ount of m eta l per m inute
While t his m ethod seem
.

s t o be logica l it involves a wide range

,

of speed s if ex t ended t o include very coarse an d very fine pitches .

Table III which applies t o U S standard thread s was calcu

lated on the basis of rem
. .
,

ov ing approxim
,

ately cubic inch of

metal for threads of all pitches A s t he table shows t he sur
face speeds v ary from
.
,

to for U S sta ndard th read s

ging from 1 t o i inch in diam
. .

ran eter and the speed s inrev olu

s per m inu te for the same range of diameters vary from
,

tion
to 1 0 62
. This table is based onactu al practice incutting threads
onscrew st ock with self open
- ing dies at the plant of t he Green
field Tap 81 D ie C orporation .
 C HA P TE R V

-
CHA S ERS FO R THREAD C UTTIN G DIES AND
C HA S ER G RIND ING

THE chasers used in screw cutting dies vary in regard t o the

-

formof the teeth the angles of the cutting faces or edges and
, ,

the position relative t o the axis of the die The cutting qualities .

of a die and the accuracy of the screw threads produced by it

may be afiected greatly by the formof the teeth or the location

of the cutting faces or edges of the chasers relative to the axis of
the work
There are three m
.

ethods of forming the teeth of die chasers .

One is with a hob having helical shaped cutting teeth A sec

-

d m ethod is by using a m
.

on illing cutter which has teeth per

pe ndicular t o t he axis a nd is set t o t he helix angle of t he screw
t hread when milling t h e teet h of a chaser T he cut t er is fed
across the chaser blank and form
.

s a series of straight tee t h cor

responding in cross section to the shape of the thread t o be cut

-

The third m ethod is by t he use of a m i lling c utter like the on e

just referred t o with teeth which are at right angles to the axis
,

( not heli c al ) but,

w hich after bei ng s e t
, to the p r oper h elix
angle is sunk into the end of the chaser blank and forms t eeth
,

that are circular in a lengthwise direction instead of being

s traight .

R obbed C ha sers The bobbed chasers represented by dia

.

gram A Fig 1 are form ed by a tool w hich is similar to a tap

except that there are us ually a greater num
.
, , ,

ber of flutes and

cutting edges The teeth are helical corresponding to the
.
,

t hreads of a sc rew , inst ead of being annular or a t righ t a ngles to

t he axis The chaser t eet h fonned by a hob are like n
sec t io s

nt he thread of a nut except that they are given a slig ht am

.

o , ount
of relief or clea ranc e back of t h e cutting edges The clearance
m m
.

ay be obta in ed by u sing a h ob of t h e sa e size as t he die and

1 18
I 20 EAD
THR —C UT TTN G METHODS

cut t i ng edge of t he chaser , when milling t h e t eet h , t ha t t he full

depth of the cut extends t o the cutting edge only at the throat
°

of the chaser The reason given for confining the cutting acti on
.

t o t he leading cutting edges of t he chasers is t ha t if the chasers ,

are not made in this way pressure in t he di rection of t he ,

axis of t h e screw causes t he cut ti ng edges t o dig int o t h e t h reads

already cut thus thinning them and cha nging t he pitch of the
,

thread In order t o prev ent any such action the rear chaser
.
,

teeth on the H artness dies are made to serve practically the

same purpose as a nut in ,

order to steady the die and

cause it to m ove forward at
a uniformrate and in acco rd .

ance with the lead of the

thread being cut It is also
claim
.

ed that t his feature has

an im portant c h eet in pro '

ducin g clean finely fini shed ,

threads as t he chasers have ,

a slight b urnishing effect and

Fig . M ill d Ch
2 . f T ng n
e ti l
im
aeara o a e
part a close grained sur a

face to the thread .

M illed C ha sers of Tangential Type —

S till another form of .

milled chase r is illustrated in Fig 2 These chasers are the

formused on the Landis die head previously described an
. .

- d are
n
set ta gentially to the work The m i lled teeth extend
. t hro ugh
out t h e length oi the chase rs and they are in t he form of s traight

parallel ridges corresponding in cross section t o the shape of the

-

screw th read s t h ey are intended to cut These chase rs are

sharpened by grinding on the end s and as th ey beco m
.

e shorter
as the result of repeated grind ing they are sim
,

ply adjus ted to

,

the correct cutting position The throat of the chaser and the
.

front teeth shape the thread w hile the rear teeth extend across
,

the center line and take a bearing on the work just back of the
cutting end of the tool This is to m ake the four chasers act as
a lead nut for contro lling the fo rward m ovem
.

ent of the die in

accordance with t h e lead of the threa d being cut .
 D IE CHAS ERS A ND CHAS ER GRINDING 1 21

An
gle of Chaser Th roat or mf r
The leading side or
C ha e .

corn er of each chaser ina die head is usually beveled as shown in

-

Fig 3 This beveled edge is known as the th roa t of t he

. .

chaser and serves to begin t he cut gradu ally when the die is

first starting a thread an d also when it advances A t A is shown .

a chaser at t he point of sta rt ing a cut and B represents the po ,

sitiou of t he chaser after it has advanced far enough t o begin

form ing a full or com plete thread The throat of the chaser .

not only inclines relative t o the axis of the die (or screw being
cut) but it is given clea rance back of t he cutting edge in a
,

Rig 3 . . m
D iagra a ill uat rating h ow Th reat of Die serv es t o st art
h
T r ead -cut t ing Operat ion grad ually b y dist ri ut ing ork oeb W
t ween S ev eral Ch
aaer Teet h

circumferential direc tion In som e cases t he throa t angle

.
,
a

must be abrupt in order t o cut a full thread close t o a shoulder

A side froma requirem
.

ent of thi s kind the throat should pref ,

erably be ground so t ha t t he work of c utting a thread t o t he fu ll

depth is dist ribu t ed over at l east t wo or three teeth on the
leading side of t he die It is com mon practice t o grind the
throat at such an angle that t he beveled part extend s from
.

t he root or base of the leadin g or m ost advanced tooth in the

set of c hasers back t o t h e third tooth wh ich m ay be slightly

The throats of som

,

bevel ed . e dies extend back over four five , ,

8 :
I 22 TH R EA CUTTING
D — M ETHOD S

or more teet h al t hough t he shorter chamfer is more comm

, on .

Each chaser should be ground to t he same angle and so t hat each

throat will be the same distance from t he axis of the die whenin
the die head
- .

The t hroat angles of chasers for t he H ar t ness dies depend

upon the pitch of the t hread The angles for difierent pit ches
.

are show ninFig 4 which al so shows t he type of fixture u sed for

holdi ng the chasers while grinding them This fixture m

.
,

ay be .

Fig .
4 . T hro at Angles for Ch nd
as ers a Fixt ure for Grinding

applied to di fferent types of grinding m ach ines by cla mping a

guidi ng strip t o t h e gri nd er tabl e as i ndicated A throat angle
of 1 5 d egrees rel ativ e t o the axis of t h e die is recom mended for
.
,

ch asers i ntend ed for cutti ng th read s va rying from4 t o 5 § per

in ch T h e angle of 20 d egrees is inten ded for pitches varying
from6 t o 8 per inch ; and 2 5 d egrees for pitches of 9 or m
.

ore ,

per i nch Th e obj ect of d ecreasi ng the th roat angle for the
coarser pitches is t o increase t he length of t he throat som
.

ewhat
an d distribute the work of cutti ng ov er m ore of the chaser tee t h .
1 24 mm u m M
a -c rr c ET HO D S
rate If a die has excessive relief the chaser teeth are weakened ‘

and the die tend s t o m

.
,

ove forward t oo rapidly when controlling

its own lead especially when cutting soft m aterial like h m
The result is that threads are left rough and m
.
,

ay he almos t en

tirely cut away in extrem e cases If the rear or turret side of t he

.

thread is rough thi s indica t es that the di e is leading or ad vanc

,

ing t oo fas t ; and if the opposite or front side is rough thi s shows ,

that the die is not advancing fas t enough The lea ding of the
die or the rate of its advance m
.

ay be varied by changi ng t he

am ount of relief or clearance in the throat of the die chaser .

The greater the relief the faster the die will lead and vice versa
Relief however is not th e only thing that m
.
, ,

ay afl ec t the lead
'

, ,

ing qualities of a die The principal causes of l ead errors are

.

explained in Chapter IV (see page

Grin ding Th reat of Die C has er The throat of a die chaser
.

should be ground bot h with reference t o its inclination relati ve

t o the axis of the die and also the am ount of relief or clearance
for the cutting edge If the chasers to be ground have bobbed
teeth or m
.

illed teeth which are circular in a lengthwise direc

tion it is co m mon practice t o use a wheel which is from1 5 to }
1

inch larger in diam eter than the nom

,

inal size of the die or the

size of the screw th e die is intended t o cut O rdinarily a wheel .
,

about 5 inch larger than the die size is employed The center of .

the w heel is ofl set relative to the center line of the chaser when
'

grinding in order to obtain clearance for the cutting edge of the

throat The exact m
,

ethod of grinding depend s upon t he type

of m achine used In so m
.

e cases the chaser is held ina fixture

.
,

which can be tilted t o the throat angle and is graduated t o indi

cate bot h the angular position and the am ount that the chaser is
ofiset relative to the w heel The fixt ure shown in Fig 4 is in
'

t he formof a block arranged t o hold a chaser at the three an

. .

gles
reco m mended by changing the position of the chaser and the
,

block
Th e am
.

ount of clearance back of the cutting edge should he

as sm all as possible without preventing a free cutting ac tion
While it is co m mon to use a wheel that is about inch larger
.

than the nom inal size of the die the use of a larger or smaller
,
 D IE CHASERS A ND CHASER GRI NDING 1 25

diameter wheel has less ch eet on the amount of clearance than

'

the distance that t he wheel is ofiset For instance if the wheel .

,

has a radiu s 7 (see diagram A Fig 6) and t his wheel is ofiset an

am
.
,

ount x a certain clearance will he ob t ained Now if t he size

of this wheel were increased to som
.
,

e radius R this would not

assum
,

afiec t the clearance to any great extent ing t hat the

am ount of ofiset x rem
,

ained the same On t he ot her hand if a

wheel having a radiu s r is ofiset firs t a di stance x and th en som
.
,

e
greater distance y as shown by diagramB this will increase t he
am
, ,

ount of clearance decidedly .

Fig 6 Relative Relief b

o ta i ed n m
by vary ing Dia et er of G rinding
mC
. .

W h eel nd
a Distance Wh eel is ofl aet fro ent er Line of as er Ch

As a general rule m ost of the grinding should he done on t h e

,

throats of chasers t he faces being ground as li ttle as possible

, .

Repeated grinding on t he throat extend s the l a tter back farth er

fromt he leading side of the chaser (assum ing t hat t h e sa me
throat a ngle is m aintain ed as it should be) ; if as t he result o f ,

repeated grinding th e die finally will not cut a full thread close
enough t o the shoulder t his can som etim es be rem
,

,
edi ed by

grinding away t he front edges of the chasers so that t h ey will ,

clear t he shoulder
Th e m
.

e t hod of grinding the throat of a hohhed chaser wi t h a

Geom etric chaser grinder is illu strated in F ig 7 A large . .

grinding wheel is u sed in this c ase and t h e ch aser is swivel ed

about t he wheel t o give t he clearance su rfac e or throat a curv ed

form If the chaser for a one inch die is t o be grou nd t h e scale
.
-
,
I 26 THR EAD CUT TING
- METIiODS

on t he piv ot of t he vise is set t o t he radius of t he die or on -

e half

inch m
inus t h e dept h of on e t oot h or t h md . The die is locat ed
by a st op o n t he vise and t he jaws of t he la t t er are adjus t ed to
or left of the center ( depending upon whether the chaser
t he righ t
is for right or lef t hand threads) just enough t o give the proper
-

M y G eemh i
e cCh a m Gfi nd er eet ap fee M d
md
.

Bebbed er Tap—
te e C haaer

m
l de feed crew of the vise A fter grinding one chaser a
si -
s

ring is set t o control the inward feeding m ov em

.
,

w t so at w

rem aining chasers of the set are ground alike or t o

with the first one When using the sam em achine to
throat of m
.

illed chasers having straight teeth the die is

arsed back and fo rth across the face of the grinding wbm
,

l; as
the chaser is being traversed it is also fed forward by the
wheel of t he feed screw
- .

Fig 8 illustrates a method of grinding th e throa t of a

. f?) i

die cone shaped wheel of suitable diameter is u sed

“
. A - t
,

of t he wheel be ing offset sligh t lv wi t h reference to the

1 28 THR EAD C UTT IN G M ET HODS
-

Rake A ngles for Die C hasers .

—
The relation between t he
front cut t ing faces of die chasers nd th e
a axis of t be sc rew

thread they are t o cut varies for diff erent materials A s a .

en eral rule the front fac e of eac h chaser ina set lies ina plane
g ,

intersecting the axis of the die or screw thread (as shown at A ,

Fig 9) when the die is to be used for cutting threads on cast

brass For yellow brass m
.

. achine steel or tool steel the chasers

, , ,

are usu ally given rake by locating the cutting faces inplanes that

Big 9 . . Rake Angl

ea or R ela tion b et ween F nt
ro Face of Cha n and
Ai xa of W ork

are in advance of the center on the cutting side as shown at B

There is con siderable difference of opinion am ong m
.
,

anufacturers
and users of dies as to the am ount of rake t hat will give the
best results A s a general rule th e tenacious or tougher m
. aterials ,

which have the quality of flexibility without brittleness like

wrought iron steel copper and pure aluminum require posi
,

tive rake If there is not enough rake m

, , , ,

. ore power is required ,

for revolving the die or work and the chasers tend to tear the
metal M ate rials having a granular struct ure like cast brass and
.

cast iron should ordinarily be cut with chasers having little or

 D IE CHAS ERS A ND CHASER G RIND I N G 1 29

no rake A nexcessive am ount of rake w ould cau se t h e ch asers

to ride and dig in alternately S om e grades of cast iron m
.

. ay

be t hreaded satisfac t orily wi t h di es i ntended for steel M ost

minum castings because of t he zinc in their composition
.

alu

cut very m
, ,

uch like brass and should preferably be t hread ed

wi t h chasers with little or no rake
M any dies u sed for cutting t hr eads inm
.

achi n e steel hav e t he

front faces located a distance ahead of t he center equal t o about
one fif t h t he radius of the die Ino t h er word s the pl ane of t h e
- .
,

front face is tangent to a circle x see B Fig 9 having a radiu s

, ,
.
,

equal t o one fif t h the radius of t h e die or a screw cut by t h e die

- .

The angle a corresponding to t he rake of t he die ch aser is about

1 2 degrees whe nt h e fro n t face is one fift h t he radiu s 0 6 center
-

This rake correspo nds approximately t o t h e a ngle of rak e or

.

slope that would be give n t o a la th e t ur n ing tool for use on

machine steel although the rake is subje ct t o more or l ess varia
,

tion For thread ing copper and tobin b ronze dies having a
.
,

rake of about I 4 degrees have gi v en sati sfactory result s D ie

chasers are som etim
.

es givenn ega ti v e rake w h en t h e die is t o be

used on very soft greasy b rass t he face of t he die being

,

slightly back of the cen ter in stead of inad v ance

S om
.

e of t he die chasers for the Wel ls self openi ng die are -

ground to a slight angl e al ong t h e front face above t he throa t

instead of leaving t his face parallel t o t he a xi s of t h e die or t he
screw w hich the die is t o cut . It is cl ai med t h a t a die eq ui pped

wi t h such chasers h as a tendency t o th row t h e c hips ahead and

avoid clogging This m ethod of gri ndi ng t he die chasers is t he
sam e in principle as that em
.

ployed on t h e guntaps m ade by

t he Greenfield Tap 81 D ie C orpora ti on .

M aintaining Rake A ngle of C ha ser when G rin din g T he .

front faces of chasers should alw ays be gro und so that they a re
in t he sam e position relative t o t h e axis of t he die assum i ng ,

that the die has been cutting properly and a ch ange is not
desired C hasers located with t he front faces in ad v ance
.

of t h e centers ( as illu strated a t C Fig 9 ) a re so m .eti mes gro un d

back so that the faces are always parall el t o t h e side o f t he
chaser ( as indicated by the dot t ed lines) which red uces the ,
1 3°

angle of rake and impairs the cutting action of t he die In

mint
.

order to a n this angle it is necessary t o incline t h e faces

ai ,

of t h e ch asers as t hey are groun d hack so t ha t t hey w ill re

main tangent to a circle at the center representing the am ount of
ofl set as indicated by diagram D When a chaser has been
’

ground back considerably it appea rs t o have m

.

ore rake w hich

may account for the difi erence of opinion inregard t o rake angles
, ,

A chaser which is radial m

.

ay also appear t o have positive ”

rake af ter repeated grinding even though the cu t ting face is ,

still in a radial position For instance when the chaser face is

.
,

at f (see diagram E) the cutting act ion wi ll be practically the

m m p int g
,

e as when t h e chaser is rou nd back to so e o n

si c e
g
sa

In
the cutting faces are radial each case If the position of t he .

cutting face however relative t o the axis of the work were not
considered one m
, ,

ight suppose that a chaser ground as at I

,

would have negative rake whereas with the cutting face at g

,

there would be positive rake

A sim ple fo rmof tem plet and the m
.

ethod of using it to test

the front cutting face of a chaser is illus trated at F This
templet is m ade of thin sheet steel and has the sam
.

e radius as
the die or the outside radi us of t he screw the die is to cu t The
gaging edge I: is given the sam
.

e location relative to the axis of the

templ et that the cutting faces of the chasers are to ha ve relati v e
t o t h e axis of t h e die . T h e gage is used by mply
si placing it
between two chaser teeth and turning it around until the testing
edge h is in conta c t wit h t he ch aser face t ha t should coi cide n
with it If a die is to work satisfactorily each cutting face must
be inthe sam
.
,

e position relati ve to the center or axis of t he die .

Dies are frequently used w hich have one cutting ed ge in a rad ial
position and t he others so mewhat in ad v ance of the center or back
of it A die ground in this way will not do good work especially
when cutting thread s insteel In order t o m
.

aintain a uniformrake
,

angle all chasers should be ground so that the faces of chasers

that are diametrically opposite are parallel assu m
,

ing that the .

die has an even number of chasers The rake of a chaser of the

tangential type m ay be varied according t o t he requ irem
.

ents by
simply grinding t he end of t he chaser to the angle d esired .
x3 2 THR E A D -C UTT IN G MET HODS

forwrought iron as w ell as steel The formof chaser illus trated

at A Fig 1 2 is recom mended for cutting ordinary steel pipe
.

The form of cutting edge illus trated at B is recom

.
, , .

mended for
use on open hearth steel pipe which req uires a rather long and
-
,

gradual lip or curvature back of the cutting edge owing to

the toughness of the m aterial The formof chaser illus trated at
,

C is considered un suitable for threa ding either st w l pipe or

wrought iron The angles of rake recomm

. ended vary from r5

t ip " . W m mm
cl u e
e h fiv m mm
to 2 5 degrees d epending upon the conditions For threading
, .

open hearth steel pipe the rake angle should be 2 5 degrea

-

It is i m portant t o have the proper am

. .

ount of space in front

of each chaser to allow for the accu m ulation of chips If there .

is not enough space t he chips frequently pa ck tightly in front

of each chaser and m
.

ar or tear t he thread A napproved fo m .

r

of chip space for a pipe die is illu strated in Fig 1 3 The cur . .

v a t ure o f thi s spac e is such as t o provide an easy path for t he

chips to follow ; at t he sa m e ti m e th e back of the chaw is

rigidly supported The chip space is of especial i m
.

.
portance on
die intended
s for c ting open hea rth steel pipe because th e
ut -

chips f rom thi s m

.

aterial are u sually long and tough .

 DIE CHASERS AN D CHASER GRIND ING 1 33

The t hroat or cham f er of pipe dies should extend over about

t hree threads or tee t h A s t he hea vies t cutting is don e in t he
t hroat of the die t his section should have a little m
.

, ore clear
an ce then t he rest of t he chaser tee t h which applies t o t hr ead
,

Fig . 12. Difl erent M et h ods of gri nding Chas ers of Pipe
t hr eading Dies

ing dies in general If a tooth in a die is broken away it is

preferable t o remove t he rem
.
,

aining part ent irely by grinding

wi t h a thin wheel because the broken part t end s t o tear or
,

roughen the t hread T o obtain the best results with pipe dies
.
,

li ne-
M ur r y

Big . 13 . Approved Fo mof Chip

r S pace for Pipe-t h ng
r eadi Die

t he mber
nu chasers should be va ried according t o t he size
of

o f the die four chasers being u sed for di am eters up t o I i i nch ;

six cha sers for dia meters fromI % t o 4 i nches ; eigh t chasers for
,

diam eters from4 t o 8 inches ; twelve ch asers for di am eters

f rom9 to I 2 i nches ; f ourteen ch asers for di am eters from1 3

1 34 THR EA CUT TIN G
D — METHO DS

to I6 inches ; and sixteen chasers for diameters fromI 7 to 20

inch es .

S t eel for Th readin Th ere is some difi erence

'

g D ie Ch a sers .

of opinion regarding t he relative merits of carbon steel and high

speed steel for t he chasers of threa ding die s The res ults ob
ed with d ifferent steels m
.

t ain ay depend considerably upon t he

exact com position of the steels in ques tion and the hea t treat -

ment t o which t hey are subjected In general carbon steel

chasers are preferable for cutt ing sm
.
,

oo t h accurate screw threads .

,

owing t o the fac t t hat t hey retain a fine cutting edge better
t han ch asers m ade of hig h speed st eel - A fine sha rp cutting
edge ona high speed steel chaser tends t o crum
.

-
ble slightly The .

result is tha t sc rew th reads cut with high speed steel chasers are -

not so sm ooth although t he cutti ng speed can be considerably

higher A s a general rul e carbon steel is recom mended when
,

fini sh is o f especi a l i m
.

portanc e w hereas high speed steel is prefer -

umprod uc tion is t h e p ri ncipal object and a

,

abl e w h c n m a xim

ni cely fini sh ed t h rea d is of seconda ry im portance Incidentally

many manufa c t urers or users of dies order the more costly
.
,

hig h speed s t eel w hen carbon steel or

- sem i high speed steel - -

w ould be preferabl e T h e sem i high speed steel which h as been

- -

u sed fo r ma ny dic ch asers contai ns m

,
.

,
uch less tungsten than the
st eel o rdin a rily used fo r t urn ing tools .

T he N a t i ona l A cm e C o r ecom mends t he use of carbon steel

m
.

chasers for col d l e ro l

- d s c r ew s t ck
o B e sse e r an d open hear t h
-

t ni ck el steel m
,

st eel 3 t o 5 per cen all eabl e iron brass bro n ze

i lar all oys High speed steel chasers or those m
, , , , ,

an d si m -
ade of
i high speed steel are recomm
.
,

sem - -
, end ed for c utting t hreads in
c h rom e van -a di um s t eel tough alloy steel s cast i on drop
, ,
r
,

forgi ngs and all hea t treated steels

,
- .
 I 36 TH R EAD CUTTIN G - M ET HODS

inves tment and m ethod No experienced manufacturer or shop

t would consider m
.

superintenden aking or buying high priced

-

taps for a cer tain job unless the n umber of parts to be tapped
were large enough t o warrant the expendi ture For cutting a
few threads the engine lathe m ight be m
.

,
ore economical and
oft en preferable regardless of the quantity either because of the
diam eter of the thread pitch or relation to other m
,

, , achined
surfaces . In one sense ev ery tap is a special t oo] since it can
, ,

only be used for cutting one pitch of thread and is u sua lly in
tended for only one diam eter although in som
,

e cases a slight
adju stm ent m ay be m
,

ade above or belo w the standa rd size .

For th at reason taps as w ell as dies are used principally on

machine tools that are designed m
, . ,

ore especially for producing

duplicate parts in quan ti ty than for handl ing a large variety of
work For ins tance practically all the internal thread cutting
on t urret lathes or autom atic screw m
.
,

achines is done by taps ,

just as most of t h e external t hru d cutting is done by dies .

Noncollapsing Taps
- .The fixed or noncollapsing tap is the
-

most important class if judged by the extent t o which it is used

Noncollapsing taps m
.

- a y be divided into thr ee general types as

follows : ( I ) S olid taps or th ose form

,

, ed of one solid piece of

steel ; ( )
2 adju s ta ble tap s w hich u sually have in serted blades
that can be adjusted a certain am
,

ount radially ; and (3) inserted

blade nonadjustable taps A ll th ese taps m
- . ay also be f u rther
classified according to whether they cut straight or tapering
screw threads and also with reference to their intended use
For exam
, .

ple there are hand taps for use when tapp ing holes by
,

hand ; tapper taps for tapping nuts in regular tapping machines ;

staybolt taps for tapping the inner and outer s heets of steam

boiler fireboxes ; pipe taps for tapping holes for standard pipe
sizes ; scre w m achine taps for use on auto m atic screw m achines ;
and various other classes
Whil e so lid taps are the cheapest and are used the m
.

ost a
great m any adjustable taps are found in m
,

odern shops and

app lied especially when accuracy is essential A solid tap is
liable to slight changes in diam
.

eter due t o hardening and there

is some reduc t ion in dia m
.

eter due to wear By using a tap .

 TAP S AN D TAPPIN G 37

The adjus table tap may be made from a

Tm m t h at bo n
dj n m d to co mp nu t
o o to e or for
n ryins S iz e

Ennwles of Adjustable Tap Design . Several difierent

forms of adjustable taps are illus trated in Fig 1 A one-piece . .

split type is shown at A The tap is split through the center

and expanded by m
.

eans of the conical headed screw shown -

.

A nut engaging t he tapering thread at t he end of the tap serves

00 hold the two sections firmly together One serious defect of
.

a tap of this kind is that the tap is not expanded uniformly and , ,

for that reason does not cut an accurate thread ; the in accu

racy however would be very slight for adjus tm

,

, , ents that might

9:
1 38 THR EAD UTTIN G METHODS
-G

be necessary in order to compensate for w ear and maintain a

s tandard size A nother formof sp lit adjus table tap is illus trated
.

i t B The tap is split th rough the center of each flu t e and ex

.

nanded by the screw shown which is slightly tapering The ,

.

mallet taps of this kind have slotted screws for screw driver ad
-

ust ment While these types are superior to the solid formfor
t i pping large num
.

bers of duplicate parts to a given size within

close limits the inserted b lade type of tap is preferable and is
,
-

used considerably especi ally onaccurate work When extreme

accuracy is necessary it is comm
.
,

on prac t ice to use a hand

,

operated in serted blade tap for finishing holes previously tapped

-

on a m achine Taps of this kind should be so designed that the

.

Fig . 3. M urch ey Adju t bl

s a e S izing Tap

blades are held rigidly to the body of the tap and preferably in
such a way that the m ean s for locking or adjusting the blade does
not interfere with the use o f the tap .

The adjustable tap sho wn at C is so des igned that it can pass

clear through a hole or tap to the botto mof a blind or closed
hole The blad es are located in longitudinal grooves or slots
which taper onthe bottom so that any change in t he length wise
.

position of the blade increases or decrea ses the tap diameter .

The tap blad es are securely held in position by binder plates in

the c en t er and thru st and locking nuts at the inner ends Each
blade has a sm all groove in one side which form
.

s a shoulder and
.

a bearing surface for one side of the binder plate which is tight
ened by a screw Whent h e binder plates are tightened and t he
.

nuts at the inner ends are screwed tightly against the ends of
140 W O W
For so mt e ng operations it is d irable
appi m t o screw t he tap

a clea ra ce spaeen benes t h t h e ta pped hole which is large enough

to receive the m
tap the lat te r is so etimes screwed completely
,

C I in the form of a socket th at fits th e tap shank , so that

mmmn method o of rem oving the wo rk

"

m crewing it
s

back over the ta p is to allow succa sxve parts ;»

A g
;

Pig 3 . . m
Ro eo Co mm Tap

t he t ap sha nk; when th e shank is full t he t ap is taken out of

the chuck and the work rem oved To avoid ving the tap w a i

periodically in order t o take 0 6 tapped parts such as nuts an

ingenious formof tap has been devised which has a curved shank
,

and is so mounted in the tapping m achine that parts like nuts

pass over the shank so that the tapping can be done continuously .

The practical application of these m ethods will be considered

more in detail la t er in connection with ta pping ma an d
attachm ents
The ad vantages of m
.

Advantage s of C ollapsing Ta ps . i
lapsing ta ps as co m
‘

pared with the solid or type

for m achine tapping are sim ilar to the advantagmof
,

, s pe ll s

ing dies in contrast with the non opening type

- When a solid .

t ap is removed by reversing either the ta p or the work ,

threa d s cut by the tap are often injured by the chips which
 T APS A ND T APPING r4 r

wedge in between the tool and the finished thread The time .

wasted while the tap is backi ng out often greatly reduces t he

rate of production and t h e po wer at the instant of reversal as
well as the s train on the machine used for tapping m
, ,

ay be con

esp ecially when ta pping com

,

sidera ble, paratively large holes

in tough material On the other hand solid taps cost less and
.
,

are applicable for tapping numerous studs s crews bolt , ,

a

the engagement of a collar gage plate or lever on the tap with

,
-
,

the surface of the work or a fixed stop ; the colla w action rs

Fig 4
. . fw d Ho me
"
m
sc ru Tap

may also m n afta the travel of the turret lide is discon

o -s

tinned as t he result of relative m otion between parts of the tap

similar t o th at WM occurs when a stop is used C ollapsing .

taps are {M iler inprinciple to self ope ning dies except that the
-

the tap chasers m

,

oving inward in a radial

direction ins of outward
b;
e

m
.

in fl n s g T a The collapsing tap illus trated

p p .

in Fig 3 is of the type that collapses soon af t er the turret stops

. .

The chasers withdrawn from the thread in pract ically the

same way a gear would be thrown out of m esh When the .

forward t of the turret stops the tap continn es to cut

a
,

until it su flicient ly due to the acti on of t he chasers

,

in the hole ,
cause the driving pins to d isengage ; the chasers
1 42 THR EAD CUTT ING
— M ETHODS

then begin to revolve with the work and are at t he same time
automatically withdrawn from engagement with the th read .

When the chasers are in position for cutting they are supported
by the corners of a central stationary core piece As soon as the .

driving pins are disen a

g g ed and t h a t part of t h e ta p ca rr in
y g t h e

chasers begins to turn around with the piece being tapped the
chasers m
,

ove around opposite t he flat sides of the central w re

so that they naturally di sengage themselves from the work .

The small conical pointed p lunger at the rear of each chew (see
Fig 4) is si m
. ply a safety device t o prevent the chasers from

M s
. Geo mt i
e l c Collepd u Tap

dropping back into contact with the thread The .

shows the chasers in the collapsed po sition

A nim
.

portant feature of this tap is the fact that the tap body
and shank will pass t hrough t h e t apped hole so t ha t th e p
, mmn
be used for tappi ng exceptio nally long holes or holes that are

only lightly m
s aller than the diam
s eter of an opening 1 1

which the tap mu t be in erted to reach it wo k The t p m

s s s a
y r . a

be adju sted for cutting either tight or loose fitting threads by

sim ply turning t wo binding screws and revolving the square com
in either direction The adjust ments for the maxi mum or m ini
mumdiameters are shown by a graduated scale on the hub of t
.

tap A Namco tap of the ou t side trip type is so

.
he
r44 TH R EA D C
- UT TIN G M ET HODS

i
p gn sh allow h oles and t h re ads of fine pit ch or fi us h t o t he bot
to m
of a hn le is shownat A , Fig 6 This part icular sty le of t ap
m
. .

is furnished for a rt fin g s t an da rd i
pp e t hrea ds t ro 4 t o ro

4§ to rr inches whent he t hreads are not coarser t haneigh t per

inch , and t he dep t h of t he hole does not exceed fl inch These .

taps are subject to m ore or less variation in des ign because of

difierent worki n g conditions This tap has an end plate trip as
'

.
,

the illustration shows The lever type of trip applied t o the

.

tap shown at B inFig 6 is particula rly suit ed ior cert ainclasses

.

of work A n adjus table screw top attached to the a omlide

.
-s -s

oi t he mac hine engages t he tripping lever and controls the point

at which the collapsing action occurs The Geom etric collapsing

.

tap m ay be fitted with a roughing and finishing atta chment

sim ilar to that em ployed on the self ope ning die head w hen t ap
- -
,

ping exceptionally accurate work The tap chasers are adjusted

.

outw ard for taking a light finishing cut by turning a small lever .

None of the taps illustrated are equipped with this attachment .

Victor Collapsing Tap The sectional view Fig 7 illustrates

ent of collapsing taps m
.
. , ,

the arrangem ade by the Victor Tool C O .

,

Waynes boro Pa for diameters of 2 inches and larger The

,
.
,
.

chas ers w hich are inserted in radial slots in the body of the t ap
. ,

bear against a hardened steel plunger or central plug B This .

 T APS A ND T P A PING 14 5

angle of 14 ; degrees from the axi s ( 9

2

nd t he in
a ner ends of t he chasers are
This plunger is attached to a closely
which is elongated when the tap is set

this trip collar strikes the face

-

of t h e part bein
g t a ed
pp , a la t ch is forced t o release t he t ripping
lever B and then the tension spring immediately draws t he
,

plunger 8 back thus permitting the chasers to recede along the

,

Fig 8
. . H ersh ey Band-
lover M e at Collapsing Top

of the plunger The tap is reset in the cutting

.

er E forward to the position sho wn in

forces the chasers outw ard and locks
tension on the spring m ay be regulated

ar of t he t ap shank The size of the tap

.

can s of a harden ed set screw G in t he front

-

This screw has a very fine thread so that

may be obtained and it is protected by
,

H C ollapsing taps that are less than 2 inches

sim
.

ilar to the des ign described except t hat the ,

size is secured by changing the position of a

Ta ps The collapsing tap shown in Fig

. .

manufacturer ( M urchey Machine 81 Tool

1 46 THR EAD CUT TIN G
- m
m oos

CO .
,
D etroit , M ich
) the lever hand le type and it is in
.
as -
,

tended for use onmachines such as turret lathes etc where the tap , .
,

is held stationary while the work revolves This tap has a trip .

ping ring which is adjustable and is set so as to come into contact

with t he face of t he work when t he h ole has been t apped to t he
required depth As soon as this tripping ring com es into con
tact with the work the chasers autom
.

atically collapse so that

,

the tap can be withdrawn rapidly The chasers are reset in the .

working position by t helever seen projecting from the side of the

tap body The chasers are supported on an expanding bearing
.

Fig 9
. . M oreno] Slidin -
g collar or Revolving Type of Collapsing Tap

that m ay be adjusted for obtaining a larger or sm aller diam eter

by sim ply turning a screw .

sliding collar or revolving type of co llapsing tap is illus

”
A
t rated in Fig 9 This tap h as an adjus ting tripping ring t he
sam e as the lever handle design but it is reset by m
. .

- eans of a ,

sliding collar instead of a lever This collar whi ch is located

next to t he shank of the tap com
.
,

es into contact with a fixed

stop on the m
,

achine when the tap is withdrawn thus resetting ,

the ch asers in th e working position .

M E C C oliti psing Tap

. . .
—
A collapsi ng ta p having chasers
.

that operate with a ro lling action is shown in Fig 1 0 The four

chasers are in the formof rou nd bars except at the outer ends
. .

where they are cut away t o formclearance spaces in front of the

,
1 48 THR EAD-CUTTIN G METHOD S

which are m t ended for use in turrets etc commonly have a

lever projecting fromthe side which is used for resetting the tap
.
, ,

after it has collapsed as previously explained This lev er m ay

be operated by hand or the machine if an automatic ty pe m

.
,

ay

be equipped with som

, , ,

e form of projecting part arranged to en

gage the closing lever as the tap and turret slide are withdrawn
-

after the tapping operation Som e collapsing taps designed to

.

revolve have a sliding flange or collar which engages a suitable

collar or stop and serves to reset the tap .

Fig 1 1. Top Rontt ing Att ach mnte n Ac

a m e ";
j s l
Aut mt i
. l 1 a

o a c

The special tap resetting attachm ent for a N am co

applied to an A cme m ultiple spindle autom
- atic is 0
,

Fig 1 1
. . The tap in this case is arranged to
, ,

cutting a t hread The bracket A carrying shaft B is

t o the m
.

ain tool slide of the m

, ,

-
achine so that shaft B is
wit h the tap spindle
- Y oke C engages the spool or
.

collar D which is free to slide on th e tap proper

,

bolted to the cylinder ca sing of the m achine to term

.

inate the
travel of th e ta p The am ount of travel is controlled by the
adjus tm
.

ent of collar F on rod B When the tap is cu - fg gj

. c .
’
l ,

the forward travel of the tool slide carries stop collar F into
- -

contact with stop E which is drilled t o receive the projecting

,

end of rod B and serves as a guide When the work has .

 APS
T AND T APPING 1 49

tapped to the required depth , t he forward travel of the tool

ndle is stopped and t he chasers collapse as described in con
spi

nec t ion with the N amco tap illus trated in Fig 3 A s the
”
. .

tool lide recedes from the work to allow the work pind les
-s -
s

of the machin e to index for the next operation a closing at

t achm
,

ent operates in the following manner : The backward

travel of shaft B is and yoke C spool D

is stopped by m ntac t with collar G ; as the tap proper con

tin nes to recede with t he backward movement of the tool

Fig 11 . main; Att hmnt

Tap Re ac e on G ridloy S ingl e-s pindle
Aut mti
.

o a c

s lide spool D w ins stationary causing the resetting pin H

, ,

to travel down t he inclined cam surface shown thus resetting ,

t he tap for the next operation

attachm N am
.

Th e res e t ent for the co tap as applied

t o t he Gridley single spindle auto m
,

- atic is shown in Fig 1 2

d is sim ilar to the m sm used for self opening dies
, ,
.

a n echani - .

m work a closing lever C a st op lever D an adjus ting screw

, ,
~
,

E left the st op lev er an adjus ting screw F for the closing lev er
"

, ,

and a sta ti o nary st op G bolted to the side of the turret The .

1 so T HR EAD CUT TIN G
- M ET HODS

by t he regular ca m quipmnt
e e of t he m h in
ac nd t h e
e a t ap is
about to engage the work the spring at B controlled by stop
, ,

lever D causes the tap to s tart cutting the bracket shown

, ,

traveling on guide rods A for the length of the cut When

- .

t he tap has entered t he hole to the req uired depth

D ceases to hinge at fulcrumpoint B thereby stopping the
,

travel of the tap and causing it to trip or collapw As the

mechanismrecedes the adjusting screw s E and F in bracket
.

Fig . 13 . M urch oy Co mbin ti n T p

a o a a nd Die

0 cause the closing lever to engage the handle of the tap

reset it for the next operation When this tap is used on GM
machines the mechanismmay require more or less m odifim
.

When tapping deep holes special equip m ,

ent has been
tio
. n
t o a llo w the tap to cut to any required depth

Som
.

C ombina tion Tap and D ie e internal and

.

threading Operations can be perform ed to advantage by a

bination tool which cuts both threads at the sam e time u

instance the thread cutting operations on so m

.

- e of the parts fl
shell fuses can be done wi t h a co m
,

bination tap and die of

152 THR EAD -C UT r ’
m c M TH E ODS

ch asers of t he t ap are ina collapsed

Fig . Com
1 3.

Tunin
bination Bo ing Roam
g Tool for M achin
r

in
in
g Aut om
. g Ch
obil
,

e
a

Did
i m H
t w ins. an
Cu e
d

causes the tap to be collapsed automatically . Th e use of

work .

Forms of Tap Flu t es or C utting Fa e

c s. — The location of the

to weaken the tap excessively . The flu t es should also be so

 T APS AN D ’
TAPl I NG 53

cu t ting faces will have whatever r ake may be needed to secure

good cu tting action To obtain ideal results taps should be
.
,

fl ut ed so t ba t t he angle of rake wili be in accordance with the

material to be ta pped ; while this ca nbe done to som e extent a
great m any taps are intended for general work and m
,

ust be
made to suit average conditions as far as possible In general .
,

taps used principally or exclusively on steel should have pod t iv e

rake the plane of the cuttin g face being a little back of the tap
,

center The rake angle or the i nclination of the teeth with a

.
,

radial line usually varies from about 8 to re degrees Solid

,
.

taps are given t his rake by using a cutter that is either convex
so as to under cut or forma hook shaped fl ute or cutti n
,

- - g face ,

or a cutter having straight angular sides and a rounded point

may be used the amount of rake being controlled by the ad
,

justment of the cutter relati ve to the axis of the tap blank .

Various modifications of these t wo general types of tap fl uting

cutters are in use .

P lain convex fl utes are shown at A Fig 1 6 The front and

,
. .

rear faces of the tap land s are similar If the tap has to be
backed out of the hole the rear edges prevent chips fromwedg
.

ing between t he teeth of th e tap which is an advantage but

as the rear sides of the land s are the sam
, , ,

e as the front there is

likely t o be som
,

e cutting or scraping action as the tap revolves

backward when removing it fromthe hole The am ount of

rake that can be obtained with a convex cutter is also lim

.

ited ,

and by under cutting the rear sides of the lands the tap is weak
-

ened
The formof flute illustrated at B Fig 1 6 gi v es a tap greater
.

.
, ,

s trength than one flu t ed with a plain convex cutter The front .

faces of the lands are under cut to obta in positive rak e t he

-

sa m
,

e as if a convex cutter were used but t he rear sides are ,

straight ins tead of following the curv ed arc shown dotted This .

feature strengthens the tap and t he rear sides are also steep
mougb to prevent chips fromwedging in between t he teeth
,

and t hread There is however likely to be m

.
, , ore or less wedg
ing of chips between the flutes and the tapped t hread with any
noncollapsing tap when rotation is reversed for backing the
-
WI
1 54 TH RE A CUTTI NG
D — M ETHOD S

tap out of th e hole The width 10 of the land of t h is kind of tap

.

sho uld equal one half the

- w idth o the space or one tw elf t h t he
f -

tap cir c umference inthe case of a four fl ut ed tap -

The formof flute shown at C Fig 1 6 h as been used ex

.

.
,

ith some m
,

t ensiv ely w odifications as to the radius of the bot

t omof the flute an d t h e angle of rake in front of the lands
This flu t e is m illed with a double angle cutt er and the tap m
.

-
ay

easily be given any am ou nt of positive rake within practicable

lim its If t he rea r sides of t he l ands have a gradual slope as
.
,

F ig . 1 6. D ifl erent F m
or s of Tap Flut es

shown in t he illustra tion di fficulty is oftencau sed by the wedg

ing ac tio nof the chips which m ay either m
,

,
ar t h e thread or result

in breaking the t ap T h e fl utes ill ustra ted represent t he shape

.

obtai ned with a cutter having anangle of 30 degrees onone side

of t h e center li ne and 5 5 d egrees on th e other Som e angular .

fl ut ing cutters h a ve an i ncl uded angle of 90 degrees wi t h each ,

cutting edge 4 5 degrees fromthe center li ne .

Rake of Tap C u tting Edge s The am ou nt of po sitive rake

.

tha t a tap should have to w ork sa ti sfac torily in steel should

preferably be such that slightly curling chips will be produced .

These chips should break up in t o short lengths and not be SO

1 56 T HR EAD CUTT IN G
- M ETHO DS

each tooth cuts such a shallow groov e that it does not off er
su flicient bearing surface t o force the followin g teeth to ad
vance ; consequently they si m ply rotate in one position and
,

cut away t he metal like a reamer instead of forming a helical

thread groove It is important however to chamfer taps for
.
, ,

through holes back as far as practicable because less power ,

is required to drive such taps and therefo re they are sub , , ,

je ct ed to l ess torsional strain and a re less li kely t o break Re .

p ea t ed tes ts made by the G reen field Tap 81 D ie C orporation

S how that approximately 2 5 per cent more power is required

Fig G un Tap having C m Ed g es nC ed Ba d

m
17 . a e; o

md
.

p o at n hnd e t e Axie t or Defl ecfl n

g Ch l and eauaing
t e h mt o h
ea r! out a ea d of Tap

to drive a tap having a chamfer extending back ov er only four

threads than one having a chamfer extending ov er six t hra ds
The four thread cham
.

- fer in the case of a four flut ed tap divides

-

the work between sixteen teeth whereas the six thread chmfer
,

divides it between tw enty four cutting teeth The tap having

- .

the longer chamfer also has the advantage of producing a much

sm oother thread and cuts m ore closely to size
Th e cha m
.

Anunusual formof tap is shown in Fig 1 7 fered . .

ed ges are ground at an angle F t o the axis so that they will

cut wi th a shearing action The object of this inclined cut
ting edge is to cause the chips t o curl out ahm
.

d of the tap in »

stea d of collecting in and clogging the flu t es and for that reason ,

the m anufacturer ( G reenfield Tap 81 D ie C orporation) refers t o

it as a gun tap the name signifying that the tool shoots its
,
 T AP S AND T AP PIN G 57

action two or t hree fl utes which are comparatively shallow m

, ay

be used thus increasing the strength of the tap All the cutting
,
.

is done o nt he first few t eet h a nd t he rest of t h e t eet h act as a

lead crew for guiding the tap The grinding is done on the
-s .

angular cutting edge instead of in the flutes Thi s tap is espe .

cially adapted for diffi cult condi tions or t h e tapping of tough

Ca use of Bea inm

g The reaming act ion previously
Action .
—

ref erred t o and the failure of the tap t o start or catch the thread
is usually caused by t he use of a t ap drill t ha t is t oo mll
s a

rather than by an exces sive amount of chamfer In some cases

mll mt
.
,

holes t o be t apped are act ually s a er india e er t hant h e root

dia mte er of t he t hrmd so t ha t t h e end of t h e tap mu t s m ut
rea o

hole This addi tional work im

,

t he posed on the tap prevents it

fromad v ancing along a helical path because the increased re
.

ce t o th is forward m ovem
,

sist an ent is so great that the teeth

will not follow along the thread groove as they naturally tend
to do but simply r
,
evolve and cut away t he metal like a reamer .

Ev en if the tap should begin to advance after being forced

partly through the nut t he thread form ed in the rem
, ainder of
t he hole would be t hinand weak .

Clear anc e or Reli ef for Tap Cu tt ing Edges

Th ere are several .

ways of providing clearance for tap cutting edges so that they

will cut freely The te eth of taps intended for str aight threaded
holes may be backed off or relieved like the teeth of a formm
.

ill
ing cutter as shown at A Fig 1 8 In this case the teeth are
, ,
. .
,

relieved on the top and angular sid es and also at the root A .

tap relieved in this way will cut freely but it has been objected ,

to on the ground that there is not sufficient support w hile cut

ting t o produc e round sm ooth holes ; m
, oreover there will be a ,

reduction in diameter as soon as the front cutting faces are

ground for sharpening the tap To secure better support than
ed fromthe points of the teeth relieved as shown at
.

is obtain
A taps for threads having fl at top s like t h e U S standard
hay e been m
, , . .
,

ade with t eeth that are c oncentric on t he outside

M m liev ed on the angular sides While such taps cut freely .
1 58 T HR EA CUTTIN G METHODS
D —

a nd are ell supported by the concen t ric tee t h bo t h the pitch

w
diam
,

e t er and the wid t h of flat are reduced by repea ted grinding .

The disadvantages of relieving st raight taps as previously

described led t o t h e introd uctionof a tool t hat w as given clear
an ce not by relieving the teeth fromfront to back but by m ak

ing the t a p a little larger in di am

,

eter on the leading end (say ,

to i nch) than at t he shank end The efl ec t of this

sli ght b ack ta p er is t o m ake the tool cut m
.

ore freely and a

m
,

gr e a t a ny t ap s h a v e be en give n clearance in this w ay Tap s

wit hout e ccentric relief ( exc ept on the cham

.

fered end ) are pref

Fig 18 (A) T ap r eliev ed b th

o on Top nd in A ngle of Thr ead
a

F m
. . .

( B) or of R elief known a s C on-eccent ric

r ble
c a n auto a ti c screw
for use o m
achi n es of t h e type which m
rev erse for backi ng out t h e tool because chips are less likely t o
,

w edge bet w een t h e t eeth and m

a r t h e thr ead or break t h e t a
p .

A noth er m
eth od w hi ch is r ega rded by so
, e as th e best for m m
of reli ef il lustrated a t B F ig 1 8 This is know n as t he
,
is ,
. .

conec cen
- tri c reli ef because t h e teeth are concelkric for a dis
t an cc eq ual t o on e third t h e wi dth of the la n
-
d and the rest ,

of t he tooth is eccen tric al ly reli eved Th e objec t of this form

ce t o m
.

of reli ef is t o prov i de en ough c l ear an ake the tap cut

f reely and a t t h e sam
,
e ti m e give ad equate supporti ng surface .

T h e t ap teeth can al so be gro un d back for sh arpening with

out c han gi ng t h e sh ap e o i the c ut t i ng ed ge o r the t a p diam
1 60 THR EAD CUT TI NG
— METHODS

iron drawn al um inum copper etc sho uld be drilled larger

for tapping than hard crystalline m
,
.
, , ,

aterials such as cast metals

If the holes in the soft to ugh m
, .

aterials are t oo small the tops of ,

the threads will be torn ofl when tapping thus decreasing the ,

efl ec tive thread depth When a larger tap drill is used the

'

tapping action t ends to draw the m

.
,

etal toward the top of the

thread and increase the eff ective depth especially af ter the ta p ,

has been ligh tly dulled

If for an
.

, y reason a full depth, of thread is required ser ial ,

taps should be used Taps of t his kind progressively increase

mt mt h
.

in dia e er fro e first t o t h e last tap in a set in order t o

distribute the work m ore evenly between them In genera l .
,

tap drills giving a 7 5 per cent depth of thread are recommended

A s com mercial drill sizes will not always be just right the next
.

larger commercial size will give satisfactory results The proper

selection of tap drills is very im
.

portant and if properly attended

to m
,

ay result in a great reduction in the breakage of taps The

diam eter of tap drill s for U 8 standard or V threads m
.

- ay be
'

determ ined by the following form

. .

ula which is intended for a ,

75 per cent thr ead depth .

Tap drill diameter T x 2 D,

inwhich T external diameter of tap or th read ;
D depth of thread .

The depth of a U S s tandard thr ead . . x pitch of

thread and the depth of a sharp
,

Tapping S quare Thr eads While t he A cme screw thread has

.

replaced the square t hread to a large extent because it is stronger

an d m ore easily cut square threads are still of sufi cient im pon
tance to m erit som
,

e attention ; moreover those who are respon ,

sible for producin g good square threads are not always in a

position to subs titute the superior A cm e form A satisfact ory
method of cutting square thread s by means of taps is to form
.

the threads by a progressive cutting action This m ethod

which may no t be necessary for very fine pitch es or com
.
,

para
tively rough thread s involves the use of a set of taps varying in
,

size so as t o distribute the work properly For the finer pit ches .
 T AP S AND T P A PIN G 1 61

set or as mny
a as four or five, if t he
Each tap should have a pilot or
end as this steadies it and
,

The pilots of the fol

lowing ta ps have teeth and should be of the sa m e diam eter as
the body of the preceding tap It is also advisable to have the
.

teet h in the difl erent taps of a set increase progressively in width

F or instance the teeth of the first tap of a set m
.

, ay have a width

of say
, , inch ; the teeth of the second a wid t h of inch ; ,

and the wid th of the finishing tap inch If the outside

, .

diame t er of the finishing ta p is inch the two preceding taps

might have diam
,

eters of say and inch respectively

When such taps are used the thread groove is gradually m
.
, , ,

ade
mt
,

deeper or larger india e er a nd wider , so t ha t t he final ta p of a

set s erves to take a finishing cut over the entire surface of the
thread groov e which is given a sm ooth finish If the taps of a
set increase in diam
.
,

eter but do no t have teeth w hich progres

siv ely increase in width the sides of the thread groove will not

be finished as sm
,

oo t hly The flutes of square t hreaded taps

should be at right angles to the cutting teeth in order to im
.

prove the cutting qualities particul arly if t he taps are intended

for coarse pitches and m ust cut away considerable m
,

etal The .

teeth on the chamfered part of all t he taps in a set should be

relieved or backed 0 6 on top If square threaded taps are to
- .

be used for machine tapping the teeth of the chamfered part

,

should be relieved on the side s as well as ontop

Lead and Diam

.

e t er Errors in Tapped Holes — In order to

t s between screw s and tapped ho les it is of , ,

to guard agains t inaccuracy both when tap

when cutting the external screw thread that is
While this is quite obvious the relationship ,

threads is often disregarded ,

thread t roubles When fit

the m
.

anufacturing problem
lit y of fit u sually depends
1 62 THR EAD CUT TIN G neurons
-

simply upon the diam eter and finish but in the case of screw
thr eads the accuracy and quali ty of the fit m
,

,
ay be decidedly

afiec t ed either by the lead of the thread or by its shape in either

the screw or the nut as well as by the respective diam

,

,
eters of
the screw and nut Another feature of the screw thread is that
.

errors are not always apparent at first as for example when a

scr ew seem
, , ,

s to fit tightly but has a poor bearing in a nut or

tapped hole because of a lead error .

The errors in screw threa d s produced either by tapping by

means of dies or by so m e other m ethod m
,

,
ay be due to inac

curacy inthe tool or the conditions under which the tool is used
Whatever the m ethod or conditions it is im
.

possible to eliminate
,

all error and especially where the error as in the case of screw
th reads may be in the lead of t he t hread the pi tch diam
,

eter
the sectional shape of the thread or the difi erenmbetw een the
O
, ,
'

curvature of th e thread and a true helix In order to allow for

t hs e errors which m ay be very sm
.

all if considered sine but

serious w hen co m
,

bined it is essential to adopt limits or toler

,

an ces between the thread ed parts This question of limits is

.

diffi cult to deal with particularly in a general discussion of the

subject since a suitable lim
,

it for one grade of work might be en

t irely t oo large or sm
,

a ll for other threaded parts requiring greater

or less accuracy In general m . axim um and m ,
inim um pitch
diameters should be adopted for both taps and screws The
maximumpitch diameters of the screw threads should be slightly
.

less than the m ini mumpitch diam eters of the taps t o allow the
largest screw t o enter the sm allest hole although if the t wo sizes
were exactly the sam e there m
,

ight be no diffi culty in assembling

becau se taps as a rule cut a certain am
, ,

. ,
ount over size the ,

am ount varying according t o the conditions to be refer red to

later
In b uying taps som e m anufacturers specify very sm
.

all lim ~

it s when t he required degree of accuracy in thread ed parts

could be obtained with ord inary com mercial taps if sufi c ient
care were taken in their use and in m ak ing t h e screws which
are to enter the tapped holes Whil e an accurate fit between.

threaded parts d epends upon both the tap and the screw some ,
1 64 T HR EAD CUT TIN G
- METHODS

By tudying the difl erent causes of error mentioned

s

troubles that are the direct result of one or a com

,

bin
these causes m ay be greatly reduced or elim inated a:
may be tapped accurately enough for ordinary com me
,

qu irem ent s without purchasing taps made to order am

speci fied lim its of accuracy w hich require unusual and I
sary refinem ent in their manuf acture .

15 and 30 feet per m inute according to com mon practic

,

figures representing the surface or peripheral speed of

When tapping cast iron drop Jorgings or tough alloy
surface speed of about 1 8 or 2 0 feet per m
, ,

inute is commo
tapping the softer grades of steel such as Bessem er open, ,

screw stock etc the speed is generally increased to 20 0|

per m
, .
,

inute and may be higher under favorable condit ic

the case of tool steel t h e speed m ay be reduced to 1 0 or

per m
,

inute Speeds for tapping brass are as a rule

tim
.
, ,

es as fast as speeds for cast iron or s teel there being

variation owing to the difl erence in the com
,

position 0
designated as brass While taps are frequently oper
approxim ately the sam
.

e speed as dies the speed is u sual] ,

what less for tapping partly because taps as a class

discharge chips as readily as dies nor cut as freely ; m
, , ,

coo ling co m pound s or oil m ay as a rul e be applied m m

m
, ,

t ually to dies than to ta s In ost shops where tapping

p
the speeds in feet per m inute are not known In m
.

any
shops it has been dem
.

on strated by actual practice wh

in som
,

e cases extend over a long period that if the driv

of the m
,

achin e is on a certain step of the cone pulley

-

speed contro llin g levers are set in a certain position the ,

be driven at the proper speed It is not considered in

to d eterm ine the speed in feet per m
.

inute or even the

tions per m inute which suggests an im
,

portant point re
nam
,

all speed and feed data ely that at bes t they a

guid es and that the correct speed for a given tap m
, ,

,
ater ,

other condition s a ffecting t he speed should in each ,

d eter m
,

ined by actual tes ts .

 C HA P TE R VII
D IE AND TAP -H O LDERS A ND REVERS IN G C HU CKS

D -
IE H O my
be arranged to hold the die rigidly or to
LDE RS a

e rm it ei t her a longitud in al m ovem e nt or a com bi n ed longi

p
t udinal and universal floa t ing m ovem ent M any of t he
die holders used on m
.

- achine tools or in connecti on w ith power

driven thr eading operations allow the die a lim ited am ount of
motionint he direction of its axis so that it will be free t o follow
,

it s own lead and will not be retard ed by a b ack w ard p ull of t h e

tool slide to which it m
- ay be atta ched F or i nstanc e when
.
,

cutting a t h read with a die in a hand opera ted turret la the the
-

turret slide is m
,

- oved up until the die h as sta rted on t h e work .

If t he die holder has longitudinal m

- otio n t h e tur ret ca n lag be

h ind som ewhat without interfering with the forw ard m

,

otion of
the die which sim ,
ply h as t o overcom e t h e fri c tio n of t h e drivin g
pins or keys of the die holder as it screw s itself onto t h e work
- .

If the turret w ere not shifted along peri odi cally wh en cutting
a long screw the lost m
,
o tion in the holder would soon all be
taken up and t hen t he die would have t o drag the turret slide -

This extra load m ight seriou sly im

.

pair the finish and accuracy

o f the screw thread When the m achi n e is of t he autom a t ic

type th e camoperating th e turret slid e is generally d esigned to

.

-
,

s tart t he die on t he w ork and t he n t h e slide is all ow ed t o t ravel a

little slower t han t he die which governs it s ownmot ionindepend

ently If t he cam w ere l aid out t o control the m
. otionof t h e die
posi t ively any variation betw een the m
,
otio n of t he die and t h e
pitch of t he chaser teeth would affect t he thread bei ng cut
S om
.

e die holders are arranged t o give t h e die a free floating

-

movement in a direction perpendicular t o t he axis so t hat if , ,

the part t o be t hreaded is not exac t ly in li ne with t he die t h e

.
,

latter can center itself relative t o t h e axis of the w ork and cut a
concentric t hread on it While every holder havi ng t he axial
.

r6 5
1 66 m ea n-e m s METH ODS
motion also has som e lateral play this is very slight in some ,

holders and is a special feature in o t hers A lateral or uni versal .

float is especially desirable for dies u ed onpart s that are chucked s

either by hand or from a m agazine attachm ent for the threading

operation Thi s floating m
. otion is found on holders for both
nonopening and self opening dies
- -

The am ount of longitudinal m

.

ovement or float that a die

holder should have m a y depend upon the type of machine on

which it is used If the die is used on a handc pera t ed screw

machine or turret lathe or a single spindle automatic screw
.

machine the floating movement may not be over or inch t he

,

am ount va rying som

, ,

ewhat according t o the size of the die head

-

If the die is applied to a m ultiple spindle autom

.

- atic screw
machine considerably more floating movement may be neces
sary ; in fact the die in some cases m
,

ay be attached to a tele

m m
, , ,

scoping sleeve arranged to give it a le n gthwi se ove ent of

several inches so that the die is enabled to m ove considerably in
advance of other tools in the turret that m ot have to m
,

ay n ove
in so far from the end of the work .

Relea sing an d N onreleasing

- D ie hol ders
- The die holders
-

used for solid or non opening dies m

.

- ay be of the rigid type ,

the fl oating nonrelea sing type or t he releasing type For tur

-

ret lathe and autom atic screw m

, .

achine work t h e non-releasing

type which is f ree to m ove in a lengthwise direction a lim
,

ited
am
,

ount is u sed exten sively although the releasing design is

, ,

preferable under certain condi tions With this type the die is .

released or is not held again st rotation after the thread has been
cut to the required length When the forward m . otion of the
turret slide discontinues the rotation of the screw thread draws
-
.

on e sec tion of t h e die holder farther forward until the driving

-

connec ti on between the t w o sections disengages ; the die then

continues t o revolve with the work as long as the latter continues
t o run forward When the spindle is reversed the die st arts to
rotate back ward with it but this reverse m ovem
.

ent is stopped
autom
,

atically by the die holder and the stationary die is then,

backed off the screw as the spindle continues its reverse rotation .

The rel easing type of die holder ( which is intended on

- ly for
1 68 T HR EAD CU TTIN G
- METHODS

leasing holder is shown at A in Fig 2 The . .

6 whi ch passes through the sleeve b This .

turret When the die is cutting the holder

.
,

rotating with the work by the

When these lugs separate at the

Fig . 3 . Three Den

i m of R el
open
eas n
i g Di
i u Dice
e- h
olders for Belch ; l n
o

with the work until the rotation is reversed ;

volves with shank c engages notch ,

turned and s tops further rota tion of

,

the threaded section .

The holder illustrated at B ope

principle as the one just deec ri
is quite di fferent The .
 DIE A ND —
TAP H OLD ERS 1 69

min
a s ections of the holder is through t he pins h When t he .

turret slide stops and the die holder is drawn forward t hese
- -
,

pins h are disengaged thus releas ing the die A s soon as t he

,
.

work spindle reverses a ball k slides out of the deep part of the
-

pocket in which it norm ally rests thu s locki ng the t wo m

,

ain

section s together w hile the die is being rem

,

oved The ball is

inserted inpocket mwhen the die holder is used for cutting left
.

h and thread s .

The releasing die holder shown at C Fig 2 is known by the

-

manufacturer ( the C leveland A utomatic M achine C o ) as the

.
, ,

type becau se t he driving m em

.

silent ,
bers are so arranged
that they will not strike against each other after being dis
engaged Th e m . ain part of t h e die hold er w hi ch is held in -
,

the turret ca rries t wo bevel ended d rivi ng l ugs n w hich are

-

mounted upon pins 19 so that they are free t o swivel These

, ,

.
,

driving lugs engage pins 7 in the die hold er proper ; w hen the -

latter is drawn forward at the end of the cut or after t h e turret

slide stop s m oving lugs n acted upon by spri ngs s swivel until
, , ,

the beveled ends are prac t ically in a pl ane a t right angl es t o t he

axi s of t h e holder This swiveli ng m. ov em en t provides cl ear
ance between lugs 11 and pin s r so that t h e pa rt s ca nnot strike
against each other w hile the die is revolvi ng w ith t he work .

\Vhen the spindle reverses the bevel ed plun ger t drop s i nto slot
,

14 and hold s the die sta tionary This plu nger is back ed up by
.

sp rin g t o T o change t hi s die hold er for cutti ng l eft hand

.
- -

threads the driving lugs n are turned over thu s rev ersing t h e
, ,

position of the straight d riving side Th e plunger 1 w hich is .

,

held inposition by the end of screw x is also reversed

The m
.
,

M et h ods of Holding and Dri ving Taps eth od of .

holding and driving a tap may vary according t o t h e t ype of

machine u sed for tapping the kind of t ap or t he class of work
, ,
.

The tap holder may be designed to hold t he tap ri gidly or t o

-

allow it t o slip or stop in case the resistanc e t o tapping becom es

excessive T ap holders m
- ay al so be arra n ged t o provide a cer
t ain amount of lost m
.

o ti on or floa ting m ove m ent either in a

longitudinal or a lateral direction the sam e as die holders The -

object of the longitudinal m ovem

.

ent is t o allow the tap t o ad

" I
1 70 THR EAD CUTTIN G
-
m o sn

vance movement of the driving spindle or slide to which it may

be attached The lateral floating movement is t o compensate
for any lack of alignm
.

ent between the hole being ta pp ed and

the t ap driving spindle or holder although some taps as well as
-
,

dies that are supposed to have this self adjusting feature do not
-

line up properly with a hole that is out of line because of the

frictional res istance of the driving pins or lugs which prevents a
free floating m ovem
,

ent Tap holders for solid or noncollaps

- -

taps m
.

ay be of the releasing or non releasing type as de -

,

l'lg .
3 . Da mn
o S mit h N n
oti o al or S af ety Tap-
hold er

scribed later A nother type of holder is d esigned especiallytap-

to perm it inserting or rem

.

oving taps easily and quickly There

are also tap-holding chucks or tapping attachm
.

en ts that are
eq uipped with a m echanismfor reversing the rotation of a non
collapsing tap to back it out of a hole M any tap holders are
- .

designed along the sam e general lines as die holders

- .

Fri ctional Ta pping Chucks In order to prevent breaking

.

power-driven ta ps when an unusual resistance is encountered ,

they are sometimes held in frictional chucks arranged t o allow

the tool t o slip before it is strained t o the breaking point The
need for a frictional drive m m
.

ay a ri se w hen the p s tri kes the

bott om of a blind hole or if th e hole before tapping is not large
,
172 THR EAD CUT TIN G
- METHODS

circular projection on part C fits into

forces the jaws downward for gripping
tap shank when the outer shell of the
tightened The tap is preven t ed from
.

pin in one of the jaws which engages a catch or notch formed

,

on the square end of the tap Between part C which is ca lled

.
,

the rocker and the stem or shank D there is a fiber fric

”

tion disk E This fiber disk form

, ,

. s part of the fri c tional surface

through which the tap is dri ven In addi tion there is a conical
.

friction su rface at F form

,

ed of fiber contained within a s teel case

surrounding t h e cone B This conical cup is preven t ed from
.

Fig .
5 . Woodst oc k S af ety Tapping Cheek

turning with cone B when the latt er slips by two pins that en ,

gage slots in the inner shell of the chuck body The cup F is .

held in contact with cone B by spring 6 the tension of which is ,

regulated by screwing the outer shell H in one direction or the

other Graduation lines on the body of the ch uck serve as
a guide in securing the proper am
.

ount of frictional resistance .

The graduations are for ordina ry tapping operations in steel

When tapping excep tionally tough m
.

aterial like nickel steel it

might be necessary t o screw the shell say half a revolution be
,

, ,

yond the graduating line whereas for tapping

shell m
,

ight not be ad vanced to the graduating line

a revolution .

Relea sing an d Nonreleasing Tap holders

- - The .

for non collapsing ta ps are made in the releasing

-
 DIE -
A ND TAP H OLDERS 1 73

nonzreleasing
holder should
floating m ovement to allow
the tap is at all tim es pre
A simple design of n onreleasing holder
-

Brown S harpe autom atic screw ma

6 This consists of t wo m
. ain parts A
A is held in the turret whereas the tap
is held in the inner part B The latter is free to m ove a lim
,

. ited
amount in a lengthwise direction against the tension of spring C
Wi th the releasing type of holder the tap is prevented from
.

rotating until the tapping operation is com pleted when it is ,

Fig . 6 . h
Tap- old er of Draw-o ut Non-releasing Ty pe

One the Errington releasing holders is illus trated

of

The shank of the holder passes through a sleeve A ,

tch teeth formed on ea ch end When the tap is

hole the clutch pins at B are in engagem
.

ent wi th
and the tap is prevented fro mrotating When the
,

Y s top s pre
e pin s at B

and then the tap re

soon as the work spindle is
-

ve A is m ov ed in t he oppo

clutch pins C com e into engagem ent with

the tap stationary w hil e it is being backed
hole This particular holder is provided
.

v e which is adjus ted to slip and prevent

,

t h e latter is subjected to excessive

th e bottom of a hol e There are .
1 74 THR EAD CUT TIN G
- M ETHODS

variou s other designs of tap holders in bot h n n l ng and - o re easi

-

releasing types m any of which are sim ilar t o die h olders

-

In m
.
,

any shops it is t he prac t ice t o use nonreleasing hold

-

ers on autom atic screw m achines and the releasing type on ,

turret la t hes or screw machines which may be reversed by

hand especially if a thread is to be cut close t o a shoulder
The reason for using a releasing holder on a m
.
,

achine t hat is

reversed by hand is t o prevent brea king th e t ap by allowing

it t o revolve wi t h the work after being fed int o a p rede t erm ined
depth If t e holder were nonreleasing and the m
h - achine were
not reversi ng at exactly t h e right tim e the tap m
.

ight be b roken
or t h e th read dam
,

aged .

n en
H ele -
Fig .
7 . E rringt on Fi n T ap-h older
r c t io of Releasing m
Tap h
- ol ders of Q u ange Type When tapping opera
-
ick ch .

tions are perfo rm ed on drilli ng m achines in connectio n with

drilling operations chuck s are often u sed that are arranged for
,

holdi ng either drill s taps or oth er tools interchangeably and

, ,

t h ese ch uck s or hold ers are so d esigned that a drill may be

quickly replaced by a tap or vic e versa Whether it is advis ,
.

abl e t o drill all holes to be tapped and then rehandle the work
for t apping m ay d epend upon t h e size of t h e cas tin g or forging
an d t h e rel a tion between the tappi ng and o t her opera t ion s .

When tappi ng duplica t e pieces on a d rilling machine that are

t oo heavy t o adju st or cent er them selves w i t h the t ap or whe n

ped in position it is com mon prac t ice t o drill

,

t h e work is cl am . ,

t ap and po ssibly in sert a stud in the ta pped hole inone series of

, ,

operations instead of rehandling the parts for tapping It is

,
.

for operations of thi s kind that the quick change chu cks col -
,

lets or holders for d rills taps etc are of especial value

, , ,
.
,
.
1 76 THR EAD CUT TIN G
— M ETHODS

collet from dropping out of the n ck

ol i . Both tapping and drill
collets are sh ow nin t h e illus t ration The . t apping collet is pro

breakage The conical frictions E, which are of fiber , are

locat ed bet weent he body F of t he collet and t he sleev e G . The
tension of t he friction is adjus ted by the nut J , so that the tap

made inch m ller than the bore of the ch uck t o provide a

slight floating m om ent This chuck is m anufa ctured by E
Horton 81 Son C O Windsor L ocks C om
. .

. .
, ,

Wh a d
r
”
0uic k-ch anu C h uck nd
a Gcllll m
Another chuck designed for the rapid insertion or m ov al of
t ools is shownat A inF ig 9 Som e of t he collets used incon o

junction with this chuck (m

. .

m
anufactured by t he
m
357 1

Reamer C o ) are also shown in the illu s tration Th m co

each have two driving lugs projecting fromthe side
. .

w
slots m the chuck when 10 u se The chuck u m that I

of a driving body which is equi pped with a M em

.
,

e
s

to fit the drill pm spin d le and a slo tted colla r for hol

,

- . {T 1

collet up in t o t he driving body This collar us had in position

.
 DIE A ND TAP H -
OLDERS 1 77

keeps it norm ally inthe closed posi ti on A thin sleeve is screw ed

over the slotted port ion of the collar m
.

erely t o cover up the slots

an d screw A slight resistance to the m
. otion of t he collar such ,

as would be cau sed by grasping it with on e h and w hile the

spin dle is in m otion opens the slot in the chuck so that a collet
,

may either be inserted or allow ed t o fall out of the chuck Th e .

sp ring previou sly referred t o then thro w s the coll a r back t o the

closed position which serves t o lock the collet into pl ace A

,
.

fric tion drive tapping collet for use with this chuck is show na t B .

The particular collet illustrated is intended for the Beam an

Sm ith style of tap shank The collet ill ustrated a t C is pro.

v ided wi th a M orse ta per hole and is i n tend ed for holdi ng a t ap

d rill or other tool having a tapered shank The coll et is one .

solid piece of steel and it w ill be n oted tha t t he upper end has a
,

conical point The upper end of the sl ot in t h e chu ck A is

.

angular and this tends to force t h e coll et upw ard so tha t it is

,

accurately centered by the co ni cal end w hich engages a sea t in

t he chu ck This collet is so m
. ade th a t it bears int he chuck only
on the taper end an d on th a t p art of t h e coll et b et w een t h e
driving lugs and flange This flange or coll a r is conv enient.

w hen pu shing a collet up into t h e ch uck or w h en ca t c hi ng it

when released The coll et shown a t C is held rigi dly in t he
chuck w hereas the formillu strated a t D has a fl oa ting m
.

ov e

ment
,

The type of quick cha nge tool hol der illu strated a t A a nd B
- -
,

Fig 1 0 which is the product of t h e E rrington M echa ni cal

.
,

Labo ratory N ew Y ork C ity is i ntended for use w i t h a fri c

tion sli p chu ck C or an autom
, ,

- a ti c r everse c h uc k in c ase t h e

drilling m
,

achine is not equipped with a tappi ng a t t a ch m en t .

The two driving pin s seen on t he lower fa ce of t he chu ck hav e

retaining collars or flanges at t he end and engage hol es in t he
flange of drill holder A or holes in t he body of t h e t ap holder B
-
,
-

when either the drill or tap holder is inuse A t ool hol der ca n - .
-

be insert ed inthe chuck by sim ply pushing it up i nto pl ace or it

can be rem oved fromthe chuck whil e t he spindl e is revolvi ng by
,

depressing a releasing spring The autom a ti c reverse c h uc k re -

ferred t o is arranged to reverse the m

.

o t ion for backing out t he

r78 THR AE D CUT TIN G METHODS
-

tap This chuck arranged t o receive t he quick

is nge t ool —
ch a

holders and m
.

ay be locked for d rillin g by pulling out a slide

When tapping t his slide is pu shed in which enables the m
.
,

otion
of the t ap to be reversed the sam
, ,

e as when using t he regular

autom
,

atic reverse tapping chuck The chuck with the pin d rive
-

For com
.

is adapted especially for the heavier classes of t ools .

paratively light weight tools that can safely be dropped out of

t h e socket a ball drive chuck is recom
-
,
mended The shank of .

this chuck is bored out to receive the tool holding socket which
-
,

N ae-
Mu m
Fig . 10 . E m n
ngt o D
’

rill -holder Tap-holder and Q uick-ch ange

, .

Chuck of Fri ctional Pin-drive Type

h as co ncave crosswise grooves near the upper end which are

engaged by the t wo drivi ng ball s When a sliding sleeve is .

raised t h e balls fl y outward thus releasing the tool socket A s

, .

soon as an other socket is inserted in the chuck t he sleeve is .

lowered and an inner bevel ed surface onit forces the balls in t o

t h e driving po sition Tool s may be inser t ed or removed while
the spi ndle is inm
.

otion .

S li ding colla r Type of Q uick-act ion C h uck

- The qui ck .

action chuck shown in section in F ig r r is operated by raising .

or loweri n g a sliding collar for inserting or removing a tool

,
1 80 THR EAD C U TTIN G
- M ET HO DS

for fir mly
gripp ing the tap shank The chuck is made to a
standard M orse taper and is insert ed directl y in the m
.

ac hine
spindle A ny pressure in an axial direction nat urally causes
.

the flexible body of the chuck to grip the tap shank the grip
This chuck (w hich is m
,

increasing as the p ressure increases .ade

by S cully Jonee 8: C O 64 7 Rail way Exchange Bldg C hicago
- .
,

Ill ) holds taps in alignm

, ,

. ent wi t h the
spindle even though the shank may

vary som ewhat in size .

tapped holes m
P oorly ay be due

to the frictional resistance of the tap

driving spindle to m otion in a length
wi se direction The fea ther or key .

that drives the spindle of a drilling

machine is subjected to considerable
pressure particularly when tapping
,

rather large holes and the natural ,

tendency of the tap to advance or

screw itself into the dr lled hole is
i
partially or entirely resis ted in som e
cases The result is that t het ap cuts
.

a poor t hrea d or fails t o st art nd

a

imply enlarges the end of the hole

s

like a ream er The tap chuck shown

in Fig 1 3 (m
.

ade by the C incinna ti

.

Bickford Tool C O C incinnati O hio ) .

, ,

is so cons tructed that the tap can

F i t i nw du in
rc o g T p Ch u k
c a c
advance independently of the driving
spindl e and the frictional resistance is reduced to a m inim um
by m
,

eans of ball bearings The central part of the chuck

which engages the m
.
,

achine spindle connects with ah outer

sleeve by m
.
,

eans of t wo recta ngula r shaped keys w hich are sur

rounded by ball bearings as the illu st ration shows The lower
,
.

end of thi s sliding sleeve is a t tached to th e tap holder proper .

In tapping a hole t h e operator exerts a slight pressure on the

tap when it first com
,

es into contact with the work The tap .

 Dra -
AND TAP H OLDERS rS r

the thread the of

reduced to a m
,

ini
This friction
action or the
com paratively
re would have
t o advance against considerable frictional resistance .

Tap holder of Oldh arnCoupling Type

- The tap holder illus
-

t ra ted in Fig 1 4 app lied to a vertica l boring m

.

. ill is similar in

Fig . 14 . Tap -older defi

h ned n Pri nciple
o of mC
cu oupli ng

principle well known Oldham coupling The particular

t o the - .

operation shown is that of tapping lathe faceplates The holder .

and C Part A is attached t o

.

part B hold s the tap and the ,

on the upper face engaging a

lower face engaging a groove in

so that the tap-holder is
is not in alignm ent with
s ection and the upper part that is attached t o the t ool slide o
.

A ttachmen t s for R eversing Tap Rotation When drilling

machines are used for tap driving the reverse movement for
.

backing non collapsing taps out of holes after the thread is cut
-

t o the required depth m ay be obtained either by reversing the

spindle of t h e machin e or by using a special chuck or attachm ent

designed to reverse the m otion of the tap M any drilling m a .

chines are not equipped

with a m echanismfor re
versing the rotation of
the spindle and a special
attachm ent is then re
quired An autom atic .

reverse tapping chuck or

a t ta c h m en t w h i c h i s
ma n u fa c t u r ed by the
,

E rrington M e cha n i c a l
L aboratory New Y ork ,

C ity is shown applied t o ,

a drilling mac hine in Fig .

m
Fig rs Diagra millu t ng
s rati hank Wt h IS ih
G eneral Ar t aPef S
ng mnt f E ingt nAut m
. .

atic -
ser t ed in the spindle of
ra e e o rr o o reverse

L g
Chu k n
a d A pph fl nt o Dfi llin
Q
c t g
the m
ca o
l The bO dy
.

of the c huck and the gage

B which m ay be used to control the depth to whi ch holes are

tapped are both prevented fromrotating with the m

,

achine
in the case of a drill p rom rests
,

sp indle by a rod A which

agains t the left hand side of the machine colum

, ,

- n and slides up
or down the colum n as the sp indle is raised or lowered When .

tapping a hole t he regular feed lever or handwheel of t he

-

machine is used to lower the spindle as the ta p passes down

,

into the hole ; when the lower end of stop rod B com - es into
contact with the face of t he work the direct forward motion ,

drive is released and the t ap stops revolving The ma chine

this m
.

spindle is then raised ; ovement by the engagement ,

1 84 ra n -
sac c um xc w n
a es

For tapping cast iron

ing movement is not
provision is made for disengaging
engaging a continuous forward dri
by turning the knob seen in front

m .
n W
.ahlat rom T
O acillatin
apping
g M ov em
At
en
t a c hment d esig
t wh en t appin
n ed t o give
g S t eel
Tap an

either the oscillating or continuous forward dri ve is used the ,

tap is backed out by raising the lever that controls th e hand feed
of the drilli ng m achine spindle Thi s results in positiv ely
.

clutching a continuo us d rive that backs out the tap at high

speed . A special chuck furnished with the attachm ent grips
t he round shank of the t ap as well as t he squared end, so t hat
t he shank is support ed righ t downt o t he cnd of t he chuck .
 -
DlE A N D TAP BOLD ERS
-

-
Variable speed and
mnt ilh
e is t rat ed inFigs 18

mti n
.

a revers e o o , a nd it is

trolled by turning the knurled knob at the front which is pro ,

v ided with a suita ble handle or lever that also serves to reverse

the motion Fig 1 9 illustrates the geared speed changing

. .
-

fi g. r8.
"
Wizard "
Veri Fig . 19. Int erior N eeh eniem! e

Wizard ”
Verieble-epeed nd
e

in; Att ac hment Revert ing Att hmnt

ac e

are by m eans of two posi

'

efl ec ted

by t urning the kn urled knob

using the slow or direct speed for tapping or
the gears run idle the direct speed being the
,

speed When this attachment is appli ed to

extends fromthe attachment to the column
.

prevent the attachment from rotating with

variable speed feature makes it possible t o
-

at high speed a large drill at the low or

,
I 86 T HREA —
D c m G M ETHO DS

p d whereas t h e
s ee ,
of m ot ion m ay be

backing a t ap out of t he hole after t he

The tapping m a y also be done at a slow and t he t ap
backed out at a higher speed . a tt ach ment is made by

the M cC rosky
1 88 m ea n u
-c m m s op s

is hown in Fig 1
s . .

t o some of the ver ti

Bickford Tool when used in conjunction
back gear provides for drilling at a fast speed
-
, ,

duced speed and then backing out the tap at

,

M otion is transmitted through the lower bevel

shown w hen tapping and thr ough an interm
, , ediate spur

Fig . r. Tapping Att hmnt “ U p igh t

ac e .
r Drilling H achine

the upper bevel gear for backing out the tap The inter
mediate spur gear is mounted on a sector
.

disengaged when not required for tapping

reverse m
.

otions are controlled by the lever

ates a friction clutch connecting with the
ously referred

is t o sta rt t he

accelerated by a
 AP PIN G
T MACH I N ES 1 89

chines difier som

'

ewhat as to their general arrangement these ,

variations usually pertain t o details of cons truction and as they

all operate on the sam
,

e general principle other designs for up

,

right drilling machines will not be described

On radial drilling machines the m
.

echanismused for tapping

com monly known as the tapping attachment is incorpor
,

“ ”

ated in the design of the drill spindle heads tock This m

,

echa
nismlike that applied t o anupright drilling m
.

achine is simply a
com bination of gearing through whi ch m otion is transm
, ,

itted for
reversing the rotation of the tap The tapping attachment of
the Fosdick radial drilling m
.

achine ( Fosdick M achine Tool C o .

.

mf mu
kediel b ri n
m n f or k everd n
M eeh efl e c g echl e g
M ot ion v h en t ep

Cin
cinnati Ohio )
hown in detail in Fi g 2 as an example of
is s

this elm of mechanism Forward and reverse m

.
,

. otions are oh
ta ined through the combination of three bevel gears shown

This reverse m echanismis m

.

ounted on the horizontal driving

the radial arm The direction in .

Ives depends upon whether m otion

C and D or E and D Either of .

m
engaged with the driving shaft by
m of w ar ing ring clutches controlled by a lever or handle
spindle M otion .

g ears which give

tios of 3 to r and
1 90 THR EAD CUTTING
- M ET HOD S

9 t o r . This back gea ri

- ng is nfi olled by
co a lever loca ted at t he
left of the spindle With this arrangement taps may be backed
out at t he sam sed for tapp ing or at three tim
,
.

e speed as is u es or ,

nine times the tapping speed without changing the regular ,

speed chan
- ging mechanism of the machine .

tended either for general tapping operations or for use on one

class of work like the tapping of nuts The designs vary con
,
.

siderably including vertical and horizontal designs in single

,

and multiple spindle types The spindles may be adjust ed on

- .

some machines for varying the center to center distance or they

- -
,

may be fixed in the case of machines used exclusi vely for ta pping
duplicate parts Tapping machines al so vary inregard to the
.

mechanism for obtaining the forward and reverse motions of the

ta p spindle and the m
- e t hod of controlling thes e m otions A
common arrangem
.

ent for obtaining the t wo motions is by means

of a clutch which is interposed between two pulleys rev olving in
opposi te directions and is alternately engaged with these pulleys
The clutch m
.

ay be controlled by ( r) a han d lever connecting

-

with the clutch ; ( 2 ) a foot lever connecting with the clutch ;

-

(3 ) pushing the work and it s fixture for ward until contact is

made with a stop rod or lever which shifts the clutch for back
-

ing out the tap ; (4) pushing the work against the tap while
tapping and by pulling in the opposi t e dir ection for backing out
the tap the clutch being shifted by the direct thrust fromthe
part being tapped and t he resulting longitudinal m
,

otion of the
'

tap-spindle The latter m. ethod is applied only to machines

used for the lighter classes of work The characteri stic features
of well d esigned tapping m
.

- achines are convenience of control and ,

for small tapping operations a sensitive drive that will transmit

,

enough power for operating the tap under normal conditions ,

but not enough to break it in case the res istance to rotationbe

homes excessive Several difierent makes of tapping machines
.

will be des cribed to illustrate variations in design .

form tapping machine m

of ade by the Garvin M achine CO
,
.
,

N ew Y ork C ity is shown in Fig 3 This machine has two belt

,
. .
19 2 THR EAD -C m c M TH E ODS
driving wheels B and C which have friction board driving surfaces
, .

Wh e nthe part t o be t apped is pushed agai st n t h e t ap , t h e driven

wheel is held against the rear driving wheel C which is larger ,
‘

than B and revolves at a slower speed As soon as th e hole has

.

been tapped to the required dep th a backward pull of the spin

,

dle forces the driven wheel A into contact with driving wheel B ,

Fig .
4
. W ars a w “ H orizont al Tapping W e

thus reversi ng the direction of ro t ation and backing out the

tap This machine is driven by a single belt Whit h
.
,
a

the forward and reverse motion driving pulleys as the ,

illustration shows These two wheels rotate in the same

.

tion but the driven wheel is reversed because it engaga

, ,

B on the rear side and pulley C on the front n de A .

 T APPIN G MA CHINES 1 93

holdin g fixt ure is not u sed for the particular tapping operations
illus trated because the tap first passes through a clearance hole
,

which holds it in alignment so that it is not necessary t o pro

vide means for holding the work which is sim
,

ply applied di
,

rect ly t o the tap

The horizontal tapping m

.

achine illustrated in Fig 5 ( built .

by t he M eridenM achi ne Tool C c M eriden C o nn ) operates on

.
, ,
.

Fig .
5 . M a i den Horizont al Tapping M achine

the sam e general principle as the one jus t described but difi ers
'

in regard t o the arrangem ent of the driving m

,

echanism The .

t apping spindle carri es t wo be v el or conical faced wheel s A

an d B which are alternately engaged by a third co n ical faced
wheel C m
,

ounted on the belt driven driving shaft The tap

-

carrying spindle has a free longitudinal m ove m

.

ent and when ,

a piece of work is forced against the tap the forward cone 8 ,

1 94 THR EA CUTTIN G
D - E
M TH OD S
is h eld in contact with t he driving cone thus causing t he tap
,

t o revol ve When the tap has entered to the required depth

.

and the work is pulled backward the rear driven cone A is

,

brought into contact with the driving cone C thus reversing ,

m
. 6
. Garvin Vert ical-salad“ Tapping W e

the rotation of the tap The tw o driven cones are made of

.

cast iron and t he central driving cone is of cast iron faced with
leather t o increase the frictional resistance The machine h e
hich is m
.

a slide D w
, ounted on V shaped ways and is in -
-
,
1
1 96 m m um mmn
e -
o c s a o s

i direction For ins tance if the spherical driving disk is so

s te .
,

loca t ed that the spindle makes rooo revolutions per minute inthe
forward and reverse direc tions and the position or adjus tment is
then c hanged to reduce the ta pping speed to 50 0 re v olutions per
minute the reverse movement will be increased to 1 50 0 revo
,

lutions per m inute The work table of this mac hine is m»

- .

upward by m m
.

eans of a foot treadle as the

-
,
ill t ra n
ion

for bringing the work into contact with the t ap The .

tion from the floor to the machine is adJustable and is

vided with a safet y sprin g so that the leading m o oi
the tap will not be afl ect ed by a sudden applica tionof ? m 11
 A
T PP IN G M A C HINES 197

on the foot treadle The weight of the table is counterbalanced

- .

by an adju stable spring which gives a sensitive control of t he

table m ovem ent The colum n supporting t h e table is hollow
and m
.

ay be filled with oil so that w hen tapping parts w hich

perm
,

it the tap to go through the hole the tap will dip into
In this way the tool is autom
,

th e oil . atically lubrica ted and

,

the chips washed 0 6 the end so that they will not injure the
thread when the tap backs out of the hole As this oil chamber
gradually fills with chips the oil level is autom atically m
.

,
ain
t ained A spring at the upper end o f the spindle ca nbe adjus ted
to counterbalance the spindle weight This m
.

achine is capable
ging from{a t o inch in diam
.

of tapping hole s in cast iron ran

eter and for tapping holes in steel varying fromI l t o 1 , inch in

l 3

diam eter The m axim umdepth to w hich holes m ay be tapped

This tapping m
.

is 1 } inch . achine is built by the A nd erson D ie

M achine C O Bridgeport C onn
.
, ,
.

H ea vy duty Tapping M achine

- —
One of the large tapping
machin es m
.

ade by Baker Bros Toledo O hio is illustrated in , , ,

Fig 8 This is a r6 inch size and is designed to tap cast iron

- -

pipe fittings varying from2 } to 1 6 inches in diam

. .

eter This
machine is semi automatic in its action the reversal of the tap
.

being controlled by m eans of a pneum

,

atically operated revers

-

ing mechanism The spindle is fed down ward when tapping

.
, ,

through change gears which positively control t he advance

-

movement of the tap These gea rs may be arranged for tapping

.

either 8 or u j threads per inch which cover the pitches of pipe

threads for which th e m

,

achine is intended O ne of the int erest L

ing features of this m achine is the m

.

ethod of driving the spindle

A ttac hed to the t op o t he spindle there is a cross arm the ends

.

f -
,

of which engage vertical slots in a gear dri v en dri ving head

- .

This head is rota ted through a pinion attached to a vertical

shaft which connects through bevel gearing w ith a horizontal

shaft that m a y be driven from the belt pu lley shown either ,

direct or through back gearing As the driving head engages

- .

the outer ends of the cross arm on the spindle there is a rela
-
,

t ively low unit pressure on the bearing or driving surfaces ;

consequently t he frictional resistance to a vertical m ovem
.

,
ent of
1 98 THR EAD CUTT ING
— METHODS

t he ndle is
spi reduced and t he spindle follows t he t ap m ore

readily than it would if the drive were through a key or spline

m
connecting directly with the spindle This feature is of especial
.

importance in a achine intended for such heavy work be ,

taps .When the tap has fed down t o the exact d t h

th e spindle reverses and stops after the tap has locked
m ou
enough to clear the work This machine is also
. A Q
,
t
drilling and boring operations .

be described is adapted especially for tapping pem

r
20 0 THR EAD CUT TIN G
- M ETHODS

driven disk has about t h e same coefiicient of fri ction as cast

iron but it s centrifugal force is only about one third as great
- .

The radia l armis supported by the vertical column The driv

,

ing m otor is carried by the outer section of the pivoted arm and
it dri v es the friction wheels through gearing This machine will
.

t ap an y hole within a radiu s of 4 8 inches and by folding the

,

radial arm the tap may be located within 8 inches of the column .

m W
M . M u
W
. BM
or m- ! Dod o
? “

The machine has a capacity for holes in steel varying from i w

5 inch and for holes up t o S inch in diamet er in cas t iron .

ping m achines are usually intended for special cla m of work

although they are so m
.

etimes arranged for general tapping open

tions The t wo spindle machine illustrated in Fig 10 is a
.
- .

Garvin combination type . This particular ma chine is es pecially

applicable when th ere are two holes to be tapped in a pa rt t ut
difier in size to such an extent that it wou ld not be ad va ble or
i s
 TAPPIN G MAC HIN ES 20 !

have bot h heads of the machine of the same

machine is equipped with foot treadles so that
-

imply moved over t o

s

The general operation

t of the regular Garvin

machine illus trated in

crank at the left

rack from which
pinion s meshing
The crank gear which drives the reciprocating
,

t h rough a t rain of spur a nd spiral gears which

froma shifting belt The upper end of each
.

a shell lead screw of the same pi tch as the tap

- .

be tapped is held either on a wheeled jig or on the

cross rail is lowered against a positive stop for
-

ends of the taps in position for entering the holes

When the m achine is s tarted the crank gear m
, akes
rev olution whi ch causes the taps to feed down ward

This crank and rack control is

necessary to tap t o an exact depth A .

may have either fixed or adjustable tap

course a special design and ordinarily
t o meet t he particular requirem
,

ents of a
20 2 THR EAD UTTIN G
-C MET HO DS

multiple spi ndle tapping mchine

a illust rab d
e
in Fig . 13 has

Fig . 33 . H oiinc M ult iple-

s pindle Tuning W e

ating device which allows every tap in the head t o follow its
m
s

ow nlea d This feature also per its operating taps of difl erent
pitches sim ultaneously The m
.

ain spindle is driven through

spiral and spur gearing froma set of three grooved pulleys
.

mounted side by side at the back of the machine near the top .

The inner of the three pulley s dri ves the ta ps forward and oper
ates the mechanism which raises the machine table at the proper
rate for the pitch of tap being used The outer pulley.

the t aps and also lowers the table at twice th e uppin g speed .
204 THR EAD -C U I TIN G
‘

M ET HO DS

-
Nut t apping M achine s So me of t h most highly dev eloped
e

machin
.

and ingenious tapping es are used for tapping nuts .

and m ay be hand operated semi automatic or fully auto matic

-
,
-
, .

Reversible machines are used for tapping nuts ha ving closed

ends which m ake it necessary t o rev erse the tap and back it out
The non reversible m
.

- achines may be so arranged that th e nuts

pass onto a long tap shank fromwhich t hey are removed peri
odically or the tap m
, ay be so held and driven that the tapped

x4. Acne S lx-

oylndlo l mw
nt -u

nuts pass over it com plete ly without removing it or stopping

t he m achine
The six spindle nut tapping m
.

- - achine illustrated in Fig 14

is m
.

anually opera t ed a foot treadle being used to raise the

-

tap spindle each tim

,

- e a blank is inserted under the ta p which ,

is done by hand as the illus tration shows The spindle and tap .

feed downward by their own weight and meanwh ile the opera tor
is inserting a blank nut beneath the next successive tap so that
the m
,

achine o erates continuously The vertical tap spindles

-
p
.

to be raised or lowered without interfering with the drive . A

 A PI NG
T P
.

m nm
ac ss 20 5

projects outward in front of each spindle is u sed for

the drive and enables any one spindle to be stopped
of the others if neces sary This machine m
,

. ay be

nuts While nut tap .

exten sively the semi

re m
,

odern type .

tead of m anually .

illu strated in Fig 1 5 is in operation

.
,

as the ca se may be are placed by ,

chutes Each of these chutes or

.

number of nuts to supply the tap

The chutes are placed in front of
bed and ,

the tap
right dependi ng upon the size of
t op end of ea ch t ap spin dle and re volving wi t h
~

special formof hardened steel worm This .

the work of raising the spindle When the .

are in the lower position caused by the tap ,

r or key is automatically projected

The finger is sta

the spindle a dis tance equal to the length of

The spindle and tap are then lowered and
blank nut which is in position under and in
,

of ad justable oount erweigh ts almost bal

f the ta p spindle so there is no appreciable
-
,

the tap when entering the nut The nut is .

base of the chute to the tapping position by

t derives its move m ent fromthe mechanically
,

This swinging a rmcarries a relief device ,

of any obstruction in the path of the nut the

nuts are relieved fro mundue strain When .

y ceases
20 6 W CUTTIN G M T H E ODS
to rise but continues to revolve This function is controlled by
, .

the tapped nuts onthe shank of the tap so that the tap spindle
-
,

continues to rise after each nut is tapped until the tap sha nk is
filled The operator t hen raises the spindle with the foot treadle
.
-
,

removes the tap from its socket empties the nuts from the tap ,

shank and returns the tap to the socket ; the work then contin
,

Fig . 15. A mS m
c e e i- mti
a ut o a c H t t appin
u - g W e

ues automatically The sockets or chucks for holding th e e

are designed to perm
.

it rapid in sertion or removal

m
The autom atic feature of raising the tap spindle m d W
.

-
ering the blank nut t o the tap is an individ ual one with w eb
spind e so that when the operator is removing n uu irme n e
tap the other spindles continue to work automatically A man
..
,

mm
.
,

latch or lever attached to each spindle enabia t he 0

20 8 THR EAD UTTIN G -C METHODS

are four of t hese feed n

va es w hich n
are e closed in a case in t he
center of the hopper to prevent interference fromthe mass of
blank nuts in the hopper The vanes are rotated through a
ratchet and paw l m
.

echanism The ratchet is held between .

frict ion flanges so t h at in case t here is ny wedging in t he nut

a

groove and ret ardat ion t h e feed vanes the ratchet merely
/
of

slips and dam age to the m echanismis avoided

,

The tap spindle is inclined at an angle as show n in Fig 1 6

-

The starter which transfers the blank nuts fromthe lower end
. .

Fig
. 1 6. National Aut omti a c Nut -
t apping M ocha .

of the chute to the tap is also inclined The nut blanks lea ve .

the end of the chute at a corresponding angle so that they are

in t he proper position for starting on the tap Th e t ap spindle
- .

has a slight lateral travel or t he eq uivalent of a fl oating

movement A ft er a blank h as been fed part way onto the
.

tap by the starter the spindle descend s d uring the completion

,

of the tapping operation With t his arrangement the blank is

.

held stationary w hile being tapped instead of pulling it throu gh

a nut holder or guides This m
- ac hine was designed prim arily
for tapp ing squar e nuts although hexagon nut blanks of god
,
 T AP PIN G MA CHIN ES 2 09

quality can also be tapped with it One of these machines m

. ay

a lso be arrang ed for tapping several different sizes and by m aking

a sim ple gear change the n um ber of nuts tapped per m
,

inute
can be regulated t o s it the work
u For in stance on a i inch
-

machine forty nuts of shop size can be tapped per minute

.
,

if t h e stock is free cutting the holes of the proper S ize etc

U S standard nuts which are thicker require m
, ,
.

. .
, ore turns of
,

the ta p for each nut so that the production would be reduced

,

t o t hirty nuts per minute A similar reduction would have

.

Hoo m mtro wh ich m

m nmm
k fod euto mfiun
ye

if the nut blanks were of tough stock or the holes

should be This type of m
. achine is manu
hinery C O T ifiin O hio .
, , .

tapping the receivers and bolts of military

Fig 1 8 The work holding fixtures are
. .
-

faces of a central turret and surrounding ,

tapping spindles This leaves one blank

ted at t he front of the m
.

achine for the pur

fin ished product and replacing new blanks .
2 10 THR EAD CUTTING - METHO DS

depth The fiv e spindles carry pinions which mesh with a com

.

mon central driving gear A t t he lower end of the central gear

shaft there is a co m
.

bination clutch and bevel gear type of re

versing m echanismby m eans of w hich the forward and reverse
motions for the tapping spindlw are obtained The reversing
clutch operates autom
.

atically The rate at which the t aps are

fed to or withdrawn fromthe work is governed by in
.

-ent . o c

Fig . 1 8. Benh
c S t at ion m
ty po Ta i n
- g MW

lead crews of t he proper pitch The indexing m

-s ovem ent of the
.

turret is efiect cd by the hand lever seen above the turret

this lever 13 m
.

oved to the right it withdraws a lockni g bolt and

allows the turret to drop on t o a ball bearing track over which it
is suspended . The sa m e lever
direction to advance the work
the locking
ment of the index lev er then lifts
track and its upper face com es

m
face of an aligning block The .

are da p ed in accordance with

2I 2 THR EAD CUTT ING— M ET HODS

done when tapping pieces that are clam ped to the m achine table
or are t oo heavy to center them selves wh en the tap enters t he

dri ll hole
When tapping nuts small blocks etc ona drilling m
.

achine
instead of placing one untapped blank at a tim
, , ,

e between the
parallels there m
, ay be an advantage in havi n g a row of parts
which is advanced for tappi ng each successive part w henever ,

an untapped blank is inserted at t he feeding end of the paral

l eis With thi s m
. ethod the untapped pieces are pushed in
,

between the parallels at one end and the tapped pieces are
ejected at the other These parallels with whatever m
. odifi ,

cation may be necessary are often convenient for holdi ng rods

, ,

etc while tapping holes that extend crosswise through the

.
,

work The Sketch at B Fig 1 9 illu strates how an auxi liary

plate 0 m
. . .
, ,

ay be u sed for holding a cylindrical part d w hen tap

ping a hole in the end T he work is clam . ped against the V

shaped side of the plate opening by a set screw-

The special tapping fixt ures som et im sed on tapping m

.

es u a

chines for holding duplica t e parts are as a general rule so

designed that the work is held by some formof pocket or ar
, ,
.

rangem ent of stops so that clam ping is unnecessary It is

also im
.

portant to so construct the fixture that the tap cannot

lift or draw t he work out of place during the tapping opera
tion The tapping fixture illu strated in Fig so em bodies these
fundam
. .

ental points and the general features of this const rue

,

tion are found in many fixtures of the class used for holding
small duplica t e parts which are tapped in large quantitie s

The small sheet m

.

etal part held in this particular fixt ure is

shown at A The fixture is provided with S lots or pockets for
.

holding the work in position as indicated at B The fl ange

shaped m em
.

ber C in which t he work holding slots are formed

-

is m
,

ounted onthe end of a spindle D which is free t o slide through

the bearing E attached to the stand F The shape of the slot for .

receiving t he untapped blanks may be varied accor ding to the

shape of t he wo rk In this particular instance plain radial slots
Bearing E m
.
,

serve the purpose . ay be adjusted vertically in

stand F to align the tap clearance hole of w hatever fixt ure C

 APPIN G MA CHINES
T 21
3

holes
with t he work holding slots in part C
- .

engaged by a pin E which is fixed to the

,

When this fixture is in use the operator ,

rts an untapped blank as each slot arrives

is pushed forward or withdrawn by

which grasps knob K When applied t o one de
.

machine the spindle of the fixture is pushed for

,

hole has been tapped and engagement with lever

und u ly need f or H olding S mll

a h
Part s w ile t apping

of m otion ; spindle D is then forced back

of the tap and as soon as t he t ap is wit h
,

the latter is turned one quarter revolution

-

By mean
of a foot treadle
s -
,

rotates in a forward direction

is repeated A s th e tapped
.

out of the fixture by gravity .

s mall work have been des igned on this general

tail s being modified more or les s according t o
in each case .
 CHA PTE R IX

WHEN thread cutting is a separate operation or the only one

required and particularly where there are large numbers of
duplicate parts to be threaded machines designed especially for
this work are often used These threading m
,

. achines are ”

ordinarily equipped with dies and they m

.

ay be designed for

hand manipulation or for either sem

,

i au tomatic or au t omatic
-

operation M achines of this general type are used for cutting

'

threads on bolts and studs of various kinds and on the ends of

rod s etc Some of these m achines have a single spindle whereas
others are equipped with two or m
.
, ,

ore spindles M os t threading

machines are of horizontal design although some of the more
.

special types have the spindles in a vertical position .

S ingle spin dle Thr ea ding M achine or Bolt Cutt er

- The .

term bolt cutter is very generally applied to threading ma

chines oi the type used for cutting thread s on bolts studs rods
and sim ilar parts A m
, , ,

achine of this class having a single

m
.

spindle is illu strated in Fig 1 The die head A which cu the

-. .

threa d is carried by the main spindle which is driven from belt ,

pulley K In this parti cular case t he drive t o th e spindle is

through reduction gearing M any of the sm
.

. aller sizes of thread

ing m achines or bolt cutters have the belt pulley mounted directly
on the spindle The bolt or other part to be threaded is he ld
in a vise or holder B which is m
.

, ounted upon a carriage Th is .

carriage is traversed along ways and in a direction parallel t o

the spindl e by handwheel C This traversing m . ovem mt is
utilized t o enter the bolt or other part in to the die and also for
withdrawing the work after t h e thread is cut and the die is
opened A s soon as the die h as start ed the part being threaded
.
,

and the carriage are traversed automatically by t he action of t he

3 14
2 16 EAD CU TTIN G
THR — M ET HOD S

onboiler are practically the same as an ordinary bolt

st ay bol ts

cutter excepting that the bed is of extra length to permit thread

,

ing stay bolts by taking one continuous cut M ost of the bolts .

or screws handled by these threading m achines are cut wi th a

single passage of the die If an exceptionally sm ooth finish is
desired however or w hen cutting a thread requiring the rem
.

oval
of con siderable m
, ,

etal a die head is frequently used that will

-

perm
,

it taking roughing and finishing cuts

While threading m
.

achines in general are designed for cutting

external threads they are som etimes used for t apping operations
especially w hen the num
, ,

ber of parts to be tapped is not grea t

enough t o warrant the purchase of a special tap ping m achine
The tap is held in a chuck carried by the m
.

achine spindle and the

work is held in the vise When tapping nuts it is com
. mon ,

practice to allow each nut t o feed forward onto the shank of the
ta p the lat t er being removed each tim
,
e the shank is full of tapped
nuts One type of combined threading and tapping machine is
.

provid ed with a forward and reverse drive which may be engaged

by pressing in or drawing back onthe work the same as with a
regular type of tapp ing m achine The m
,

ac hine referred t o is
.

equipped with a cone pu lley tha t provides variations of speed to

-

suit difi eren t sizes of taps and the reverse is obtained by means
,

of back gearing contained within the cone pulley

- -

M ultiple spindle th reading m

.

- achines are used in preference

t o the single spindle type where large num
- bers of bolts studs or
sim
, ,

ilar parts are constantly being threaded Each spindle of a .

machine of this type has a separate carriage so that while a ,

thread is being cut on one bolt the operator can remove the
,

threaded part and insert a new blank in the work holder of the
-

nearest carriage Som .e threading m achines are equipped with

non opening dies in which case the spindle is rev ersed for back
-
,

ing the die ofl of the work This reversal m ay be obta ined by

'

the use of open and crossed belts .

The threading m achine which is partly shown in Fig 2 has a

geared speed ch anging m
.

- echanism so that the cutting speed

of the die may easily be varied accordi ng to the diameter of t he
 THR EAD IN G MACHIN ES 217

screw being cut The drive is t o a si ngle constant s peed pulley

mwhi h mti n i mit t
.

B fro c o o ndle t hrough a

s trans ed t o t he spi

combination of gearing the ratio of which dep ends upon the

,

position of control lever A This lever is located positiv ely by

.
'

the engagement of a sp ring plunger which enters one of the

holes shown The position of this lever for dies of difierent
'

sizes is indicated by figures located above the various holes which

represent screw diameters and vary from i to i inch The

sp indle speeds corres ponding to these diam fl ers range fro m
.

2 2 5 R P M for the i inch screw thread s down to 90 R P M for

. . .
- . . .

h
c a nging M ec hanical

the
ting practice and are subject to variation
The spindle oi the machine carries a style D Geo m
.

etric self
opening and adjustable die head which is m
- odified in design
,

to meet the operating requiremen t s The die head is held in a

-

cam
.

sleeve which is pi voted in a yoke C This yoke is pivoted .

at t he upper nd and
e at t he lower end connects with t he rod

carrying two adjusta ble stops which control the opening and
closing of the die head A nadju stable stop D is u sed for gaging
- .

the length of the rod stud or o ther part w hich is held in the
vise and insures a uniformlength of thread on duplica te pieces
, ,

A removable oil guard E surrounds the die head Thi s machine

- - .

is made by the Geometric Tool C O New Haven Co nn .

, , .

“I
2 18 THR EAD CUT TIN G
- M ET HO DS

or bolt cutters are

purpose of which is
the screw thread by
movement ins tead of
,

die M ost th reading

.

ordinary screw m
m
ds such
t hr tandard the t ead
as th e U S . s V hr
-

thread unless t he threaded part is co m

.
, , ,

or the W hit wor para

tively long and it is dm irable to elim
,

ina te as far as practicable

the cum ulative error M achines used for threading boiler stay
m
bol are com monly provided with lead screws and also machines
.

-
,

m.
3 . h
T r eadi ng M achine or Bolt Cutt er having a Lead -
acrew f

that are to be used for cutting square threads or threads of

special formsuch as the ratchet or trapezoidal form et c
, , .

m
Whenever a lead screw is used in conjunction with a die it is
-

very im portant to have th e positive feeding m n

,

of a

carriage and work per rev olution of the die head

- to the ,

pitch of the chaser teet h

screw is sim ply t o prev ent the die fromeither
in pitch by so controlling the m ovement of the
advance per revolution of the die co rresponds to
of the screw thread The rate of the ca rriage
be con trolled either by m
.
2 20

work holding spindle is advanced toward the die h ad by a

- -e

weight wi t hin the m achine column which is connected by a

chain to the spindle operating lever This weight exerts con
.

tinuously a force upon the spindle in the direction of t h e die head

- .

so t ha t it is unneces sary for t he operator to feed the stock

forw ard in order t o start t he threading operation The spindles
are fitted with suitable m
.

andrels for holding the set screws and

-

the extent of the forward m

,

ovement of the spindle is controlled

by an adjustable collar on the outer end When threa ding set
screws each screw blank is autom
.

, atically pushed into the die

head by the action of the weight and it passes through the die
,

into a tube extending through the spindle When t he next .

'

set screw leaves the die and enters the tube it forcw the finished
-
,

pieces through the tube so that they fall one at a time from the
end into a recept acle This t ype of m
. ac hine may also be utiliaed

closing attachments for operating the die heads For work of - .

this class the spindles are fitted with sockets to recei ve the bolt
,

heads .

blanks to be threaded have heads holders contai ning pockets that

receive the heads are often used mpreference t o a vise becam
,

ea
bolt can easily and quickly be inserted or rem
,

oved and it is not

necessary to operate a separate handwheel or lever for opening
and closing the vise The N am co two spindle threading
-

machine which i s partly illus trated mFig 5 is equipped with a

.

holder of the type referred to These holders are attached t o

.

slides which are opposite and in line with their respective thread

ing spi ndlee. T he blanks to be t hreaded are insert ed in t he

holders by hand and the pocket that receives the head prevents
the blank from rotating wi t h the die The slide is fed forward
.

by the vertica l hand lever shown until the die begins to cut ;
-

the lever is then released and the bolt is advanced by the action
of the die itself When the thread has been cut t o whatever
length t he m
.

achine is set for an adjus table stop engages a fork

,

that engages the spool of the die which is tripped automati cally .

The backward movement of the slide for extracting the finished

 THR EAD IN G MACH INES 22I

bolt and inserting a new blank closes the die to the cutting po
sitio n. This machine is applicable only for threading work which
may be held by means of formed head s of square or hexagonal
shape and it is n
, o t intended for round work .

In order to secure the advantage of the single lever cons tru e

tion when the use of a work holding vise is neces sary som
- em a ,

china are so arranged that both the vise and carriage or slide
moperated by a single lever instead of having one lever or wheel

M s
. M inc fi n
achi e provided with M Bh nh-
hold m
for ope n
ing and closing the vise an d another leverwheel for or

moving the slide along the bed The object of this constru e
donis to red uce the operating ti m
.

e .

The single lev er vise and carriage control which is applied t o

of the N ational M achinery C o s bolt cutters is illu strated
’

in Fig 6 h ch sho s a double or t o spindle m

.

w i w w - achine The
A which m mhes with a rack on the bed and serves to trav
. .
,

t he ca rriage has recesses or notches form

,

m , ed on one side as
the ust ration shows The screw for operating the vi se jaws
.

a disk B which is al so provided with notche

,
s The .

C s located between this disk and the gear and by moving

i
,
222 THR EAD C — U TT IN G METHODS

it laterally it can be engaged either with the disk or gear for

my b
,

ope ning or closi ng t h e vise or t rav ersing t h e carriage as a e

required .

ing m achines are of the horizontal type machines having verti

,

cal spindles are used for some purposes Fig 1 7 of C hapt er IV

illustrates an ordinary drilling m
. .

achine which has been converted

tem porarily into a threading m achine The rod to he threaded
.

-
Two epindIe Bolt C utt er h a i
vM S in l -
g lever
e mn a d

isheld in the spindle chuck and the thread is cut by a self -

opa

ing die This die head is supported by a stand of m

.
- rfi cimt
height t o provide clearance for that part of the rod which ex a

tends down through the die When the thread ha.

to the required length the die is opened b

,

The upright drilling m achine

tion with a so lid or non openi ng
-

onplugs or similar parts w hich

2 24 THR EAD CUTT IN G
- MET HODS

In operating the machine the square shank of the tap is in

,

sert ed with t he left hand in the driving dog at the end of the

spindle and the latter is pulled down by grasping with the right

hand a short cross handle at the front of the spindle When the
- .

tap ent ers t he die t he lef t hand is free t o pull over t h e lever n
see

at the side of the machine which engages the half nuts with the
,
-

lead screw The tap blank is then turned down through the die
- .
,

and just after the thr eaded part leaves the die a trip operata the ,

con t rolling the half nuts and releases the spindle which is
-
,

w s m rh mmw mn m v .

M i noan.

returned to the upward position by the coil springs seen at the

side of the machine The m
. anufacturer of this type of m acfi ne

( Bickford M achi ne C O G reenfield M ass ) recommend s that they

be used inpairs one m
.
.
, ,

achine being used for rou ghing and the

other for finishing cuts The use of a bobbed chm d is also
,

recom mended for taking the finishing cuts When

.

i
e .

second cut the tap should be held very loosely m t h

.

m
e dn

holder or dog so that it will start properly mthe die before t

,

half nuts engage the lead screw

m
- .

S t ud threa din M achin es

- The stud threading machin us
g e
s
.
 E
T H R A D IN G MA CHINES 225

work This m
. achine is intended especially for cutting the
threads on stud s These studs are dropped into a horizontal
magazine fromwhich they are fed through a receiving tube by
.

means of a push rod When the die is opened the jaws holding
- .
,

the threaded piece recede allowing the work to drop out and ia
,

st ant ly another blank is fed up to the stop This st op is sup.

ported ia t he spindle and is held sta tionary It is adjusted

fromthe rear of the spindle by a lock nut The ext raction of
.

- .

t he t hreaded st ud and t he feeding in oi a new blank occur at

practically the same time . The thread cutting is done with a

Vert ical “auxin.

Namco elf opening die h ad and the work is held stationary

s - - e
,

as the threading die revolves The die is not forced onto the
.

stud but follows the lead of the thread until the s top set for
,

cau ses the die chasers to open .

w ork with out reversing ,

threading the next stu d .

a sys tem of change gears

- .

and extracting the stud

derived from camdrums
-
,
2 26 T HR EA CUTTINGD- M ETHOD S

back gears arranged to m

- aintain a cutting speed of approxi
mately 3 5 feet per m inute for various diameters The number of .

pieces that can be threaded in ten hours with this machine

ranges from690 0 t o 3 9 50 0 the rate of production varying with
the diam
, ,

eter of the work This production is based on a con

.

t inuous operation of the machine for the time specified This

machine has a capacity for diameters varying from i t o i inch in
.

diameter inclusive
,
.

A utomatic Thr eader of Vert ical M agazine Type The auto .

matic threading m achine to be described m ay be used to thread

stud s w hich have been finished onon e end in a screw m achine or

for threading both ends of a blank This m achine ( see F ig 9)
which has a capacity varying fromi t o 1 inch in diam
. .

eter in
elusive m
,

, a y also be appl ied to other classes of work of the same

g eneral size and shape The single -belt pulley seen at the right
hand end of the m
.

achine transmits motion through a sys tem of

change gears t o the cam drums One of these drums controls
- - .

the feeding operation and the other the advance of the slide
carrying the die .The m agazine is of an upright or vertical
type w hich is loaded at t he top by the operator The stud
blanks pass fromthe bottomof the magazine one at a time into
, .

, ,

a receiving tube located jus t back of the chuck this feeding

actio being derived froma cam controlled m ov em
,

n - ent of the
feed in slide Each successive stud is forced from this tube
- .

into the chuck by a push rod working from the rear A s the
-

new blank is being inserted the threaded one is aut ornatim

.

lly
extracted as the die reced es The m
,

achine is adapted for

.

threading stud s of different sizes by equipping it with a die and

chuck of suitable capacity and by adjusting the guide walls of
the m agazine both with reference to the diam eter and length of
the work The spindle tube is only changed for the extreme
.

variation in size The stud threading machines shown in Figs

s - .

8 and 9 are m
.

ade by the N ational A cme C O C leveland O hio .

, ,
.
2 28 THR EAD CUTTI NG
— METHODS

or ev e n t hree cuts For work of t his kind a roughi ng cut is

ometimes taken with a special cutter which is som
.

s ew hat nar
rower than the finishing cutter .

Whenever a si n gle cutter is used the axis of the cutter is

m
,

inclined t o so e a ngle a inst ead of being parallel to t he axis

of the screw in order to loca te the cutter in line with the thread
,

groo ve at the point where the cutting action takes plac e (Tan
gent oi angle a lead of screw thread pitch circum
.

ference of

M r. m m mm
m uu n m mm o oa or nma

screw ) The helical or sp iral thread groove is generated in

.

practically the same way as when an engine lathe is used In

the case of a thread m m
.

i lling achine however the lengthwi se

traversing m ovem
, ,

ent is app lied to the cutter on some machines

and to the screw being m illed on other m achines For ins tance
the revolving cutter m
.
,

ay be traversed in a direct ion parallel to

the axis of t he work a distance equal to the lead of the th read

for eac h revolution of the screw blank or this order may be ,

reversed the cutter revolving in one position while the screw

blank m
,

oves in a lengthwise direction as it slowly rotates .

 THR EAD mu m s 2 29

These variations in the design of difierent thr ead milling ma

chines will be considered later The single cutter process is
especially applica ble to t he m
.

illing of large screw t h reads of

coarse pitch m ultiple threads and the heavier classes of work
For fine pi tches and short threads the m ultiple cutter m
, , .

- ethod
,

to be described is preferable beca use it is more rapid

,
.

M illing Threads with M ultiple C u tt er

'
—
The seco nd thread .

milling method referred to which requires t he use of a multiple

cutter is iflust rat ed by the diagram
,

, s A an d B Fig 2 This , . .

multiple cutter is practic ally a series of single cutters al though ,

a M ultiple Type of Cut t er

formed n olid piece of steel at leas t so far as the cutter
of o e s ,

ro
p p er is con cerned T h
. e annular row s of t eet h do not lie in a

helical or spiral path like the teeth of a hob or tap but coincide
, ,

with planes which are perpendicular to t he axis of the cutter

If the cutt er h ad helical teeth t he sam
.

e as a hob it would have ,

to be geared t o rev olve in a cert ai n fixed ra tio wit h t he screw

being m illed but a cutter having annular teeth may rotate at

,

any desired speed while the screw blank is rotated slowly to

provide a suitable rate of feed ( The m
,

ultiple cutters used for

.

thread milling are frequently called hobs but in this ,

”

chapter the term hob will be applied only to cutters having

helical teeth )
.
230 TH R EAD W I IN G
-C '

mu n o s

The object of using a m ul tiple cutter instead of a single cutter

is to finish a screw thread co m plete in approxim ately one rev olu
tion of the work a slight amount of over travel being allowed to
,
-

insure milling the thread t o the full depth w here the cut joins
the sta rting point In order to finish t h e thread com
. plete in
one revolution (plus the over travel referred to) it is nece
-
ssary
,

t o use a cutter w hich is at least on e or two thread s or pi t ches

wider than the threa d to be m illed When using a mul tiple

cutter it is sim
.

ply fed in to the full thread depth and then ei ther

the cutter or screw blank is m oved in a lengthwise direction a
'

distance equal to the pitch of the thread S ince there is an

annular row of cutting teeth for each thread groove this m
.

ove
ment equal to the pitch is suffi cient to finish the entire thread in
,

on e revolution of the work plus whatever addi tional m ovem ent

there m
,

igh t be due to the over travel If an exceptionally

-

sm ooth thread were required the work m

.

, ight be revolved two

revolutions and the cut t er be traversed a distance equal to
twice the pitch of the thread D uring the first revolution the
thread would be rough m
.

- illed and a light finishing cut would

then be taken w hile the work made a second revolution Sketch
B Fig 2 illus trates the application of a m
.

,
.
,
ultiple cutter to in
ternal thread milling
It is apparent that the length of the thread that can be m
.

illed
by the m ultiple cutter m
- ethod is limited because the cutter is
,

supported at one end only and it w ould be de fl ected considerably

if the length of the cutting end and the over hang were ih
-

creased to any great ext ent As the cutter is m illing along the
entire screw thread at the sam e tim
.

e the lateral thrust is rela

tively large as com
,

pared with a single cutter operating on a

thread of corres ponding pitch ; therefore the m ultipl e cutter is
,

mediumor fine pitches .

P osit ion of M ultiple C utt er R elati ve to Work When using

multiple cutters either for internal or external thread milling
.

t h e axis of th e cut t er is set parallel wit h t he axis of t h e work.

instead of inclining the cutter to suit the helix angle of the
thread as when using a single cutter Theoretically this is
, . ,
232 T HR EA CUTT IN G M ETHO DS
D —

directions on the cutting side For som e thread milling opera

.

tions however it is preferable t o rotate the wo rk and the cutter

so that they travel in the sam
, ,

e direction on the cutting side .

For instance when milling thr eads in al u

, minum castings cel ,

luloid and parts made of fiber smoother and better threads will
be obtained if the cutter and work revolve together the sam
,

e as
tw o gears in m
,

os h except that the cutter revol v es quite rapidly

while the par t being m

, ,

illed has a slow feeding movement

multipl mill d
.

M illing M ultiple Th reads — . If a e th read is t o be e

with a single cutter t he m ethod followed is practically the same

The m
,

as when using a singl e point tool in the lathe

- achine is
arranged to give a lengthwise traversing m
.

ovement equal to the

lead of the thread ( not the pitch) and then after a single thread
groove is m
, ,

illed the screw blank is indexed a half revolutionfor

milling the second thread groove assuming that a double thread
,

Thread milling machines and attachm

,

is required ents are

com monly provided with means for indexing when cu tting m
.

ul

M ultiple th reads n readily be milled with

ca multiple t he
style of cutter although in some cases difi culty may be ex
,

pe rienced due to inte rference bet w een the cutter and the sides

of the thread Such interference is m

. ore likely to occur in the
case of a multiple t hread on account of the increased helix angle
In order to mill a m ultiple thread it is sim
.

ply necessary to an
range the m
,

achine so that the work is advanced a dis tance equal

to the lead of the t hread instead of the pit ch th e sam e as when

using a single cutter for milling a m

,

ultiple thread In other .

words the advance movement of the cutter or work as the ease

, ,

may he should be equivalent to t he distance t hat one of t he single

,

threads advances in a complete turn A nother way t o cut a .

multiple thread would be to use a cutter having a pitch equal to

one half the pitch of the lead screw assuming that the machine
- -
,

w as of a type controlled by the direct action of the lead screw -

on the spindle .

Classes of Wo k for Threa d M illing M a chines D etermining

f
.

when the t h rea l m- illing process is superior to other thread

cutting m ethods may be very easy in some cases and very difli
 THR EAD MIL LIN G 23 3

cult in others Each standard m ethod of cutting thread s

whether by milling by m
.
,

eans of taps and dies or by using a

, ,

single point tool in the lathe has it s own advantages when ap

-

plied under favorable conditions The chief competitors of the

i .

thread milling machine are the engine lathe dies for external ,

threads and taps for internal thread cutting A thread milling

m hin my b
.
,

ac e a e used ( )
1 because t he pit ch of t he t h read is t oo
coarse for cutting with a die ( 2 ) because the m illing pr ocess is
,

more efi cient than using a single point tool in a lathe (3 ) in

-

order t o secure a thread which is smoother and m

,

ore accurate
as t o lead than would be obtained with a ta p or die (4) or be ,

cause the thread is so located relative to a shoulder or other

surface that milling is superior to any other method if n ot t he

only practicable way of doing the work

When m
.

akin g comparison bet een thread cutting processes

w -

it is also essential to consider the relati on that m

,

ay exis t between

the th read cutting operation and other operations which m

- ay

precede it To illustrate this point a lathe m ay he inferior

milling m hin f
.
,

to a t hread ac ng
e or cut t i a t h read of a oert ainsize
and pitch and yet t he lathe m
,
ay be preferable because cutti n g
the thread is only one of a series of operations and by doing this ,

work in the lathe the piece is finished at one setting and the
thread is accurately located with reference to other m achined
surfaces S imilar conditions m
. ay exist in co n nection with work
done in turret lathes or screw machines For example when a
part requiring an internal thread 15 turned and bored ma turret
.
,

lathe there IS a decided advantage in m ost cases in finishing

the part without rem
,

oving it fromthe chuck and ordinarily

, ,

, ,

some form of tap w ould be used or a die in the case of external

,

threads In view of this close relationship between the m

. ethod

of cutting t he thread and t he work as a whole it is apparent that

any comparison between thread m
,

illing and other thread cut

-

ting processes m ust be general and subject to m odi fication

t th ead cutting m
.

The classes of work for which the difl eren r - eth

ods are particularly adapted also m erge into m e another and

there is no well defined dividing line t o serve as a guide

-

m
.

D et ermining the relative erit of di erent thread cutting

s ff -
2 34 THR EAD CUTTI NG
- M ET HO DS

p roc esses further com

is plicated by the fact that a comparison
betw een th read m illing and the use of a lathe die or tap m ight , ,

be based either onthe rate of production accuracy of thread as

t o diam eter and lead sm
,

oothness of thread or its location rela

tive to other surfaces The im
, ,

m
portance of these difl erent features
'

may vary considerably on different classes of work It ight

be possible to obtain a m
.

uch higher rate of production with a

die than with a thread m illing m achine of the single cut ter
type but m
,
illing m ight be prefer red in order to secure screw
t hreads hav ing a higher degree of ac curac y as t o lead t han is
usually obtai ned with a die .

Efi ect of Diamet er Pitch an d Torsi onal S t rain on M et hod

, ,

of C utting Th read — A s the diameter and pitch of threads in

.

crea se beyond the ordi nary sizes the use oi dies for external
work and tap s for internal work becom
,

es less practicable If
the screw is of l arge diameter a die or tap m
.

us t also be large and

cu m bersom
,

e and the cost of these tools for cutting one size and
pitch of thread may be prohibitive in view of t h e a m
,

oun t of
work to be done If a large n umber of duplicate thr eads are
.

re quired dies or taps may be used in preference t o any other

method even though the diameter is large especially if t he
,

, ,

pitch of the thread is not so coarse as to cause distor tion of the

work as the result of torsional strain when cutting S ome parts
are M oul t to hold firm
.

such as sleeves collar nuts et c

-
, , ly enough .
,

for tapping without di stortion but work of t his kind can a sily
be h andled ona thread m i lling m
,

achine As a general rule the

best m ethod of cutting large screw threads of coarse pitch m
.
,

ul
tiple thr eaded sc rews or any formor size of t hrm
,

- d requiring
the re m oval of a relatively large am ount of m etal is by m
,

a ns of

a thread m illing m achine equipped with a single cutter The

m
.

illing proc ess is particularly desirable if the pitch of the thread

and size of the thread groove are large in proportion to t he
diam eter of the screw because the m etal rem ov ed by each cut
ting edge around the circu m
,

ference of
revolution is sm all and t he sc rew being .

to any great torsional strai n Wh en a

thi s kind the accuracy o f the screw m
.

,
2 36 T HR EA -
D C UTTIN G M ETHODS

in the follow rest bushing of the m

- achine ; in fact sc rews that ,

are to be milled should be ground if they are t o run in a follow

rest bushing C ertain kinds of steel which because of their
com
.
,

position are diffi cult to cut smoothly with a stationary tool

in a lathe are easily cut by m
,

illing
Thread m illing m
.

achines as a class have a furt h er advantage

particularly as com
,

pared with the engine lath e in that t hey are ,

easier to operate and can be han dled by unskilled labor The

fact that these machines are usually semi autom atic also m
.

- ak es

it possible for one operator t o attend to t wo or m ~ ore machines

on many classes of work The num ber of m achines t hat one

man can operate to advantage depends partly upon the time
.

required for m i lling the thread in one machine For instance

with a certain type of thread mi lling machine if the actual m
.
,

illing
tim e exceeds forty seconds it is possible for an operator t o run
two or m ore m
,

achines .

Application of M ulti pl e cutt er Thr ead M illing M et h od

-

A s the multiple cut t er type of thr ead m i lling m

.

- achine is applied
to different classes of work than a m achine having a single cut
ter it s relation to other thread cutting m
- ethods is quit e difierent
For work within it s range a m ultiple cutter m achine freq um
.
,

- i t ly

co m es into com
,

petition wi th di es and taps especially self

opening dies and collapsing taps For som
,

e thread -cutting
operations it is generally conceded that the m
.

illing process is
superior and m ore efi cient than any other m
,

ethod There is a .

decided difi erence of opinion however regardi ng the relative

merits of these methods of cutting thr eads particularly as applied
, ,

to classes of work which are withi n the range of either the thread
illing m hin
m ac e or a die, if t he t hread is n
ex t er al, a nd a t ap if
it internal
is . The m type of t hmd milling m
ultiple cutter - a p

chine has been used extensively in preference to collapsing taps

when the thr ead m ust be cut close up to a shoulder or close to
the bottomof a hole as for examp le when cutti ng the threads
, , , ,

for t he base plugs in shells The sketches in Fig 2 repr esent

typical exam
. .

ples of external and internal work for whi ch the

multiple cutter type of thr ead m
- illing machine has proved very
efi cien t although its usefulnes s is not confined t o shoulder work
,
 THR EAD mu m s 37

and “
blind holes The mi lling cutter is used frequently in
"
.

preference to a t ap because it produces a smoother thread es

, ,

p e c ially if the metal has soft s tringy spots .

The diameter of the hole to be tapped and its length often

have a decided eff ect upon the preferable m ethod of cutting
threads wpecially when comparing the m
, ultiple type of thread
milling cutter with taps The smaller the hole and the greater
.

it s length the less practi cable the milling process becomes

, .

If the cutter is t oo large in proportion to the diam eter of the hole

to be t hreaded the cutter does not clear itself and if it is too long
in proportion to the dia m
, ,

eter there is not enough rigidity for ,

Fig 3 En larg ed S ec t ional View sh owing M ultiple Cutt er with

m m
. .
.

Al t ernat e Rows of Teet h re ov ed for M illing Co parative]:

milling a straight and accurate thr ead the cutter being defl ected
in a lateral direction The lim
,

itations of the milling cutter as

regards rigidity are subject to considerable variation and m
.

ay

be afiected decidedly by the design of the machine its co ndition , ,

and whether the material being milled is hard and tough or soft
and eam
,

ly cut
'

A simple m ethod of increasing the m

.

aximum length of thr ead

which can be m illed with a multiple cutter is illustrated by the
diagram Fi g 3 E very other row of cutter teeth is omitted
, . .
,

t he distance bet ween the teeth being equal to twice the pitch
of the thread to be milled By u si ng a cutter of this kind the
.
,

la teral thrust or pres sure is greatly reduced and a complete

2 38 THR EAD CUT TING M ETHODS
-

thread is milled by simply allowing the work to make tw o rev o

lutions (plu s the necessary ov er travel ) instead of one revolution
- .

M illing Sh ort Threa ds C lose to a S houlder Very short .

threads especially when clos e t o a shoul der are di ffi cult if not
im possible to cut by m
. , ,

eans of tap s or dies parti cularly when

power is utilized for perform

, ,

ing the operation The throat of a

die or the cham
.

fer of a tap leaves that part of the thread ad jacent

to the shoulder unfinished and if the throat or chamfer are
om
,

itted all of the work is done by the first row of teeth which is
, ,

objectionable The mi lling process is very eff ecti ve for this kind
.

U se a plex C utt er for Millln n S hofl Thru de

close t o e Sh onlder

of work even though only two or three th reads are required

and the strength of t h e part will not perm
, ,

it cutting a recess or
clearance space at t he end of the thr ead
A nexa m
.

ple of work illustrating the possibilities of the thread

mi lling machine for milling very short threads close t o a shoulder
is shown on an enlarged scale in Fig 4 The thread m illing
. .

operation to be described is on the central section A of a watch

case .This central part requires a threa d on both sides for
receivi ng the bezel B and back of the case C as indi cated by t he
assem
,

bled view The th read has a pitch of 31; inch ( 5 4 th rw

per inch) and a dia m
.

eter of r 80 0 inch E ach thread makes one

and one half turn approxi m
. .

- ately or in other words there is one

, , ,

an d one half thread on each side and both of these t hrw ds are
-
,
2 4° THR EAD CUTTIN G
— si nuous
different location relative to the shoulder
rel (or the seat for an attached sight ) when
would not be in a verti cal position or at
The receiver shown at
thread an external thread
,

c. Thi s particular receive

o uter tube or casing
grip such
tube carries the sight it is essential to have
,

located with reference to the shoulder F o

eral nature the t hread m illing m
.

,
achine is

C utt er Interferencewhen M illing

difi cult and often im po ssible to mill 8 .

even when using a single cutter owing

,

the cutter and t he sides of the thread

is superior to the square thread m
.

ay
,

a single cutter and is now used extensively for

on m any other parts which form
,

erly had the

The trouble due to cutter interference when

the helix angle of the thread at a poi

he set t o
the top and botto mof the thread groove .

to the angle at the bottom of the thread ,

 THR EAD MI LLIN G 24 1

milled wider toward the t op and have slightly curved sides .

On the con t rary if the cutter is set to the angle at the top of
,

the thread the sides of the thread groove will be under -cut
,

somewhat . A burr may also be formed by the cutter especially

after the corners become d u ll Trouble due to interference may
.

sometimes be partly avoi ded by grinding the si des of the cutter

sligh tly tapering or to an angle of from three to fiv e degrees .

Interference of the kind referred to does not occur when mi lling

M mmnn mn
w
mn
t ey rh reed
‘
er r e t epplied to e p rett h
li i g M achine

th reads having angular sides beca use the cutting edges rea dily
,

after leaving the cutting position .

The milling of taper screw threads

a lengthwise direction ,

ent on an engine la t he .
24 2 THR EA -
D C UT TIN G M ETHODS

This guide bar is inclined relative t o the axis of the screw ;

-

it is engaged by a sliding block B on the front side and a roller

onthe rear side which cons train the cutter t o follow an angular

This guide bar is form

.

or tapering path - . ed of t wo sections;

by setting one of these sections parallel to the axis of the screw
and the other to an angle both tapering and straight screw
thread s can be milled This feature is sometim
,

es requi red when

milling the threads on certain classes of taps having tapering
.

M 1 . Min
ing e nd
“ma
reli evi

n
t e hl n
m
ng d ult eneouely e l e
lfl ple C utt er
‘ ‘

m ‘
rep h y

followed by a straight section The roller is held into

conta ct with the rear side of the guide bar by m
.

- eans of a spring
which permits the use of a jointed guide bar -

Taper threading on t he t hread m illing m

.

achin e can also be

done when using the m ultiple type of cutter One met hod of
using a m
.

ultiple cutter on ta pering work is illustrated in Fig 7

m hin uw d f
. .

which show s a detailed view of a special ac e or cut

ran
g ed t ha t it not nly
o mill s a t apering t h read but relie m it at

m tim m multipl
,

t he sa e e
. The cut t er is si ilar t o t he e t ype previ
244 THR EAD C - U TTIN G M ETHOD S

The speed of t he milling cut ter usually v aries m

fro roo to
1 25 feet per minute with slower and faster speeds for some
,

thread milling operations The design of the machines and

the general type m
.

ay aff ect the speed s and feeds to some extent

The feeds and speeds recom mended by the manufacturer of a

.

single cut t er type of thread m

- illing m achine when equipped
with a high speed steel cutter are as follows : A surface speed for
-

t he cutter of about 1 0 0 feet per m inute is a fair average speed

for m illing threads in machine steel whereas for tool s teel th e
, , ,

speed should be reduced to about 7 0 feet per minute When

milling threads of m
.

oderate pitch such as 5 threads per inch and

finer the rate of feed is regulated som
,
ewhat by the quality of t he

ing a cutter 2 } inches in diameter a speed of 1 7 7 revolutions per

,

minute is considered satisfactory and a feed of about 4 } inches

,

per m inute prov ided there are 5 th reads per inch or more ; if
the t hread is coarser sey 3 or 4 t hreads per inch t he feed should ,

m
, ,

be reduced 3 3}
t o or inch es per inute and for 2 or 2 } th read s

m m
,

per in ch t,
o 2 or 2 } inch s
e p er inu t e Whe n ill
.in g t oo l s t eel a ,

sp eeds and feeds m a y be employed A ccor ding .to another

ma un facturer ,
a sp eed of a bout 1 2 5 feet per mi nute is approx i
 THR EAD MILLIN G 24 5

mt
a ely t he maxi mum
peed for tool roomwork in steel whereas
s -
,

for manufacturing operations especially w hen millin g sof t steel

the speed may be considerably higher When m
, ,

illi ng lead .

screws or other accurate scre ws it is pref erable to feed rather

slowly so that the stock m

,

ay be tho roughly cooled in o rder t o ,

avoid errors due to expansion and contraction The cutter .

must also be kep t sharp to prevent expansion or distortion of

the stock due to the swaging action and the frict ion generated
by the dull teeth The condition of a cutter should be noted
before beginning to m
.

ill a long screw so that it need not be

changed until the m
,

illing operation is finished .

A manufacturer of a thread milling machine of the mul

t iple cutt er type recommends a feed of 6 inches per m inute
and a cutting speed of from 7 5 to 80 feet per m inute when m ill
ing threads in soft steel In fact the feed and speed m entioned
m m
.
,

have been used w hen illing S t hreads per inch or ore in

ste elntaining
co per cent of carbon The feed for this work
has also been increased to 9 in ches per m
.

inute with satisfac

tory mults When m i lling threads O f in ch pitch in nickel
minut
.

st ee L a feed of z inches per e a nd a cut ti ng speed of about

50 feet per m inute were utilized While this is exceptionally
heavy work for a m ultiple cutter m
.

- achine t h e possibilities and

‘

limitations in any case m

,

ay vary grea tl y since t he rigidity of a

mac hine it s condition and t he relation between the diam

,

, ,
eter of
th e cutt er and it s
The speeds and feeds reco m mended by still another manu
facturer of a m ultiple cutter type O f m
- ac hine are given in the
es to a num ber of diff erent
tool steel to brass It is claimed that
a thread milling m achine m ay be fro m
.

han could be used wh en m illi ng fia t sur

milling machine work If the
cutters m
.

u st be kept sharp as
longer con sum e les s power and produce m ore and
A s formcutters are used t h e face of each cutting
, ,

be gro und radial to obtain the correct formof

,
 C HA PTE R XI

T HREA D milling machine

may be cla ssified according to t he
s

kind of cutter used that is whether single or m ultiple and

a lso with reference to the m
, , ,

ethod of obtaining a lengthwise

feeding m ovem ent for generating the thread Some machines .

are so designed that the cutter slide or carriage is traversed

-

along a horizontal bed by a lead screw which is connect ed t o

-

prac t ica lly t he sa m e as o n anengine la t he Wt h

i t his general

type of m achine the cutter (which m gle or m

.

ay be sin ultip le)

moves along one side of the work while the latter rotates but
,

rem
,

ains in one position This Order is reversed in another ‘

general type of m i lling m

.

achine which is designed t o mov e

t he part onwhich a thread is t o be m ill d in n i l e a ax a or le ngt h
the cutte lide rem
,

wise direction whi le

, r s -s s ain tationary
except ,

when it is traversed laterally or at right angles t o the screw

thread for m oving the cutter in or out of the worki ng position
A m achine o this kind m
.

f ay have a work tab le whi ch is traversed

-

by a gear driven lead screw or the traversing motion may be

- -

im
,

parted to the work holding spindle ei ther by the direct act i on

-

of a lead screw o by a lead screw and gearing com

- - bined When
‘

r .

a lead screw is applied directly to the work spindle the lead of

- -

it s thread is the sa m
,

e as the lead of the thread to be milled and

diff erent lead screws are used for m
,

- illing threads of difierent '

pitches S om e of these duplica ting m achines are dengned ”

especially for m illing t hreads on large num

.

bers of duplicate
parts and they are less co m plicated than a machine equipped
with change gear s and arranged for m illing t h mds of diff erent
,

pitches O ther m
. achines which derive the travers ing m otim
directly from a lead screw are so constructed that one la d
- .

screw m ay easily be replaced with another of diff eren t pitch .

24 6
24 8 THR EAD-CUTTIN G METHOD S

milled The rear view illus trates how motion is transmitt ed

.

from the driving shaft to t he cut t er spindle through bevel gear

-

ing and suitable co nnecting shaft s The main driving shaft

. at
the rear is splined to permit t he cutter slide to move along the
-

bed The cutter slide has a rapid traversing movement and

-

autom m
atic a ps for controlling the length t o c h a t hrm
.

d is

The work s pindle is indexed when cutting multiple

threads by a notched ring attached to the inner w tion of t he

Fig . 1. Rear View of Prat t Whitney Th rea d “W M achi ne

com pound work pindle The outer section of t h is spindle is

-s

norm
.

ally locked to the inner part by a pawl wh ich n !

notch in t he ring referred to In order to index a screw requir

ing a m
.

ultiple thread the paw l is di sengaged and the inner part

,

m
of the spindle is turned whatever fractional part of a revolution
may be required For instance if a double t h were
milled the indexing movement would equal one half revolu tion
. ,

whereas for a t ri ple thread it would be necesm

, ,

ry t o index one »
 ‘
l HREAD
'
MILLING MACHINES 2 49

third revolution, and so on . As a m hin

ac e of t his t ypc is used
for many other helical milling operations other than screw
t hreM s the index ring i provided with forty eight notches for
s -

accom
,

modating other classes of work

n it is necessary t o m
.

Wh e ill helical groov es of excep t ionally

long lead it m ight not always be practicable to drive the lead
,

s crew from the work -spindle in the usual manner because of ,

the exces sive stresses t o which the change gears would be sub
-

je c t ed O ne method of av oiding this difiicult y in co nnection

with lathe practice has been t o drive the work spindle fromt h e
.

lead screw The drive can be ch anged in this same way when
-

using the thread milling m

.

achine shown in Fig 1 by si m ply

shifting clutches which for work of the class m entioned m
.
,

ake
t he lead screw t he driver and t he work spindle t h e driven m em
, ,

machines are sometim es provided with what is

backing out attachm
- ent This is sim ply an
.
”

for grad ually withdrawing the cutter at t he en d of

will gradually taper fromthe
tead of abruptly rising from th e botto m
groove When this attachm en t is in
while the work is m
.

aking three turns .

the end of a screw thread is desirable

t to sev ere shock s as for exam ple the , , ,

cut ter used n the Pratt 81

o Whitney
is show n in Fig 3 . . This is a specia l

The teeth do not extend

cut only on one side each ,

the adjacent edges on t he

purpose of gaging
oil or cutting com
.

edges and the chips readily

lubricant A special auto .

these cutters This grinder .

r grinding t he angular sides ;

wheel is used for sharpen
2 50 THR EAD CUTT IN G
— ME T HODS

ing m hin ac e sh own in F ig 4 is . n

a ot her exa m
p l e of t he t ype

h le the latter revolves but remains in the same lm

w i gt hwise

position The change gear m

- echanisms for controlling the lead
milled
.

of t h e t hread t o be t he speed of t he work spin

- dle or t he
feeding m
,

ovement and the cutter speed are incorporated in the

design of t he headstock All m o vable part s are dri v en from
,

M otion is transm
.

single belt pulley at th e rea r itted to the cut

.

-
t er s pindle A by man e s of a splined shaft which extends along
t he rear side of t h e bed nd is
a co nnect ed t o t he cutt er spin
'
dle
through suitable gearing The cutter h ad is of cylindrical de
.
- e

sign and can be swiveled 1 80 degrees for aligning the cu tter with

a thread groove or any other heli ca l groove The angular .

position of the cutter spindle is indicated by graduations and a

-

v em ier scale The lateral position of the cutter is controlled by

hand wheel B The depth of the cut is indicated by a m icrhm
.

.
»

eter dial and it m a y be regulated positively by an au t omatic

adjusta ble st op which is used either when milling duplica t e

scre w t h reads or mul tiple threads

The traversing m ovem

.

ent of the cutter carriage along file bed

may be controlled au to matically by stops C and D and ah o
.
25: THR EAD—CUTT I NG MET HODS
be used if possible The workmy be turned independ ntly
a e

mn ing m h ni m t H whi h i u d wh n
.

by ea s of t he index ec a s a , c s se e

cutting multiple sc rew threads or for relocating the cutter with

a previously milled thread groove
When thr eads of fine pitch are to be milled a m
.

ultiple form ,

m
of cutter is used instead of a single cutter in order to finish a
,

thread co plete in practically one revolutio n of the spindle

,

The detailed vie w Fig 5 shows a m

.

ultiple ca t t a
m
.
, ,

t hrw d on on e section of a spindle The stead t .

D etail Viow of Lou - mM w “ ’

md
m
Brea
‘
att h e v lh
m
Fig 5
. .

wit h a unid pio ‘

r ol c

m
this illu stration and in Fig 4 is u sed for support ing all t

ble parts While this machine is designed prim

.

arily for n
ing such parts as lead screws worms etc it m ay also be em
.

- .
, , ,

ployed for milling either spiral or spur gears It is u niac .

t ured by the Lees Bradner C o C leveland Ohio

- .
, ,
.

M olina Threa d M illing M achine — The machine shw n in .

Fig 6 diff ers fro mthe designs previ ously described in

.

h as a traversing work table and a cutter which

position when m illi ng a thread Th e work table .

headstock and tailstock spindles for holding the work betw 4 9

centers and is traversed at t he proper ra te for n

,
a ,
t
 THR EAD M ILLIN G MA CHINES 253

t h ead of the required lead by m

r ean s o change gears
een at the
f -
, s

end of the machine which connect the main or headstock spindle

with the lead s crew This m achine is adapted for m
,
‘

i lling
threads of coarse pitch or large worm
.

s The cutter can be ad

.

justed to t he helix angle of t he thread as well as laterally for

feeding it in t o the depth of the t hread or away from the work .

M G . l n
ofi o rhru d l l
‘
m
n uu
i g hino

This machine has an indexing m echani smfor use when cutting

mul tiple t hrw ds Thi s device con si sts of an index plate at
g gear of the m
.

t ached to the drivin ain spind le and having suit

ab le holes which are engaged by a plunger The work m ay .

either be held between the centers as shown in the illu stration

, ,

or in a co llet chuck or jaw chuck screwed onto the spindle .

parts are held between centers 3 st eady rest block pro

, .
,

vided with bushings may be used for supporting the work

, .
2 54 THR A E D-CUT TIN G METHODS

This m hin
ac e has a m imum wing
ax s of S inch es nd will hold
a

parts 30 inches long between the cen ters The spindle is hollow .

and a 3 } inch shaft may be passed through it T lns machine

’
- .

is made by the M ol ine Tool Ill .

Waltham Thread M illing M achine The thread milling

—

machine illustrated in Fig 7 is intended for mail p n

.

work The cutter slide of thi s m

.

.
- achine is traversed along the
bed by a lead scr ew connecting with the work spindle through
- -

cha ng g
e ea ring The m
.achine is driven fr om a cons ta nt -
speed

M 7 . wu mm m m mmm
r a

shaft m ounted in brackets on the rear side This shaft drives .

the work spindle through t h e cone p ulley s shown and worm

- -

gearing The four step co ne p ull eys are interchangeable and

- -

provide the neces sary speed changes T he m

.

illing cutter spindle

.

is set at the helix angle o f the th read as shown by grad uations on

the ci rcular base of the swiveling m em ber When a thread has
been m illed to the requi red length the m
.

achine is stopped auto

matically by the disengagement of a clutch on the work spindle
,

- .

Oil or som e cutting co mpound is suppli ed t o the cutter by n

of a pu m p driven fromt he co nstant speed shaft at the rear of the
-

machine Tapering threads may be milled by u sing a taper

.
2 56 THR EAD CUT TIN G
- M ETHODS

about inche The

6 s . work
pindle and cutter p ndle are bot h
-
s —
s i

driven from a h orizontal shaft at the rear carrying a thr ee

step cone pulley
- The peed of the work spindle is varied by
s -

means of a gear box at the rear of the machine eighteen speed

.

-
,

changes being obtained for each of the three positions of the

belt on n
the oo pulley The cutter spindle is driven th rough
e ~ -

gearing fromthe shaft referred t o and in order t o eliminate

.

, ,

h
t e spindle The cutter -spindle head is so cons tr ucted that
m
.

t he a gul
n a r adju st ent of the cutt er fo r aligning it with the
helical thread groove does not disturb the central relation be
tween the cutter and the thread being m i lled The lateral
position of the cutter may be regulated by m eans of a m icrom
.
 THREA D MILLING MA CHIN ES 257

et er dial and a positive adjustable stop The latter enables

the cutter to be withdrawn fromthe screw thread and returned
.

m
described in connection with the machine illustrated in Fig I
When cutting a m ultiple thread the work is in dexed by sim y
. .

releasing the pawl and turning the inner spindle whatever frac

t ion al part of a r evolution m a y be req uired .

Taft P eirce Th r ead M illing M ach ine

- A thread m illing m a .

chine oi the multiple cutter type which co m

- pletes a thread in
practically one revolution of the work is shown inFig 9 Thi s
machine is m
. .

anufactured by the Taft Peirce M fg C o Woon

- . .
,

socket R I The cut t er spindle and work spindle are driv en

~-

by separate belts leading fro mthe sa m

. .
,

e c ountershaft The
work is held in so m e for mof chuck or fixt ure at A and the cut
.

ter whi ch is partly enclosed by a guard for the protecti onof t he

oper ator is located at B When a thread is being m
,

illed t he
cutter is set transversely for m
.
,

illing the thread to th e proper

dept h and the work spin dle th en advances a distance equal to
,
-

t he pitch or lead of the thread as it tur n s one revolution plus a

slight am o unt of over travel Th e work is held either in a self

-

cen t eri ng chuck or a special fixture which m

.

ay be fitted t o t h e

counterbore A Fig 1 0 on t he front end of t h e work spindl e

,
-

This spin dle is of the open yoke desi gn and is driv en fro ma cone
.
, .

p ulley at the rear of the m ac hine fromwhich m otion is trans

mit t ed through bevel gears t o wor mshaft E and a wormto a
,

wormwheel on the work spindle

- - This drive is controlled by
the engagem
.

ent of a sliding clutch operated by a rod F extend

ing through the hollow worm -shaft O n the front end o f thi s .

rod there is a knob S Fig 9 used for engaging or di sengaging

the Clutch The teeth in the wormw heel are not of the usual
.
, ,

concave or curved form but extend in a straight path diag

.

ally across the face of the worm

,

on wheel so that t h e work -

spindle will be free to m ove longitudinally when m

,

illing a thread
This longi tudinal m ovem ent is derived fro ma m
.

aster nut D
an -
d a lead screw C Fig 1 0 ,
The lead screw is m
.
- . ade in two
2 58 THR EAD CUTTIN G M ET HO DS
-

parts and when assembled in the ma ster nut there is a space

between the t wo sections which provide a m eans for com
,

p ensat
ing for w e ar The lead -screw and work -spin dle rot a te together
and the m
.

aster nut D and handwheel M are held stationary

when m
,

illing a thread by lock pin

- N so that the work spindle
-

m s
, ,

ove longitudinally The pitch of the in the lead screw

- . v

d m a ster nut m
.

an ust correspond with the pitch of t h e thr ead

to be cut
The cutter spindle slide is m ounted on an interm
.

- ediate slide
T Fig 9 which rests upon the lower slide
,
.
,
The upper cutter .

? ig . 10 . S ect ional View of -

Bra det ect of M achine when in Fig 9 .

slide is adjusted transversely by a screw A pw nv e stop is

provided to insure returning the cutter slide to the sam
.

- e posi
tion The interm ediate slide also has a transverse m ovem ent

for withdrawing the cutter at the com

.

pletion of a cut or for

returning it to the working position A fter the work sp indle
-

com plet s one revolution a camU on the work spindle engages

.

-
e
a trip pin J and through a bell crank m echanismoperates t he
,

horizontal shaft K w hich releases the knock 0 6 levw L When

- .

thi s lever L is withdrawn a spring throws t he cutter-slide back s

so that the cutter is rem oved fromt he work ; the Work spindle
,

-
260 T HR EAD UTTIN G
-C M ET HO D S

P eirce machine h wn in Fig 1 1 The internal threading

a re s o

operation on the sm
. .

all brass parts shown at A was done at the

rat e of go pieces per hour ; t h e t hread int his case is 1 8
inch in
1,
d iameter and 20 pitch The internal threading operation on
.

the part shown at B was done at the rate of 5 5 pieces per h ur

the threads being 1 3 inch in diam eter and 6 patch o .
,

part ill us trated at C has a th read 2 inch% m n and 14 o .

pitch and was m illed at the rate of 60 per hour The 0

alum
.
,

inum piece shown at D has an external 1g z

:

m W m nn
m
Pig . 1 x. M isc ellaneous Exa ples of Thread MM o e o
M achine shown in 9 .

diameter and 6 pitch ; the thread is the Whitwort h form and

thes e parts were m ill ed at t he rate of 7 0 per hour The clutch .

housing shown at E has a 3 inch thread of 1 6 patch and 26

-

housings were m illed per hour

tion on the part shown at F was perform
.

ed at the rate of 30
pieces per hour the thread being 3 } inches mdiameter and 16
pitch ; the external thread on this sam
,

e part is 4;
diameter and 1 6 pitch and was m illed at the rate of 2 5 piecm
.

per hour The different rates of production referrw to are not

given as representing the m axi m
.

um but t he output unda

norm al conditions in regular m
.

anufacturing p ractice .
 111m
m MILLING
) MACHINES 2 61

co llet type thread m ill

is the type having a m ul tiple
cutter and a lead scr ew driven through change gear s selected
- -

the thread to be m illed The

itable gearing froma single
.

su

Collet M ult iple-cutt er Type of Threa d

or

Milling M achine

belt pulley at the rear and the cutter pindle

,
-s

a belt operat ing on pulley C The rotation of

e as well as th e feeding m ovem
.

ent of the cutter

operating hand lever D
-
,

friction clutch .

by a slide E ( see also the sec

turn is m ounted on an inter
a bottomslide or m
,

ain saddle
2 62 THR EAD CUTTIN G
- M ETHODS

J which rests upon the ways of the machine bed The main .

saddle I m
,

ay be adjusted along the bed by handwheel K for

h eating t he cutter in the right lengthwise position relative t o

t he work and this saddle may be locked to the bed The
interm
, .

ediate slide N connects with a short lead screw R Fig

-
,
.

13 This lead screw is driven through gearing by a splined

-

which is revolved by m
.

shaft S eans of change gea rs selected

-

according t o the pitch of thread to be m

,

illed The upper slide

which emies the cutter spindle m
.

- ay be adjusted in a cru s

wi e direc tion by m
s eans of hand wheel F F ig 1 2 to suit the
diam
.
, ,

eter of t h e work and depth of thread to be mill ed When .

m mm
m
the f lever M is pulled over to the place
eed - feed on
the quadrant the cutter slide N operates
,
- u , that lever D
“

is inthe right position When lever M is thrown inthe opposite

.

direction as far as it will go the work spindle u be revolved

-

w ith a rapid reverse m

,

otion
M otion is tran sm itted to the interm
.

ediate cut t er slide by t he u

splin ed shaft and lead screw referred t o

- in w t o avoid a
rever sal of the rotating parts each tim
,

e a + is milled and 1

the resulting loss of tim

I

e which would occur waiting for

any backla sh or lost m otion in the transm i ssion t o be taken up
When m m
.

illing a thread the int erm ediate and up r slides with

the cutter spindle are traver sed along the bottomslide or m
,

- ain
saddl e J a di stance equal to the pitch o f the t h rm d plu s a sl ight
am ount of over travel Thi s traversing m
- . ov is away from
264 TH R EAD W —C G mu n o s

t p H will againengage t he handwheel st op aut om

s o at ically an
d
locate the cutter at wha tever dep th it was p reviously set to .

Th e co llet ch uck A in which t he work is held is n

ope ed or

F ig . 13 ) is an ingenious des i gn so arranged that the collet is

is made of machine st eel and the jaws are

the fiemb le part is left unhardened When the w het i s drawn
'

back against the tapering seat X in the spindle it ,

7

Fig . 14. n
Ext er al
“
l1i e
of
mm
mm
on mm

work and when m

,
oved in the oppoi te direction one ’

s of a

V shaped groove on the outer end engages anot her

— g; M
j

The am ount of this expansion is regulated by t he .1

ring Y 15 screwed on or off the end of the s indle

arrangem
p
.

ent it is unneces sary to have a spring temper in t he

flexible part back of the jaws The detailed view .
,
1
.

shows one of the s e machines milling external threa ds on J t 5f

e1

fuses .

type of thread milling machine s hown in Fig . 15 is 1

 THR EAD MILLIN G MA CHINES 2 65

o n such parts as rifl e barrel s rifl e receivers

mll
, ,

fuse bodies, t he nose pieces for t he s a er shells ,

or whenever a shor t thread of a

m . 15 . m nTh
Tho so read M illing M achi ne of M ul t iple-
c utt er 17 9 0

on the spindle and e ngages an adjus table nut A The work .

a separate drivin g belt .

is for d riving the work

ts m otion to it through worm gearing The
-

t he cutter -spindle by m
.

eans of a silent chain .

is carried by a vertical sliding head w hich ,

on a carriage that can be m

.

oved along the

2 66 TH R EAD CUTTIN G
— M ETHODS

cutter is adjusted for the right depth of cut by m eans of handle

E attached to the adj us ting screw and equipped with a m icrom
eter dial reading to thousandths of an inch Af t er the cutter .

is once set in the right position it is advanced and withdrawn

from the work by the action of a camon the horizontal shaft F
,

which is tur ned by hand lever G One m ov em

,

- ent of t hi s lever

mov es the cutter up t o the cutting position and at the sam

.

time engages a clutch with the wormwheel W which rev olv es

,

-
, ,

loosely on the work spindle except when a thread is actually

-

being m illed A s t h e work spin dle r evolves it also advances at

.
-
,

a rate depending upon the pitch of the lead screw thread which
-

m ust correspond to the pi t ch of the thread to be m

,

i lled A t
t ac hed t o a drumon t he work -spindle there
.

which connects with a spring drumlocated in

base Thi s cable is slo wly wo und upon the
.

as the sp in dle rev olv

into contac t with trip lever J .

F is released and turn ed back

thu s withdrawing the cutter fr
spindle T he m echani sm is 5
action occurs aft er t he work has m
.

ad e a littl e
tion and the t h read is completed When
threads the cutter slide is withdrawn by m
.

- eans
in order to rem
,

aft er each operation , ove the

it has been withdrawn for removi ng work

The cutter slide is locked t o the m
- achin
being m illed Thi s m achine is m
. ade by
Harri son N J ,
. .

-
S malley G eneral Threa d
milling machine illustrated in
shell work although it can be
,
268 T HR EAD CUT TI NG METHODS
-

used wit hout m ing t h

ov e t urning t ool , or t he la t t er canbe used
without removing the cutter The normal feed for thread mill
ing which is about six inches per m
.

inute is increased to twenty

fiv e feet per m
, ,

inute for turning The single belt pulley which

-

drives t he m ain spindle transmits m

.

otion to it through a worm

gear and spur gear The high spee for turning is ob ta ined by
d
- .

driving direct through the spur gearing and the speed is reduced
-

for thread m
,

illing by driving through the worm gearing This

- .

change of speed is obtained by shifting a lever located on the

main head which operates a clutch This lever is held in either
,
.

t h e high speed low speed or neutral position by a notched

- -

quad rant The gear onth e m

, ,

ain spindle which drives the train

ge gears is free t o slide in or out of m
.

of chan - es h for disengaging

the lead screw drive
-

One of t he special features of this m

.

achine is the method

of engaging the lead screw nut with t he cutter slide or carriage
- - .

O n t he lead screw there is a nut which is attached rigidly to

-

a wedge bar which m oves along with the nut whenever the
l ead screw is in m otion O n the bottomof the cut ter slide
,

-
'

~
.

th ere are t wo wedge blocks One block is fixed and the other is
controlled by m
.

eans of a lever w hich is located just above and

back of the large handwheel for traversing the cutter slide or -

carriage along the m achine bed These t wo w edge blocks en

.

gage grooves on each side of the w edge bar for transmitting

motion fromthe lead screw to the cutter slide The advantage
- -

claim ed for this arrangem

.

ent is that the operator does not have

to wait for the lead sc rew t o engage a split nut By m
- eans of
an extra idler gear which m
.

ay be inserted in the train of change

m
,

g e ar s t h e lead - screw is ad e to rotate in the right directi on

m
,

for i ling either right or le t hand threads The cutter spindle

l f - -

of the particular m
.

achine illu strated is driven thro ugh herring

bone gears fro mthe belt pulley shaft M achines used for com
- .
!

p a ra t iv e ly light work have the belt pulley mo u nted dire ctly on

the cutter spindle -

To illus trate the m ethod o f using this m

.

achine it will be
assum
,

ed that an internal thread is to be mi lled and a shoulder

faced off true with th e thread A fter the work is chucked the .
,
 2 69

until the hob or thread milling cutter is properly located in a

lengthwise direct ion the feed lever for engaging the lead screw
-
,
-

being released The cutter is usually located by means of a

.

depth gage or by moving it in against a shoulder which serves as

a locating point The main spindle should be revolving at t he
.

slow speed of five or s ix inches per minute The cutter spindle - .

is also revolvi n g and after the cutter slide is connected to the

,
-

lead screw by means of the feed lev er the cutter is immediately

~ ° o

fed into the work The proper depth of cut is indicated by a

.

micrometer dial on the cross feed screw and the work should
-

revolve until the cutter passes the point at which it start ed to

cut to t he full depth of the thread When the thread is com .

p let ed t h e cutt er is withdrawn and the drive to the lead screw is ~

disengaged by m eans of a con trol lever provided for this pur

pose The m
. ain spindle is now revolved at the higher speed for
turning and t he turning tool is used for facing the shoulder
,

true
A larger machine designed along the sam
.

e general lines as
t he on e illus trated in Fig 1 6 has been used for m . illing threads
havi ng a pitch of inch a length of 4 inches and a diameter
of 9} inches Threads of this size were m
, ,

. illed in nickel steel

armor piercing shells
- .

Reed Prentice Th rea d M illing M achine

- —
F ig 1 7 shows a
l purpose thread milling m
.

s ing e - achine designed especially for

mi lling external threads on rifl e barrels and the internal thread s
in rifle receivers The m achine as illustrated is arranged for
the t hread m
.
, ,

illing operat
’
i on on the receiver s The special .

work holding fixture is designed to hold each receiv er in t h e

-

same pod t ionso that the thread wi ll start at a predeterm ined

point thus making all the receivers interchangeable When
the machine is used for m
.
,

illing the external thread s on rifl e

barrels the receiver fixture shown in t he illustration is re m
,
oved
and a special collet chuck is used which grips the barrel at the
breech end close to t he part that is to be th readed The barrel
extends through the hollow spindle o f the m
.

achine and provision

is made for accurately locating each barrel so t hat the threads
2 70 THR EAD CUTTIN G
- M ETi IODs

start at a fixed point and are interchangeable with

The muzzle end of the barrel is supported by 8 .

action closer which

breech end When
which the cutter spindle is m
.

- ount
by a lead screw which is driven
-

lead screw is enga ged by a split nut the arrangem

,

-
, ent being

sim ilar to an engine lathe. The bearing or b

cutter spindle is pivoted at one end so that
-
,

set in line with the angle of the thread an adju stment of 5 de

,

grees each side of the perpendicular being provided for This .

machin e is made by the eed Prentice C o Worcester M ass

R -

A m
.
.
, ,

Hilt on Worm M illin g M achine —

cia lly for millin g small worm s or similar pa

This m achin e is aw l automatic in it s
-
27 2 THR EAD u -c m s M TH E ODS
lever G and allows the wormto drop out of mesh with the m
wheel The lead screw and work spindle are then returned to
.
- -

the start ing point by means of handle E This machine m ay

be used for m
.

illing single double triple and quadruple threads

The spindle is indexed for m illing m
.
, , ,

ultiple threads with a single

cutter by m, eans of index plate I which has holes engaged by
a plunger or pin connecting with the operating lever K For
milling so m
.

e double threads a duplex cutter is used so that

bo t h thread grooves are m illed sim
, ,

ultaneously and indexing is

N . 3 9.

mti a c
Detail
Trip
View howing
M e hanismof
c
. s Lend -cont rolling ,

M achine illust rat ed i n

m
lnd efln Aa d ut o

unnecessary Thi s m achine has a capacity for work 1 } inch in

diam eter and 1 } inch long but it has been used m
.

ore ext en sively

for milling the sm a ll worm

,

s required in phonograph s auto

horns organs etc which usually vary fro mabout i t o 3 inch in
,

.
, , ,

diameter .

milling is frequently done on machines desi gned for general

milling operations such as the pla in and universal m
,
illing m a

chines of the column and knee type There are t wo general

- -

methods of milling threads on ordinary milling machines In

.

the fi rst place the screw thread m

.

ay be gene rated by u sing the

,
 T HR EAD MILLI NG ATTACHM ENTS 27
3

spiral or dividing head t he sam e as when perform ing any helical

or spiral m i lling operation The spiral head is geared t o the
.

lead screw of t he machine for traversing the table and work a

-

dista nce per revolution corresponding t o t he lead or pitch and

the cutter is held and driven by som e attachm
,

ent such as a

vertical spindle universal or spira l m

,
illing attachm ent t h e align ,

ment of t he cutter wi t h t he threa d groove being obtained either

by swiveling t h e work ta ble or by adjusting t he cutter dri ving
-

attachm ent Whi le thi s m etho d is com monly employed for a

variety of helical or spiral m
.

illing operations it s application to

thread m i lling is largely confined t o the m illing of worm
,

s or rel a

tively short screws oi coarse pitch especially when such work is

,

not done onanexten sive scale

The second general m ethod of m
.

i lling t hread s on ordi nary

m i lling m ac hines is by equippi n g the m achi n e with a special
attachm ent de sign ed for thi s work exc lu sively These attach
ments are usually designed for milling threads on duplicate
.

parts in conn ectio nwith m anufactu ri n g a n d th ey a re a

,
rra ng ed
t o hold the work an d rot ate it a lo ng a h eli ca l path whil e a c utter
held either dir ectly in t h e m achi n e spi ndle or on an ordi nary
arbor m i lls the t h read groov e T h e sim plest formof attach
ment consists principally of a base or frame whi ch carri es a
.

spi n dle and a l ead sc r ew co nnecti ng either w ith a h and c rank or

-

som e com binatio n of gearing for im parti ng a rotary m otion t o

the spindl e and work
A fixture intended for m
.

illi ng t hreads of fine pitch especially

in m
,

ateri als t hat are easily cut m ay h av e a h an

,
d crank at tached
directly t o t h e end of t h e work spi ndl e -With this arrange
ment as t h e crank is tu rned t he lead screw w hich passes through
.

-
, ,

a nut attached t o one of the fix ture b ea rings causes t he work t o

advance at the p roper ra te for m illing a t h read T h e l ead sc rew .
-

is a dup lica te of t h e th read required as far as it s le ad or pit ch is

,

concerned While su ch a fixture may be used for t he ligh ter

classes of work in general it is p referabl e t o transm it motion t o
.

dle t h rou gh w ormgeari ng T h e w ormw heel m

,

t he work - spin - ay -

be ca rried by t h e w ork spi ndl e w hi ch is spli ned t o perm

.

- it end
wise m ovem ent through the w ormw h eel w h ereas t h e ha nd
-
,
2 74 M EAD CUTTIN G
- MET HOD S

crank is mounted onthe end of the worm haft -s Some of t hese

general type referred to m av be used in conjunction with a m

ngle
’

cutter or a m
, ultiple cutter may be em ployed for finishing a
thr ad in one revolution of t he work If a multiple cutter is
e
.

Pix
. no . Band -operat ed Ty pe 0! h
T read

an ordinary column and knee type m

- - illing machine A multiple
cutter L is used for m
.

illi ng the th read and the work is held in a

spring chuck or coll et E which is opened or by turning
hand wheel G The threaded pa rt D serves as a lu d screw and
.
w

passes through a ta pering split bushing B which is u in posi

tion and adjusted by nuts C The pl unger 3 prevents the
lead scre w fromrota ting when tightening or
.

-
the chuck .

A fter the part to be m illed is fastened in the plunge r H

is w ithdrawn and is held in the out ward positi on by a small pin
at J The cutter is next fed in to t he co rrect
.
2 76 THR EAD UTTIN G —C METHODS

lathes equipped with sp ecial att achments have been used t o

some extent for cut ting threads by the milling process a pecially
in connection with shell work The special mechanism for con.

verting a lathe into a thread milling machine u sually consists of

an auxiliary slide whi ch is mounted on the carriage and is ar
ranged to carry the revolving cutter spindle and in
-
,

some form of drive for r educing the speed of th e

m
"3 M lllln; th e T hread s of n M ultiple-t hreaded
m-h
°

M eans of a B ob nd
a a Regular G ob

so hat the surface speed of the thread being m

t i lled will be only a
few inches per m inute .

used in conjunction with a gear hobbing m achine for mi lli ng -

multiple screw threads A hob u sed for t his purpose has teeth
.

which lie along a helical path like a hob intend ed for u .

spur or helical gears and it m

,

ust be geared to revolve with

,

work at a definite speed ratio the same as when hob bing a

The hobbing m
,

ethod is particularly eflicient for cutting

having several threads because the hob finish mthe
, r: ?
a t
 2 77

having teeth of special form

r other screw threads in order
which are at l east approxi
hobbing machim
, ,

2 shows a Farwe ll gear-

worm A single threaded hob is used

.
-

Milling a Double Threa d on a Parnell G ear-hobbing

M achine equipped wit h a S lnale Milling C utt er

cutter is employed The sides of the threads are

.

straight but t he curvature is slight M ultiple

more may often be
. .

by the general

double thread it should preferably be m

, illed by
e milling cu t ter as illustrated in Fig 23 inst ead of
hob When a single cutter is used on this m
.
,

. achine ,
27 8 THR EAD CUT TIN G
— METHODS

the work table of the m

- achine is geared to the down feed so that
a screw thread of the required lea d will be milled but without ,

reference to the speed of the cutter which may be regulated to

suit the th read m i lling operation When a screw thread is
milled in thi s way the gear hobbing m
.

-
, achine is practica lly a
thread milling machine so far as the principle of it s operation
,

is concerned .

Fig . 14 . Bar be -Colm

r an Gemh ob bi ng Mac hine m a Worm

A n unu sual and interesting app lication of a hobbing ga r-

m
machine to t hread milling is i llustrated in Fig 2 4 which a
N o 3 Barber C ol m an m achine cutting a wormthe
.
,

.
- on t h e

end of a rather long and slender spindle Owing t o t he . s

bility of this spindle a special formof work s n

.

quired This consists of a plate support ed by h e ov erhm

,

ing armand having two bearing surfaces

.

t g
gage the
screw thr ead a t the ends as t h e illus tration shows
,
.
2 80 THR EAD CUTTI NG
- M ET HODS

t hreading uch parts as bolts screws studs rods etc especially

s , , , ,
.
,

wher e su ch threaded parts are requir ed in large quantities .

S crew thr eads t hat are within the range of t he rolling pr ocess
may be produced more rapidly by this me t hod than in any other
way which accounts for the use of thread rolling machines in
,
-

connection with bolt and screw manufacture and wherever

thousands of duplicate thr eaded parts are req uired A fter de
scribing t he m
.

ethod of forming a thread by rolling a cylind rical

blank between flat dimso m e of t he difi erent design s ( d thread

rolling machines and their m
,

ethod of operation will be considered .

Threa d Rolling b et w een Flat Di es M ost of the machine

.

designed exclusively for rolling screw threads are equipped with

flat dies There are two of thes e fiat dies on a m
. achine as ,

shown by the diagram Fig 1 w hich illus tra t es the general

principle of the flat die m
.
, ,

- ethod of rolling threads One die A is

stationary and the other die B has a reciprocating m
.

o vement
The face of each die has parallel grooves and ridges of pract i
cally t he sam e cross sectional shape as t he th rea d to be rolled
-
,
 THR EAD O
R LLI N G 28 !

part t o be t hreaded, t he work being insert ed

Loft -hand Th read s

tarted between
rk is s

the t op edges of the

incline in the sam e direction
es or faces but when the dies
,

the ridges incline in the oppo

in alignm ent with the thread
28 2 THR EAD CUT TIN G
- METHOD S

t he posit ionof t he dies and a screw t hread bein

g rolled is such

that the t op of the thread haped ridge of one die at the point
-
s ,

of contact with the screw thread is directly opposite the bottom

,

of the thread groove in the o t her die at the point of contac t as , ,

indicated by the line x x of the enlarged sectional view Fig 1

-

mu t
. .
,

This rela tio n bet ween t he dies nd t he

a screw t hread s be
maintained throughout the thread rolling operation and it is -

essential to start the work between t he dies when the m

,

ovable
die is in the right position If t he blank to be threaded is
started at exactly the right tim
.

e the groove rolled into it by one

die will engage or m
,

atch with the ridges on the other die w hen

the blank has turned a half revolution ; therefore since the two ,

dies engage the screw thread on opposite sides and as one half
turn of the screw corresponds to one half of t he pitch the ridges
-

e die m
,

on on ust be one half the pitch above or below corre

-

spon din g ridg es on the other di e in a plane intersecting the axis

of the screw thread bein g rolled .

In order to fo rm the thread gradually t he two dies may not be ,

set exactly parallel but a little farther apart at the end w here

the rolling operation begins so that as t he screw blank m

,

oves
fromthe starting end through t hedies the thread is formed by
, ,

a progressive rolling action This m

,

ethod of setti ng dies is

sometim
.

es reversed the dies being set a littl e closer together at

the starting end A full thread is then formed m
,

ore rapidly at
the beginning of the rolling operation The object is to form
.

the thread as quickly as possible so that there will be compara

tively little pressure between the work and the die d uring t he
rem ainder of the stroke in order to obtain a planishing efiect
and a sm
,

oo t h finish There is a diff erence of opinion among

m
the user and anufacturers of thread ro lling m
.

s - achines regard
ing the relative m erits of these two m ethods of adjus ting the
dies In any case the adjus tment from a parallel position is
.
,

very sl ight .

time and also square with the sides of t he dies . These machina
2 84 m o m
afi ect ed to so m e exte nt by t he na m re of th e mt a erial of which
t he screw blanks are md ; th
a e at is, whet her it is hard nd ofl
a
e
rs

rolled in ei t her brass or steel but t he ac tionof brasa is difl a ent

mt h
,

fro at of st eel The conditionof t h e surfac e of a steel blank

my l mt
.

a a so afl ect t he dia e er Wh ena t h read is rolled on

mp mt
.

drawnst ock, t here is litt le, if a ny co ra sio nof t he e a l as it

m
,

is displac ed to for a t hre w , because t he surface is already

q ui t e dense as t he result of t he cold d ra wi

- ng operat io n If
.

this dense outer surface however is removed by a cu t ting tool

m mp
, , ,

t he et al will t henbe subject to sligh t co ressio nas it is dis 2

pla ced ; consequently a larger blank diameter is required for a

,

turned piece than for one w hich was drawn to we Brass .

blanks for screws of a g iven size should be a lit t le larger t han

t hose mda e of st eel for t he sa e reason m
; t hat is, beca use t here
is a slight co mp ressive efiec t a nd need for a lit tle m ore st ock t o

this action The variations in blank diameters due to

'

ofl set .

this cause are very slight but should not be disregarded if accu
,

rat e t hread rolli n

g is t o be done

mining th m mt my
.

Det er e Blank Dia et er — . Th e blank dia e er a

be determined quite easily by actually rolling threads on blanks

t h e sizes of which are cha nged as my b qui d t p du
a e re re o ro ce a

well formed thread While this s

- s
. it i the mo t reliable method ,

cannot always be applied because t he st ock from whic h t he blanks

md my b m
,

are t o be a e is not at hand ; infact it a e nec t o order

tock from the m
,

t he s ill long before it is needed and then the

,

blank diameter is either determined by calculation or by refer

ence t o blank sizes previously tabulated for difierent screw

for calculating blank diam eters but inasmuch as t his dia meter ,

is afl ected by the accuracy required for the rolled thread the

kind of m
,

aterial t o be rolled its composition and by any de , ,

cided varia tion in the physical condition of the surface metal

(as for exam ple when the skin of cold -drawn stock is t e

mov ed by turning) the im

, ,

practicability of deducing a rule or

formula that may be generally applied is apparent .
 THR EAD ROLLING 2 85

ccin different plants where thread

done there are three general classes of blank sizes
, ,

( 1 ) Those which are a little larger than the pitch diam

those whi ch are approximately equal to the pitch
and (3) those whi ch are slightly less than the pitch
The sizes in the first class are in tended for screws
to be rolled as accurately as possible The difference
.

,
as near as t his can be det er
t
a follow
s s : The blank diameters

inch are from to inch

screws varying from i to

from to inch

rolled fromblanks which are equal to the

sufii cient ly accurate for many purposes .

class or those whi ch are slightly less than

,

are intended for bolts sc rews etc w hich

loosely a com
.
, , ,

, paratively free fit being

Blanks for this grade of work accord
are from
,

to inch less than

screw t hreads v arying fro mi t o i inch ,

for m ore accurate screw threads

diameter should be som
.

ewhat
when a full thread of standard
volume of the thread groove ex
or surface as at A Fig 3 is l ess
,
.
,

B of the thread extending out

286 THR EA -
DC UTTIN G MET HO DS

abo ve the line representing the pi t ch diameter this will ofiset

the difierence between the volum
,

es of sections A and B
'

Reciproca ting Type of Threa d rolling M achine

- The thread
rolling m
.

achine illustrated in Fig 4 is a horizontal recip .

rocat in g typ e which operates on the general princip le illus

t rat ed by the diagram Fig 1 This machine is one of the

,
. .

designs and sizes manufactured by the Waterbury Farrel Foun

dry M achine C c Waterbury C onn The stationary die is
.
, , .

securely held at A and the movable die B is attached t o a slide

co nnecting with a pitman C This pit m anis operated by a large

crank gear D which is driven froma pinion m

.

- ounted on the
driving pulley shaft This particular m
. achine is arranged for

Dh m eh owlng k elafl on bet v m mm

a orer of mn
a k md
Pitc t amt e er ot Rollod S erew l h ru d
‘ ‘

feeding the blanks by hand so that it is com paratively simple in

,

design The blanks to be threaded are placed one at a time in

.
, ,

the feeding position the lower end resting against a stop which
may be adjusted vertically and insures rolling threads of equal
,

length on the difl erent blanks Each blank is placed in position

while the slide is returning and when the m
.
,

oving die has ad

,

van ced to the right position relative to the sta tionary die a ,

push finger sta rts the blank between the dies As soon as
- ”
.

the blank is caught it is rolled along between the die faces until
,

it has passed clear across the stationary die ; the thread rolling
-

operation is then com pleted and the bolt or screw falls into a
receptacle The push finger is operated by a cam located on
-

the opposite side of the m

.

achine from that shown in the illus ~

t rat ion This cam tran sm

. its motion through a shaft and lever
E to the slide carrying the push fin or tar er it ”
-
ger s t as is

so m etim
,

es called .
2 88 THREAD-CUTT IN G METHO DS

C onn . The dri ving mechanism of this machine is quite similar

in its general arrangement to that previously described in con
nection with the machine shown in Fig 4 The reciproca ting
slide which carries the movable die receives its moti on froma
. .

large crank gear as in the former case which meshes with a

-
, ,

pinion on the flywheel shaft The crank gear is connected t o

- .

the reciprocating slide by a pitman This machine is known as

.

mm m M n mm
m
Fig 5 Rod fl u Screw- t h read Ro a; achi e ai ed
m
. .

wit h S e i-aut o at ic Feedin g th e

t hebelt pulley The arrangement of the stationary and

.

dies and the method of starting each screw blank bet x

dies at exac t ly t he right t ime is shownby t he diagramPi g 6,

m ing di
.
,

which represe nts a planview

. The ov e A is carriedby
t hereciprocating slid e B and the stationary or short die C h
clamped into an adjustable holder D This holder may . be ad :
 TH REA D ROLLIN G 2 89

justed toward or away from die A as may be required by the

diameter of screw th read t o be ro lled The m oving di e is shown
.

at one end of the stroke A s die A moves toward the left the
.
,

blank t o be th readed is pu shed between the t wo dies by the

sta rter E Thi tarter or pu sh finger ordi narily is operated by
s s -

an adjustable camwhich transm

.

its m otion t o it through a

mechanism so arranged that either a positive or yielding pres
sure m ay be given t o the bl an k as it enters between t he dies .

A t the starting end of die C t here is a short bl ank space which

is cut downlevel with the bottomof the grooves in the rest of
t h e die face . Thi s space provides room for inserting a bl ank
an d en s an
abl e other b lank t o be placed in position as soon as

Fig . 6 . Plan V h
iew of T r ead-rolli ng Dies

t rt er E has withdrawn far enough without danger of the second

s a

blank being dragged in by the m

,

oving die before the latter is in

positiont o receive it It is essential t o have the di es properly
locat ed relative t o each other and the ac tion of the starter m
.

ust
also be t im
,

ed so tha t the blank is pu shed forward at the right

in stan t
Adjust m t or Tim
.

en ing of Blank S tart er The blank starter

ont h e M anvi lle ma chin es is set by first p lacing the m
.

oving slide
at t h e ex trem e end of its stroke towards the right and then
m ov in g it forward about one eighth inch The starting camis
- .

t henset onit s highes t point and the start er is adjusted endwi se

un t il it s end is inlin e with t he ends of the threads on the station
ary die . A ft er t hes e approxim ate adju st ments have been m ade ,
2 90 TH R EA D-C UTT ING M ETHOD S

a blank is insert ed in frontof t he st art er and the m ac hine is

turn ed far enough to revolve the blank forward about half a

revolution The machine is th en turned backward and the
.

blank removed t o see if t he thread rolled by one die coincides

with those rolled by the other die If the thread grooves do not
match properly the position of the starting camis changed so
.

that it acts either earlier or later thu s forcing the blank be

,

tween the dies when the latter are in the correct positionrelative
to each other A nother met hod of rem
. edying this trouble is
by slightly raising or lowering one of the dies .

M 1
an
. Plan
ock-
View s o
ofl S prin
wing R elat ionh et ween Th read -b
t o ing u n m
d l n g which ej oc t e Th readed Blan k et End of

Eject or of -
Thread rolling M achi ne
Bolt s or screws some
tim
.

es stick to the m ovable die after the thread is rolled In

order to prevent a screw from being caught bet ween the dimon
.

t h e return stroke the simple formof knock OH or ejector shown

,
-

in Fig 7 is used A flat spring having a bent end is attached to

. .

the frame of the machine in such a position that the screw forces
the spring back while it is still bet ween both dies and is firm ly
held When the spring returns to it s norm al position it pu shes
the blank forward and away fro mthe m
.
,

ovable die so that it

cannot be caught between the dies at the beginning of the re
turn stroke Thi s knock off is located at F on the machine
.
-
2 93 THREA D-C U TT I NG METHO DS

mhec a nis mwhi h i c s so arranged t hat t he blanks to be t h readed

mean s
. A machine made by the Waterbury Farrel Foundry 8:
M achine C o which is equipped with an automatic feeding
.
,

mechanism is illustrated in Fig 8 The entire feeding mecha

nism is mounted upon a hinged or pivoted mem
. .
,

ber so that it can

be swung to one side as illustrated by Fig 9 in case it is dm f .
,

M ech aai m
able to feed the machine by hand For instance if only a few .
,

thousand screws or bolts of given size were required t he

feed would doubtless be preferred t o the autom
,

an c fed t
cause the latter requires more or less adjustment for e ,

,
s

it t o work of a difl erent size '

A large number of the blanks to be t hru ded are placed in

hopper A Fig 9 and extending vertically through this ji; as
.
,
_

there is a blade B This blade is pivoted at the inner

.
iro m a roller C at tached t o the gear E . A ml l t
v erti so n
or ope
ing nds alon
ext e g t he upper edg e o f t h e blade and t his slot is a
lit tle wider t han t he diam et er of t he screw blan k bodies ; con

h md
s . When the blade reaches the top of its stroke it remam ,

M y . t u mu n m
mu mW
od

o
fl
sy
of l
t o per
s ch ino
mit
sh ow

d l
n ln M
ndlu
BN

t tionary
s a a short time and as the upper edge is inclined
for ,

r;
the blanks which were caught slide down to the
1m en d of the blade and t hen pass into the chute D which
leads down to t be dics when t he m echan ismis in t h e feedin
m
g
aiden The plate F attached t o the oscillating blade or
muter board of the hopper has a circular section which is
.

“ -

with the path of roller C and provides the dwell of

the blade at the top of the stroke The blade remains station .

ary long enough for all the blanks t o slide down into t he chute .

NW the point where the blank s leave the blade there is a ,

2 94 THR EAD CUT TIN G
— M ET HODS

rapidly revolving toothed wheel which is so loca ted and formed

that any blank s which are not suspended by the heads and in
the proper position are dislodged and thrown back into the

B mp mnt M echanis
C ut - mt Low“ End of Food
mDi
Fig . 3 0. o e or cc a

ch ut e l'eedlng Bh nke On
‘
for e et e lh o ei

hopper In this way the entrance t o the chu t e is kept clear

.
,

and clogging prevented

One of the interesting features of this m
.

is the s

escapem ent at the lower end of the chute which autom atically
feeds one blank at a time to the dies A t the lower end of the .
29 6 mm mm M -c c ETHO D S
ously mentioned In some cases it may also be nec essary to
.
,

alter the end of cut ofi finger A Fig 10 as for example when

-
,
.
, , ,

t he b lanks have countersunk or oval h eads For instance in .

,

the case of a countersunk head the edge of finger A would be ,

provided with a groov e for engaging the blank heads in order

to prevent any tilting action The chute 6 leading fromthe
,

hopper to the dies is adjusted in accordance with the di ameter

of the work and the pick up blade in the hopper has a rem
,
- ov

able top which can be replaced if necess ary A given width of .

M n
. S ide Vlev ot A ut omfi e c l'sedlng M eeh enh m ppm
ed t o

slot can be used for a lim ited range of blank diam eters without
change The autom atic feeding m echanismof a machine in
tended for com
.

paratively light blanks is equipped wi t h what is

"
known as a vibrator This vibrator consists of a rotating shaft
.

carrying pin s inserted in a flange and arranged to st rfi e fixed

pins thus cau sing a rapid succession of light blows This
vibrator is to prevent the blank s fromsticking in the feed
.
,

chute as they sometimes tend to do when very light and a pe

, ,

cia lly if covered with oil

The au t o m atic feeding m echanismof a t hread rolling w hine

.

made by the E J M anvill e M ac hine C o is sh own in Fig 1 1

. . . . .
 mm nu m
a o c 297

The slotted blade which oscillates through the center of the

hepper nd its operat ing
a mh ec anis mi s clearly show n in t his
illustration Th e lower edge of t his the blade A is bolt ed t o
m m
.

swin in
g g ar B wh i ch deriv es it s motion fro the crank -
pinroller
C attached to g ear D This bl ade has a pom
. fiv e upward and

The blade is shown at the upper end of it s stroke the roller ,

bein g in contact with the circular concentric surface of the

swinging arm Thi s m echanism like t he one previously de
.
,

scribed is so arranged t hat the de

, s cending row of blank s is

held back by a cut off device unti l at the proper ins tant the
-

lowes t blank is separated fromthe others and forced outward

, ,

in front of the pusher slide which then starts it between the

stationary and m oving dies In conjunctionwith this feeding
mechanism there is also a simple m
.

, echanical dev ice which

aut cnna t ically throws back into the hopper all blanks that are
not hanging in the right position as they pass into t he inclined
tracks leading to the dies .

Feeding M echanism for H eadle ss Blanks —

The thread
rolling machine illustrated in F ig 1 2 has a m
.

agaz ine feeding

attachm
.

ent that is design ed for feeding automatically head

less blank s which m ay require a screw thread on one end both ,

ends or a thread extending the entire length The blank s are

placed horizontally in the m
.
,

agazine or hopper by the operator

A t the lower end of the incline in the m
.

agazine hopper there

is an agitator arranged to pr event the blanks frombec om
,

ing
clogged The lower blank at the end of the incline is trans
ferred to the dies or starting position by an oscillating segm
.

ent
which as each successive blank is transferred changes it fro m
,

a horizontal t o a vertical position This segm

, ,

ent has a notch

.

that receives the lower blank which is in a horizontal position

when it leaves the m agazine The blank is then placed in a
.

vertical position after which it drops by gravity from the seg

ment and in front of the starting slide plate The position of .

t he blank relative to the dies is controlled by an adju stable

depth gage and at the proper tim
. e it is pu shed forward and
gripped by the m
, , ,

oving die and is then rolled through the die in

2 98 —
T HR E AD CU TT IN G M ETHODS

the usual manner The turning of the segm ent for changing
.

the position of the blank from horizontal to vertical is effected

'

by a spring and the ret urn movement is positive being derived

m m Thi ng mnt i t m
, ,

iro a ca id ny d g t t
s arrah e e s o avo a a a e o e

m hin in m l dg d p tly int h g

.

bl nk h uld b
ment and p rtly in the mag zine The notch in the m t
ac e case a a s o eco e o e ar e se

a a . se

which rece ves the blank has a spring finger so

i
that ,

when t he segment swings the blank to a vertical n if th e

m
o

bl ank should fail t o drop out of the se mt or drop only part

Fig 13 Mach ine provided wit h M aurin e eedin

g F
m
. .

defi n
ed for Han dling S t uds or H endl M

way no damage can occur to the

,
machine or to the feeding

This des ign of m agazine feed is adapted es pecially for <5

ing parts such as are found in harves ter machinery

form
,

s of special bolts turnbuckle screws skate

my h eth
, ,

One nd
e of a piece a ave a rig h t ha
- nd t hread and t h o fl

nd a left hand thread but whenever threads are rolled L

-

m
e , , , tt

taneously on both ends of the blanks the di and

must be the same A few examples showing in a genera l
,

.
, y ,

the kind of work for which this thread rolling mac hine s
-

used are illustrated in Fig 1 3 The part illustrat w at A . .

 —
THREAD CUTTING M ETHO DS
3 0 0

rolling except ionally long threads have

‘

one or two tie rods ex

-

t ending across t he fra e a bove t he dies m to t ake part of t he

strain when threads are being rolled The machine illus trated .

in Fig 1 2 is provided with one of t hese tie rods This rein

.
- .

forcement prevents the dies from springing apart when rolling

exceptionally long threads and insures accurate work A tie
s not interfere with the operation of an auto m
.

rod doe atic mag

although the work m ust not project above t he dies far enough
to strike the tie rod ~
.

The length of the rolled thread within the

machine m ay be regulated in three general

“ 1 4. Two Fo m s ef S t ope for Reculefi ng Leneth ot

Rolled rh read
‘

placing the end of the blank against som e form of stop which is
located below the top of the dies a distance equal to the length
of thread to be rolled ; second by suspending t he blanks for
,

screws bolts etc

, , from the heads ; and third by cutting away
.
, , ,

the ridges or threads on the dies down to a point from the

“ ”

t op equal t o the length of the unthreaded sect ion Wha t a .

thread rolling m
-
achine is fed by hand the lower end of each ,

blank ordinarily is placed again st som e form of stop except ,

w hen a t h read is required close up t o t h e head , in which case

the under side of the head serves as a stop and drops down to
the level of the dies A stop m ay be in the form of an ad just
.

able depth gage as indicated at A Fig 1 4 or the vertical posi

tion of the blank relative to t he dies m
.
, ,

ay be controlled by a
 T HREA D ROLLING 3 0 1

projecting end or shoulder on the starter or pu h s -fin e

g ,
r as illus
t rat ed at B . Th e lat ter has t he disadvant age of not being

Wi th a machine of the design shown in Fig 8 w h ich has an

autom
.
,

atic feed the lengt h of the thread is adjusted as previ

sly m entioned by sim
, ,

ou ply raising or lowering the entire feed

mh mby m n mt h
,

ing ec a nis ea s of a si ngle screw . This e od ot

regulating the length is possible because the blanks are sus

pended by the heads until caught between the dies except ,

when the lower end of the mechanism is changed for rol ling a
t h read close up t o t he head , in w hich case t he blank is push ed
down to the level of the dies .

Pig . rs. Pus -fin h

g ers or S t art ers t or T hread-rolling Machines

Sh ape nd Locat ion

a r of Blank S tar
The blank starter te s . —

or push huger of a thread ro llin

- - gm achine is usually in the form
of a rectangular plate having a vert ical edge which co m es into
contact with the body of the blank and p ushes it sq uarely be
tw een the dies at the proper tim e A sim ple formof push .

huger is illus trated at A Fig 1 5 The width of this starter

,
. .

sh ould be a little less than the space betw een the dies It is .

essential to use a sta rter which tend s to hold the blanks square

or perpendicular t o the line of travel of the m ovable die One

that is not properly form ed or located relative to the blank m
.

ay

by acting against one end tilt the blank froma vertical position
,

.
,

If a comparatively short thread is t o be rolled and the blank

extends considerably above the dies an ofiset starter m ay be .

required ( see sketch B) t o secure greater contact along the blank

body .
3 0 2 i m m mm M
a -c o a ET HOD S
In m
so a plain vertical edge on the st arter is not
e caso
s

t and it is nec essa ry to make a special form A n ex

,

sufi ci en ,
.

ample is illu strated at C In t his case the blank is very sh ort

.
, ,

and as a space is required to clear the guid e plate of t h e auto

matic feeding m echanism the starter is m
,

ade with an upper

,

section or extens ion which bears again st the oval head of the

blank as t he illust ration indicates By supporting the blank at

.

bo t h ends it can be pushed forward without tilting it The

,
.

W M d m
M W M m
exact shape and position of these special starters depew upon
the length of the blank and the shape of the head .

-
S i de f eed Ty pe of Th read rolling M achin
- e The design of .

thread rolling machine shown in Fig 1 6 is intended especially

-

for rolling threads on the ends of co m

.

paratively long sla n

der
parts such as wire rods the spokes of wire wheels and other
, , ,

similar classe s of work which cannot be han dled t o advantage

in a machine in which the work is held vertically while the
thr ead is being ro lled With the side feed type of ma chine
.
-
,

the work is rolled while in a horizontal position so that long

slender parts can be operated upon without difi cult y When .
3 4
0 THR EAD CUTTIN G
- M ETHODS

which are also in a vertical position last longer than horizontal

dies because the scale and foreign matter are m
,

,
ore readily
washed away by the lubricant which continually fl oods the
,

di es The front and side elevations of the machine shown in

.

Fig 1 8 illustrate the arrangement of the difl erent parts The

'

sta tionary die is located at A and is provided with adjus tm

. .

ents
at the side and back The reciprocating slide whi ch carri es the
.

h
s own in m . r1

moving die 8 is operated

by a yoke C connecting with the crank
sh aft of the machin e Thi s yoke is pi voted at D and engages
block E m motion of
.

ounted on the crankpin The .

yoke C which connect s with the reciprocating slide by rod F

, ,

gives a slow downward stroke to the die and a quick return

movem ent .

The blank upon which a thread is to be rolled is in serted hori

z ont ally in a gap between the die
s at the t op and against the end

of a gage G at the rw Then the starter H which deriv m

.
,
 T HREAD ROLLING 3 5
0

pushes the blank

moment after which the down
,

causes t he blank to roll between

it drops out at the lower end wi th a complete
on it In order to reduce friction and wear to a
.

movable slide is backed by a train of hardened

The frame carrying these rollers is moved up

operator or the m achine

the res ult of som e accident the flywheel would
,

ct ionflanges and th us di ssipate it s exc ess energy

so as to avoid dam aging parts of the m achine A lubricating .

p uni p P connecting with the oil reservoir Q keep s the di es flooded

continually with oil thu s rem
,
oving scale and dirt fro mthe
grooves in the die faces .

Rot ary Th rea d rolling M ach inc

- The rotary thread rolling
.
-

machine made by the A cm e M achinery C o C leveland O hio

difl ers radically init s design fromthe types previously described
.
, , ,

Thi s rotary m
.

ach ine which is illus trated inFig 1 9 is so called

,
.
,

because one of the dies rev olves cont inously in one direction
die is cylindrical form i ng a com
.

plete circle
segm
, ,

ent

shaped die rem ain s stationary The part upon which a thread
.

is bein g ro lled passes between the revolving die and the fixed die
The adjus tm
.

ent of the di stance betw een the two dies for secur
ing diameter variations is regulated by m ean s of t he handwheels
shown . The segm ent shaped die is carried by a heavy casting
-

that is ecc entric to t he shaft By loosening one of the hand

wheels and tightening the other the segm
.

ental die is advanced

toward or wi t hdrawn fromthe circular die The bolt or other
,

part to be t hreaded is placed in a holder and the operator by

moving a handle m
, ,

,
oves the work forward to a point w here it is
30 6 THR EAD CUT TING M ETHO DS
—

caught between the dies Just as soon

. as the thread ro lling
-

operation begins the carriage or holder

,
drops back into the

blank between the dies for each revolution .

A number of advan t ages are claimed for t he rotary type of

machine In the firs t place the bolt or rod is fed into t h e
.
,

machine while in a horizontal position so that long rods such as

,

required for car trusses bridges etc canbe t hru ded with
this m achine O ther advantages claim ed by the m
, , .
,

anufacturer
are as follows : T he m
.

assive com pact co nstruction adapts the

machine for rolling larger sizes than has generally bew
sidered possible heretofore

able beca use it has a rotary m

The machine is e
. t ionally dm

otion cons tantly in one direc u ion

m ~

and for t hat reason runs m

.

uch easier and will las t longer than

a m
, ,

achine having a reciprocating motion The circula r die

are m ore durable than straight or fla t dies because whma nu
.

,
30 8 THR EAD CUTT IN G METHODS
-

A n interestin t
g ype of t hread rolli
- n
g m hin md
ac e, a e by
t he

inFig The rated capacit y of t his m

so achin e is fi inch The
im
. . .

pot feature of the design is th at the die faces are located

at right angles to the chute of the autom atic feeding mechanism ,

so t ha t t he blanks e nt er betweent he M at the lower end wit h

out changing fromthe inclined position in which they lie in the
feed chute t o a vertical position Wi th the ordinary arrange
- .

ve r ti ca l po s i ti o n after
leaving the feed -chute ,

because the die face are

vertical instead of being
inclined By locating the
.

dies in the inclined posi

tion short and v ery small
blanks m
,

ay be fed au t o

matically and it is not

,

necessary to use a sepa

rator or cut O H blade at
-

the foot of t he chute thus

m m
,

. so.

dad o cd mV
M achine at Reci procat in
ery S mll wm
g T’”
a wn T
he h Iii 3
y g
; e -

in the hopper is provided with a groo ve or channel alo t

top instead of a slot for handling the short blanks

Time required for Rolling S crew Threads The time re .

quired for rolling screw thread s or the rate of production

greatly for m achines of difl erent sizes For instance the m a .
,

chine shown in Fig 20 which has a rated capacity of 1 , inch is

1

capable of threading screws at the rate of 1 2 5 per m

.
, ,

inute w » ,

m hin f t h m mk will ll t h M nnb t

inch
u
-

m
as a I ac e o e sa e a e ro r o o

3° piec p m u
es In general
er w y the e fig u a a s res

app oximately the m

.

r aximum and minimum rat f pr ! es o a

for thread rolling machines the rate of production ,

s

the size of the machine decreases For instance a .

,
“

z
 TH R EAD ROLLI NG o
g g

n
chi e my a roll 7 o or SO § inch
screw t hreads per inute; m a -

machine 4 5 or 50 per minute ; and a {inch machine ,

about 35
per m
,

inute A comparison of these figures with the rates of

.

production attained by other methods of forming screw threads

will indicate the superiority Of the thread rolling machine for
-

principal advantage of the thread rolling process is that it is the

-

most rapid and economical method of forming screw threads ,

assuming that the work is suitable for a thread rolling machine

-

Thread rolling m
.

- achines are used very extensively for thread

ing m achine screws and various forms of special screws track
m
,

bolts and bolts for nu erous other purposes wood screws lag-
, ,

screws slender wires in a great variety of lengths and size

,
s te

quiring long or short threads and in general almost all small

and m ediumsized screws and bolts whi ch are required in quan
, ,

tities large enough t o warrant the use of a thread rolling m

- a

chine Aside from the speed or efficiency of the thread rolling -

process one of the im portant advantages claim

.

ed for rolled
screw thread s is their strength as com pared with threads form
,

ed
by cutting Extensive experim
. ents conducted at one of the
leading univ ersities showed that t he average rolled thr ead tested
had an elastic lim it I 3 per cent higher than t he elas tic lim it of a
cut thread of corresponding size and m aterial The following
explanation of the com
.

parative efl ect s of the rolling and cutting

processes on the elas ti c lim it and ultim ate tensile strengt h of
screw threads is given by the E J M anville M achine C o
. . .

“
In rolled or drawn round stock the fiber or grain of the ,

steel is usually parallel with it s axis it s weakes t section being at,

the center of t he rod The outside section of cold rolled or

.
-

drawn steel acts as a cover for the inner fibers and preserves the
strain developed during the process of dra wing or rolling to size .

To cut into this wall or outsid e covering it is apparent that the

strain within is so m
,

ew hat released by cutting the threads which ,

tends to sever the fibers ; therefore the threaded part of a piece ,

of drawn or rolled steel is of low er ten sile strength than the un

threaded portion In rolling th read s on the sam

. em aterial the ,
3 m m a n
-c mn c M ETHODS
blank is subjected to very sev ere treatment in the operation of
cold forging which produces a weaving or crimping of t he
,

fibers within thus adding strength and toughness to the ma

,

terial It is therefore evident in a comparative tes t of t wo

.
, ,

threaded pieces of the same size and material that the rolled
thread blank is invariably of higher tensile strength than the
cut thread .
”

Fig . 3 3. M iscellaneous Exa mpl es of hreads

Rolled S crew T

Ano t her advantage of the rolling proces s which m a y be of sen e

siderable im portance in som e cases is that no stock is was ted as

when a thread 1s cut because a blank sm aller mdiameter
the required screw thread is used when th e thread is form by
,

m
rolling The surface of a rolled thread is also harder thmt he
m
.

surface of a cut thread e s pecially if t he on ter rt of t he s u ‘

has a scale which is rolled into the thread thus makin g t he sur ,
e

face harder and better able to withsta nd wear .

3 12 m -
a e n m s M TH E ODS
case
s it is nece
s sary t o mk a e the body of t he screw full s zei be
tween t h e head nd t he th readed port ion The for of blank
a m
m m
.

sh ow na t D ay be used t o secure a body having t h e sa e out

side diameter the screw thread A m
as odification of blank D .

is shownat E and t he t hreaded screw at F

, In t his case there .
,

is simply a short bearing surface beneath the head which is full

mt m
,

siz e or as large in dia e er as t he t hreaded part Whil e a a

m bt
.

n
chi e screw of t his kind is inferior t o t he for o n
ai ed wit h
blank D for general use it may be satisfactory in some casa
,

and has the advantage of being easier to p roduce in the header

r t h rm
.

S t ock for Thread Ro llin g

— The s tock suitable fo d
rolling is soft steel and may contain fromabout
.

to per
cent of carbon Iron of ordinary quality is not adapted to t he
.

thread rolli ng proces s because of its fibrous structure which

-
, ,

makes it liable to split or fracture as the res ult of the press ure
due to thread rolling A ccording to the E J M anville M achine
. . .

Co a liquor finished soft steel wire is the stock to use for

-

obtaining the bes t results with a m inimumof wear on both the

.
,

header and the thread rolling dies A good grade of annealed

- .

and cleaned wire is recommended if the liquor finish ed wire can

-

not be obtained The stock recom mended by the Waterbury

Farrel Foundry M achine Co is of the following com
.

. position :
C arbon from ,
to per cent ; manganese from to ,

p er cent ; pho sphoru s from t o per cent ; and su l

phur from per cent This m
,

,
to aterial has a -tensile
.

strength of about pounds per square inch .

M aking Flat Thr ea d rolling D ies

- — The grooves in the roll
ing faces of flat dies m
.

ay ei ther be planed or milled A simple

method is to plane one groove at a time in a shaper The
.

tool used should be shaped on the cutting end to conf orm

.

to the cross sec tional shape of groove requi red t he dis

- '

tance betw een the grooves is m ade equal t o the pi tch of the
thread While t he dies can be m ade in t his way it is prefer

able to m ill the grooves by using a milling m

.
,

achine equipped
with a m ultiple cutter The fo rmof cutter or hob com “ ”

mouly used has teeth which are re liev ed like a formmilling

.

cutter and are not helica l like the teeth of a tap but are an ,
 THREAD ROLLING 3 3
1

ranged inannular parallel rows t ha t are perpendicular to t he

or

cutt er axis When t he parallel grooves are being m

. i lled in the
face of a die the latt er must be inclined rela t ive to the cutter so
, ,

t hat t he an gle a Fig 23 of the groove will correspond to the

helix angle of t he screw thread at t he pitch diam
, .
,

eter The .

tangent of t his angle equals the pitch Of the t hread divided by

t he circum ference of t he blank t o be thread ed which corresponds
approxim ately t o the pitch circum
,

ference of the screw .

Fig 23 Plan Vi ew illust rat ing h ow T eet h of Fl

at T h ng
r ea d -rolli

mill
. .

D ies ar e ed

The angle m ay a lso be d eterm ined without cal cul a tion in t h e

following m anner : M ultiply t h e circum ference of t h e bl ank t o
be threaded by any nu m ber tha t will gi v e a produc t eq ua l t o
approxim ately three tim es t h e length o f t h e die a nd la y o ff this ,

distance x F ig 2 3 along t he edge of a parallel st rip or pl a te

ped in the m
.
, ,

which is clam achine vise T h e out li ne of this pa r .

allel st rip is i ndicated by t h e d otted lines in t he illu stration

ultipli ed by t h e sam
.

Th e pitch of t h e thread is next m e n um ber

previously used t o O btai ndimension r and a di m en si on y eq ua l
.
,

t o the produ c t is laid off at right a ngl es t o the parall el strip A .

 x
3 4 THR EA CUT TIN G
D — M ET HODS

diagonal line co nnecting th e points located in this way will rep

rese nt t be ngle
a a t o w hich t be milling m hin ac e v ise sh ould

be set traversing the diagonal line pas t the sharp end O f a

By
pointer clamped t o the cutter arbor the angular adjustment
.

may easily be ma de The reason for increasing dimensions x

,

and y as previously explain d e is t o reduce by one third any

-

error O f the angle If t he die is wider than t he cutter the entire

ay be m i lled by sim
,

face O f the die m

.

ply taking two cuts across it

Wh enthe die is milled int his way it is very essentia l aft er tak
.

ing one cut across the die face to accurately match the milling
c utt er with the grooves previous ly m achined .

The teeth of dies used for rolling U 5 standard threads V

threads or Whitw orth threads have a u niformcross sectional
. .
,

shape fro mone end of the die to the other with t he possib le
,

exception O f a short length near the ends which Is relieved This .

relief 15 provided at the end s so that the wo rk will roll off of the
die without being m a rked by the corner The teeth O f di es in
tended for rolling square thread s or those Of special form such
.

as are found on large scre w s are no t of uniform cro sectional

ss-

shape but are m

,

ade V shaped at t he starting end so that the

-

form
,

ation O f the thread groove is gradual If dies for rolling

threads O f the classes referred to w ere m ade with teeth of uniform
.

section throughout their length t h e flat tops of the teeth wo uld

tend t o com press t h e m

,

etal in w ard ina radial di rection ins tead

of displacing it t o forma thread an

,

d the blank would be elon ,

gated by the rolling process .

The accur acy of a rolled thr ead depends very largely upon
the accura cy O f the die and the cross sectional shape of it s teeth
-

The included angle O f th ese teeth is one of t he mentid points

.

This angle should be som m

.

ewhat less than the cluded angle of

the thread to be rolled For instance dies for rolling U 3
.
,
. .

stan dard threads should have teeth with an included angle of

about 5 8} degrees ins tead of 60 degrees in order to prod uce a ,

(So degree rolled t hread

- This reduced angle is necessary on
.

account of the elasti city in th e stock the effect of which is to ,

cause the lower part of a rolled thread t o spring back slightly

after leaving the die th us increasing t he angle so that it is I or I }
,
3 1 6 THR EAD CUT TING
— M ETHODS

is applied as shown at C it gradually comes into contac t with

the periphery of the work and com
,

pletes the thread as it paw

across the blank surface in the direction indicated by t he arrow .

When the roll is present ed int his way the th read ed piece should ,

be cut ofi fromt h e bar of st ock before t he roll is ret urned to its

startin g position t o prevent injury to the finished thread This
is done by simply m
,
.

"
ounting a cutting oil tool on the crosss lide
-

in such a position that it sav ers th e finished piece after the

t hread is ro lled The camoperating the cross slide is arranged
—

t o quickly m
.

ove the roll in ward until it is nearly in con tact

with the urface of the blank ; the cro slide and roll are then
s ss-

given a slow feeding m ovem ent u sually varying from about

to inch per revolution of the work w hile the roll is
moving a distance x fromthe point of contact t o the c en tral
,

position The roll is then m

. oved rapidly past the work in order
to bring the cutting O il tool into position
- .

When the roll is in a radial position as illus trated at D it , ,

is simply forced against one side of the work until a complete

thread is form ed the roll and work rotating toge t her the same
as t wo gears in m esh S om
,

e roll holders instead of being held

-

rigidly are ca rried by a swinging armwhich receives its m

.
,

otion
fromso m e formof cam The exact m
,

ethod of applying the roll

to the work and of holding it in position m to som
.

ay depend e ,

extent upon the relation between the thread rolling operation -

and other m
,

achining operatio ns
Th e diam
.

D iame t er of Threa ding Roll eter of t he threading

ay be about the sam
.

ro ll m e as the diameter of the screw thread

it is intended t o roll or so m em
,
ultiple of t he screw thread diam
eter If the thread t o be rolled is larger in diameter than say
m m
.
, ,

1 inch a roll a y be u sed w hich is approxi at ely equal to the

diam
,

eter of the w ork but if the required screw t hread is much

i inch in diam eter the ro ll m ay be m
,

les s than } ade twice as large

or som e m ultiple of the screw diam
, ,

eter When the roll and the

screw thr ead are of about the sam e diam
.

eter th ey are practically

alik e so far as the pitch and diam

,

eter of the thread are con

cerned For ins tance the roll fo a i inch screw thread might
r -

also be f inch m inus a slight am

.
,

,
ount in order to O btain a be tter
,
 THR EAD ROLLING 3 17

rolling action as explained later If the screw thread to be

rolled were Q inch in diameter the roll m
.
,

ight be two or th ree ,

times as large .

Wha tever the relation between the size of the screw thread
and t he mll it is essent ial t o use a
,
roll having th reads t ha t mh es

with or follow t he threads on the work as the t wo revolve to

gether This m ean
. s t h at t he roll t h read m ust h a ve the sam e

pitch as the screw thread and about the same helix angle Now .

when the threads on the roll and work are practically duplicates
as to diameter the roll for a i inch single screw thread would
-
,

also have a single thread as shown at A Fig 2 5 If the roll

, , . .

is twice as large as the screw it cannot have a single thread

because for a given pitch any increase O f the roll diam
, ,

, ,
eter
red uces the angle betw een the thread and a plane perpen
dicular t o the axis ; therefore if the diam eter of the roll is m
,
ade
t wic e as large as t h e screw thr ead it is n ec essary t o use a roll ,

having a double thread as illus trated at B instead O f a single

thread The pi tch of the double thread rem ain s the sam
, ,

. e but ,

since t h e lead equal s twice the pitch the helix angle of the
thread is the sam e as for a single thread Of one half t he diam
,

eter
'

If a roll three tim

.

es the size of the screw thread were used it ,

would require a triple thread and so on

If it is assumed that a roll is u sed having the sam
.
,

e diam eter

as the thread aft er rolling it will rotate at a slower rate than the
,

work at the beginning of the rolling operation beca use t he roll ,

is larger than the unthrea ded screw blank and is driven by t he

blank A s the roll sink s into the blank it s speed gradually
.
,

increases un til under ideal conditions the speed is practica lly

the sam
, ,

e as that O f the thread being rolled It has been found .

in practice that better res ults are obtained when a roll is u sed
that is slightly sm aller in diam eter than the diam eter of the
screw th read to be rolled For in s t ance if the work has a i inch
.
-
,

U S standard thread a single t hreaded roll u sed for this opera

-

tion might have a diam

. .
,

eter of say inch instead O f

, ,

inch If a la rger roll having a double thread were used it s

diam
.
,

eter would eq ual 2 x inch ins tea d of

3 1 8 THR EA -
D C UTTIN G M ET HO DS

The reason for decreasing the diameter of the roll will be

m ore appare nt by n
co sideri ng t he act io n of t h e roll a nd screw

thread when a thread is being formed A s previously m en .

t ioned the roll rota tes at a slower speed than the screw blank
, ,

especially when the rolling operation begins because the out ,

side diameter of the roll is in contact with the plain blank which

is about as large as the pitch diameter of the screw A s the

rolling of the thread progresses the roll speed m
.

ight increase ,

until it was practically t he same as the work speed but ,

Fig (A) T hreading Ronand S crew rh

’
md f pp mt d y
m Dh mm ( B) Th u ding
2 3. o c roxl

ll nmly l wi
.

t ho S e o r ko
‘ ‘
oe u w co
in Dl mt
.

u Saw Th u d
e er cre r

account of frictional resistance bet the roll and it s hold er ,

the natural tendency is for the ro ll to lag behind the screw

thread Now any retardation of the ro ll causes an increase of
frictional resis tance and the final result m
.

ay be that the ro ll

speed decreases to such an extent that it no longer m eshes with

the screw thread properly and consequently the th read is , ,

marred or spoiled .

The action between the roll and the screw thread will be more
appa rent by referring to Fig 2 5 When t he roll lags beh ind. .
,

the more rapidly revolving work acting as a screw forces the , ,

roll over agains t the sid e o f the holder as indicated by arrow ,

3 2 0 THR EAD CUTTIN G
- mum ps

matic s crew machines Rule: mine t h

D eter e pitch diameter
nd d du t f mit
.

of t h e t h read t o be rolled a e c ro -n
o e sixt h of t he
double depth of t he thread then use the cons tant thus obta ined
'

as a m ultiple for det erm imng the pi t ch diam eter of t he thread

ro ll Ordinarily the roll w ould be two three or four times the
diam
.
, , ,

eter of the screw thread and have either a double triple , ,

or quadru p le thread in order t o se

,cure t h e ro
p p er t hread helix

angle E xpressing the preceding rule as a formula :

.

P a
M D
( g)
inw hich
P pitch diam eter of thread roll ;
M multiple selected with reference to approximate
diam eter of roll desired ( This number also .

equals the number of threads on the rol l ) ;

D pitch diam eter of scre w thread ;
T double depth of thread .

of Threa d onRoll
Kind T he t hread (0 r threads) on the roll
.
—

should be left hand for rolli n

- g a right hand thread and nice verso
-

m
, ,

so t ha t t h e t hread ont he roll a nd work will incline in t h e sa e

direction at the point of contact The roll should also be wide .

enough to overlap the section to be thread ed provided the ,

latter is necked or turned down at the ends to p rovide a

clearance space w hich should be done if possib le The thread
,
.

on the roll should be sharp on the top for rolling U S standard

md
. .

t hreads as well as V t
- h reads 1f t he roll t hread is a e fiat ,
blunt edge will require t oo m
.

t he uch pressure to force it in to

the m etal and wi ll not produce as smooth a thread While a
roll m
.

ade in this way will not form a correct U S standard

t hread t h e fact t ha t t he t hrea d ha s a sha rp bot t m
. .

n inst ead of
the standard flat formm ay be of little im
, ,

portance as compared
with the advan ta ges of the rolling proces s The bottomof the
,

thread groove on the roll m a y also be left sharp or it m

.

a y have a

flat som e rolls being m ade one way and so e the other If the m
thread groove is sharp in the bottom the roll is only sunk far
.
,

m m
,

en ou gh int o t h e blank t o for a t h read ha v ing a fl a t t op S o e .

 TH R EAD RO LL IN G 3 2 :

contend that it is preferable to have a flat at the bottomof the

t hreading roll groov e inorder t o roll down t he t op of t he t hread
and thus obtain a smoother edge or surface .

The ends of the roll sh ould be beveled to an angle of about

45 degree s so t h a t t he t hrea d or t h rea ds w ill not chip or break
out when rolling a t hread Incidenta lly the thread s on roll s
are usually finished by lapping after hardening in order to m
.
,

ake
them sm ooth As the roll is sim
. ply dri ven by frictional contact
wi th the work it is essential to reduce the frictional resis tance of
,

the roll holder as far as possible The pin upon which the roll
~
.

revolves should be only slightly larger than is neces sary t o re

duce the shearing strain when rolling a thread For ins tance
a f inch hole in a thread roll 1 inch in diam eter m
.
,

ight cause
considerable trouble owing t o the frictional resis tance where
as a hole 2 inch in diam
, ,

, eter might prevent trouble resulting

from lagging or retardation of the roll .

M ng l h reads by k ollin The rolli ng procees has been

‘ ‘
ah l g .
—

applied to the manufacture of taps for finishing tap threads ,

although this method has not proved sati sfactory for all classes
of wo rk The tap thread is first cut to approxi m
. ately the re
q uired sha e an
p d siz e and then t he t ap is passed be t w een r ollers

which com press the m etal and give the thread the correct form .

The advantage claimed for this finish rolling process is that

it increases the density and hardness of t he thread with the ,

result that a ro lled tap will resis t w ear con siderably better

than a tap which is finished by a cutting tool Som e contend .

that small taps having rolled threads are five tim es as durable
as those wi th cut threads A design of t h read rollin g tool that ’

has been us ed in connection with tap m

.

anufacture has three

'

rollers located 1 20 d egrees apart The annular ridges on these .

rollers are perpendicular to the axi s and not helical like a thread
The rollers are m ounted in the sam
.
,

e plane but the ridges on ,

successive ro llers are located one third the pitch in advance so

-
,

that they will engage the thread t o be rolled .

 C HAP TER X III

C UTTIN G A ND G RIND IN G P RE C IS IO N S CRE W TH READ S

M AKIN G precision screws is one of the most diffi cult opera

tions connected with the production of fine tools ins trum ents
or m achines for which such screws m
, ,

ay be required The extent.

of the difficulty depends of course largely upon the degree of

, ,

precision necessary The production of a screw thread which

must be extremely accurate requires great care and the use of
.

the right kind of tools or m a c hines owing to the helical curva

ture of the thread and the necessity of m
,

aintaining as far as
possible a true helix as well as a thread of uniformshape and
,

The m ost im
,

size thr oughout its length . portant errors t o guard

agains t are those aff ecting t he lead or pitch of the thread This .

is due to the fact t ha t any error int h e pit ch of a screw requires a

reduction of pitch diameter equal t o nearly twice this error in
order t hat the screw m ut the sam
,

ay operate in a n e as a screw
which is accurate both as t o pitch and diam eter .

P eri o dic an d Progr essive E rrors in S crew Threads — Tbe

errors in a screw thread m
.

ay eith er be periodic or poogressiv e .

A
“
drunk en thread is an example of a periodic error as the
”

inaccuracy occurs in every turn of the thread whereas cumula »

tive inaccuracy in the lead illustrates what is m

,

eant by progres
sive error . S ince it is im possible to produce a perfect and
absolutely accurate screw thread the periodic and progressive
errors are al w ay s com bined m
,

ore or less and variable local

erro rs a re the result The term
,

. s periodic and progressive ”

,

however serve to indicate the kind of error that is most appa r

ent These errors m
,

. ay be due to a variety of ca use s but as a , ,

g eneral rule a
, periodic error is deve loped w hile cutt ing a thread
either by a slight eccentricity of t he lathe spindle or as the re
sult of a lack of u niform ity in th e lathe gearing For instance
if there is a sligh t error in the gear teeth the uniform
.
,

,
ity of
322
 2
3 4 THR EAD CUT TIN G
- METHODS

principle The first precision lathe having the type of com

.

p ensa t ing device to be d escribed w as des igned along the general

lines of an ordinary engine lathe except that the lead screw ex
,
-

tended through the center of the bed and was directly beneath
the carriage in order t o avoid any turning or twis ting t m
, dency
as the carriage traversed alon g t h e be d O n the
. rear side
of the bed a very accurate scale was moun t ed A bove this
,
.

scale there was a microscope held by a bracket attached t o the

slide res t
- The nut engaging the l ead screw was so arranged
.
-

that it could turn about the screw and thus increase or retard
th e m ovem ent of the carriage derived fromthe rotation of the
lead screw sufi ciently t o com pensate for errors at difierent pu ts
'
-

of the lead screw Inorder t o obtain this turning m

- . ovement of
the nut the latter had attached to it a lever which extended up
,

over the front side of the la the body and carried at its outer end
a roller Thi s roller was in engagement with the edge of a
er plate of tem
.

form plet of such a shape that the upward or

downward m ovem ent of the roller and lever automatically
caus d the nut to increase or retard the carriage m ovem ent as
e

tour or shape of the tem plet was determ ined in the following
mn :
a ner The carriage was fi rs t adjus ted until t h e cross hair
-

of the m icroscope co incided with one of the lines on the scale

attached to the lathe bed The lathe was then turned whatever
.

number of revolutions would be required to ad vanc e the carri age

exactly one inch assum ,
ing that t he lead screw were perf ect
- .

The relative positions of the cross hair of the microscope and

-

the inch division on the scale w ere then noted and if they did ,

not coincide the lever attached to the nut was raised or lowered
just enough t o com
,

pensate for the error In this way one point

.
,

along the edge of the templet was located and by repeatedly

adjusting the carriage one inch at a tim
,

e and noting the errors ,

a series of points were obtained which indicated the curvature of

the tem plet
The first lathe equipped wi th thi s type of com
.

p nsating at
t ach men
e
t w as used exclu sively for cutting precision screw
 ECI SION S CREW TH READ S
PR 3 5
2

threads of the sam e pitch as t he lead crew ; therefore the gears -s

,

co nnecting the heads tock spindle and lead screw were of the
-

same size The tem. plet previously referred to was laid out t o
compensate for errors both in t he lead screw and gears and
-
,

care was taken to keep these gears in the same relative positions ,

so that any irregularity of the tooth spacing would always occur

in the sam e order .

A precision lathe used by the N ational Physical Laboratory

of Great Brita in has the sam e general type of com pensating
attachment described in the foregoing This lathe is so de .

signed that the lead screw and whatever screw is being cut
-

are in line with each other The m achine is very rigidly con
.

structed and there are separate carriage s for the lead screw
-

nut and cutting tool These carriages are connected by heavy

rods This machine is sim
.

. ply used for correcting the errors

in screws which have been finished nearly t o size in another
lathe S crews having errors of less than
. inch per
foot of length have been finish é d in a precision lathe of this

Finishing Threa ds by G rinding S crew thread s are some

tim
.

es ground in order t o correct slight distortions due to hard

cuing This m ethod is applied in the m anufacture of thread
gages of t he plug form As it is necessary t o harden these gages
.

t o p revent e xcessive wear there is liabl e to be dis tortion ; then

grinding is neces sary i norder to elim inate w hatever errors m
,

ay

result fromthe heat treatm

- ent The special attachm ent shown
.

in Fig 1 is used for thread gage grinding by the Blair Tool 81

.

M achine Works Inc 5 1 5 Greenwich S t New Y ork C ity

,
.
,
.
,
.

This attachment is applied t o a bench la t he The cons truction

is such that the grinding w heel A m
.

ay be adjus ted t o locate the

working side in alignm ent wi t h the thread being ground This

angular adjustm
.

ent is obta ined by turning the knurled handle 8

which revolves a sm all worm -w heel that e ngages a sector at
tac hed t o the brack et carrying the wheel spin dle
- The hori .

zon ta l axis about which this bracket swings coincides with the
axis of the thread gage so that the edge of the wheel al ways
,

makes contact with the gage at a point intersecting a horizontal

3 2 6 TH READ CUT T I NG
- M ET H OD S

plane passing through the gage axis for any angular adjust
ment o the heel spindle
,

f w -

The wheel is dressed to the required angle by a diam

.

on d
mounted at the end of holder M This holder passes through
block C and is norm ally held away fromcontact with the wheel
.

by spring D In order to true one side of the wheel the holder

is sim
.
,

ply pu shed inward thus traversing the diamond across the

,

grinding surface of the wheel The h older is pivoted at E and

.

its angular position relative to the axis of the is controlled

Pig
. 1. G rindin
A
g Th read Gag e by
tt a in enmt applied to
M eans
1 Ben
of hread-a lu
T
c h Let h e
m
by a stop F on one side and a stop G w hich is used
holder is swung around for truing the opposite side of t he wt

m
These stops a re adjusted very ac curately by using a
This adjus tm ent of course is not changed
, ,

fixture is u sed for grinding a different angle of thread

t w m
diamond holder is carried by a slide which m
.

a y be

direction at right angles to the axis of the wheel-spindle by 9

ing the knurled scre w B Thi s adjus tment is reqt dr ed for mo w "
?
w

ing the diam ond tool in ward as the wheel diam

.

eter 15 -
f
:

account of wear Th e fixture 15 also m ounted upon a l

that t he wheel can be adj usted mor out in accordance

.

”
if
3 2 8 THR EAD CUTT ING MET HODS
-

order to secure accurate wo rk with this attachment it , is c

ac es

sary of course to u
,
se an accurate lead screw
,
- .

is often done on an engine lathe by means of a special attach

ment A lathe used for this work should have an accurate
.

lead screw Fig 2 shows the same general type of t h rw d

- . .
~

h t he The atta chment is mounted upon the com pound res t

which is set parallel to the lathe oentm
.

s for adjusting the wheel

in an axial direction .

Another formof lathe thread grinding for cor

- r

rec ting the dis tortion in hardened thread g or for sim ilar
work is illustrated in Fig 3 This grinder is clam
r

ped to the
tool slide after re m
. .

oving the t oolpost .

truing device The diam ond holder A is prow ded with rack
teeth which m
.

esh with a pinion operated by the knurled hand

wheel B w hich serves to traverse the diam
, ond 0 5 5 t he sur a

face of the wheel A ll lost m otion in the w n o

eliminated by m
.

eans of a spring which exerts re ! a

rack The base beneath the diamond holder is g aduat ed for

.

setting t he dia mond tool at any angle The

moun t ed that t he grinding side of the wheel 0

t he helix angle of the thread The point of .

between 0
 ISION SCREW
P REC THR EADS 2
3 9

t he edge of t he grinding wh eel and work re min in

a s a plane in
tersec t inthe lathe centers regardless of the angular adjust
g ,

ment assuming that the attachment is set t o the correct height

, .

The driving shaft is independent of t he main bearing shaft and a

special fiber core is provided at the end of the driving stud to

eliminate end play and absorb any vibration that m ight other
wise be transmitted to the wheel This thread grinder is made
.

by th e International Equipment C o 1 5 53 S 58 th S t P hil .

, . .
,

adelphia Pa
,
.

Grindi n
g One Side of

Gri n
Th ru d-
d er
cutfl ng l ool
‘ ‘
o m
ns

Holder for G rin ding Thread cutt ing Tools - A thread -cut .
—

ting tool should be so ground that the included angle be tween

t he cut t ing edges or in t h e pla ne of the t op fac e is equal to the
angle of the thread t o be cut A sim ple m ethod of insuring
accurate grindin
.

g is illustrated in Figs 4 and 5 The cutting . .

point or tool ( which is held in a tool holder w hile in use) is

-

fastened in a block which is m ounted on the m agnetic chuck of

n
a surface gri der Fig 4 illustrates the position of this block
. .

for grinding one side of the tool and Fig 5 illustrates how the
. .

top surface or face is ground In one case the side of the block
. .

is placed again st t h e plate and in t he oth er the end surfac e

, . .
330 T HR EAD CUTTING
-
M ETHOD S

cutting fac e . The diagram Fig , . 6, illus trates more clearly the

other angle assum

ing that these sides are of the requi red in
,

n
cli atio n Whenusing sides C and D , t he
. t ool t o be ground is
insert ed inend E of the tool slot .

M s
. Grinding Top h co of Tool o n S urf m G ind
r er

In mking
a a block of this kind, it is ne0essary to mdifyo t he
angles between t he sides and t he center line of t he tool olding -h

m
slot so that the cutting edge o f the tool will be ground to t he
, ,

correct included angle in the plane y y of the top faec T

—

means that t he angle of t he tool ina plane x x at righ t

.

the front edge will be som ewha t greater than 60 degrees ; m a

sequently the angle betw een the sides which res t against th e
a

chuck and the center line of the tool m

,

ust exceed 30 my
The tangent of angl
suming that the clearance angle is 15 degrees and the mm
33 2 THR EAD-CUTTING METHODS

v ery sligh t inaccuracy in t he n

screw of o e of t h ese in
stru mnt e s

my abe m ul tiplied a great many times owing to the extreme

distances involved as for exam ple when a microm
,

, , eter screw is
,

used as a basis for determining the distance between two stars ;

consequently some of the most accurate screws in exis tence are
,

used in connection with the ins truments referred t o .

screws of the accuracy required for scientific instrum ents rep

the practice of William Gaertner C o C hica go Ill , .

The scre w thread is first cut as accurate as possible and then

M 7 . h th e uced for C utfi u Precid on S crm fmS cic nfifl c

very slight inaccuracies are correc t ed by a M d

operation The lathe first used rs shown mFig 7 The t u

im
. . . _

portant features of thi s lathe are an exceedingly

screw and accurate gearing In m aki ng precision
.

very essential to provide bearing surfaces onthe screw w

con centric with the scre w thread The lathe used for. m :

is so arranged that the screw is held in position by th e

bearing surfaces that are used afterwards when the
sem bled i nw hatever apparatus it is intended for Thi
of m
.

ounting insures cutting a thread which is concentric

the bearings Previously turned at the ends of the scrw if
 PRECI SION SCREW THREADS 3 33

moreover slight inaccuracies are prevented that might be intro

,

duced in the screw as the result of belt p ull or because of im per

fec t ions in the lathe spind le bearings A dog is clam ped t o one
.

end of the screw t o provide means of rotating it

mu t
.

The st eel used for t he

se screws s be of fine grain and
homogeneous A fter the thread is cut on the lathe referred t o
t he screw is carefufl y a amined for d efects that may ha ve hm
.
,

exposed by th e screw cutting operation

- The screw is thenput
.

aside and allowed to season for several months so that it will

mm mn mm d
m um
i u fl n
l chl o for PrOd M S oo o th nt
wnt rotc l od tion d
’ Tool nnd th u d i miu M Iud t

take the full set developed by the rem oval of metal when
cutting the thread .

-
Rap cut ting O peration on P rec ision S crews — A ll precision
mews after the seasoning period previously mentioned are t e
cut in a special type of m
, ,

achine illustrated in Fig 8 This

m ehine is used to e li m
. .

inate as far as possible the periodic

error which Is the kind of error that Increa ses fro mze ro to m
, ,

axi
mumand then decreases to ze ro in one turn of t he screw A
graphical representation of this error would be in th e formof a
.

wav y line or curve with the wave centers 360 degrees apart .
334 T HREAD C - U TTIN G MET HODS
The re cutting machine is so arranged that the error controls t he

crew thread
s is engaged by the
haped end of a rod which
V s
-

serves as a n ut This rod is carried by a U shaped y oke t h at is

.
-

atta ched t o the tool slide and extends over the sc rew as shown
-

more clearly by the end view of the m

,

achine Fig 9 This V

rod or nut m ay be placed I 80 90 or 4 5 degrees fro m
. .
,

the , ,

The first cut for correcting the error is taken with the guide
nut set at 1 80 degrees fromthe cutting tool When this nut .

engages the screw point at a po int of

maximum error the tool is opposite ,

the point where there is little or no

error ; conversely w hen the tool is at
the point of m anm umerror the nut is
,

'

opposite the errorlm

,

s tion When ”

the re cutting m
.

achine is inoperation
the nut as it encount emthe inacc u
,

rate side moves th e t ool S lide along

-
,

the bed and advances t he tool toward

the error A counte rweight connec wd

.

mm a h the tool lide by a co d relieve the

m
t -

u m
o r s

M o m
s

-
Pic 9
screw thread and nut of m
. , , .

! r uch of the
strain incident to m oving the tool
slide along the m achine bed As a res ult of this m ovement of
the tool slide the cut fromt h e point of zero error
.

- up
t o the m axim um as the screw m
,

akes one half turn and t hen

-

decreases Of course the am ount of m etal rem oved during th s i

m
.
,

re cu t t in
-
g operation is extremely s all In fact it is .
.

to use a m icroscope to observe the very light cut which

ally m ercases and then diminishes and leaves o n ly a fine d u s t of

metal on the end of t he tool One of these cuts is ta ken t h

the guide nut set at I 80 degrees fromthe tool which
.

the error to one half of w hat it was previously The nut is

- .

then placed Int he 90 d egree position and a second cut is

-

which again reduces t he error one half The final cut is wen ~
.
33 6 m ew -m E
o M TH ODS
next line on t he scale, t h e reading on t h e dial should be ten
divisions
In m micro cope fr
.

oving the s om line to line on the scale nd

a

m ing t h
,

ob rv e readi ngs o n t he graduat ed dial t h e screw is di

com pared with the scale A ny discrepancy from the
,

rec t ly .

required readings on the dial for each corresponding mov e

ment of the screw indicates an error ; but what about the error
in the scale and the errors that m a y be made in setting with

the m
,

icr oscope ? These are two uncertain factors to be con

s idered The scale m
. ay be tes ted at the Bureau of S tandards ,

Fig . xo . M ot h od of t oct ing Acc my c of M o nS mw wim

so that the value of every scale division is known and the error
of setting m ay be eliminated by ta king the m
,

ean of a number of
readings Tes ting a scre w by this m
. ethod however is at best , , , ,

a slow and tedious proceeding and requires great patience and a

trained observer so that it would not be suita ble for use in a
manufacturing shop
,

A nother and quicker m

.

ethod that has been used is t o mount

the m icroscope and scale on two separate carriages which are
moved by the screw as shown diagrammatically in Fig 10
,

. .

m
,

The icroscope cross hair is adjusted to a scale mark and

-

if the screw is then turned both the m

,

icroscope and scale should

,

advance t he same amount if the screw is free of errors and the ,

 ECISI O N S CREW THREAD S
PR 33 7

scale m ark should rem ain in the sam e position in the field of the
microscope A ny shifting of the scale mark indicates an error
.

in the screw but it will only show the difierence in pitch of the
'

screw at the t wo places onwhich the n uts engage

The m ost accurate and reliable m
.

e t hod of testing the errors

of a screw or of m
,
easuring any sm all uni t of length is based on
,

the application of in terference of light waves The instrument

used for testing by this m ethod is known as an interferom
.

eter ”

and it is the m eans of obtaining the m

,

ost accurate results in

length m easurem ents In the shops of WilliamGaertner C c
an instrum
,
. .

ent is used which represents an application of the

interferom eter principle This instrum . ent (described in MA
CHINE R Y June 1 9 1 7 page 8 5 4) does not indica te the actual
am
, , ,

ount of error exi sting at each point ona screw thread but it
does aff ord a rapid m ethod of determ ining whether the m
,

ax

im umerror exceeds that which is allowable A s this is all t he

instrum ent m ak er is interes ted in the interfero m eter m
.

ethod is
much quicker and less expensive than testing each screw by the
,

tediou s m icrometer m- icroscope m ethod to w hich referen ce has

beenm ad e .
 IN D E X

Blanka for m hinac c screws having ro ed n

mnt e s, 33 : th reada, 3 xr

A mt h
c e read, xc
’

Ac mt hmd t
e ool. t est i n
g wid t h of e nd, chi ng loa t ionand shape. 3 0 r

dlc t hrm
29

Adjusta ble chaser t ype of die, 7 7 Bolt cut t cr or si n

gle spin din
g
Adjust able t ap deaign exa ple3 0 f ! 37 m m hin
ac e, z r4

m
, .

Angle dia ct er of screw, 5

tor lat he, t hw adg rin din g 3 8

,
2

ior reversin g t ap rot at ion, i s:

q uickst h din m
g for en gin e lat he , 49 M “, m nd de up x5 5

m
, '

t hread-chasin or chaacr t hroat , a n

gle of
m m
g . 54
mt fi
,

C hu for e c pitch az
t hread milling ngine lat hes
for e 2 76 for scrcw-
c ut t i ng la t h c 40
Aut mt i
, ,

di0 8 W
,

o a c dies, applica t ion 7 8 , Chasers . die, 8rin M . 1 14

types of . 80 di0 , rakc an l

g , 38
e a 1

for t hread-c ut t in
g dia “8
m hin
,

t re d rollin
h a -
g ac e, 29 : bobbed, 1 1 8
Automt i a c la t he, int ernal t hread cutt ing
o n 38
Aut mt i m hin
,

o a c n t t apping
u - ac e, bent
t ap t ype, 30 7
Aut mt i o a c screw m hin
ac e, t hread rolling
in, 3 5
Automt i a c h t he, 3 5
t hreadi g n
of up“ an d ulievins t y pe. 39
A m
ut o a t ic t hreading achin e vert i m
cal
mg
,

n
a az i e t y pe, 2 26

wor k 58
mnt mill
,

B k ac ing
-o ut a t tac h e of t h read for cut t i n
g left ha
- nd t h reads. 57
m h in 49
ing ac e, 2 Ch asi n
g dial principle of opeu t io n t o
Bl nk di mt mult ipl
, ,

a f tha e ers or read rolli ng , 283 used for e t hread cut ti n

g . 23
34° ERRORS — M U LTI P LE-S PINDLE
Erro rs, periodic a nd o
p g
r ressiv e in Lat h e aut o mt ia c t hreadi n
g 35
mt i
, , ,

sc rew t hreads , 3 2 2 aut o a c . t hreading, co nt rollin

g

Feeding mh
nism aut o at ic, of
ec a m aut o mt i a t h readin
c g, cut t ing t ools, 3 6
m mt i
,

a c t h reading , ta per an
t h read-rollin
g ach ine 29 1 aut o d te
Feeds and speeds for t h rea d m
,

illin
g 243 lievins t ype, 3 9
Fixt ures for t h rea d m mnt
,

illin hand en
g ine, q uic -t hreadin
g k at t ach e
g , ,

opera t ed, 2 7 4 49
wor -holdik
ng for t apping 2 1 1 screw-c ut t ing, cha nge-gears , 40
m m
, ,

Floa t in ov e ent f or die-holders 1 65 t hread ng in 1 4

cut t i

m
g ,

m
,

Flut e
s t ap , for s of, 1 5 2 Lat he at t a ch ents g n
t h read- ri ding , ,

m
,

For s of screw t h re
a ds, 6 3 28
Fox ‘
chasin
t hread- g a t t ach mnt e , 54
Lead a nd dia mt e er errors in tapped
French a nd int erna t ional st a ndard holes, 16 1

t hread , 12 Lea d errors in die-c ut screw t h reads,

Frict ional t a pping ch uc , k 1 70 ca uses , 1 0 2

Frict ion-red ucing t appin g c h uck 1 80 Lead of screw t hrea d 5

Lea d-sc rew errors com
,
,

pensat ing , , 3 23
Garvint apping mac h ine ,
1 90 , 19 5 Lea d-sc rew s direc t -act ing 5 2
, ,

Gearing, co m po und fo r t h rea d c ut t ing,

for coarse pit ches , 4 5
m hin
,

for t h rea ding ac es, 2 1 8

41
Gea rs t ransl t t ing , for mt
e ric pit ches , 43
Left -hand t h rea ds c ut wit h cha sing at
mnt
,

Grindin a cc ura t e sc rew t h rea ds, 25 t a ch e 57

g 3 ,

G inding
r an d c ut t ing p rec ision sc rew LOwenherz t h read , 13

t h rea ds 3 2 2
mnt
,

G inding
r a t t a ch e s, t h rea d, for la t h e, M n
achi e sc rew k
blan s for t h rea d roll

3 8
2 ing 311
mmpit
,

M axi u ch of t hread c ut wit h die

s,

Harv ey grip t h rea d , 12 10 7

Hea vy -d ut y t apping a c h ines , 1 9 7 m M et ric pit ches change gea rs for 4 2 , ,

Hobbed chasers, 1 1 8 t ran sla t in g gea rs for 43

m m
,

Hobbing et hod of t h read illin g, 2 7 6 M illed chasers 1 19 ,

Holder for grinding t h ead c ut t in

r -
g t ools t an ge nt i al t yp e 1 20

m m
, ,

3 29 M illing achines , standard t hread ill ,

ing o n 2 7 2

Indexing for m
,

ultiple t hread cut t in

g ,
21 M illing screw t hrea ds 2 2 7
mult ipl
,

Indicat or t h rea d, princ iple of, 19 wit h e c ut t er, 2 2 9

mult ipl
,

used for e t h rea d c ut t i ng 23 wit h si ngle c ut t er 2 27

mt i
, ,

Int ernal t h read c ut t ing on aut o a c M onit or la t h e t h rea d-chasing at t ach

m
,

la t h e, 3 8 en t 54

m m
,

opera t ion s, 27 M ult iple c ut t er t h read illin

-
g et hod

milling m hin
,

Int erna l t hrea d ac e of applica t ionof 2 3 6

m
,

single-cut t er t ype ,
25 5 M ult iple sc rew t h reads, et hods of cut
t in g 20
mnt m m
,

Lat he ,
ad jus t e o f, for t aper t h rea d M ult iple-spindle se i-aut o a tic tap
c ut t i ng 26 p in g ma c hin e 20 2

m
, ,

aut o mt i a c, int erna l t h read c ut t ing on, M u t ip e spindle tappin

l l -
g achin es,

3 8 20 0
 M ULTIP LE TH READ S R C EWS 3 4 1

M ult iple t h read cut t ing by using indi ,

cat or, 2 3 1 78

indexing, 21
Q uic -ckha nge t ap
-
h olders, 1 7 4
M ult iple t h reads 6 Q uic k
-t hreadin at t ach en
g t for m n
gin
e e

m
,

illing 2 3 2 lat h e, 49
multipl
,

M ult iple t ool for cut t i n

g e

t hreads, 24
Radial ty pe ta pping machine , 1 98

Ra ke angles for die chasers, 1 28

N o n-collapsing ta ps , 1 36
of chaser,
,

mint ining when grin

re m ov al of, fro mh ole, 1 3 9
in
a a , d

Non-Openin
g dies, re m ov al of, fro m Ra
g. 1 29

ke of t ap cut t ing edges 1 54

wor k , 78 Runnin nwit h ta p cause of 1 5 7
act io
,

g , ,
t ypes of. 7 3
Releasin nd non-releasin die-holders
g a g
Non-releasing and ng die-holders
,
releasi
1 66
,

1 66
Releasing and non-releasin ta -
g p holders,
Noh -releasing and releasi ng tap-holders ,
172
172
Relief,
“
co - n n
N ut -t apping m hin ac es , 20 4
ecce t ric , 158

nac t ior of
se mi ut -a o mt i 5 a c , 20
of chaser t hroa t , efiec t of, o

die, 1 23

n ng edges 1 5 7
O ldhamcoupling
or clea ra ce for t a p c ut t i
of ta p-holder,
,
t ype
Revers ing a n d v ariable-s eed at t ac h
p
18 1

O igin t ing nsc rew 3 2 3

enmt , 1 85
r a a prec isio
Rev ersing t a p ch uck s 1 8 2
m
,

O ill t ing t
sc a apping at t a ch ent 1 83 ,
Rolled t h rea d regulat in le n t h
,

g , g 2 99 ,

Rollin
g screw t h reads, 2 79
Periodic and progressiv e errors inscrew adv a ntages of process 30 9
m m
,
t h reads , 3 2 2
det er inin g blank dia et ers for 283
Pip e t h rea d , Briggs st a ndard 12
m
dia et er wh ich canbe rolled, 30 7
,

m th
,

chasers for c ut t i n
g s oo 13 1
flat dies used for, 280
mnt
,

Pit ch ,
coa rse.
a t t ac h for chan
e

lead-sc rew for, 4 5

gin s
g, 4 7 inaut o
.
mi a t c screw m hin ac e, 315
ra t e of du i n 308
nm
pro ct o ,
effec t of, o et hod of c ut t ing t hread , use of process for finish ing 321
m
,
23 4
Root dia et er of sc rew, 6
obt a i ning sligh t v aria t io s, n 46 Root of t h read, 6
o f sc rew t h read ,

of t h read c ut w it h dies
5
m imum
ax
Rot ary t hrea d-r olling m hin
ac e, 30 5
10 7
mt
. ,

P it c h dia e er of sc rew . 5
Pos it iv e co nt rol of die-feeding mov e S . A E
. . st a ndard sc rew t h read , 13

mnte , 106 S c ient ific inst ru mnt e s , sc rews for, 3 3 1

P rec is io n sc rews , for sc ient ific inst ru S crew-c ut t ing lat h e c ha n - ea rs
g g
e 40
mnt m hin
, ,

e s, 33 1 Screw ac e used for t hrea d rolli ng

,

n
o rig i a t i ng 3 2 3 1
3 5
ngle diam
,

re-eut t in g Opera t io n 33 3 Screws, a et er 5

mt
, ,

t es t in g 33 5 co re dia e er, 6
mt
,

P rec ision sc rew t hrea ds c ut t in g a nd effec t iv e dia e er, 5

mnt
,

g nr i ding 3 for n
sc ie t ific inst ru e s, 33 1

h mnt
,

P rogres s iv e a n d period ic errors insc rew of large lead . a t t a c e s for c ut t ing,

t h rea ds , 3 2 2 44
34 2 SCREWS T APER
mt
m mm
Sc rews, i
p t ch dia e er, 5 open
Self- ing dies, types of. 80

ae Walks !

pwcision t est ins. sss t ype os

mt
.

root dia e er , 6
Screw st ock, a munto of carbo ninsceel Sellers t hread, 8
used for, 1 13

Screw t hreeds Ac m e, 1 0 ping m hin ac e, 20 2

m
,

Ac e t est hig widt h of tool pointfl o

Brig s st an dard pipe, 1 2
Brit ish As ociat ionst en dard,
Brit ish stan dacd, 10 chi e, n 30 2
butt r , 13 m
Cadillac , “ n
chi es, 2 20

cut t ing an d grindin g precision 3 22 . Slidin

g -
c olla r t ype of q uic act ionch u
- c k k ,

defin it ions 5 , 178

Slope of t hread 6
md by
,

for ng sizes of 30 7 rolli Socket or collet t y pe oi ta p ch uck, 1 79

m
e

m mm
, ,

French and int ernst io l st a ndard , 12 M a n d ieed s for t hr d illin g,

Harvey grip. 12 cut t ing , for t hru din g diea 1 1 4 ,

lead of 5 for tappin sntu

mhm 3
.

M 1 Sprins sct ev
v
dic 4 n
mt h d f f ming md
,

e o s o or 1 Sq uare t h s, “
mult ipl 6 mm
,

e, cutt er int erference wh illin

g 240

multipl mt h d f
,

e, e o s o cut t i ng 20 a nwit h dies 1 13

md f
, ,

periodic an d progressive dies or rolli ng

min
errors. 3 22 e , 3 14
pit ch of . s pp s . 16°

S . A E . . sta ndard , 13 widt h of tool poi n ior cut tin

t g . 30
3b“ ? v “
, 9
sq u

m hin t imim89
are, 1 1

sq uare. widt h of tool point for c utt ing of t hread -rollin

g ac e, 1

g m hin
.
,

so S ta t ion-t ype uppin o ac e. zo

ti m e req uired ior rolli ng , 30 8 St eel. for scre w t k mm

s oc t iw b n
, a o\ o o

t rapezoidal, 1 3 con tain ed, 1 13

U S . . st anda1d , 8 for t hreedin

g die chu ers , 1 34

U . 5 . st a n
dard , t es t in
g width of t ool S t oc k for t h ead rolling
r , 3 12
point . 99
W hit wort h sta ndard, 10

Whit w ort h , t ools for cut t ing 3 2 m hin

S t ud-t hreadin
g ac es, 2 24

m
,

wor 11

T ng nti l t yp m
.

a e ill d h
a e e c ssers . 1 20

N nd di a mbin t i ne, co a o , 1 50

H & G 97 Tep—and die-holders, 165

m
,

Sd fo p in
g dh sdva nt ages of , 78
344 T HREAD WORM

Thread m
illing m hin ac e
s 246 Thread t ool, ad just ed by co mp und o
mult ipl
,

adva tage
s n of, 23 5 st
re for e t h rea ds , 2:

classe
s of wor k used for 23 2 ad
j us t ed b y s h ift in
g c arr iag e for
m
,

int ernal, oi si n
g le-c ut t er t ype, 25 5 ult iple t h reads, 2 2
Lees-Bradner 2 50 , 26 1 for cut t ing h i W
t wort h t h reads , 3 2
m
,

M oline 2 5 2 et hods of feedin g in ward , 1 7

Whitny m
,

Prat t 81 e , 24 7 ult iple, 24

Reed- P enti e
r c 269 posit ionof, for ta per t h reads, 2 5
mll y -G n
,

S a e e eral, 266 ret urnof, for successiv e cut s , 1 8

Taft -Peirce, 25 7 sin l

g p
e - oin t po s it io n of 15
m n 64
, ,

Tho so 2 Throat , chaser efiect of relief, 1 2 3

W lt h m 5 4 m
, ,

a a 2 chaser, or cha fer an l

g e of, 1 2 1
dm g mt h mult ipl
, ,

Th illin e-cut t er. die—chaser, t hat is inefl ec tive, 1 23

'

rea e od,

applicat io nof 2 36 of die chaser grin din g, 1 2 4

m
, ,

Thread rolli ng , 2 79 Ti e required for rollin g screw t h reads,

bet weenfla t dies 280 3 0 8
m mt
,

det er ining blan dia k e ers for, 2 83 T ool point , widt h of, for cut t ing square

di mt
a e er of c ircula r roll, 3 16 t h rea ds, 3 0
inscrew m hin
ac e, 3 15 Torsional st rain, eff ec t of, o n mt he od of

posit io s of n flat die

s t o wor k 28 2 ng t h rea ds 23 4
c ut t i

mt h m
,

mking
,

Th rea d-rolling dies, e od of a T ra nsla t ing gea rs for et ric p it ch es , 43

fla t t y pe 3 1 2 T rapezoidal t h read, 13

m hin mfi
,

T h rea d-rollin g ac e, a ut o mt ia c T urret la t he, A c e at , c hasin

t h read- g
g m h ni m 9 mnt
.

fee din ec a s 2 1 a t t a ch e 67
mh m
, ,

j
e ec t or, 29 0 Gisholt , t h rea d-c ut t ing ec a nis .

ra t ed capa c it ies o f, 30 7 61
ng t y pe 286
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11

CUTTING ATTACHMENT
AN INTRODUCTION TO THREAD
CUTTING IN THE REAL WORLD
After designing and putting the enclosed screw cutting
attachment into production, we sat down and started read-
ing what other people have written about cutting screw
threads before writing our own instructions. It amazed us
that we had been able to cut threads all these years knowing
so little. How and why we were able to do this is going to
be the subject of our instructions. There are sufficient books
available at any library to go into additional detail on the
subject if required. These instructions are based on using
sharp pointed 60° tools and cutting threads for your own
use.
The reason other books go into such great detail on the
precise methods used commercially is that they are telling
you how to cut threads from specifications for other people.
They have to have exact methods and standards to make
sure that a bolt made in California will screw into a nut
manufactured in New York. Fortunately, we have the
tremendous advantage of having both pieces at hand and we
can just “keep cutting until they fit”. It’s as simple as that!
You simply select the proper gear from the chart; put in a
60° threading tool and have at it.
A point to ponder about thread cutting is how a lathe
produces a thread. It doesn’t matter whether the lathe is a
20" or a 3". The principle is the same. The lead screw that
drives the saddle is geared directly to the spindle. When the
spindle turns, the saddle moves. If they were geared one to
one, the pitch cut would be the same as the pitch of the lead
screw. On the 3" lathe, this would be 20 Threads Per Inch
(TPI). If we turned the lead screw 180° while we turned the
spindle 360° (by using a 20 tooth to a 40 tooth gear
arrangement) we would cut 40 TPI. Please note that we did
not have to consider the stock’s diameter. The only
requirement is that the major diameter is at least twice the
depth of the thread plus enough material to support these
threads while cutting them. One gets used to hearing a
diameter called out with the threads, such as 1/4" - 20, 6 -
32, 10 - 24, etcetra, but while it’s unusual to think of 40
threads per inch cut on something 2" in diameter. Yet, in
some cases it may be entirely practicable to do so.
It may interest you to know how a metric thread can be cut
Modellbauwerkzeug & Präzisionsmaschinen G .m.b.H.
Modelmaking & Precision Tools Ltd. Vienna / Austria
Fabriksgasse 15, A-2340 Mödling info@thecooltool.com
phone:+43-2236-892 666 fax: +43-2236-892666-18
3" LATHE
THREAD
P/N 3100
on a 3" lathe that has American National screw threads on
its lead screw. The 127 T conversion gear does this by
driving the lead screw at a ratio that converts 20 TPI to
1mm. Consider 100T on the spindle driving a 127T. The
ratio is .7874 to 1. The lead screw has 20 TPI: .050" P x
.7874 = .03937" = 1 mm.
Figure 1—Component parts of a thread cut with a
sharp pointed 60° vee tool.
MAJOR DIAMETER - Largest diameter of the thread of
either the screw or the nut.
MINOR DIAMETER - Smallest diameter of the thread of
either the screw or the nut.
PITCH DIAMETER - The theoretical diameter that falls
on a point where the thread width and
the groove width are the same.
PITCH (P) - The distance from point to point
measured parallel to the axis. Metric
threads are always expressed in Pitch
LEAD - The distance a screw thread advances
axially in one turn. On a double lead
screw, the lead is twice the pitch.
NOTE: The same methods can be used in figuring dimensions
for American or Metric screw threads.
1 mm = .03937"
Pitch (Metric) x .03937" x .758 = depth of screw
thread in inches
Take the time to familiarize yourself with component parts
of the screw thread from Figure 1. The pitch diameter is the
important one to consider. Before going on, let’s take the
time to really understand why. The pitch diameter determines
how a screw or thread will fit, not the major diameter.
Suppose you were cutting 20 TPI and the major diameter
was .010 undersize and the pitch diameter was correct.
About the only thing wrong would be that the flat on the
point of the thread would be a little wide, but it would still
have approximately 75 % of its strength and work well.
Now let us suppose we cut the pitch diameter undersize by
.010. We would end up with a nut that fits so loose and a
thread that was so weak that we would have to scrap it.
There is where “cutting to fit” comes in. You can compen-
sate for some pretty bad errors on the major and minor
diameters by having the pitch diameter correct. To get it
correct, all you have to do is to keep trying it for size as you
cut. Don’t ever take the part out of the chuck to try it
because it would be next to impossible to re-chuck it in
exactly the same place. However, the entire chuck, along
with the part, could be removed from the lathe to try it for
size. Don’t force anything when trying the part for size,
because you might move the part slightly in the chuck, and
really “screw things up”.
Why have we made such a point about having the major or
minor diameter wrong and still making the part work?
Read on. You’re probably thinking we must really be a
“hacker” if we can’t cut a diameter within .010. Well, the
problem in many cases, is not how close you can cut to a
diameter, but what the diameter should be.
Example: Your buddy just heard you bought a nice new
shiny lathe complete with a screw cutting attachment, and
like all good friends, immediately goes to work trying to
figure out how you and your new lathe will be of some use
to him. It doesn’t take him long! He has a camera which
he tried to repair himself last year, but lost an important
part. Of course the missing part has metric threads, but
that’s a “snap” for a 3" lathe. A quick check with a thread
gauge indicates that it has .4 mm Pitch. No problem, yet. It
is an internal thread, so you will have to cut a screw to mate
with it. Here’s the problem: What is the major diameter?
You can measure the diameter of the hole, but you can’t be
assured that the thread form is perfect and that this is really
the minor diameter. You can only assume that it’s close.
Now you take this dimension and add to it twice the depth
of the thread, which should give you the major diameter. To
get the depth of one thread, multiply the Pitch x .6. (Note:
Pitch x 1.2 + Minor Diameter = Major Diameter). Total
depth of thread using a sharp pointed 60° tool = P x .65 =
.036" x .65 = .023".
The constant .6 is not used to figure depth of an external
thread, it is just one used to get you in the “ball park” in a
situation such as this.
At least we have a fairly reliable place to start now and can
probably get one cut that will work on the first try. Always
keep track of the total depth cut in case it comes out
undersized. At least you’ll know how deep not to cut it on
the second one!
The example we gave you was one of the more difficult
situations you may run into, not only because you had to do
the job for free to keep a friend, but also because you had
very limited information from which to work.
-2-
Usually, you will be cutting both the screw and nut. This is
a case where two wrongs can almost equal one right. You
can rectify any error you may have had in cutting the first
one by compensating for it in the mating part.
Left-hand threads can be cut as easily as right-hand threads
on a lathe; the only difference being the addition of an idler
gear which reverses tool movement so that it travels left to
right.
It’s hard to appreciate just how much money an inexpensive
lathe like this, with a screw cutting attachment can save you,
until you have had to have a special part made that doesn’t
have a standard thread size. Even though there may be taps
or dies available, a left-hand 1"-32 would probably cost half
as much as your entire thread cutting attachment.
What we have tried to do in these opening remarks is to show
that screw-cutting is really easy, and to give you the self-
confidence it takes to do any job well. Too often, good
craftsmen are stopped from venturing forth because the
only information available shows the technically perfect
way to do things rather than the simple, practical methods
everyone really uses.
THREAD CUTTING CONVERSION KIT
This kit has been engineered to add additional versatility to
your 3" Lathe. With this attachment, a wide variety of
threads, both right-handed and left-handed may be pro-
duced. Most American Standard and Metric threads may be
cut with equal ease and precision. The accompanying charts
list the entire range from which you may choose. (See
Figure 5.)
CONVERSION INSTRUCTIONS (Refer also
to illustrations)
STEP 1.Carefully drive furnished small sheet metal screw
into hole located in spindle which extends from
the left side of the drive pulleys. Use a proper size
screwdriver for this operation and avoid install
ing the screw at an angle since it must seat
squarely against the spindle. After driving, re
move the screw and dress down the “burr” which
will be raised around the edge of the hole. A small
fine file is suitable for this. Next slide two thin
spacer washers over the tube and against the
pulley. Reinsert the sheet metal screw and tighten
firmly.
STEP 2.Remove the headstock and loosen the flat head
socket screw a few turns.
STEP 3.Remove cap screw under base and directly below
headstock.
STEP 4.Grease shaft with flats on both ends and slide
shaft into the lead screw support (situated directly
below pulley). Be sure end with small flat enters
first. Now slide shaft with a single flat into the
lead screw support. To guarantee that the shaft is
“home”, turn shaft one or two revolutions while
applying gentle inward pressure to the end of the
shaft.
STEP 5.Replace screw from STEP 3 making sure that
3100

SIDE VIEW, THREAD CUTTING ATTACHMENT INSTALLED
point of screw goes into machined groove. Check
that shaft is free to rotate. Retighten the flat head pivot screw.
socket screw and replace the headstock.
STEP 6.Pull out the black plug below the name plate and
slide the remaining shaft (with handle) into the
hole (handle upward). It may be necessary to
rotate the shaft about 30° backwards and
forwards to get it completely “home”.
NOTE: If insertion or movement of the Engagement Lever
is difficult, try loosening the two screws on the bottom of
the machine that hold the bed to the base. Move the bed
slightly until a good fit occurs.
STEP 7.It may be necessary to deburr parts for smooth
peration.
NOTE: The section below entitled "Cutting A Thread for
Practice" uses the example of cutting a 28 pitch right hand
thread on a 1/4" diameter piece of stock. The following
numbers are based on that setup.
STEP 8.Refer to chart (Figure 5) and select type of thread
to be cut. As an example, we have chosen
American Standard, 28 TPI, right hand lead.
Figure 3
Setup for cutting 28 Threads Per Inch
GEAR A B C D E
TEETH 100 100 20 28 40
NOTE: Idler Gear "E" is used for Right Hand Threads, Idler Gears
"F" and "G" are used for Left Hand Threads and are, therefore, not
used in this example.
Remove motor assembly (see OPERATING INSTRUC-
TIONS STEP 2).
Slide gear “A” (100) onto spindle engaging slot with
previously installed sheet metal screw head.
Install “B” gear (100) and “C”
Figure 2
gear (20) onto primary support arm.
The drive pin is used not only to
drive the “C” gear, but also to hold
the “B” gear on the arm.
Install “E” gear (40) on secondary
support arm.
Slide lower split end of primary
support arm over the lead screw
support. Adjust until “B” gear
meshes properly with “A” gear
(100). When mesh is satisfactory,
tighten clamp screw.
Install “D” gear (28) and secure
with Allen head screw and small
washer. NOTE: This screw need
only be finger tight and should not
be used when it interferes with the
secondary support arm. Adjust sec-
ondary support arm and gear for
proper engagement with mating
gears. When satisfactory, tighten retaining screw and
Install crank wheel by sliding over spindle.
Line slot up with protruding sheet metal screw head and
tighten down crank wheel set screw using Allen wrench. A
few drops of oil on moving parts will be helpful.
Figure 4 Gear Setup Diagram for Example
CUTTING A THREAD FOR PRACTICE
We believe the time has come to “HAVE AT IT” and start
by chucking up a piece of aluminum and turning it to 1/4"
diameter. Let’s cut 28 TPI on it. Be sure to have a nut to
check it with. Looking at the chart we see we need an “A”
100T on the spindle, driving a “B” 100T, which is attached
to the “C” 20T, driving the lead screw “D” 28T, using the
idler “E” 40T that mounts on the swing arm. The gears
should mesh so they run “free” and have a reasonable
amount of backlash. NOTE: All gear trains have some
“backlash” and it will not effect the quality of the thread, but
it does have to be allowed for. This is why the tool has to be
backed out before the lathe spindle is reversed.
Over 90% of the threads cut on a lathe of this type will have
-3- 3100
a pitch less the .070, and be less than 3/8" long. Now and
then you may have to cut a fairly course thread (more than
.070" pitch) and a good idea is to “rough out” the thread by
moving the tool post slightly to the left between passes. This
keeps the tool from having to cut on both sides. On a
standard lathe, the tool is advanced by the compound rest
which is set at 29°. This allows only one side of the tool to
cut and lessens the load considerably. The final cut is then
taken with the crosslide being advanced to “clean up” the
thread. We can get the same effect by moving the tool post.
When cutting fine threads you can get away with cutting
“straight in”. The crank drive gives you the “feel” and a
precise method of stopping needed in single-pointing fine
threads. Cranking the spindle counter clock wise gives you
reverse. This allows you to cut the entire thread without
disengaging the lead screw.
Establish the depth of the first cut by bringing the tool in to
the point where it just touches the surface. Write the dial
setting down, and move the tool past the starting point of the
thread. Now engage the lead screw lever. The lead screw
may have to be turned while applying slight pressure on the
lever in order to get it to engage properly.
DO NOT DISENGAGE UNTIL THE THREAD HAS
BEEN COMPLETELY CUT.
Now advance tool .003" for first cut. Turn the spindle
counter clockwise until the desired length of thread has been
cut. Back the tool out until it is completely clear of the part.
Crank spindle clockwise until tool is at the original starting
point. Advance the tool to its last point plus .002". We’ve
always found it useful to write these dial settings down too,
it is amazing how fast you can forget one! Now take the
second pass by cranking the spindle counter clockwise. The
amount the tool should be advanced from this point on
should be governed by the amount of force it took the last
pass. The cut will get progressively heavier each time the
tool is advanced. Remember, you can’t ruin your part by
taking too light a cut. To figure what the total amount the
tool should be advanced if you are using a sharp Vee form
tool (standard form of tool used in single pointing threads)
simply multiply the pitch times .758.
Example: Pitch of 28 TPI = 1/28
Pointed tool depth = P x .758 = 1/28 x .758 = .027
If you are not too good with math and don’t like to do it, just
keep cutting and looking at the flat on the top of the thread.
When the flat is 1/8 the pitch, the nut should fit. Either way,
check it long before you think it is finished to be on the safe
side until more experience is gained. The last two passes
should be repeats of previous dial settings to clean up
threads. Not too hard was it? No matter what type of threads
you may cut, the basic method will remain the same.
Internal threads are very seldom cut full depth. To figure the
hole size you should start with: take the pitch of thread you
are cutting and multiply it by 1.083 and subtract this from
the major diameter. To figure the total depth using a sharp
pointed 60° tool, multiply the pitch by .65.
-4-
EXAMPLE: To cut an internal 1-1/2"-28 TPI:
Major Diameter = 1.5
P = 1/28 = .036"
Major Diameter - (P x 1.083) = Hole Size
1.500" - (.036" x 1.083) = Hole Size
1.500" - .039 = 1.461
Hole size = 1.461
A double lead could be cut by picking change gears that are
one-half the pitch and indexing the “A” gear 180° after
cutting the first thread to depth.
NOTE: There isn’t any way to check a double lead until it
is completely cut, therefore, the depth must be figured
mathematically. It has always been fun for us to do jobs like
this, not because the were needed, but just to see if we could!
SCREW CUTTING OPERATION
(Read detailed instructions before proceeding.)
STEP 1. Turn or bore stock to proper diameter.
STEP 2. Remove the motor assembly from the lathe by
unscrewing the two socket head cap screws that
hold the motor bracket to the headstock.
STEP 3. Install thread cutting tool in post holder.
STEP 4. Place tool bit at starting point of thread and set for
.003" cut.
STEP 5. Engage lever at base of lathe by turning lead
screw support handle clockwise. Turn lead screw
handwheel until full engagement occurs.
STEP 6. Turn spindle crank wheel until tool bit has traveled
full length of intended thread.
STEP 7. Back crosslide out to clear tool from thread.
STEP 8. Turn crank wheel backwards until tool bit has
traveled past starting point of thread.
STEP 9. Return crosslide to its original position plus .002".
STEP 10.Repeat STEPS 6, 7, 8, and 9 until full depth of
threads has been cut. Cutting oil will make
cutting easier, and will give a better finish.
3100
FIGURE 5—GEAR SELECTION CHART FOR THREAD CUTTING ATTACHMENT
ENGLISH THREADS METRIC THREADS

THREADS GEAR GEAR GEAR GEAR GEAR GEAR GEAR PITCH GEAR GEAR GEAR GEAR GEAR GEAR GEAR
PER IN. A B C D E F G (mm) A B C D E F G
80 50 100 20 40 38 28 22 .25 50 127 20 40 30 28 22
76 50 100 20 38 40 30 22 .3 50 127 24 40 30 26 22
72 50 100 20 36 40 28 34 .35 50 127 28 40 30 26 22
68 50 100 20 34 40 28 30 .4 50 127 32 40 30 24 22
64 50 100 20 32 40 28 30 .45 50 127 36 40 30 20 22
60 50 100 20 30 40 28 26 .5 100 127 20 40 30 28 22
56 50 100 20 28 40 26 30 .55 100 127 22 40 30 28 20
52 50 100 20 26 40 24 34 .6 100 127 24 40 30 28 22
48 50 100 20 24 40 26 30 .65 100 127 26 40 30 28 22
44 50 100 20 22 40 26 30 .7 100 127 28 40 30 26 22
40 100 100 20 40 38 28 22 .75 100 127 30 40 28 24 22
38 100 100 20 38 40 30 22 .8 100 127 32 40 30 24 22
36 100 100 20 36 40 28 34 .85 100 127 34 40 30 20 22
34 100 100 20 34 40 28 30 .9 100 127 36 40 30 20 22
32 100 100 20 32 40 28 30 1.R 50 127 40 20 30
30 100 100 20 30 40 28 26 1.L 100 127 20 20 26 24
28 100 100 20 28 40 26 30 1.1 100 127 22 20 40 24 26
26 100 100 20 26 40 24 30 1.2 100 127 24 20 40 22 26
24 100 100 20 24 40 26 30 1.25 100 127 30 24 38 22 26
22 100 100 20 22 40 26 30 1.3 100 127 26 20 40 22 24
20 100 100 20 20 40 26 24 1.4 100 127 28 20 38 22 24
19R 100 100 40 38 30 1.5 100 127 30 20 38 20 26
19L 100 50 20 38 30 22 1.6 100 127 32 20 38 20 26
18R 100 100 40 36 30 1.7 100 127 34 20 38 20 22
18L 100 50 20 36 28 34 1.75 100 127 35* 20 38 20 22
17R 100 100 40 34 30 1.8 100 127 36 20 38
17L 100 50 20 34 28 30 1.9 100 127 38 20 36
16R 100 100 40 32 30 2.0 100 127 40 20 30
16L 100 50 20 32 28 30 * Not included in Standard Set.
15R 100 100 40 30 32
15L 100 50 20 30 28 26
14R 100 100 40 28 30
14L 100 50 20 28 26 30
13R 100 100 40 26 30
13L 100 50 20 26 24 30 NOTE: Gear "E"
or "F" and "G" are
12R 100 100 40 24 30 idler gears and are
12L 100 50 20 24 26 30 used to transmit
11R 100 100 40 22 30 power and control
direction of
11L 100 50 20 22 26 30 rotation only.
10R 100 100 40 20 30
10L 100 50 20 20 26 24

NOTE
When cutting right hand threads, Gear "E" is used in the vertical
slot of the Secondary Support Arm, Part Number 3103. When
cutting left hand threads, Gear "F is used in the vertical slot and To use this chart with the model 4100 (Metric) Lathe, use the 100 tooth
Gear "G" is used in the horizontal slot and Gear "E" is not used. gear in place of the 127 tooth gear when cutting metric threads and the
127 tooth gear in place of the 100 tooth ("A" Gear) when cutting
American threads. Press the shaft out of the 127 tooth gear and into the
100 tooth gear. American threads finer than 40 TPI cannot be cut.
-5- 3100
 Figure 6
EXPLODED VIEW
THREAD CUTTING ATTACHMENT

NOTE: Gears shown are for example

only. For other combinations, see
accompanying charts (Figure 5).
**3115 Gear Shafts are press fits in
3111 and 3127 Gears.

PARTS LIST, THREAD CUTTING ATTACHMENT

PART NO. DESCRIPTION PART NO. DESCRIPTION
3101 HANDWHEEL 3120 20 TOOTH GEAR, 24 PITCH
3102 PRIMARY SUPPORT ARM 3122 22 TOOTH GEAR, 24 PITCH
3103 SECONDARY SUPPORT ARM 3124 24 TOOTH GEAR, 24 PITCH
3104 SMALL SHIM WASHER 3126 26 TOOTH GEAR, 24 PITCH
3105 LARGE SHIM WASHER (2) 3127 127 TOOTH GEAR, 56 PITCH
3106 GEAR BUSHING (2) 3128 28 TOOTH GEAR, 24 PITCH
3107 GEAR DRIVE PIN 3130 30 TOOTH GEAR, 24 PITCH
3108 10/32 x 3/8" SET SCREW 3132 32 TOOTH GEAR, 24 PITCH
3109 SHEET METAL SCREW, PAN 3134 34 TOOTH GEAR, 24 PITCH
HEAD, NO. 6 x 3/16", TYPE A 3136 36 TOOTH GEAR, 24 PITCH
3110 100 TOOTH GEAR, 56 PITCH (w/ notch) 3138 38 TOOTH GEAR, 24 PITCH
3111 100 TOOTH GEAR, 56 PITCH 3140 40 TOOTH GEAR, 24 PITCH
4034 10-32 x 1" SKT HD CAP SCREW 3150 50 TOOTH GEAR, 56 PITCH
4051 10-32 x 3/8" SKT HD CAP SCREW (3) 1509 SLIDING SHAFT
4033 10-32 x 5/8" SKT HD CAP SCREW 1542 ENGAGEMENT LEVER
4066 NO. 10 WASHER 1543 FIXED SHAFT
3115 GEAR SHAFT (2)

-6- 3100