DIE HOLDER VS SINGLE CUT

[Aaron_W]

No, they were designed to (mostly) be held in the hex turret of a turret lathe, but adaptors can be made to fit them on the OD of the tailstock quill, or they can be held in a boring bar holder of a QCTP. Automatic dies are also rotated in a headstock of powered threading machines where the die rotate and the work is held stationary in a sliding vise and fed into the die head.

These are big and "chuck like" so that just made me think chuck, but lathe turret makes a lot of sense, as it seems most die holders are made to be used in the tail stock.

 

[benmychree]

Yes, they can be quite large, we used one at Kaiser to thread 2 1/4" rebar with 4 1/2 pitch, right over the ribs, done in several (maybe 3 passes), the threading was done undersize and they were hot dip galvanized after being welded into cages for electrical transmission tower foundations. The die head was about 10 inches in diameter, made by Landis, with tangent chasers; the beauty of this die was that if chasers broke (and they did), you could take a chaser of the same number, of any length and substitute it for the broken one, and all chasers were sharpened without regard to length, as with other tangent die heads like the J&L, where chasers had to be sharpened to an accurate length, measured with special fixtures; with care, Landis chasers could be sharpened on an ordinary bench grinder, I've been told, and most any diameter could be threaded within the range of the die, with any pitch of chaser.
So endeth my die head rant!

 

[macardoso]

While a Geometric die head is not suitable for the little lathes discussed here, for 10" plus lathes, they are much faster and easier than either single point threading or running a die. If you have to do much of this, it's worth looking into. Each unique thread pitch can be purchased for maybe $10 or so on eBay. I paid $150 for my die head with 4 thread pitches.

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If I wanted to buy one, what would I search for? I have a 12x36 lathe with an MT2 tailstock.

 

[mmcmdl]

They are out there . I know where a couple reside at this point . Better to run them in your carriage though as you can thread thru the die head for long threads such as all thread .

 

[mmcmdl]

If I wanted to buy one, what would I search for? I have a 12x36 lathe with an MT2 tailstock.

I have Geometric die heads in 3/8s and 3/4s sizes as well as the chasers . As time allows , they'll be listed below . I also have the chaser grinding fixture for sharpening them if anyone has a SG .

 

[benmychree]

For a 9 or 10" lathe, I'd look for a Geometric 9/16 style D die head. There are other brands out there, but Geometric is the most common and easy to set up and change chasers, which are also more plentiful. I also use a Jones & Lampson Hartness die head, it is a PITA to change chasers, but it came cheap, with lots of chasers.

 

[macardoso]

I have Geometric die heads in 3/8s and 3/4s sizes as well as the chasers . As time allows , they'll be listed below . I also have the chaser grinding fixture for sharpening them if anyone has a SG .

I'll be watching

 

[mmcmdl]

After getting them out , I have a 9/16s and 3/4 . I used the smaller one more on the mill than the lathe . Set up a Hardinge head with stop and you can knock some threads out in a hurry

 

[benmychree]

So far as I know, Geometric die heads came in 5/16, 9/16, 3/4, 1", and 1 1/4" sizes and perhaps larger, and in several styles, including style D, the most common, and the easiest to get chasers for. The others, including DS, not too easy to get reasonably priced chasers for.

 

[Winegrower]

For a 9 or 10" lathe, I'd look for a Geometric 9/16 style D die head.

This is the size I have. I have chasers from 4-40 up to 1/2-13. I just hold the straight shank in my tailstock Jacobs chuck, that opens to 3/4”. I can change to a different thread pitch in maybe a minute, after I remember afresh how to do it each time.
The thread quality for me is at least as good as single point, and I tell you, zap, it’s done. I would and have set this up to do a single part.