# ALMOST COULDNT FIGURE IT OUT



## riversidedan (Aug 16, 2021)

Had a hellofva time figuring out how to use a octagon die in my cheapo round die holders, so wound up putting the die in the chuck then running the part in the tail stock chuck , only problem was the damn round part kept slipping in the chuck so made a tin sleeve put it around the part and reefed down on the chuck key and fianally got some threads.......thiers gotta be a better way to do that..............other problem was both ends of the rod had diffent threads..so no matter what end I put in the TS it would get chewed up w/o protection


----------



## mmcmdl (Aug 16, 2021)

There is ! Get yeself an octagonal die holder !


----------



## chatter chatter cut cut (Aug 16, 2021)

grind off the points and make the die round. it works for me.just make it fit in the tailstock die holder. it does not even have to be pretty.


----------



## Bob Korves (Aug 16, 2021)

chatter chatter cut cut said:


> grind off the points and make the die round. it works for me.just make it fit in the tailstock die holder. it does not even have to be pretty.


For what the original poster is looking for, to be used in a tail stock chuck, the outside diameter of the finished die would need to be coaxial with the thread cutters, to keep the tool and the part concentric.  That requires a concentric setup, not likely to happen with grinding the hex points off by hand.


----------



## Bi11Hudson (Aug 16, 2021)

My first question would be "octaganal vs hexagonal". I have never seen an eight sided die, which is not to say they don't exist. I've just never seen one. . . First off, the die must be held to the centerline of the machine, *arbitrarily* grinding off the corners negates this possibility. Best bet would be to find a suitable die holder. Second would be to use setscrews to hold the die steady. But this requires the holder be roughly the same size as the hex die across the points. A fancy solution would be to thread stock to fit the die, then attach the die to the stock and grind the die OD to size on the spindle. This has several down sides. First is simply modifying the die so it would never fit its' original stock again. Then the possibility of generating too much heat and destroying the metal. And just how sure are you that it is truely concentric to the work? 

My personal approach is to "single point" the thread most of the way and use a die to get the finish cut. Such a process can be held with a "die stock" or even a "channel-locks". It doesn't require a die holder. I bought a tailstock die holder a while back. It's a "cute" tool, but not really useful. I'll probably end up making something(?) else from it. Right up front, even with all the adaptors that came with it, only a quarter of my tools will fit. Well, maybe a third. "They" seem to have devised the tool to fit "modern day" metric tools. I have some SAE and USS dies that go back to at least the '50s. My old man was mechanicing during the '30s. Some of his tools date from those days, and likely were bought used then. I recently found on eBay some "button" dies for odd machine screw sizes that were around 7/16 in size. Decidedly less than 1/2 inch.

But to keep things in perspective, I must admit that much(most) of my work is small. 1/4-20 and smaller is the norm for my work. 1/2-20 is huge, and seldom seen. 2-56 (0.086") is probably the most common size that I thread. I have taps and dies up to 3/4-10 but that's because they came in the set. I have yet to use one.

The only use for those "tail stock" die holders is on a lathe, and possibly a milling machine. I would say to get good at threading in a vise, and single point the lathe work to 80% and use the die for the finish size. Same as with a tap. Most work with a tap is by hand, with appropriate checking that you're running true. The skill is in the operator, not the machine. . . 

.


----------



## riversidedan (Aug 16, 2021)

from reading the responses would have to say hex die holders would be the fix and I would not go grinding on new dies.   then again havent been doing this long so maybe thiers other methods........interesting the cheap dies are round and fit nicely in the round die holders.....UGH , more to learn and  $$$$ to spend


----------



## Bi11Hudson (Aug 16, 2021)

Bi11Hudson said:


> The skill is in the operator, not the machine. . .


----------



## chatter chatter cut cut (Aug 16, 2021)

thread the die on a piece of round stock . use another nut to lock it . mount in chuck, use tool post grinder. grind it round to fit die holder.
the 6 sided dies are for chasing damaged threads.... the round ones are for making new ones.


----------



## riversidedan (Aug 16, 2021)

got the 1st part  "just cant picture a tool post grinder


----------



## chatter chatter cut cut (Aug 17, 2021)

check out my post of aug 1 titled carbide bits ect . you will see a picture of a dremel tool with strapped on keystock to mount in tool holder. there isn't much to grind off to make the die fit.


----------



## Asm109 (Aug 17, 2021)

Thread first end, Take two nuts thread them on and jam them together with two wrenches.  grind points off one nut so it is smaller than flats of other nut.
Mount shaft in 3jaw using flats of nut.
Cut second thread.


----------

