# Thread Gauges. Does Anyone Know How.....?



## 12bolts (Nov 18, 2016)

Ok, got you interested enough to read this far. This is about thread pitch gauges that come as a set. 20-40 individual leaves that fold out of a pair of panels. Do you know how they are made? Are they stamped? Cut? Ground? Im guessing the chinese knock offs are stamped. But what about the better name tools?

Cheers Phil


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## rgray (Nov 18, 2016)

I have a 30 year old snap -on tap and die set and the thread gauges are very nice. I bought a new snap-on set this year and the thread gauges look like someone chewed the teeth into them. There is quite a bur on one side of all of them That makes it look like they were cut but could be left from stamping also. 
Maybe they just skip the deburring step in china.


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## brino (Nov 18, 2016)

Sorry Phil, I have no answer but have wondered the same thing.

The high-thread count leaves have such a fine pitch I'd be surprised if a simple stamp or shear operation could produce them reliably.....I am not saying some manufacturers wouldn't try, just that I believe the results would be poor.

-brino


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## Dabbler (Dec 14, 2016)

Just found this thread.  They used to be produced by a technique called 'double blanking'.  Each leaf is stamped out using a conventional punch and die with a tang for positioning.  it would then move to the second die that would shave just a few thousandths off the perimeter and removes the tang(s) which leaves it essentially burr-free .  They were then tumbled in an abrasive mixture to refine the finish, then oiled and assembled.

Some of the very cheap ones from Asia are still made that way.  By using a high-magnification loupe you can usually see the blanking marks.  I'm I'm sorry to hear that the new domestic ones are made so poorly.


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## 4GSR (Dec 15, 2016)

I was under the impression they would gang up a couple hundred blanks, held in a fixture, and then hob mill the teeth or threads on the blanks.


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## kd4gij (Dec 16, 2016)

I think you would be hard pressed to find anyone that don't stamp them out now days.


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## 4GSR (Dec 17, 2016)

kd4gij said:


> I think you would be hard pressed to find anyone that don't stamp them out now days.


Yeah, the new one's today are definitely stamped out.  I was referring to one's made before the 1970's.


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## kd4gij (Dec 17, 2016)

And the quality coming off modern punches makes it the best process for the parts.


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