Cut my first thread today.

[Razzle]

I wouldn't say it is perfect but it fits and will serve its purpose. I need a take up nut for the spindle on my Logan 820 to replace the collet closer nut that came with the lathe (sadly no collet closer). I need to replace it in order to get the gear cover mounted and closed.
This will be the thread Gauge to test the new nut when I make it.
Cut in aluminum 'cause I have a lot of it.
I will say that I stumbled into it more than got it right. I fully expected to trash the first couple before I got it correct. Beginner's luck. All those YouTube videos on threading I watched must have served a purpose after all.
I have found that I need to work on the dials on my Logan. Not only are they small they also are not behaving correctly. Time to take them apart and make them work better.

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[vocatexas]

Congrats! Looks good. Much better than MY first attempt.

 

[benmychree]

Looks like a cutting fluid would helped with thread finish, WD 40 or kerosene.

 

[markba633csi]

Liquid wrench makes a pretty good aluminum cutting fluid too if that's all ya got
-M

 

[tq60]

We have a collection of old radio racks.

Handy stuff but the gumiest stuff to machine.

Only saving grace is it is butter soft.

ATF works very well.

Dawn also works well and makes everything very clean, just need to oil the machine.

Almost anything wet and slippery will help with aluminum, just get it into the interface between cutter and stock.

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[mmcmdl]

As my former teacher would say , " that looks like a plowed field " ! The crappy finish is due to a lack of lubricant . The main objective was met , and we move on . Great job .

 

[Razzle]

Thank you all. Yeah, I didn't use any lubricant. My bad. I got too hung up on the setup and mechanics and forgot the wd40. I used hss and had the Logan set to 36 rpm. Biggest problem was just reading the dials. I need to clean them, fill the gradations with paint and get them to stay where I set them. Bigger dials are on the list too.
The actual take up nut will be in steel. That should be interesting.

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[BGHansen]

Curious, carbide insert or ground HSS? Compound at a 30 or 29 1/2? Advance the compound or cross feed? Lots of ways to skin a cat.

Bruce

 

[BGHansen]

Looks nice for a first or even 10th try. More reps help with the pucker-factor when getting close to the end of cut. And the second guessing of "did I advance the cross feed and/or compound?", "what number did I start at?", "what if the half-nut lever sticks and I crash?" A lot of us will dress the threads after the fact with a 60 deg. file.

Bruce

 

[homebrewed]

Judging by the text stamped on your hunk of aluminum, I'd guess you used something better than gummy hardware-store aluminum. So cutting fluid plus some additional final "spring" passes would likely improve the result. But, still, pretty darned good for a first try!

I still haven't attempted cutting inside threads so would be interested to hear what your experience is.