[Metrology] Thread "go gauge" set?

[ErichKeane]

SO, I find myself single-pointing quite a bit on the lathe, and find myself being unsure about my thread dimensions for fit. I usually hit them, but would love if I could find a set of "go gauges" to test my threads to confirm before I pull the material out of the lathe?

I've seen these (https://www.boltdepot.com/Product-Details.aspx?product=16988) which are basically what I want, though I was hoping for something a little more accurate (since today I tend to just grab a bolt/nut, but am afraid they are pretty 'loose') since I want to make sure my threads are a pretty good fit!

Does anything like that exist? Or is this just a case where you pick up the above and figure it is close enough?

 

[benmychree]

There are go/no go gages for external and internal threads, when I was in business I bought a fairly extensive set of go gages for external threads, used on e bay; they may have been out of calibration, but good enough for the work that we did, and likely better that a random nut. Before I use a not to gage a thread, I run a sharp tap through it to clean out any possible burrs.

 

[ErichKeane]

There are go/no go gages for external and internal threads, when I was in business I bought a fairly extensive set of go gages for external threads, used on e bay; they may have been out of calibration, but good enough for the work that we did, and likely better that a random nut. Before I use a not to gage a thread, I run a sharp tap through it to clean out any possible burrs.

I think thats exactly what I'm looking for, a go/no-go set of 'hobbiest grade' gauges. All the ones I can find are like $100 for a single size!

 

[benmychree]

On e bay, I got them a lot cheaper than that.

 

[mmcmdl]

They are called thread Ring gages for external , and thread Plug gages for internal . They sell go and no-go gages and they are very expensive . To be effective , they also should be calibrated every 6 months or so .

 

[ErichKeane]

They are called thread Ring gages for external , and thread Plug gages for internal . They sell go and no-go gages and they are very expensive . To be effective , they also should be calibrated every 6 months or so .

Yeah, looking for something less intense than that. Somewhere between that and "hardware store nuts/bolts". I think I don't even need the no-gos, just the bolt-side at the top end of the range, and the nut side at the tightest part of the range (so that I'd they fit you KNOW anything standard will go).

 

[ThinWoodsman]

I looked at getting some of those too, and even used on ebay they are too pricey - like twenty to thirty dollars per gage, which is great if you only make one kind of thread but pretty lousy otherwise.

If you want a cop-out that's better than a random nut/bolt, you could get one of those thread-checker sets. They are probably pretty loose in tolerance, as they are used for thread identification rather than thread QA - but if you make threads to the checker, they should turn out compatible with commercially-made threads, and your threads will all have been made to the same standard.

heh, never mind- just hit your bolt depot link and see you know about these already. Yeah, it's bolt-detective or $$$$ as far as I've found.

 

[SLK001]

I just make my own. I take a piece of O1 of appropriate size, knurl the outside, cut if off, then drill and tap to the size I am cutting. The ""NO-GO" is when the "gauge" doesn't thread on and the "GO" is when it does!