Threading a dowel

[Jon Shively]

Can a person with enough skill cut threads on a dowel using a lathe? Or is there a specific tool to do it with on a wood lathe?

[Jonathon Spafford]

You can use a thread chaser... this is a common way to make threaded lids for boxes! http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/cgi-bin/shopper?preadd=action&key=905-2016

[Gordon Seto]

With limitation on the characters of the wood.
You would have better success on tight grain wood with hand thread chasing . Threads on coarse grain wood do not hold up well at all.
There are also several threading jigs (Bonnie Klein, Baxter) that you can attach to the lathe.

Gordon

[Pete Jordan]

Can a person with enough skill cut threads on a dowel using a lathe? Or is there a specific tool to do it with on a wood lathe?

Jon,

That is what I am trying to learn right now. I have the Stuart Batty DVD which does an excellent job of explaining how to do it. The type of wood means everything. Stuart uses boxwood in his demos. I also read where fruit woods do not work very well. One article recommends making a little "trough" and filling it with CA and repeating the process.

Good Luck!

[Gordon Seto]

I have the Stuart Batty DVD which does an excellent job of explaining how to do it.

Pete,

I think you meant Allan Batty, the father. Good luck and be prepared to pay premium for English boxwood. At the Kentucky Symposium, I saw couple half logs of boxwood. The $140 half logs were no bigger than 8" diameter, 12" long. They were sold very fast.
Africian Blackwood is the next best and more affordable.

Gordon

[Jon Shively]

Okay, my reason for asking this question, saw a real nice mantle clock that instead of the standard columns, had wooden dowels threaded and wooden nuts on top of the clock actually holding it together. Really liked the looks and thought of a hundred project ideas (okay, maybe 10 really, really good ones). Then couldn't decide how a person did this. Knowing my neighbor as when I was a kid could cut threads on his metal lathe just assumed it was cut on a wood lathe. Anyway, posted this question here as well as on the general tool section. Found what I was looking for. Sorry, looks like the router is the tool for this job. The Beall system (hope I am not doing something wrong here Andy) http://www.woodshopdemos.com/beall1.htm seems to fit the bill exactly. Thanks for the suggestions. Check out this website, really seems amazing.

[Pete Jordan]

Pete,

I think you meant Allan Batty, the father. Good luck and be prepared to pay premium for English boxwood. At the Kentucky Symposium, I saw couple half logs of boxwood. The $140 half logs were no bigger than 8" diameter, 12" long. They were sold very fast.
Africian Blackwood is the next best and more affordable.

Gordon

You are right. I get the father and son mixed up. Sorry

[Gordon Seto]

Yes, Jon, another limitation on hand chased thread is also the size of the female thread. It would be challenging if not impossible to do smaller diameter threads. The Beall Wood Threader may be an easier solution.

Gordon

[Joash Boyton]

I've seen, a tool, that sits in your chuck...tighten it in, and then you have a long square piece of timber avout 1"x1" and you set the tailstock up, and then wind the timber through this little tool in your chuck, while it's spinning, it has a set of cutters, it is very fast, and comes out with a great finish.

I've seen them around....but no links sorry:o

Joash

[Mark Densmore]

Grizzly sells wood threading taps and dies 1/2 3/4 and 1 inch sizes. search for wood taps on the website.