Containers for Sewing Needles and Pins

[rxh]

These small gifts were made from scraps of boxwood. The threads and knurling were cut with hand tools.

 

[DaveL]

They are very nice.

 

[Malc2098]

Nice.

 

[AndyT]

Very smart and very interesting... I've recently bought an assortment of internal and external thread chasers and worked out how to hold them with the lantern style tool holder on my Barnes lathe, so may well have a go at something similar. Did you make these on your Barnes? Did you use single point thread tools, chasers or tap & die?

And did you do all the wood shaping on the metalwork lathe?

I'm hoping you have some wip photos...

 

[rxh]

Very smart and very interesting... I've recently bought an assortment of internal and external thread chasers and worked out how to hold them with the lantern style tool holder on my Barnes lathe, so may well have a go at something similar. Did you make these on your Barnes? Did you use single point thread tools, chasers or tap & die?

And did you do all the wood shaping on the metalwork lathe?

I'm hoping you he some wip photos...

Thanks Andy - I did the turning and drilling on a wood lathe (an Arundel dating from the 1960s). The threads were cut using engineering taps and dies, using a lathe as an unpowered aid to avoid getting "drunken" threads (see photo). I have found that dies work well on boxwood (even ACME threads can be cut this way). Soaking the wood in oil beforehand is helpful. I have not found any other wood types that can be threaded well with dies but taps work in many woods, even into end grain.

I too have recently obtained some thread chasers and I have been experimenting with them. I have tried freehand chasing of threads in wood but I haven't had much success so far. I did cut a fairly good thread in padauk but ruined it by taking one last pass. I tried some apple but the results were poor. More practice is needed by I am reluctant to sacrifice boxwood for this.

I have used the chasers clamped in the the lathe tool post to finish off threads cut with a single point tool - that worked very well. However I have not yet tried cutting wooden threads with a chaser held in the tool post.

 

[AndyT]

Thanks Richard, that's helpful. When I get round to some experiments, I'll put some pictures on here.

 

[AndyP]

Very nice and not easy to work with such small items

I have just stacked a few bits of boxwood. Hope I can remember those when the time comes.

Lignum vitae takes taps and dies quite well.

 

[Woodbloke]

Very smart and very interesting... I've recently bought an assortment of internal and external thread chasers

Totally agree; excellent job. My mate Andy Pickard let me have a couple of hand thread chasers for the lathe just before 'lockdown'.It's been a longstanding item on my tuit list to learn how to cut threads by hand on the lathe - Rob