PROBLEM-SOLVING PRODUCTS
When it’s okay to
screw up your wood
THE PRODUCT: Wood
THE KIT: The kit
MADE BY: Woodcraft
WHAT IT DOES: Creates matching threads on hardwood dowels
and in holes.
AVAILABLE AT WOODCRAFT:
½", ¾", 1", 1¼", 1½" diameters,
#12T13-#12T17
Anybody who collects antiques
knows of the myriad of applications
that old world woodworkers found
for threaded dowels (see “Best
Applications” on page 69). The large,
coarse threads offer remarkable
holding power and an astonishing
degree of torque. And now, with the
Wood Threading Kit—which offers
precision cutters—you can make
short work of cutting both inside
and outside threads, though a few
precautions are in order.
A
B
72 w o o dc r aft m a g a z i n e tip alert
PRICE: $32.99 to $42.99
tester: John English
includes a threadbox for
threading the dowel and a
tap to thread holes for the
threaded dowel. The hard
maple threadbox has a cast
and machined aluminum
guide and a V-shaped
steel cutter held in place
by a brass cutter lock. The
matching tap comes with
a steel T-bar handle that
provides torque while
threading the pilot hole.
Consider soaking your
hardwood dowels in water
for the cleanest, easiest
cutting action.
THreading SETUP:
For external threading, choose
perfectly round and straightgrained hardwood dowels for best
results. I took the threadbox to the
lumberyard to check that the dowels
I bought were a good fit—not too
loose or tight. Use the hole in the
rectangular hardwood block screwed
to the bottom of the threadbox as a
guide. The dowel should fit into this
hole without any slop.
Following the instructions, I
sanded a 1/8" chamfer on the dowel
end to be threaded by rotating it
against a belt sander at about 45° as
shown in Photo A. Then I clamped
the dowel vertically in a bench vise
with wooden jaws, and applied a light
coating of linseed oil as a lubricant
during threading. (The oil can be
reduced later on with mineral spirits,
if a different finish will be applied,
A
B
D
C
The Wood Threading Kit accommodates
½", ¾", 1", 1¼", 1½" hardwood dowels and
includes a threadbox (A) for the external
threads and a tap with T-bar (B) for carving
out internal threads; to drill the starter tapping
holes, you’ll also need a 3/8", 5/8", 7/8" (C), 17/8",
13/8" drill bit, respectively. For a blind hole (as
opposed to a through-hole tap) pick up an
appropriately sized bottom tap (D).
and tung oil works, too. See the Tip
Alert.) More lubricant usually means
a smoother cut, but a bigger mess.
THE TEST: Next, I placed the
threadbox on the dowel end, applied
a little downward pressure during the
first turn, and then kept turning in a
clockwise direction as shown in the
above photo. Once you start, do not
back up more than a quarter turn or
you could mess up your threads. If
the cutter is sharp (and ours came
from the factory that way), the whole
operation will go very smoothly.
I achieved
Never thread end grain;
excellent
working with face and
results on the
edge grain yields the
strongest and sharpest
very first try.
tip alert
Threading Kit
threads.
THE Tapping SETUP: To
make matching internal threads, I
found that the tap is even easier to
use. First drill an appropriately sized
hole (1/8" smaller in diameter than
Feb/Mar 2008
the dowel) in
the workpiece as
shown in Photo
B. If drilling
a through
hole, back the
C
workpiece with
scrap to avoid tear-out on the bottom face.
THE TEST: Now, secure the workpiece in a wood
vise or elsewhere, slip the T-handle in the tap, and turn
the tap clockwise into the hole as shown in Photo C. It’s
important that the tap is vertical to begin with. Unlike
the threadbox, reverse the cutting motion constantly to
clear chips. A little oil goes a long way here. Bottoming
taps, sold separately, are available for cutting threads all
the way down to the bottom of a blind hole.
BEST APPLICATIONS: The Wood Threading
Kit proves ideal for making antique planes, handscrews,
bar clamps, vises, and veneer presses. In the world
of home furnishings, you’ll see threaded parts used
in adjustable candle and music stands, novelty boxes
(having wooden nuts and bolts), tabletop nutcrackers,
knockdown furniture, and toys.
TESTER’S TAKE: Though the kit is remarkably
easy to use, the cutter will require sharpening with
extensive use. I found it fun to use contrasting species
such as walnut dowels on maple projects. Two things
to keep in mind when threading dowels are to oil the
threads before screwing the dowel into the hole (or
it will never come out!), and also to thread a long
dowel and then cut it off close to the
threadbox, so that you don’t have to
reverse the cutter along the part that
you want to keep.
out of biscuits
4
5
WHAT PRODUCTS PERPLEX YOU?
Have you ever looked in a woodworking catalog or browsed in
a woodworking store and encountered a product that baffled
you? You eyeball the item, read the promotional information, but
still don’t see the product’s value? Hopefully, with this column
in Woodcraft Magazine, these days are over. We’ll select a few
“mystery products” for each issue and show how to use them
beyond the manufacturer’s take. We’ll point out their pluses,
problems, practical shop applications, and grade them. If you
know of a few such products that need more explanation, email
us at [email protected] to let us know.
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4023 Ultimate Jig 3.375x4.875 Woodcraft
m a g a z i n e 73