A cup of coffee with breakfast and a Keith Rucker video! A great way to start the day!!👏👏👏😎👍🛠

When I use a split die I put the split under the middle setscrew tighten that to hold the die open, the secure with the two outside screws. After that operation I then back the centre screw out and retighten the outer screws to cut the true thread size

Nifty little tool. This channel's costing me a fortune!!

Don't worry - I love to see the "simple" things as they're so useful, and maybe wouldn't be thought of otherwise. Thank you.

Thanks man! Have always been curious as to how they work. You’re the man!

Very cool. Great way to start the week. Thanks for the project. It is certainly appreciated.

Thanks Keith. I'm glad you went ahead and made this one. It answered several questions for me. One, I have long wondered about running a thread die backwards -- didn't know if there was some mysterious reason why you shouldn't.... Also, I want to shop for one of those devices, like you have. Always love new gadgets. Thanks for all your good videos. You always get an A+ in my book. Bob (Jacksonville, FL)

Loved it. Thanks for the 'look' at the floating holder!!👍

Thank you, I very much appreciate learning the simple things that can be done on a lathe. I don't have a lathe yet and have never used one but the more I watch you the more of an itch I get

THANK YOU...for sharing. Nice lathe accessory.

It's cool jig. Simple enough to make one real quick. Thanks Mr Rucker.

I bought one of those a few months ago to do something similar. It worked quite well. If you are ordering one, be aware there are non-floating and floating types. Like Keith, I had bought the floating type.

Thank you for the video Keith you showing me a new trick for the lathe and I found a company in Victoria Australia who sells that item.

Nice tool. Thanks for showing. Enjoyed it

This video was very timely for me, I am doing an almost exactly the same thing but on 8 short bars with a thread on each end. I rigged up a dodgy spring feed to get the die to start which worked most of the time (the spring had other ideas on one of them). I was also concerned that my threads did not reach the shoulder but seeing how you reversed the die allayed my fears that I would damage it, so now I am off to the shed to make my amateur job look like a professional one thanks to this video. Regards from Australia, Keith.

Great demo

Thanks for sharing!

Thanks Keith. Interesting as always

I think that is such a good idea. Handy tool. I think especially for small threads.

I have a floating die holder that can be set to "outrun the key" at a given depth and freewheel, eliminating the need to stop the lathe.

Nice little easy to watch video. But also love the 30-40 min project videos. 👍

I really enjoy your narrative and the quality of your work. I am not a machinist, never used a metal lathe and as such I am in awe of the methematical prowess it takes. Unfortunately I am 73 so cannot now change careers. I have had my turn. Keep up the excellent videos.

Useful video. I have to do this job and have bought a tailstock die holder. Thanks Keith 😊

Thanks so much for your vlogs was great fun

I once had to make a floating, adjustable and telescopic handled die holder(allowing both machine and manual control as sprungd handles extended to allow hand torque application) as an apprentice to get my first job in a machine shop as a novice!! I also had to design it too! Turned out well and the shop paid me the equivalent of an over the couter cheap die stock - Loved the job for 18months, and the experience/knowledge, but my bad back(ciatica) hated it, even with duck boards!!! Ps. Threads to a shoulder are best done in reverse screw threading, as you can get the form nice and tight, all the way to the shoulder(no die lead ins, etc). Keep on, keeping on.......

If you want to thread to a shoulder the easiest way ist to remove that pin, on such small thread you can just hold it by hand, as far as I know they are designed to be used by hand most of the time

Kinda reminds me of the Flex Arm. Very cool video.

This would be a great future project for you to make...

Holy smokes that cut-off saw certainly did the job cutting that little stick. 😆😆 Thank you for the video! :-)

Hi, Keith from Keith. I certainly like this floating die tool, never seen one. But it handles, the tourqe for quick threading, a very nice feature 👍.

This was awesome

Keith, I checked a number of the regular suppliers and did not find anyone who carried a similar device. However a somewhat similar version was listed on EBay. This might make a simple and interesting project for a future video!

Coventry die box makes a good job of threads

Hi Keith, nice job. It can be even easier by not moving the tail stock and just letting the die holder move back and forth. You may have a reason for not doing that so I will apologies in advance if I missed something.

I'm used to those holders, just without that locknut. U have to hold it by hand, yea a bit of force is needed, but u can't break sth when going right to the shoulder

Even with this I'd add some thread relief, so you avoid having those half cut threads right next to the shoulder. That way you can screw anything right up to the shoulder without it jamming. Not sure if running the die backwards could damage it. Either way some relief would be recommended.

I learned something, thanks

The Shed Dweller prototyped an automatic thread tool retracting device for single pointing at high rpm. Well worth looking at. So are his other tool builds. Big Mona(rch) is looking kind of lonely. Hope you can showcase her at work sometime soon.

i call it a tailstock die holder, i made one a while back, nice little project

Making one of those floating die holders will be on my short list for sure when I get my lathe set up again. I don't understand some people's fear of and/or distaste for single point threading though, honestly. It's one of my favorite operations on my lathe! Granted I was a USAF machinist so that was a huge part of our day-to-day routine, but still...the average home machinist can easily do it with very little practice. Grab a machinery's handbook and a chunk of scrap aluminum and give it a whirl. It's a really fun process.

Oh that makes sense, I got a bunch of machinist tools from my Grandfather and there were 2 or 3 of these in there and I couldn't figure out what they were for lol (edit: mine are tap holders)

Love all the videos. just wondering if there is any thing new on the stoker engine.

That's pretty nice. I probably at some point wish I knew I could turn the die around to finish a short thread

GREAT JOB, GREAT VIDEO, [ BACK TO WORK ]...

Interesting. I work at a production shop that rolled the threads instead of cutting. Kinefec was the name if I remember.

Production tip: use single point threading method to get threads exactly where you want them, then use die to quickly cut last few thousandths to proper depth.

A necking undercut would save the time needed to recut the bottom of threads with the die reversed. I use a spring loaded tension compression type in the CNC lathe to do longer small threads and not have to fight part deflection - like a #8-32 thread 1½ long.

It's just one of those benefits of being a machinist for so long, you've got all sorts of tools that make certain jobs just a little but easier. As for people looking to get one of these for their own shop, it's probably an easy enough job to just make one.

Thanks Keith, ((-: and even funnier, I just bought a floating die holder for the 10EE

Hi it’s Stacie! Awesome video! Something new to watch! Hope all is well!

Interesting video. Die threading the way the die is made for I know. Turning the die "backwards" to make some more threads I've seen a number of times. However some reputated Tuber, don't remember who, pointed out that the die usually/normally/???? doesn't have any edge for cutting that way. It obviously work..... Comments from people knowing more?

Die drivers are a great tool! As long as you don't run the die into a shoulder. Ask me how I know. LOL Thing go sideways REALLY fast when you do and it tears things up bad. One plus about single pointing, you might break the insert and tear up the part a little but you'll be OK otherwise.

8:06 - Do dies cut on the 'trailing' edges? BTW, Joe Pye showed a way, running the lathe in reverse with the single-point cutter mounted upside-down, to begin the cut at the shoulder and run out off the end. 11:25 - Problem for most of us is finding 'practice times' calendar-close to 'really-need times'. Cutting the blind internal thread on the as-cast face-plate blank for my old lathe meant a week or so of spare-time effort (and more than a bit of scrap) to get comfortable.

when do you use the metal saw and when would you use a band saw or a big one like abom79 with coolant. what are the plus and minus of each way . ps thanks ahead of time

Single point threading up to a shoulder is risky because if you allow the cutter to contact the shoulder by being late disengaging the half nut, disengaging the half nut is difficult and could damage the half nut.

great

Big thumbs up to you Keith. But no need to go to eBay for one of those tools - I used 10 minutes to make my own years ago, and it does an excellent job. Being double sided, it uses both common sizes of dies, just like the one Blondiehacks made recently.

They call it a lathe tailstock die holder. Available on amazon and mcmaster-carr.

Mine doesn't have the key; you hand hold it from spinning. You can go a bit faster and when you hit the shoulder you just let go, or if it grabs you can just let go. Probably better for 1/4" or below. It does have a Tommy bar if you can't hold the knurl by hand for larger sizes.

is it important to use thread relief.

You got it right, Keith. $42.00 - $72.00 on Amazon. I just did a search for a floating die holder and ended up with a full page of them on Amazon. Ed

I'd KILL to have that type threading attachment to my tailstock to my Unimat as the Unimat Lathe is belt driven NO half nut or thread cutting gears to make it single point thread! SO, I'm JEALOUS! I MAY make a tailstock attachment to do just what this bigger version does, seems pretty straight forward to make, to fit my mini machine!

The part that was supposed to be floating wasn't floating with the first side. It pulled the morse taper out instead and the tang was keeping it from rotating.

Was it my imagination or did the piece spin in the chuck when you got the die down to the bottom?

but what advantage does the "float" give you in this application?

Is there a reason you don't provide a relief groove for the thread?

7:05 Did you have the lathe jaws loose so it would slip when the die bottomed out? How did you get it tight enough so it would cut but loose enough so it wouldn't break the die?

I hope ToT is watching this, he can make one for us to follow and replicate.

Problem today seems to be every time I buy a die it comes in a different shape and sized circumference. Some of the smaller sizes are ridiculously small outer diameters. I have to have a drawer full of adapters and even then it seems I often don't have the right one..

If nothing else, the monarch deserves it

Keith- have you got a bearing going bad or something similar on that lathe? It sounded kind of harsh on the video.

why did you not let it float, you wound the tailstock in and when you reversed it you munted the threads

Hiya Keith

Notice how the whole unit spins in his tailstock slightly ? Likely scoring his tailstock taper.... seat it harder maybe ? Hope you have MT taper reamers

My shop teacher said if you're threading to a shoulder, you should take your thinnest parting tool and undercut a little thread relief. (And if you're not cutting with a die, he said to put the lathe in back gears and thread outward - less opportunity for drama). I'm sure you know more than my shop teacher, though. (And you surely know more than I do!) So where have I gone wrong?

That stock was still 0.508 after you cleaned it up, wasn't it? What if the customer actually had a 0.500 or .503 hole? I know that, when I buy some tool steels (S1, for instance) that they make it about 10 thou oversize to allow for for decarb, but I wouldn't think you'd need that for this job.

What ever happened to the Stoker Engine?

Interesting that he does work for other people while constantly apologizing for how long it takes for him to work on his own stuff (which is what the channel is about).

where i can buy?

Why are you shanks glittering?

Not all lathes have a brake.

Why not reverse single point thread it when it's such a short thread? It's also a nice beginner project to make one on the lathe

I get a bit nervous about these die holders. Even if you can see exactly where the front edge of the die is, most machines don’t stop immediately. They don’t have that brake. If not, the die will pull in after you stop the machine, and it will crash. Unfortunately, it’s impossible to determine how much the rotation will continue. It depends on the speed, material, the diameter, the threads, etc. So turning the lathe by hand is still required. I like floating die holders that themselves turn so you can do it manually.

The thread finish is rough compared to a single point thread.

Nice but you didn't use the floating feature - you used the tailstock to move the die.

wow what a novel idea

I have one, probably me doing some thing wrong but in my opinion it is next to useless only two out of ten threads ever cut successfully.

well it's a lathe kzfaq.infoUgkxN9zrzkkhnjUF5PQbuA_B1gYdsfCu9k6z but it wasn't what i would have anticipated. Headstock, tailstock, carriage apron are manufactured from aluminum now not cast iron. The spindle diameter for the bearings is too small allowing for a few play in the spindle so I am using some blue Loctite to take out the play.

Somebody help me here. It appears to me he was not taking advantage of the pinned slot when he was manually feeding the die with the tailstock. It's very obvious he was doing this as the pin stayed in it original location the whole time and you can see the tailstock being hand wheeled in. What's the purpose of using a "floating" tailstock die holder if you are going to manually feed the die. Also I thought from Keith talking up the short distance and the shoulder that the die holder would free spin when it hit the shoulder. I didn't see that advantage when it hit the shoulder and spun the work piece. Couldn't see how it would do that either. Operator still had to be concerned with the die crashing into the shoulder.

"Clickspring" made one of these a few years back. See kzfaq.info/get/bejne/g9N3rd2Lqqy3eok.html His design double ended (different sized dies in each end) but does require a bit of machining to make. Still, if you have a lathe......

😂 well I got the di,... now only a lathe and the tool holder...

Oh dear, it looks like all the ol' grumpy's are out and about today,....you'll complain even more, when those who put their videos on youtube, decide that it's not worth the grief.... and there is always more than one way to skin a cat.

The number is zero a letter is oh

How on Earth is using a die cheating? That must mean using a tap is cheating too. I would love to see you make a ¼" 20 nut by single point internal threading.

If the customer specified a half an inch why wouldn’t you bother to go exactly a half an inch? It’s just possible the customer knows what he’s talking about.

Easier to do with a regular die holder, then all you need to do is turn the die holder around to thread up against the shoulder. Notice your lathe motor has a really long wind down before you can reverse.

Google lathe floating die holder.

Obviously off topic but I don't think the phrase "rpm's" is correct assuming you mean rotation(-s) per minute.. Everything above 1 rotation per minute (the "rpm) should be named rotations per minute or r'spm (to be pronounced as 'arspee-em).

Your slide didn't work. The tool was coming out of the tail stock.

I don't see the advantage of using that tool compared to a normal die.