IB Topic How To Cut Internal Threads

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Topic: How to cut internal threads, ...in case you wanted to know < Next Oldest | Next Newest >
GeneT
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J oined: April 2005
Posted: Dec. 23 2008,14:50
In this exercise we'll cut some internal threads. I nternal threading is very much like external threading, but with two additional
challenges:
1.Getting over your fear of cutting internal threads.
2.Remembering to dial the cross-slide in the opposite direction to back out of the cut at the end.
As you can see, that's only one 'real' challenge, and it's not a difficult one to overcome.
Required Tools:
1.A bench grinder with course and fine stones
2.A sharpening stone
3.A lathe with change gears or a quick- change gear box
4.A 60* threading gage ('fishtail' gage)
5.A thread pitch gage.
Required Materials
1.A threading tool these are numerous in design and any internal tool will work, they may be
1.Ground from a single piece
2.A High Speed Steel (HSS) bit, appropriately ground and placed in a boring bar
3.A carbide insert type. (Not recommended for your first attempts, unless you don't mind ruining $25 inserts when you mess up...)
2.A piece of metal with a hole in it to bore
Process:
Let's start by preparing a tool. I f you're using a manufactured tool, you can skip down to lathe setup. We'll detail creating a tool to fit
in a boring bar. We'll use a commercial boring bar, but don't be afraid to make one, they're no more complex than a piece of bar
with a hole cross-drilled through it and and a center hole drilled and tapped to hold the cutter in place. Generally speaking you want
to use the largest boring bar that will fit into the hole to be threaded but remember you must leave room for the threading tip as
well! If you make a bar, it should be cross-drilled for a specific size toolbit, select a size that is wide enough to cut your full thread.
One nice thing about grinding internal threading tools is that they generally use a smaller tool bit, so grinding is faster.
Gather your boring bar, tool bit and fishtail gage. Your tool bit will be quite a bit too long, but leave it that way for now it'll give
you something to hold on to while grinding.
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GeneT
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Posts: 3579
J oined: April 2005
Posted: Dec. 23 2008,14:51
Set your grinder tool rest at about a 5* angle, which will impart side clearance, and holding the cutter at about 30* grind in from
both sides until you reach a point. Check the point in the fishtail gage and correct the angle until it is exactly 60*.
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GeneT
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Posts: 3579
J oined: April 2005
Posted: Dec. 23 2008,14:52
When you have achieved a perfect 60*, it's time to add the front clearance. If this were an external cutting tool, the front clearance
produced by grinding the angle would probably be sufficient, but this tool will go inside a hole, so some additional front clearance is
necessary at the base of the tool (not all the way to the top). This 'compound front clearance' will allow threading inside a smaller
hole. How much depends on how tight the hole to be threaded is. You just want to make sure that the bottom of the bit doesn't
contact the work.
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GeneT
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Posts: 3579
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Posted: Dec. 23 2008,14:52
Here's a drawing that I hope better illustrates the clearance we're after.
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GeneT
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Posts: 3579
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Posted: Dec. 23 2008,14:53
Now cut the bit to a reasonable length (just enough that the tip sticks out of the boring bar fully and the back is flush, or a little
proud). You can cut the bit with a dremel and cutting wheel. I nstall the tool in the boring bar so it points back toward you when it's
in the lathe. (Your mom probably told you never to point cutting tools at yourself, so make sure she's locked out of the shop before
continuing.)
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GeneT
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Posts: 3579
J oined: April 2005
Posted: Dec. 23 2008,14:54
I should have mentioned that the top of the bit should be flat and level when set up in the boring bar.
Lathe setup
Set the compound to 29.5*. That is, if 0* is pointing straight away from you, the compound gets rotated to the far end is 29.5* away
from that centerline and pointed toward the headstock. The important thing here is that it's a little less than 30*, use the graduations
provided it doesn't have to be super accurate.
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GeneT
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Posted: Dec. 23 2008,14:55
Run the compound forward, so you have enough room to back into the cut.
Now setup the workpiece. You may be threading an existing hole (in which case you'll need to center it) or drilling a hole in order
to thread. I f you drill, centering is taken care of. You may need to use a standard boring bar to open the hole to the desired size.
I f you don't know what hole size to start with, consult a reference like Machinery's Handbook. Even if you're cutting a non-standard
diameter, there are tables that tell you what diameters are appropriate for a given thread engagement. I f you are cutting a
standard size, you want your hole to be as big as the minor diameter to start with. Remember, unlike external threading you're
making the thread bigger with each pass.
Give some thought to setting up the workpiece. There are two basic internal threads, through and blind. The through thread is the
easiest, because it's not critical where the cutter stops, just sometime after you've cut through the work. I f your lathe is big enough
to 'swing' it, cutting an AR-15 buffer tower is one of the easiest internal threads you can do. When cutting through threads, be sure
there is room to stop before the boring bar crashes into the back of the lathe chuck. Blind threads are those that stop somewhere
inside the hole, and it's more critical that you stop where you should, to avoid crashing the cutter into a 'step' if the diameter is
smaller after the thread ends. Cut a thread relief the depth of the thread at the back of the hole. I f the part allows it, make it 0.1
long to give you plenty of time to stop the lathe.
The AR buffer tower is a through thread...
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GeneT
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Posts: 3579
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Posted: Dec. 23 2008,14:56
Threading the tube for a silencer (where the thread minor diameter is larger than the tube diameter) is a 'blind thread'.
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GeneT
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Posts: 3579
J oined: April 2005
Posted: Dec. 23 2008,14:57
With the workpiece set up and ready to thread, install the boring bar in the lathe. Make sure it extends deep enough to cut the
thread depth, but not much deeper. (The less the boring bar sticks out, the more rigid the setup.) Set the cutter height at or just a
bit below center. Now square the cutter to the workpiece. The fishtail gage can be used for this, though I sometimes cheat and just
square the boring bar to the work.
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GeneT
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Posts: 3579
J oined: April 2005
Posted: Dec. 23 2008,14:58
Now it's pretty much like normal threading. Run the boring bar inside the bore, dial the cross-slide back until the cutter touches and
zero it. Double check that there's enough clearance at the bottom of the cutter. Run the cutter back to the thread relief, or
stopping point and zero the X axis. Now bring the cutter out, dial the cross-slide to zero.
Set up the lathe to cut your desired thread pitch and engage the threading dial. At the end of each cut you will want to
simultaneously disengage the half-nut and back the cutter out of the cut. To do this have one hand on the half-nut and one hand on
the cross-slide dial. Now, if you've cut a lot of external threads your hand knows which way to spin the cross-slide for an external
thread, but this is backwards and those habits can mean the death of the cutter (especially if it's carbide) or the workpiece. You must
remember to run the cross-slide forward. A tip that works for me is to draw an arrow on the cross-slide dial indicating which way to
turn, make sure your hand is 'cocked' to turn in that direction before engaging the half-nut with each pass.
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