What I like about your videos is you show what you are going to do how it works and its aparent advantages. Lots of youtubers just show a quick picture of thier big new wonderful thing then the go through a long build sequence and you get to the end and find out what it is they built and what it does and its usually a piece of almost useless junk.
Thanks for the kind words it means a lot. FYI the speed handles are press fit and loctited with green. I have a pair of hex die holders for my lathe, both are 6 point sockets. One machined to allow hex stock to be attached and welded the other has a knurled ring pressed on door smaller sizes. Both float on a arbor that mounts to an MT 3 adapter on my lathe. My tap and die sets are Craftsman the standard is so old Carter was president, 20 years ago I went to Sears and ordered a metric set so I had these before I started setting my shop up. Like you I prefer to use a die on one off standard thread size jobs in not exotic material just quick and easy
Handy! I have an Ace set like that, bought in 1968 when I was an apprentice, from a tool guy who came to the machine shop once a month. They have served me well all these years, even though they have been heavily used.
Easier than cutting a hex in a rotary table with a M. hand book calculation. These days we use Mastercam software and a CNC. But old school ingenuity is the way to go. Thanks for the video, Mr Pete.
Thanks Mr. Pete. For those small diameter threads I use a die holder that's a slip fit to a long dowel pin mounted on the tailstock. This allows the die to spin freely when I want it to stop cutting. It's handy for stopping on a shoulder. Have you ever tried a Hardinge tool room lathe for threading? Their compound with the engagement lever is the Cat's Meow for threading on a manual lathe. They also have an adjustable threading stop block that disengages the half nut for getting up to a shoulder at high rpm without those heart stopping crashes. : )
I made one of these but used a hex bolt hole pattern to the size of the die and t milled out to the hex lines using an upright hex 5c holder block. The corners have 1/4" holes on the hole pattern centers which gave room into the corners to mill.
I guess you could have held the die holder on a die, threaded on an appropriately threaded bolt locked in place with a nut and perhaps a washer to protect the die. You can mount the bolt into your chuck by double nutting the bolt to fit in your lathe chuck. Either way should work fine depending on what you have in stock.
Another great video mr. Pete and I neat idea. You sure are a great teacher... Keep up the good work and keep the videos coming we like watching as much as you like making them. 😊
Keep up with your metrics! Always enjoy the way you resolve things. Wish I owned a lathe and a milling machine, here in Argentina that kind of machinery costs a "king's ransom". Even chinesium crap costs a fortune =(
All that for something you already had the perfect tool for but you cut it up in 3 pieces .Die nuts are not for “cutting threads” they are for repairing ( chasing ) damaged threads hence the hexagon shape to use a spanner etc. and mostly done in a vice rather than a lathe . Die “ buttons “ cut new threads and the split ones are handy for adjustment but I sincerely hope you already knew that.
May be I do things in over kill method but the set screw seems a bit small to retain the hex drive specially when power threading Any ways I think I would drill between the two parts and press in some round stock so the torque between the two parts is not on the set screw
I was just wondering how to hold the amputated die handle and clean the o.d. up... then u go and chuck a large bolt up ha u r the utube shop teacher ... although I might part a socket and press fit it in nor sure yet
Another great project @mrpete222 can you tell me do you power feed when going up to the stop i have been told yes and no my lathe has a clutch for the power feed but not what damage it might did if used all the time
Good job. Could you have cut a hex in solid stock using the digital read out on the bridgeport ? I know you can do a P.C.D to get the corners, but can you cut the flats ?
I don't know that doing that would really be fruitful unless you really knew what alloy you were starting with. At least in my experience, getting a bunch of zinc in the melt just makes drossing dramatically worse without flux; I don't think I've ever seen him using flux. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen anyone doing aluminum casting on YT using actual flux. That said, Zamak #3 is nominally the same as those ubiquitous Alumiweld low-temp brazing rods for aluminum. So scrap zinc castings can actually be used to that end, even if their geometry makes it difficult.
Just curious. I know Aluminum and Zinc are mixed for certain alloy's like Zamak. ?? I've not done any casting myself. Every time I throw out metals, I'm thinking; Should I be keeping this?
Zinc-bearing aluminum alloys are a thing, though I don't know if any of those are really used for casting. There are gravity-castable aluminum-bearing zinc alloys like ZA8, but like zamak die castings, those would be a majority of zinc. I suppose the prospect of casting with primarily-zinc alloys depends on how much zinc scrap you have. I suppose a lot of us are just after volume and are relatively unconcerned with the alloy properties; however, if you had reason to try to tweak your melt toward the properties of any particular alloy, you'd really need to have a fair idea of what you're starting with in the first place. The temptation to just make a guess and fudge it is pretty hard to resist, but unless you're measuring things out and doing some analysis of the cast material, it's easy to fool yourself into thinking the changes are repeatable or beneficial. For example, there are plenty of people who suggest adding random extra amounts of copper to Al melts to increase hardness. Add a little too much, and in the right mold conditions, you might notice that shrinkage will be dramatically reduced. One might think that's an added benefit unless they cut the casting and realize that the shrinkage decreased because macroscopic grain formations actually cause voiding inside the part. It's remarkably brittle and looks like a spiky metallic geode inside. Another way to look at it: Desirable properties may require considerable precision to obtain, but undesirable properties are often very easy to produce casually. One might hope to achieve the strength properties of 7075 aluminum alloy by adding zinc. Without control of the alloy components, it would be difficult to achieve that goal; however, adding any significant amount of zinc does reduce the corrosion resistance. I guess I'll stop rambling now. Sorry.
A modified 6 point socket would have had more play laterally than your zinc casting I believe. It will still be off a couple thou when you tighten the set screw. I thought you might have made a Press Fit in the holder. Nice job.
@1:58 Thats stupid, in Germany all dies are Round, imperial and metric ones. you can easy make a Dieholder with a Lathe and a Welder, for example i habe become from my grandfather very old Taps and dies and i can make a die holder if i need one (there are some strange Sizes like M9,11,13,15,17 and M19😄)
Since he turned the 1/2" (+.002") shank in a 3-jaw chuck and then flipped the part to cut (to length), face and drill, the thru hole will be very slightly out of concentricity with the shank OD. However, it will be within a few thousandths. Since concentricity of the thru hole is not critical and the die holder is held fixed in the tailstock, performance is unaffected. Moreover, the original 1-15/16" crusty stock is not round to begin with which is fine for the very liberal tolerances of these sorts of projects.
Why wouldn’t you make the hole for the die holder .5 of a thousandths smaller so you could press it in? I would be worried that the loctite alone might let go when you are tapping a larger size.
The only problem I have with speeding up the videos is the lack of sound, it is as if you are watching your favorite movie without sound most disconcerting!
Hi mr.pete. lathe tools are good since we do not have a mill yet. We use Geometric and Acorn Dies here. We could use a hex holder for our dies on the general Machine Shop lathe, this would be fun to do one of. We know and like Jim at Sawlog, he is making us a 7/16 speed wrench for our Kurt 3.00" Thank you have a GREAT weekend Lyle, Lance & Patrick.
Thank you. I started watching your videos when you only had about 10 videos. You have come a long way ; production value is fantastic. Your dry pan humor is so entertaining. I try to prevent being linear in thought at work. Watching your videos always reminds me that there is more than one way to skin a cat. Keep up the good work sir.
Hi Mr Pete . I had to make a bushing for a hitch ball on a heavy duty hitch . Instead of a chrome socket that I knew was too hard I ended up using an old impact socket . That stuff cuts like butta !!
This is very helpful and clever. It would be helpful if you gave the rpms of the lathe and the type of material that you are cutting. I am often uncertain of the best speed for cutting metal.
I notice that you have commented a couple of times about steel stock that is some sixteenths of an inch being odd size. Well, the old guys at the threshing shows tell me that line shafting was always some number of sixteenths of inches in diameter. 20 years or so ago we had to sort out a bunch of donated line shafting to build a line shaft for one of the shows. We had 3 different shaft sizes and dozen of pulleys. All with sixteenth inch dimensions, so maybe that is true..
I appreciate being able to go back and re-watch your older videos as projects come up in my own workshop. “I’ll bet Mr. Pete has already described how to approach this.”
If you want to shut up the haters you might consider making quick change tool post holder for your mini band saw. I'm not sure how well a rigidly fixed version would work with the smaller sized tool posts so may be one where it just acts as an anchor and you rotate the saw down to contact the work would be better. A toolpost grinder with an integral quick change tool post mount is another project that I have wanted to do when I get the time.
![State of Play | September 24, 2024 [ENGLISH]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/fVs0suPHAX8/mqdefault.jpg)
What I like about your videos is you show what you are going to do how it works and its aparent advantages. Lots of youtubers just show a quick picture of thier big new wonderful thing then the go through a long build sequence and you get to the end and find out what it is they built and what it does and its usually a piece of almost useless junk.
Thank you very much
Thanks for the kind words it means a lot. FYI the speed handles are press fit and loctited with green. I have a pair of hex die holders for my lathe, both are 6 point sockets. One machined to allow hex stock to be attached and welded the other has a knurled ring pressed on door smaller sizes. Both float on a arbor that mounts to an MT 3 adapter on my lathe. My tap and die sets are Craftsman the standard is so old Carter was president, 20 years ago I went to Sears and ordered a metric set so I had these before I started setting my shop up. Like you I prefer to use a die on one off standard thread size jobs in not exotic material just quick and easy
Love these “ project” type of videos mr Pete please keep them coming 😀
Handy! I have an Ace set like that, bought in 1968 when I was an apprentice, from a tool guy who came to the machine shop once a month. They have served me well all these years, even though they have been heavily used.
Easier than cutting a hex in a rotary table with a M. hand book calculation. These days we use Mastercam software and a CNC. But old school ingenuity is the way to go. Thanks for the video, Mr Pete.
Thanks Mr. Pete. For those small diameter threads I use a die holder that's a slip fit to a long dowel pin mounted on the tailstock. This allows the die to spin freely when I want it to stop cutting. It's handy for stopping on a shoulder.
Have you ever tried a Hardinge tool room lathe for threading? Their compound with the engagement lever is the Cat's Meow for threading on a manual lathe. They also have an adjustable threading stop block that disengages the half nut for getting up to a shoulder at high rpm without those heart stopping crashes. : )
You are THE man! I love how you walk step by step through your projects.
Thanks
Cut a 6" extension off 1\2 drive put a socket on it and thread away. Been doing my hexagon dies like that forever. Works well.
Great looking project Mr. Pete. I made this my July 4th celebration instead of fire works!!
Thank you for another great video Mr. Pete! Seeing as this is all so new to me I really appreciate that you explain the steps.
Thanks
I always like it when you explain the steps taken to complete a job. Thanks much. :-)
I like the details as well! Thank you for posting.
Great work. Nice to have in shop. Thank you for sharing.
👍
I made one of these but used a hex bolt hole pattern to the size of the die and t milled out to the hex lines using an upright hex 5c holder block. The corners have 1/4" holes on the hole pattern centers which gave room into the corners to mill.
Good solution
What a great tool. I will have to build one. I wonder about building one that has a #2 MT so I could get rid of the Jacob's Chuck... hmmm
I guess you could have held the die holder on a die, threaded on an appropriately threaded bolt locked in place with a nut and perhaps a washer to protect the die. You can mount the bolt into your chuck by double nutting the bolt to fit in your lathe chuck. Either way should work fine depending on what you have in stock.
Thanks
Cool idea! I was hoping to see you press-fit the insert into the diestock, but with the set screw in place, it's not going anywhere!
You do am awesome job with your informative videos. I really enjoy them. Very grateful for what you share
Another great video mr. Pete and I neat idea. You sure are a great teacher... Keep up the good work and keep the videos coming we like watching as much as you like making them. 😊
Grate Video! I will have to make one of these. I enjoyed the last one where you used a socket to thread with.
Those hex non split dies we call die nuts ,here in Oz .
Yes
You sure keep busy. Great video. The die holder is a perfect project.
Yes
Always enjoy the fabrication of tooling by you Tubalcain. Could not find video 552.
I get a lot of good ideas from your videos
Thanks
I have to make one of these...brilliant
Nice Die holder, I like the idea.
When I watched your video yesterday of the dies in the die holders, I was thinking how similar that one die Holder was to what I made.
Those were very nice die and tap sets that you showed yesterday.
Thanks for sharing another useful video. regards from the UK
Making one is much more enjoyable then buying one anyway I think, turned out nice Mr. Pete.
Keep up with your metrics! Always enjoy the way you resolve things.
Wish I owned a lathe and a milling machine, here in Argentina that kind of machinery costs a "king's ransom". Even chinesium crap costs a fortune =(
That's surprises me. It's pretty reasonable over here
Good 'ol RUclips. Twenty minutes after watching this video, I finally got the notification. Good old RUclips!
Perfect timing Mr. Pete. I’ll be making one next week.
All that for something you already had the perfect tool for but you cut it up in 3 pieces .Die nuts are not for “cutting threads” they are for repairing ( chasing ) damaged threads hence the hexagon shape to use a spanner etc. and mostly done in a vice rather than a lathe . Die “ buttons “ cut new threads and the split ones are handy for adjustment but I sincerely hope you already knew that.
Nice job. I just bought a porta band for that same reason.
😄👍👍👍
As always well done.
Great video, great project! Thank you Mr. Pete!
Nice video. I started one of my own today video should be out next week.
👍👍👍👍👍
Watching in Alabama!
Nice video Mr. Pete, very instructive.
Nice to be able to use those dies on the lathe now. Thanks for sharing
May be I do things in over kill method but the set screw seems a bit small to retain the hex drive specially when power threading
Any ways I think I would drill between the two parts and press in some round stock so the torque between the two parts is not on the set screw
My Imperial set is Hex. Wonder where the dies were made ... ? Nice idea on the socket. I'll go that route.
Always a pleasure. Cheers
Awesome video! Very interesting! Those cheap dies are good for plastic or aluminum
I was just wondering how to hold the amputated die handle and clean the o.d. up... then u go and chuck a large bolt up ha u r the utube shop teacher ... although I might part a socket and press fit it in nor sure yet
😄😄
I wanna make one. But me lathe don' work no mo!
Oh well. Thanks Lyle it is indeed a pleasure.
That was awesome Mr. Pete
my job requires tons of external threads on soft materials.. I spent a week making die holders for almost every one i use .
You do a very nice job mr Pete.. I only have a round die holder and only buy round
dies makes sense don’t it ! Ha ha !!
Another great project @mrpete222 can you tell me do you power feed when going up to the stop i have been told yes and no my lathe has a clutch for the power feed but not what damage it might did if used all the time
Power feed until I get close to the stop
mrpete222 thanks for that
Flat bottom holes make my lathe go round!
Good job. Could you have cut a hex in solid stock using the digital read out on the bridgeport ? I know you can do a P.C.D to get the corners, but can you cut the flats ?
So you save metal like those zinc handles for mixing in your aluminum casting stock?
No
I don't know that doing that would really be fruitful unless you really knew what alloy you were starting with. At least in my experience, getting a bunch of zinc in the melt just makes drossing dramatically worse without flux; I don't think I've ever seen him using flux. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen anyone doing aluminum casting on YT using actual flux.
That said, Zamak #3 is nominally the same as those ubiquitous Alumiweld low-temp brazing rods for aluminum. So scrap zinc castings can actually be used to that end, even if their geometry makes it difficult.
Just curious. I know Aluminum and Zinc are mixed for certain alloy's like Zamak. ?? I've not done any casting myself. Every time I throw out metals, I'm thinking; Should I be keeping this?
Zinc-bearing aluminum alloys are a thing, though I don't know if any of those are really used for casting. There are gravity-castable aluminum-bearing zinc alloys like ZA8, but like zamak die castings, those would be a majority of zinc. I suppose the prospect of casting with primarily-zinc alloys depends on how much zinc scrap you have.
I suppose a lot of us are just after volume and are relatively unconcerned with the alloy properties; however, if you had reason to try to tweak your melt toward the properties of any particular alloy, you'd really need to have a fair idea of what you're starting with in the first place. The temptation to just make a guess and fudge it is pretty hard to resist, but unless you're measuring things out and doing some analysis of the cast material, it's easy to fool yourself into thinking the changes are repeatable or beneficial.
For example, there are plenty of people who suggest adding random extra amounts of copper to Al melts to increase hardness. Add a little too much, and in the right mold conditions, you might notice that shrinkage will be dramatically reduced. One might think that's an added benefit unless they cut the casting and realize that the shrinkage decreased because macroscopic grain formations actually cause voiding inside the part. It's remarkably brittle and looks like a spiky metallic geode inside.
Another way to look at it: Desirable properties may require considerable precision to obtain, but undesirable properties are often very easy to produce casually. One might hope to achieve the strength properties of 7075 aluminum alloy by adding zinc. Without control of the alloy components, it would be difficult to achieve that goal; however, adding any significant amount of zinc does reduce the corrosion resistance.
I guess I'll stop rambling now. Sorry.
5:12, 1.5 inches is almost exactly 38mm fyi
I notice that the hex dies are not split with an adjustment screw?
Thank you!! Great idea!
making stuff to make stuff ! great vid. thanks
would have looked better with a 6pt trimed off impact socket.
Good Vid, but why does the hole in the rear not look in centre?
It's simply the way the end was cut- it's not been machined flat.
Excellent!
A modified 6 point socket would have had more play laterally than your zinc casting I believe. It will still be off a couple thou when you tighten the set screw. I thought you might have made a Press Fit in the holder. Nice job.
Thanks for sharing sir..
👍
Really enjoyed the video! Thanks, Later, Murph
Thanks
What power lens do you prefer on your optivisor?
Number three
I think I may try that
@1:58 Thats stupid, in Germany all dies are Round, imperial and metric ones. you can easy make a Dieholder with a Lathe and a Welder, for example i habe become from my grandfather very old Taps and dies and i can make a die holder if i need one (there are some strange Sizes like M9,11,13,15,17 and M19😄)
3:43 WHAT IS A DIE COLLET
enjoyed
Great idea, Mr. Pete.Thanks for sharing. I hate to be "picky", but is the thru hole off center or is it the way the camera captured it?
Since he turned the 1/2" (+.002") shank in a 3-jaw chuck and then flipped the part to cut (to length), face and drill, the thru hole will be very slightly out of concentricity with the shank OD. However, it will be within a few thousandths. Since concentricity of the thru hole is not critical and the die holder is held fixed in the tailstock, performance is unaffected. Moreover, the original 1-15/16" crusty stock is not round to begin with which is fine for the very liberal tolerances of these sorts of projects.
@@rgetso
Thank you for your informative reply. Got it. :-)
We like deatale
Yes
Waiting for the comment of where to buy lol
Why wouldn’t you make the hole for the die holder .5 of a thousandths smaller so you could press it in? I would be worried that the loctite alone might let go when you are tapping a larger size.
Yes, i agree, but he's got the set screw pinning everything together. Don't know if he planned it that way, but it's locked in place for sure.
It's also "pinned" with the set screw.
Haha no other replies showed up when I typed..oh well
He said he was making a clearance hole for the set screw so how much is it really going to hold?
@@mitchstephen5491 Fairly sure his clearance hole did not go all the way through the steel into the zinc...
The only problem I have with speeding up the videos is the lack of sound, it is as if you are watching your favorite movie without sound most disconcerting!
Maybe I'll add music, rock music
Nice job. I made one on my channel. Check it out if you have time.
What is the name of the video?
It’s called Hex Die Holder.
nice straightforward solution.
Haha the portaband in the lathe made me laugh
Thanks pete!
Hi mr.pete. lathe tools are good since we do not have a mill yet. We use Geometric and Acorn Dies here.
We could use a hex holder for our dies on the general Machine Shop lathe, this would be fun to do one of.
We know and like Jim at Sawlog, he is making us a 7/16 speed wrench for our Kurt 3.00"
Thank you have a GREAT weekend Lyle, Lance & Patrick.
Another triumph Mr. Pete.
Thank you. I started watching your videos when you only had about 10 videos. You have come a long way ; production value is fantastic. Your dry pan humor is so entertaining. I try to prevent being linear in thought at work. Watching your videos always reminds me that there is more than one way to skin a cat. Keep up the good work sir.
Hi Mr Pete . I had to make a bushing for a hitch ball on a heavy duty hitch . Instead of a chrome socket that I knew was too hard I ended up using an old impact socket . That stuff cuts like butta !!
Love your videos Mr Pete! The re-purposed visor shield is also great safety tip🏆
This is very helpful and clever. It would be helpful if you gave the rpms of the lathe and the type of material that you are cutting. I am often uncertain of the best speed for cutting metal.
Nice project mrpete!
A wonderful idea! I'm inspired yet again, for I have a lot of those small hex dies. Thanks, Mr. Pete! :-)
Making your own tooling is one of the joys of machining. Thanks.
THANK YOU...for sharing, flea market time to look for a hex handle. Like these tool-making videos.
I notice that you have commented a couple of times about steel stock that is some sixteenths of an inch being odd size. Well, the old guys at the threshing shows tell me that line shafting was always some number of sixteenths of inches in diameter. 20 years or so ago we had to sort out a bunch of donated line shafting to build a line shaft for one of the shows. We had 3 different shaft sizes and dozen of pulleys. All with sixteenth inch dimensions, so maybe that is true..
That is surprising to hear, thank you
It's kinda nicely made really... So lets saw it off!
As always .......*Loved it!*
A good hex die holder / handle is all you need. The round dies will drop right into it and they fit just fine.
I am going to keep my eyes open for a hex holder. Thanks for the tip.
What an awesome man full of energy !
Thank you Lyle
Beautiful job.
😀
I appreciate being able to go back and re-watch your older videos as projects come up in my own workshop. “I’ll bet Mr. Pete has already described how to approach this.”
If you want to shut up the haters you might consider making quick change tool post holder for your mini band saw. I'm not sure how well a rigidly fixed version would work with the smaller sized tool posts so may be one where it just acts as an anchor and you rotate the saw down to contact the work would be better.
A toolpost grinder with an integral quick change tool post mount is another project that I have wanted to do when I get the time.
Great project Mr. Pete. I will like to make one of these. Thanks for sharing.
Joe
Excellent idea. The idea I had was complicated, but your idea is way easier to manufacture. THX.
A great project for the home shop guy. When should thread cutting by the lathe be done versus using dies/taps?
considered milling the hex pocket using an end mill and the hex collet chuck?
Hmmm... Tool post Porta Band holder? Hmmm...
Looks like that socket you displayed is cracked. Time to throw it out!