46 - Utility Workbench, страница 2

publisher Donald B. Pesehke

editor Tim Robertson

associate editor Tom Begnal

assistant editor Bryan Nelson

art director Gary Christensen

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Creative Dir.: Ted Kralicek • Project Developer. Ken Munkel • Sr. Project Designer: Kevin Boyle • Project Coordinator. Kent Welsh * Shop Mgr.: Steve Curtis • Shop Craftsman: Steve Johnson • Sr. Photographer: Crayola England • Photographer. Roderick Kennedy

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Operations Dir.: Bob Baker • Oust. Serv. Mgr.: Jennie Enos

• Warehouse Supr.: Nancy Johnson • Buyer. LindaJones

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woodsmith store

Manager. Dave Larson • Assistant Manager: Paul Schneider • Sales Staff: Pat Lowry, Wendell Stone, Jim Barnett, Kathy Smith, Larry Morrison, Harold C ashman

• Office Manager. Vicki Edwards

ShopNotes© (ISSN 1062-9696) is published bimonthly (Jan., March, May, July, Sept., Nov.) by August Home Publishing, 2200 Grand, Des Moines, IA 50312. ShopNotes® is a registered trademark of August Home Publishing ©Copyright 1999 by August Home Publishing. All rights reserved.

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EDITOR

NOTE

Cutoffs

Recently, I was rummaging around a cardboard box at an auction. It was one of those "everything for a buck" boxes. Hie kind that's filled with old door knobs, balls of yarn, and cracked clay pots — all stuff I can live without.

I was about to give up when I came across something unusual. It was a thick, wood block with a handle on each end. In the middle of the block was a hole about the size of a quarter. As I peered into the hole, I could see a metal, Y-shaped cutter sticking into the opening.

THREADBOX. That's when I realized

just exactly what I'd _

found. It was an old-fashioned threadbox that had been used to cut threads in a wood dowel.

The idea was to fit the threadbox over the end of a dowel, grab the handles, and spin the box around. As the threadbox rotated around the dowel, the cutter sliced a spiral groove that formed the wood threads.

Altlhough I knew the theory, I wasn't sure it would actually work. So I decided to buy the threadbox and give it a shot.

CUTTING THREADS. As it turns out, cutting threads was as easy as sharpening a pencil. Before I knew it, I'd threaded a two-foot long section of the dowel.

I have to admit, for my first try at cutting wood threads, I was impressed. It was an intriguing process that made me want to build a project that uses a threaded wood dowel.

MATCHING TAP. There was just one problem. To make the piece that the dowel threads into, I'd need to drill a hole and cut matching threads. This required a special cutter called a tap. Unfortunately, the matching tap for my

As the threadbox rotated

around the dowel, the cutter sliced a spiral groove that formed perfect wood threads.

threadbox had long since disappeared.

But I wasn't out of luck. After checking around a bit, I found several woodworking catalogs that offered a threadbox and a tap as a matched set. So I bought a small set (one that's sized for ³/4ⁿ dowels) and used it to make a couple of simple things. They turned out so well, I decided to try my hand at something bigger.

ADJUSTABLE STOOL. It was the perfect opportunity to build a project I'd been wanting for a long time — an adjustable height shop stool. A large threaded dowel would be just the ticket _ for raising and lowering the seat. (I wanted to use a lV^'-dia. dowel.)

To accept that size dowel, I'd need a larger threadbox. In the process of

- looking around for

one, I came across a company that manufactures a jig which is used to cut threads with a router. So I decided to experiment with it as well. (For more on this, refer to page 15.)

After working with both types of threading tools, I learned a couple of things. First of all, to produce clean, crisp threads, the dowel you use is just as important as the tool. Second, regardless of the size of the dowel, the technique is basically the same. (We've included a number of tips on selecting dowels and cutting wood threads in the article beginning on page 12.)

As you can see, I'm pretty excited about cutting wood threads. If you've never done this, I'd recommend getting a threadbox and giving it a spin. But I have to warn you. It's a lot like eating popcorn — once you get started, it's hard to stop.

2 ShopNotes

No. 46