Threading stabilized timber?
- Thread starter CjG78
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pssherman
Member
You could try soaking the area where the threads will be with CA, cut the threads, then soak the threads with CA, and finally cut the threads again. The threads should be like plastic then.
FGarbrecht
Member
@Pierre--- has shown a number of pens with wooden threads; he can tell you better than I can how well they hold up to use, but I cut them too and have not had too much trouble. You need a specialized setup (high speed single point thread cutter mounted in a standalone jig or on metal lathe to advance the cutter into the work based on selected thread pitch) because taps and dies don't work well on wood. The wood needs to be very dense (think African Blackwood); the softest wood I've used so far has been cherry burl which was difficult because of the chaotic grain and took multiple attempts and stabilization with CA. It can be stabilized in the traditional way (stabilizing the blank) but will also probably require CA during threading to minimize chipping out. I treat the threads after cutting with urushi, which when cured properly is extremely durable.
leehljp
Member Liaison
It is a common practice in certain wood fields such as rock maple and other dense wood to thread (even fine threads) wood. I have done it many times with excellent results and it holds tight and strong.
BUT, for pens, as Paul (pssherman) mentioned, It seems like I have read that a few times in the past here. The primary thing would be the type of wood used - how dense it is. Course grain probably not, soft wood probably not. CA would help in those cases but the strength is in a combination of the wood and CA. Fiberglass gets its strength from both the fiber and the casting. CA and wood will be similar, IMO.
BUT, for pens, as Paul (pssherman) mentioned, It seems like I have read that a few times in the past here. The primary thing would be the type of wood used - how dense it is. Course grain probably not, soft wood probably not. CA would help in those cases but the strength is in a combination of the wood and CA. Fiberglass gets its strength from both the fiber and the casting. CA and wood will be similar, IMO.
PatrickR
Member
I have seen a few members use threaded wood. I would be concerned about movement in the wood, either seasonal or environmental.
dogcatcher
Member
I have used maple that I threaded to fit my headstock for various tooling for 5 decades. I also made a threader to cut threads on turned boxes, for both the boxes and the lids. So cutting threads on stabilized wood should be a piece of cake,
MRDucks2
Member
Curious. I have not attempted to thread stabilized wood, but if stabilized properly with a resin such as Cactus Juice, you are impregnating the piece with a form a plastic when done. The density increases significantly as well as the hardness in general. It would surprise me if it wouldn't thread nicely. I now have some taps and dies. Perhaps when Chuck (dalecamino) visits in the future I can convince him to give it a try and see what he thinks.
Dalecamino
Local Chapter Leader
I agree with Mike Drake. If the wood has been stabilized with juice, then baked properly it has become at least partly acrylic..ish. I cut threads on an all wood pen using tap & dies. However....that pen went to a new home immediately after I made it. I don't know how the threads are holding up. The threaded parts were made from what I believe is African Blackwood. I would not hesitate to thread a stabilized blank.
Dalecamino
Local Chapter Leader
Sounds like fun!
I made a stabilized boxelder burl pen long ago, it still hold threads perfectly. I daily thread wood for my pens and never had any complaint from users.
When you know how to do it, and FGarbrecht started to explain, it just works. Of course, one could say "I would not rely on wooden doors or windows, because the wood moves, so they will get jammed", or "To blow four hours a day in a wooden tube, never think of it, it will crack!" or "Wooden boxes or screws do not work a long time".
But my home only has wooden doors and windows that never got jammed for 70 years because they were made by knowledgeable people, but you can hear marvelous - or bad - music played on ebony clarinets, flutes or hoboes because some craftsmen know how to make them, but my sister still uses a needle boxwood box that comes from our mother, inherited from her mother, made by a forgotten guy who knew how to make it, but I restored say a dozen of pianos one or two centuries old with screwed legs that work like butter.
And I go on making wooden pens that screw nicely and will do so for a long period of time, and everybody does what he thinks could work, avoiding what he thinks doesn't.
When you know how to do it, and FGarbrecht started to explain, it just works. Of course, one could say "I would not rely on wooden doors or windows, because the wood moves, so they will get jammed", or "To blow four hours a day in a wooden tube, never think of it, it will crack!" or "Wooden boxes or screws do not work a long time".
But my home only has wooden doors and windows that never got jammed for 70 years because they were made by knowledgeable people, but you can hear marvelous - or bad - music played on ebony clarinets, flutes or hoboes because some craftsmen know how to make them, but my sister still uses a needle boxwood box that comes from our mother, inherited from her mother, made by a forgotten guy who knew how to make it, but I restored say a dozen of pianos one or two centuries old with screwed legs that work like butter.
And I go on making wooden pens that screw nicely and will do so for a long period of time, and everybody does what he thinks could work, avoiding what he thinks doesn't.
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Dalecamino
Local Chapter Leader
No fancy talk here Casey. If you don't want to risk making threads on your stabilized blank, but still want to make a kitless pen with it(I assume that's your purpose for asking) you can always make your parts from another material that will take threading. ( acrylic, aluminum, brass, ebonite etc.) Bore out the blank, and insert the parts you've threaded. Just another suggestion.