Coventry die head for ME use

Anything that you can hold in the tailstock and have enough power to drive really. The smaller ones obviously, but don't forget that the larger ones have chasers available for the smaller threads as well, so in some respects it may be better to have, say, a 1/2" head and selections of chasers for that one size.

Peter

-- Peter A Forbes Prepair Ltd, Luton, UK snipped-for-privacy@easynet.co.uk

You can hold them in the tailstock, but I'm not convinced it's the best way unless you have a lever operated one. I have mine set up with home made Dickson toolholders on the toolpost, you do have to take a bit of trouble with centring but that's not as critical as you might expect. What's the biggest thread you're likely to use it for? 1/2" is probably a good compromise for that size of lathe if you don't mind being limited to 1/2" threads. I can use up to a 1 1/4" head in my Colchester Student, but that size is pushing the limits.

Cheers Tim

I'd better rephrase that to 'limited to *maximum* of 1/2" threads'. As Peter says, smaller chasers are available. I've got down to 8BA for my 1/2" head.

Cheers Tim

Thanks for the replies. Forgot to add 6" to lathe size. Warco BH-600 and the like. The bigger heads sound like the answer, otherwise as mentioned by Peter, I will limit myself should I want a bigger lathe in the future. (We all live in hope don't we?) Cannot see myself doing much above 1/2-3/4 at the moment, but I have learned that sod's law springs into action the moment you buy a smaller tool when a larger one is available! So maybe a 1" or 1.1/4" head is the choice. Cheers GeoffH

I'd not go much over 3/4" personally, as you haven't got the likes of a Ward 2A to use it on, and even then it is severely restricted if you want to use the turret.

The chasers can be amazingly cheap if you are lucky enough to find a batch of them in good nick, or very expensive if you have to pay full price!

The other thing is the "assorted bits in a box" sort of advert where the seller has a box of odds and sods which he hasn't the time to go through and which you buy in the hope of finding a complete set of almost anything.

As they are coded as sets, that is nearly always impossible as in almost every case there is one chaser out of the four with a broken tooth.

We've been accumulating chaser sets for some time and have about 100 new sets in various sizes, plus a big box of "assorted" bits which I shall be putting on ebay soon as I haven't the time to go through it!!

Grinding jigs are useful if you come across them, we've been lucky with the larger ones but no so with the tiddlers.

Peter

-- Peter A Forbes Prepair Ltd, Luton, UK snipped-for-privacy@easynet.co.uk

An 1 1/4" head is a big lump, make sure you've actually seen one before committing yourself! As I said, it's really pushing the limits on my Student though I have found it very useful at times. I do have a 2" head which I can use on my bigger lathe, but I had to make up a special bracket for it to fit on the cross slide. That really is a big lump, & it doesn't get dragged out very often

Cheers Tim

Minimum Capacities:

1/4" - 12BA 3/8" - 6BA 1/2" - 4BA 3/4" - 2BA 1" - 0BA 1-1/4" - 1/4" 1-1/2" - 3/8" 2" - 1/2" 3" - 3/4" 4-1/2" - 1-1/2"

The 4-1/2" head is 157lbs weight!!

Peter

Presumably A Herbert's figures, as I said earlier I have 8BA chasers for a 1/2" head, not made by Herberts. Can't say I've used them in anger yet, so can't comment on how viable the combination is.

Cheers Tim

What Tim said. Actually the book says 6BA for a 1/2 die head.

PS I have a number of spare sets of dies for a 5/16" head. Anyone interested for the cost of the postage or less? If so, I'll come up with a list.

Mark Rand RTFM

On Mon, 25 Oct 2004 09:37:50 +0000 (UTC), GeoffH wrote: Update. Interesting comments from all, expecially the weight of the bigger ones. You need a crane to move those around! Decided to start small first, so bid on a 1/2" one on eBay and got it for decent price. Cannot see me needing to go any bigger for the foreseeable future. Now watch sods law kick in over the next few months. Now looking for suitable chasers. Any offers? Cheers GeoffH

Geoff

If you really want a 1 1/4" head, I've got one spare. Picked it up the other day with some other stuff, it was supposed to be 1 1/2" & I never checked. Just put it away today & realised it was

1 1/4". I'd sell it again for what I paid, but postage would be a bit crippling. Alternatively anyone got a 1 1/2" head they want to swap for a 1 1/4"? my only reason for wanting the 1 1/2" is that I've got some chasers in that size. I'll consider selling the 1 1/2" chasers if anyone has a particular need. Also have quite a few duplicate 1 1/4" chasers which I ought to sort out & sell off.

Cheers Tim

I've at last updated my list of chasers, I seem to have sets for at least 30 different threads surplus to requirements, for a variety of different heads, email me if you or anyone have any specific requirements. Also a few sets for 1 1/2" head which anyone who has a 1 1/2" head is welcome to collect in return for a few beer tokens. A quite decent looking 1 1/4" head is available for the 25 quid I paid for it (plus postage if you can't collect :-( )

Cheers Tim