I finally got around to it (thread wires)

B

Boyd Allen

Active member
Some time back, I put up a question asking for tips on the use of thread wires. I got a lot of very good help, and saved that whole thread on my computer. One of those suggestions caught my eye. It involved bending a single piece of music (AKA piano) wire so that it touches a tenon thread in all the same places as properly placed individual thread wires would, and holds itself in place, leaving two hands to run the micrometer. That, I liked. Before you tool and die guys start to guffaw too loudly, or become physically ill, let me explain. First thing, I am not springing for a set of full on dead nuts thread wires. I know that the tolerance for tenon thread fit do not require it, I'm on a budget, AND as long as I am making comparisons between an existing tenon (that fits my action) and threads that are being cut on a replacement barrel, using the over the wires measurements (as opposed to converting to pitch diameter which is entirely unnecessary in this situation) any dependencies in wire diameter will not matter, as long as they are reasonably long and uniform. Bottom line, my $20 Chinese made set should work just fine, EXCEPT that using them requires some degree of three (or four) handedness, or some slightly advanced guile, and practice, which virtually guarantees that I will be dropping wires repeatedly, and becoming more proficient with profanity ( if that is possible) that measuring with thread wires. Not good. This is why the one bent wire that holds itself in place idea was so attractive to me. So, after forgetting to stop at the well stocked hobby store that is a half hour away, numerous times, yesterday, my one track mind finally jumped its track, and I remembered that I needed to stop at the hobby store, just as I was approaching it, at a time when I had the time to stop. They had a package of four pieces of 36" long .032 music wire, for the princely sum of under $3. I was in, out and on my way in less than 5 minutes, with two more important checks to make, diameter, uniformity,and roundness. After arriving at home, I got out my .001 mic, and it passed with flying colors. It was a little notchy as I spun it in the mic, but the out of round was probably less than .0001. and The diameter was closer to spec. than the cheap Chinese thread wires. This evening, I used my diagonal pliers to cut a piece about a foot long, and got to bending. The next one that I make will be better, but this one works just fine. I made it 4" wide so that it would have enough flexibility to align into the threads, clipped it on a tenon, and used two hands on my 1-2" mic. It was easy, which was the idea. I was going to take a picture and insert it in this post but it is getting late, and the camera batteries need charging. Perhaps tomorrow. Comments?
 
Wire gage

Here is couple of pictures of my wire gage. I have three of them, wire size .029/.032/.040/ Made them about 30 years ago, very simple but work very good. Just remember that I had e very hard time finding the correct size wire.
Chet
1piece .032 wire gage.jpg
1 piece .032 wire gage.jpg
 
Yo Chet,
Thanks for the pictures. As I said, the idea was not mine, but I certainly appreciate the ingenuity.

BTW, I did the math, and if you want to convert the difference in over the wire measurements taken with wires that are not exactly to standard (.032 for instance for 18 tpi) you multiply the difference in wire diameter by 3 and add or subtract it (depending on whether your non standard wire is thinner or thicker than standard) to or from the over the wires measurement taken with the non standard wire. For instance if you used wire that measured .0318 to take a measurement of a tenon, and you wanted to know what that would have been with wires that measured exactly .032, you would multiply .0002 by 3 and add it to the measurement of the tenon taken with the non standard .0318 wires. As a practical matter when duplicating an existing thread that you have in front of you, this is not necessary, since you will use the same wire to take both measurements. The same can be said for converting to pitch diameter, as long as you have an actual tenon to measure. I know that you probably know this, but I included it for others that may be reading the thread.
 
Thread Wires

MSC has thread wires in their SPI line they are uniform and both my sets mic the same. When I saw how handy they are I ordered another set.

I always put the 1wire in my mouth and lay the 2 wires on top of the thread tennon with the mic open "just a tad" more than needed to measure the outside diameter of the threads its real easy to set the mic over the top of the tennon with the weight of it holding the 2 wires in place with my right hand while I pull the other wire out of my mouth and slide it between the anvil and threads with my left hand. I could have just as easily stuck the 1 wire on a magnet while I set up the 2 but I started with my mouth and since I don't talk a lot I'm still getting along with this method.

I'm doing this with the barrel in a vise or my lathes chuck as I don't have enough hands (or mouths) to hold the barrel and all the wires and the micrometer at the same time.

I don't know how to post a video so please don't ask.
 
Good idea right there. I use a small block of decent foam to hold my wires but I have to hold the block with one hand. I'll come up with something, maybe a disk of hot glue to hold the wires. Considered speciality calipers but not worth it to me.

coyotechet said:
Here is couple of pictures of my wire gage. I have three of them, wire size .029/.032/.040/ Made them about 30 years ago, very simple but work very good. Just remember that I had e very hard time finding the correct size wire.
Chet
View attachment 13797
View attachment 13796
Click to expand...
 
If all you are doing is comparing diameters on 60 Deg. "V" threads, have you considered SPI thread triangles?
 
A little followup: I bought four pieces of music wire (3' long) for less than $3 at a local hobby shop, and bent a piece of one into the required (Chet's) configuration, which now lives in the same case as my 1-2" mic. It really works well. One little thing, if you are simply trying to match one thread's pitch diameter to another, as long as the wire is uniform and round, which mine is, any difference in diameter is irrelevant, as long as the diameter is close to standard, and large enough that the top of the wire is above the tops of the threads. My next project will be to see if music wire is available for all of the common tenon pitches.
 
Boyd Allen said:
A little followup: I bought four pieces of music wire (3' long) for less than $3 at a local hobby shop, and bent a piece of one into the required (Chet's) configuration, which now lives in the same case as my 1-2" mic. It really works well. One little thing, if you are simply trying to match one thread's pitch diameter to another, as long as the wire is uniform and round, which mine is, any difference in diameter is irrelevant, as long as the diameter is close to standard, and large enough that the top of the wire is above the tops of the threads. My next project will be to see if music wire is available for all of the common tenon pitches.
Click to expand...

Try fishing leader, I use this wire a lot......for all kinds of things



http://www.amazon.com/American-Fish...0414697&sr=8-3&keywords=wire+leader+stainless

al
 
Round to it

I have a half dozen of them. Made of wood. Caught off a Mardi Gras float about 25 years ago.

Just so's you know.

Roy;)
 
finally got around to it

just to mention wire chart shows AWF as manufacturer this wire is less springy ,easier to use, and doesn't kink as bad as others when making fishing leaders !
 
That Round Tuit Brought Back Some Old Memories

I got mine back in 98, I have managed to get a lot done since it was given to me.

Round Tuit's are a great thing to have. Looking back, I'm not sure how I ever got anything done without it. It's to bad they are so hard to come by, just about everyone could benefit from having one of them.
 
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