Advice on Tailstock Die holders needed

[davidblythe]

Next step is cutting screw threads on the lathe,

Is it worth using a tailstock die holder (if so any tips or advice on what to look for when buying one)

or should i just go straight to trying the auto feed and using a thread dial indicator

thanks in advance

[newmanlammy]

For small jobs I use the die in a normal die holder, let one arm of the holder rest against the bed and trap the die up against the part using a big revolving centre in the tailstock then either run the lathe very very slow or turn the chuck by hand (or with the chuck key) keeping pressure on the tailstock. This works fine, for production runs then its either a die box (usually used on capstan lathes) or screwcutting using a tipped tool and the gearing.

[davidblythe]

decided to bite the bullet and go the gearing route with the longitudinal feed

what a paralaver to change the gearing, can see more expense buying more gearsets to get the right feedrates for the various pitchs in order to change en masse

re angle of tips is 60 degs the way forward and how deep does the cut need to be, does it vary with diameter of rod or just the pitch size