|
The Rivett-Dock Thread Cutting Attachment was an attempt to simplify the generation of accurate threads in a lathe and to ensure that consistency of results could be obtained by relatively inexperienced machinists. The assembly was beautifully made, with every part hardened and finish ground The thread-cutting tool was a disc, made of the tool steel, with ten teeth - and because each tooth was slightly longer than the preceding one the device gave the operator, in effect, ten entirely separate cutting tools. The first nine teeth of the cutter "roughed out" the work, each taking a slightly deeper cut than the one before it. The final tooth was ground to a perfect thread form and finished the job in exactly the same way as a single point threading tool. To give a working clearance on the job the tops of the teeth were ground five-sixteenths of an inch below the centre of the cutter; because of this, the angle of the teeth was ground slightly more obtuse than the angle of the thread to be cut, and a thread gauge (held radially on the cutter) would not fit the tooth. However, if it was held on a line crossing the face of the cutter five-sixteenths below the centre - it would. Although an ingeniously designed accessory, to use it effectively meant acquiring a range of expensive threading discs to cover the common thread sizes and types. The device was also offered by Rivett to fit other makes of lathe besides Hendey.
|
|