[schu777]

The Beginning...

As with everyone in the past 2-3 years, I started down the path to build my workbench which I wanted to have some wooden screws for the wagon vise and leg vise. I looked around to purchase some and realized that the price alone was reason enough to pursue building my own wood screw vise. So my search began with Google searching for how to do it. Luckily I came across CartersWhittling that gave me tons of information of how to build a screw. If you are looking to go down this path of building your own wood screw - go to Carters blog and start studying it. My life is busy with 4 kids and work, so I didn't have a lot of time to devote to this, it came in chunks of time here and there.

Here I'm in the step of having the Tap Dowel created and my paper guide taped on to the dowel. I believe this was my 2nd version going on here. Yes, 2nd version. My first version I found the mortise for the scraping blade was too large and just messed up.

EDIT: This should be the first one, not the second one.

 

[schu777]

Guide block for the tap...

Next I created the guide block for the tap (for the second time) in this picture you can see the block with a 2" hole and my paper template laying on top. The black on the metal is the part that will be used to guide the tap and create the nut. The wood I used was from an old shelf that I build when I was in high school - birch. In front is the LONG tap that I created out of popular. Yes, I know, not the greatest wood to use in creating my wooden screw jigs. On the right side of the tap, was my first version that didn't work, so I removed that old guide part so I could do a second attempt. At this point I cut the slot in the tap to fit into the guide block.

EDIT: This should be the second part to the Blog

 

[schu777]

Creating the Guide for the Wood screw (version 2)

Now in the first version I planned on making just a thread box, but decided to go use a router instead. In this picture the small block on top with dowels coming out of it is sitting on top of the block that will be the 2.5" guide for the wood screw. The top block will become the "nut" that pulls the screw through as the router is cutting the threads. The dowels were used to hold both pieces together while I drilled in a 2" hole first, which then I followed up with a 2.5" on the bigger block below. To the left you can see my tap guide to make a nut.

 

[schu777]

The Dowel to become the wood screw (I hope)

After having the guide created for the wood screw, I needed to create the dowel that would become the wood screw. This dowel was created out of the birch wood I had from a shelf. I'm not an expert on the lathe, but decent enough to get it moving. After getting the dowel close to the 2.5" size, I'd take it off and see if it would fit through the 2.5" hole - go back and remove just a hair off here and there. I finally got it to the size and moved towards the next step.

 

[schu777]

Version 2 - all the pieces...

All the pieces of my version 2 of the building my wooden screw. In front is the finished tap, notice the grove in the middle (assuming the picture isn't "scrunched") - this lets all the scrapings of the nut fall into that grove. In the back of the grove is the mortise for the blade that is right behind the tap. The block on the right is the guide for the tap that is used to create the nut. On the left side is going to become the nut that guides the screw as threads are cut. The long block is the guide for the wood screw. Next up to create the nut.

 

[schu777]

Creating the nut - that becomes the guide for the screw...

The process of creating the nut that will become the guide for the screw. I've got my nice long tap already into the guide, which gets pulled through the "nut". I've got clamps to hold the nut block to the guide block, which is clamped down on my 1/2 of my glued up bench top. To start, you have the blade barely sticking out and start cranking it in, making sure that any of the scrapings fall off before you reverse it back. Once out, you advance the blade just a bit and continue the process until you get deep enough.

Here is a shot of the opening where the blade exits out allowing all the scrapping to fall off or get cleaned off by you.

Eventually you will get the blade advanced out far enough to get this - a NUT!

Now onward towards building the screw!

 

[schu777]

Getting the guide nut ready...

After making the nut, I decided to go the route of using a router to create the threads on the screw. Which meant I needed to get the starting of a thread at the very top of the guide nut. This way the router can be set on top. If one would take some time, make the spacing correct when creating the nut, this step could be avoided, but really, the time to figure all that out isn't worth the time, just run it through the thickness planner and get that thread at the top.

NOTE: If you are planning to use the router, make sure that the guide block/nut is within reach of your router.

Now this part shows where I'm running the guide nut through the thickness planner to get the thread at the top. Notice I screwed on another board to avoid snipe on the guide nut.

For this next pic, the guide nut is in front, with the guide block behind it, behind it is the dowel that will hopefully become the wood screw. Notice on the end of the dowel is smaller diameter, this was 2" while the rest is 2.5" - the 2" allowed me to get the guide nut all lined up on the guide block. Below is another pic of it all together.

 

[schu777]

Getting the router ready...

Time to get the router in place. I found a popular board that I planed down to 1/4" thick and mounted to my router base. It has been a while since I did this, but if I recall correctly, I put the wood onto the router base, put the V bit into the router and put it in, slowly advance the router down till it barely poked through, OR I did it on the side you see in the picture with the pencil lines. Either way, you need to have lines to help you line it up with the guide block/nut. You can see I have 3 extra holes, 2 holes are outside the router base with one within it.

Here is the guide block/nut held together with those 1/4" dowels in previous photos. Notice the hole is drilled right in the center and big enough for the router to fit through.

 

[schu777]

Attempt of creating the screw...

I don't have any pics of the process, but the aftermath. In this picture you can see my attempt on the screw. A couple of things I learned. My incorrect thought process would be that the dowels used to hold the guild block/nut together would be enough when creating the screw. Well, I was wrong and that ended up getting pushed out and caused the grove in dowel. The whole upper part of the dowel was my first attempt that I took off on the lathe - the second part you can somewhat see in the second attempt where the screw wouldn't advance in all the way. At this point I couldn't understand the reason for why it didn't work. Investigating it, I found the guide nut got "crossed threaded", ruining it. I also found that what I thought was 90 degrees for the holes, wasn't quite so. So at this point I quit working on it for nearly a month due to family things and frustration. Coming up will be the third version.

 

[schu777]

Onward to Version 3 of the Woodwen Screw jigs!!!

After having version 2 fail, I kept on the idea that I could do this and figure it out. After the second version, I thought I'd better use my hard maple to make the next version. So I cut out a piece from my 8/4 board and took my hand plane (yes, that one I built - I was kind of not wanting to use this hard maple with that nice looking edge grain. But since I had not other boards to use, I went ahead and used it.

I glued it up and made a new 2" dowel to become my tap. This pic shows the paper guide to cut my slot around the dowel.

After getting the slot cut all around the dowel. After this I created the mortise to hold the blade and made the grove.

 

[schu777]

Creating the guide nut...

I decided that I didn't need to re-create the tap guide, as the one I had from version 2 sould work just fine. Here you can see the tap inserted into the soon-to-be guide nut. However, prior to this, I found my hole wasn't quite 90 degrees, so I put that to the side and created a new blank for a nut. I took my burnisher for scraper, loaded that up in the drill press and checked to see if the table is set right - it wasn't so I spent the next 15-20 minutes looking for a socket wrench to adjust the level of the table. I got that taken care of and proceeded on.

I don't have any pics of the created nut, but perhaps I can get a pic or two of the process. I don't think I had my blade as sharp as it should be as the nut was pretty ragged in the cross grain, a lot more than I'd like.

Once I had the guide nut created, I used the same guide for the screw as that one was still good shape. Even though I figured the hole wasn't quite 90 degrees. Instead of using clamps to hold the guide and nut together, I chose to use lag bolts to hold it all together while creating the screw. It took me some time to line things up, but managed to get it done. Creating the guide nut here in the pic - you can see the "other side" of my workbench top. It took some time to scrape through what I thought was the right amount.

 

[schu777]

Finally, a wood SCREW!!

Now the dowel I used to make the wood screw was not the prettiest - as it had some knots and almost some bark within it - I figured most likely I would be using it for a testing and not an actual screw for the bench. I took the guild block/nut with the router bolted on top, clamped it to my current bench (hollow core door) and got ready to do my first test. I turned on the router, put my dowel in and started away. NOTE: I had about 3"-4" from my old dowel to use for the initial test. First thing it did was cut the bevel all around the dowel, then it started to advance. I thought, COOL, it is working, It seemed to be turning hard, but I kept going. My thought was "chips" are falling into the fresh cut grove and getting stuck in between the guide nut and new threads. Another thought was the guild block wasn't at 90 degrees causing a binding. I stopped the router, pulled out the "screw" and found that it wasn't advancing correct, only about 1/4" at a time. I wasn't for sure what the cause was, but did something (can't remember what) and tried again with the new dowel. I found it was binding nearly right after I got the bevel all around the dowel. I stopped and looked again. I thought, maybe the depth of the router bit wasn't low enough. Tried that, same results. Stopped for the day and went away to ponder it. Next day I thought, maybe the router wasn't in the right place, too far forward/backward and tried that - same stinking results! I gave up again, left the shop to ponder and research what the possible reason. I studied Carters videos and comments and started to get a thought. I pondered the next day while at church and came up with a possible reason. After church and getting one kid down for a nap while the other watched some TV shows, I went to the shop, looked and tried it out. I put the dowel in with a fresh edge and started the router up. I inserted the dowel and started turning it and realized that it was advancing much nicer than before. I finally saw the screw advancing out of the guide nut. I was SUPER excited to see that. I kept going and once I reached the limit of my setup, I stopped and pulled out the screw out. Below is my results.

Up next - things I've learned.

 

[htl]

Finally, a wood SCREW!!

Now the dowel I used to make the wood screw was not the prettiest - as it had some knots and almost some bark within it - I figured most likely I would be using it for a testing and not an actual screw for the bench. I took the guild block/nut with the router bolted on top, clamped it to my current bench (hollow core door) and got ready to do my first test. I turned on the router, put my dowel in and started away. NOTE: I had about 3"-4" from my old dowel to use for the initial test. First thing it did was cut the bevel all around the dowel, then it started to advance. I thought, COOL, it is working, It seemed to be turning hard, but I kept going. My thought was "chips" are falling into the fresh cut grove and getting stuck in between the guide nut and new threads. Another thought was the guild block wasn't at 90 degrees causing a binding. I stopped the router, pulled out the "screw" and found that it wasn't advancing correct, only about 1/4" at a time. I wasn't for sure what the cause was, but did something (can't remember what) and tried again with the new dowel. I found it was binding nearly right after I got the bevel all around the dowel. I stopped and looked again. I thought, maybe the depth of the router bit wasn't low enough. Tried that, same results. Stopped for the day and went away to ponder it. Next day I thought, maybe the router wasn't in the right place, too far forward/backward and tried that - same stinking results! I gave up again, left the shop to ponder and research what the possible reason. I studied Carters videos and comments and started to get a thought. I pondered the next day while at church and came up with a possible reason. After church and getting one kid down for a nap while the other watched some TV shows, I went to the shop, looked and tried it out. I put the dowel in with a fresh edge and started the router up. I inserted the dowel and started turning it and realized that it was advancing much nicer than before. I finally saw the screw advancing out of the guide nut. I was SUPER excited to see that. I kept going and once I reached the limit of my setup, I stopped and pulled out the screw out. Below is my results.

Up next - things I've learned.

Looking good and one interesting project.
You've done some major brain storming to get this far.

 

[Woody1969]

Finally, a wood SCREW!!

Now the dowel I used to make the wood screw was not the prettiest - as it had some knots and almost some bark within it - I figured most likely I would be using it for a testing and not an actual screw for the bench. I took the guild block/nut with the router bolted on top, clamped it to my current bench (hollow core door) and got ready to do my first test. I turned on the router, put my dowel in and started away. NOTE: I had about 3"-4" from my old dowel to use for the initial test. First thing it did was cut the bevel all around the dowel, then it started to advance. I thought, COOL, it is working, It seemed to be turning hard, but I kept going. My thought was "chips" are falling into the fresh cut grove and getting stuck in between the guide nut and new threads. Another thought was the guild block wasn't at 90 degrees causing a binding. I stopped the router, pulled out the "screw" and found that it wasn't advancing correct, only about 1/4" at a time. I wasn't for sure what the cause was, but did something (can't remember what) and tried again with the new dowel. I found it was binding nearly right after I got the bevel all around the dowel. I stopped and looked again. I thought, maybe the depth of the router bit wasn't low enough. Tried that, same results. Stopped for the day and went away to ponder it. Next day I thought, maybe the router wasn't in the right place, too far forward/backward and tried that - same stinking results! I gave up again, left the shop to ponder and research what the possible reason. I studied Carters videos and comments and started to get a thought. I pondered the next day while at church and came up with a possible reason. After church and getting one kid down for a nap while the other watched some TV shows, I went to the shop, looked and tried it out. I put the dowel in with a fresh edge and started the router up. I inserted the dowel and started turning it and realized that it was advancing much nicer than before. I finally saw the screw advancing out of the guide nut. I was SUPER excited to see that. I kept going and once I reached the limit of my setup, I stopped and pulled out the screw out. Below is my results.

Up next - things I've learned.

That looks like a really nice thread, It can be so hard having to figure it all out yourself.

 

[schu777]

Finally, a wood SCREW!!

Now the dowel I used to make the wood screw was not the prettiest - as it had some knots and almost some bark within it - I figured most likely I would be using it for a testing and not an actual screw for the bench. I took the guild block/nut with the router bolted on top, clamped it to my current bench (hollow core door) and got ready to do my first test. I turned on the router, put my dowel in and started away. NOTE: I had about 3"-4" from my old dowel to use for the initial test. First thing it did was cut the bevel all around the dowel, then it started to advance. I thought, COOL, it is working, It seemed to be turning hard, but I kept going. My thought was "chips" are falling into the fresh cut grove and getting stuck in between the guide nut and new threads. Another thought was the guild block wasn't at 90 degrees causing a binding. I stopped the router, pulled out the "screw" and found that it wasn't advancing correct, only about 1/4" at a time. I wasn't for sure what the cause was, but did something (can't remember what) and tried again with the new dowel. I found it was binding nearly right after I got the bevel all around the dowel. I stopped and looked again. I thought, maybe the depth of the router bit wasn't low enough. Tried that, same results. Stopped for the day and went away to ponder it. Next day I thought, maybe the router wasn't in the right place, too far forward/backward and tried that - same stinking results! I gave up again, left the shop to ponder and research what the possible reason. I studied Carters videos and comments and started to get a thought. I pondered the next day while at church and came up with a possible reason. After church and getting one kid down for a nap while the other watched some TV shows, I went to the shop, looked and tried it out. I put the dowel in with a fresh edge and started the router up. I inserted the dowel and started turning it and realized that it was advancing much nicer than before. I finally saw the screw advancing out of the guide nut. I was SUPER excited to see that. I kept going and once I reached the limit of my setup, I stopped and pulled out the screw out. Below is my results.

Up next - things I've learned.

I had quite a bit of help with CartersWhittling tutorial was a big help. He had some other parts to the screw in his Workbench series - I still think I would have been stubborn enough to pursue making it. Even Roy Underhill has a good article on how to make the thread box, which if I ever have time, that would be a fun venture to cover.

Michael

 

[Sylvain]

Finally, a wood SCREW!!

Now the dowel I used to make the wood screw was not the prettiest - as it had some knots and almost some bark within it - I figured most likely I would be using it for a testing and not an actual screw for the bench. I took the guild block/nut with the router bolted on top, clamped it to my current bench (hollow core door) and got ready to do my first test. I turned on the router, put my dowel in and started away. NOTE: I had about 3"-4" from my old dowel to use for the initial test. First thing it did was cut the bevel all around the dowel, then it started to advance. I thought, COOL, it is working, It seemed to be turning hard, but I kept going. My thought was "chips" are falling into the fresh cut grove and getting stuck in between the guide nut and new threads. Another thought was the guild block wasn't at 90 degrees causing a binding. I stopped the router, pulled out the "screw" and found that it wasn't advancing correct, only about 1/4" at a time. I wasn't for sure what the cause was, but did something (can't remember what) and tried again with the new dowel. I found it was binding nearly right after I got the bevel all around the dowel. I stopped and looked again. I thought, maybe the depth of the router bit wasn't low enough. Tried that, same results. Stopped for the day and went away to ponder it. Next day I thought, maybe the router wasn't in the right place, too far forward/backward and tried that - same stinking results! I gave up again, left the shop to ponder and research what the possible reason. I studied Carters videos and comments and started to get a thought. I pondered the next day while at church and came up with a possible reason. After church and getting one kid down for a nap while the other watched some TV shows, I went to the shop, looked and tried it out. I put the dowel in with a fresh edge and started the router up. I inserted the dowel and started turning it and realized that it was advancing much nicer than before. I finally saw the screw advancing out of the guide nut. I was SUPER excited to see that. I kept going and once I reached the limit of my setup, I stopped and pulled out the screw out. Below is my results.

Up next - things I've learned.

Vey nice looking screw.
For your wagon vise, do you plan to put the nut in the wagon itself or fix it at the end of the bench?
At the end of the bench, the screw protrudes when untightened.
With the nut in the wagon, a left-hand thread is desirable but,
according to some LJs ,
if you have a right-hand thread you get accustomed to turn anti-clockwise to tighten the wagon vise.

Mauricio's wagon vise has also a right-hand thread nut in the wagon.

 

[schu777]

Finally, a wood SCREW!!

Now the dowel I used to make the wood screw was not the prettiest - as it had some knots and almost some bark within it - I figured most likely I would be using it for a testing and not an actual screw for the bench. I took the guild block/nut with the router bolted on top, clamped it to my current bench (hollow core door) and got ready to do my first test. I turned on the router, put my dowel in and started away. NOTE: I had about 3"-4" from my old dowel to use for the initial test. First thing it did was cut the bevel all around the dowel, then it started to advance. I thought, COOL, it is working, It seemed to be turning hard, but I kept going. My thought was "chips" are falling into the fresh cut grove and getting stuck in between the guide nut and new threads. Another thought was the guild block wasn't at 90 degrees causing a binding. I stopped the router, pulled out the "screw" and found that it wasn't advancing correct, only about 1/4" at a time. I wasn't for sure what the cause was, but did something (can't remember what) and tried again with the new dowel. I found it was binding nearly right after I got the bevel all around the dowel. I stopped and looked again. I thought, maybe the depth of the router bit wasn't low enough. Tried that, same results. Stopped for the day and went away to ponder it. Next day I thought, maybe the router wasn't in the right place, too far forward/backward and tried that - same stinking results! I gave up again, left the shop to ponder and research what the possible reason. I studied Carters videos and comments and started to get a thought. I pondered the next day while at church and came up with a possible reason. After church and getting one kid down for a nap while the other watched some TV shows, I went to the shop, looked and tried it out. I put the dowel in with a fresh edge and started the router up. I inserted the dowel and started turning it and realized that it was advancing much nicer than before. I finally saw the screw advancing out of the guide nut. I was SUPER excited to see that. I kept going and once I reached the limit of my setup, I stopped and pulled out the screw out. Below is my results.

Up next - things I've learned.

My plan is to have an opening on the workbench big enough to bolt in supports (top/bottom) and have the "wagon" slide in it. The wagon will be attached to the end of the vise. The nut will be at the end cap, therefore I won't have to worry about the left hand business, but really, it would be a simple reverse view in Sketch-Up and print. Create a new guide for the tap, create a new tap, create a new guide nut and proceed on with the screw.

Thanks, Michael

 

[schu777]

Thoughts and things to consider...

If you use the router method, you might have to put up with the fact that you might have some "burn" marks on the threads. Think of it this way - do those burn marks affect how the screw works/operates? NOPE - not one bit. It might be possible getting a crank on the end of the screw to help you keep the dowel/screw advancing and avoid the burn marks. It's up to you, for me, I can live with it - somewhat.

The nut - in a previous post I mentioned the guide nut wasn't very clean when I ran the tap, I was thinking the blade wasn't sharp enough. I'm now thinking, yes, strive to get it the best, but in reality, as long as the threads are pretty good and allow the screw to be held firmly, there isn't any harm in having the nut that way. Besides, you won't see the threads while the screw is in place - just when the screw is out of the nut.

Make sure to take your time when you start this process - I went through 3 versions before I got a completed screw. The tap was the easiest part of the whole process. When things seem like they are not going or things are not moving like they should be, then stop and take a look at what is going on. Check several times to make sure your tools are in correct setup - if they are off, then your jigs are going to be off too. Heck, overbuild on it - but don't go overboard.

Wood - I originally started out with popular on version 1 - that was okay in the first attempt as it was kind of a practice. In version 2, I used my birch wood from an old shelf. Now it was a bit harder wood, but since things weren't right, I messed up my guide nut. Version 3 I went ahead to use my hard maple. I took a risk in using it, but it paid off as I did mess up the threads once, but didn't cross thread my guide nut like I did before.

Now for the actual reason of the last road block - when you make your Guide nut, you need to get the starting of a thread at the top. Now you'll have a thread then that starts going around, but somewhere along that you'll have the leftover of the previous thread in the way - you'll need to trim that thread off so you can have the screw advance fully into the guide nut. I'll try to post a picture of what I mean - this step was the stopper for me and I was SO close on version 2 with this. If I had known this, I would have been done several months ago, but oh well. It is figured out and hopefully for those wanting to build your own wood screw, this will give you some more information of how to do it.

If you have questions, comments, please post them in each part of this blog and I'll answer them to the best of my knowledge.

Next - pics of the actual screws and nuts for the workbench. First will be the end-vise, as I need to get that figured out as I build up the top. The leg vise will come shortly after that, as I don't need it right away, but I do need the end-vise to get the top completed.

 

[Redoak49]

Thoughts and things to consider...

If you use the router method, you might have to put up with the fact that you might have some "burn" marks on the threads. Think of it this way - do those burn marks affect how the screw works/operates? NOPE - not one bit. It might be possible getting a crank on the end of the screw to help you keep the dowel/screw advancing and avoid the burn marks. It's up to you, for me, I can live with it - somewhat.

The nut - in a previous post I mentioned the guide nut wasn't very clean when I ran the tap, I was thinking the blade wasn't sharp enough. I'm now thinking, yes, strive to get it the best, but in reality, as long as the threads are pretty good and allow the screw to be held firmly, there isn't any harm in having the nut that way. Besides, you won't see the threads while the screw is in place - just when the screw is out of the nut.

Make sure to take your time when you start this process - I went through 3 versions before I got a completed screw. The tap was the easiest part of the whole process. When things seem like they are not going or things are not moving like they should be, then stop and take a look at what is going on. Check several times to make sure your tools are in correct setup - if they are off, then your jigs are going to be off too. Heck, overbuild on it - but don't go overboard.

Wood - I originally started out with popular on version 1 - that was okay in the first attempt as it was kind of a practice. In version 2, I used my birch wood from an old shelf. Now it was a bit harder wood, but since things weren't right, I messed up my guide nut. Version 3 I went ahead to use my hard maple. I took a risk in using it, but it paid off as I did mess up the threads once, but didn't cross thread my guide nut like I did before.

Now for the actual reason of the last road block - when you make your Guide nut, you need to get the starting of a thread at the top. Now you'll have a thread then that starts going around, but somewhere along that you'll have the leftover of the previous thread in the way - you'll need to trim that thread off so you can have the screw advance fully into the guide nut. I'll try to post a picture of what I mean - this step was the stopper for me and I was SO close on version 2 with this. If I had known this, I would have been done several months ago, but oh well. It is figured out and hopefully for those wanting to build your own wood screw, this will give you some more information of how to do it.

If you have questions, comments, please post them in each part of this blog and I'll answer them to the best of my knowledge.

Next - pics of the actual screws and nuts for the workbench. First will be the end-vise, as I need to get that figured out as I build up the top. The leg vise will come shortly after that, as I don't need it right away, but I do need the end-vise to get the top completed.

A very interesting blog reading about your process of figuring things out and not giving up.

 

[schu777]

More pics

More details about the Guide nut - where you see the red, that is where I had to trim out part of the thread that prevents the screw from fully advancing as the thread is being cut. If you do this, then you're creating the wood screw will be so much quicker than mine. Only thing you may have to fight is the depth of your router bit. If too deep, then the freshly screw will be loose in the guide nut. If not deep enough, the advancement of the screw will get nearly if not impossible to advance. If this is the case. STOP! Slowly advance the router down. I looked at the depth of the bit and compared it to the guide nut depth. I believe it should be nearly equal to what you have. If you are wanting to have the thread cut very close to the edge of your screw (as in the head of the screw) you'll need to remove the guide for the screw and just have what I have pictured here. I was very lucky and had it be tight enough to not rock around very much and loose enough to allow the screw to be advanced easily.

Now this photo I'm trying to show you the roughness of the nut, but now it looks better than I remember. Perhaps the threads of the nut burnished while I was creating the screw. The only issue I've had is that the depth of the tap wasn't deep enough - it should have gone at least one more time as I'm about a solid 1/64 if not 1/32th too deep, making the screw not quite the true 2-1/2" screw. But again, I'm trying to get perfection and this just won't matter. I don't think anyone is going to grab some calipers, measure my wood screw and give me a hard time that it isn't 2-1/2" screw.