1/2 12 1/32 lights die

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Downwindtracker2
Posts: 276
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2008 9:34 pm
Location: B.C.

1/2 12 1/32 lights die

Post by Downwindtracker2 »

I picked up a die stock at the fleamarket with 1/2 12 1/32 marked on it, The company name is bit of a guess as it wasn't well stamped, A.B. Jardine &Co.? Also stamped Lights Die ? And Wespeller ONT. Obviously Canadian made. The 1/2 12 is both an old pitch and Whitworth, so that's easy. I read some one had a tap with 1/2 12 and the 1/32 But I didn't understand the answer. Or more to the point the meaning.
A man of foolish pursuits, '91 BusyBee DF1224g lathe,'01 Advance RF-45 mill/drill,'68 Delta Toolmaker surface grinder,Miller250 mig,'83 8" Baldor grinder, plus sawdustmakers
whateg0
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Location: Wichita, KS

Re: 1/2 12 1/32 lights die

Post by whateg0 »

It sounds like your die is a match for the taps I was finding when I needed a 1/2"-12 tap.

http://chaski.org/homemachinist/viewtop ... 4&t=106920

Dave
Downwindtracker2
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Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2008 9:34 pm
Location: B.C.

Re: 1/2 12 1/32 lights die

Post by Downwindtracker2 »

I guess the meaning of 1/32 is lost in the mists of time ? Here is my thoughts. The column in the 1935 Machinery Handbook uses it, which is about all that is in explanation. Which is what I got after a few readings. The column is a old time way to find pitch diameter . 31/32 is the decimal number given in the column. I think I understand 1/32 now, but lights die ?


While Roy and I were working, we were discussing thread sizes. Roy was the best millwright I have ever worked with. He mentioned when he was restoring a 1910 John Deere tractor he ran across 1/2-12 . He figured every manufacturer did their own thing on thread pitches until they were standardized.
A man of foolish pursuits, '91 BusyBee DF1224g lathe,'01 Advance RF-45 mill/drill,'68 Delta Toolmaker surface grinder,Miller250 mig,'83 8" Baldor grinder, plus sawdustmakers
pete
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Re: 1/2 12 1/32 lights die

Post by pete »

Standardized today yes for the most part. But there's no rule forcing any manufacturer to follow that standardization so there's still a whole lot produced with non standard thread pitches. You either luck out by finding something that matches from the tool suppliers under there special thread pitch section of taps and dies, if not? Have a custom tap or die made $$$$. Or your forced into buying OEM parts. One of my books mentioned there's at least 600 different thread pitches with various flank, root and crest shapes in common use today. Add in even the modern non standard plus old out of common use such as Whitworth, imperial instrument threads, etc, etc, etc and it's likely there's 2k or more.
Downwindtracker2
Posts: 276
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2008 9:34 pm
Location: B.C.

Re: 1/2 12 1/32 lights die

Post by Downwindtracker2 »

My first two cars were French Simcas, a 1000 and a 1204. The next car was a Italian Fait 124 sports coupe. My saved metric fasteners didn't always match up. The company I use to work for , had Japanese machines, some from the '60s which were Whitworth and a couple from the '70s were metric. But the metric wasn't the standard ISO metric in the bolt bins. Later Japanese were ISO standard.
A man of foolish pursuits, '91 BusyBee DF1224g lathe,'01 Advance RF-45 mill/drill,'68 Delta Toolmaker surface grinder,Miller250 mig,'83 8" Baldor grinder, plus sawdustmakers
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