Delivery times and a website issue raised some questions about Best Wood Tools and the availability of the Baxter Thread Master threading jig. I recently got delivery of my Thread Master; it took maybe 6 weeks, but Victor stayed in touch and it was well worth the wait. As everyone observes, the machining is superb and the movement of the parts is precise and as smooth as butter. It will not be everyone's priority for their turning budget, but I find the Thread Master to be such a step up that I expect to count it among my best value turning purchases. So, if you are thinking about a Thread Master, you will have to be patient but you can expect good things.
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Baxter threading jig
- Thread starter Gord Cameron
- Start date
Victor at Best Wood Tools does fantastic work, always worth the wait.
High end product always takes time for a small business. Precision doesn't happen quickly. If you didn't like 6 weeks, what would have been the perfect amount of time for you?
He is a one man show. I had the old Bonnie Klein jig, and thought it was pretty good. I got the Baxter jig, and it is several steps up from Bonnie's.
robo hippy
robo hippy
I was quite content to wait six weeks, I would have waited a year if it had taken that long. That was the point of my post, to say that the quality is worth the wait (and the price), and to reassure members that Victor is still in normal production mode.
john lucas
AAW Forum Expert
I own the Baxter. I have used several of the others on the market. The Baxter is the best. You can really sneak up.on the perfect fit. I just purchased the 8 tpi head for my threader. VIC said it would probably be 2 weeks or so. I live 59 miles from him and have visited his shop. As an amatuer machinist its a real pleasure to talk to him. He is extremely skilled and lnowledgeable.
I own 2 of them, they are the best! There is no comparison to other threaders.
It looks like a great product, very robust. I have an American Beauty with a 24" swing. Quite a price tag, but from what I am reading worth the money...? Of course it depends on the amount of threading one does, but I make urns in addition to other things and currently have been using the brass threaded rings. Has anyone compared this Thread Master to the Chefware threading jig?
I can't see using one on a 24 inch swing, but it can be done. For me, I have 2 mini lathes that I use for making threaded boxes. One I keep the thread cutter and jig on, the other is for all the turning of my blanks, both roughing and finish turning. The cost of my class with Bonnie was the class itself, her threading jig, and a mini lathe. Now I have added a second mini lathe. Mostly this means that I can keep the cutter set up all the time rather than taking it off and on each time I make a threaded box. I did take their stop block and add about 1/4 inch to it so I could put a wing nut on it so I don't have to reach for a wrench. I did the same thing with the thread cutter and added a lock washer. I have lost too many tools in the shavings....
robo hippy
robo hippy
When I bought my first Baxter Thread Master it was for my DVR 3000, the next year I asked Victor if he could make me an adapter so I could use it on my Powermatic 3520b in case something ever happened to my DVR. He did and it has been in the drawer ever since because the DVR is still running just fine (the DVR is my oldest lathe, almost 23 years old).
I have the Simon Hope jig, available from Black Forest Calgary, and I am very happy with it.
I use the 12 pitch for urns and the 16 pitch for small boxes etc.
I use the 12 pitch for urns and the 16 pitch for small boxes etc.
Well of course! I do have a smaller lathe and wouldn’t need one for my AB….Thanks Reed!! I am interested in the other part of my question - does anyone have experience of using both the Baxter Thread Master vs the Chefware thread cutting jig?
Jim McLain
Artist
I too have the Simon Hope jig and am very happy with it. Picked it up directly from Simon at the last AAW Symposium in Portland.
I don't know if the Chefware kit is being made any more. I know they sold to some one else, and the diamond plates they used to make went way down in quality. I did look at both the Chefware and Simon Hope jigs. What I didn't like about them was that you had to make sure the set up was square to the lathe/headstock every time you moved it. With the Baxter jig, it is square no matter how often you move it, and to me, that is a huge time saver. I do like doing my boxes in batches, just more efficient. I do have some filming dates coming up in December. Got a bunch of videos I want to do.... Have been wanting to do.
robo hippy
robo hippy
john lucas
AAW Forum Expert
I know they were still making the chefwarekit jigs at the Raleigh symposium. Haven't ru. Into him since. I have the very first model. Works well. The newer model is much more refined. Because it mounts in your tool post it's very easy to adapt to different lathes.
I also own a Baxter threader. It is definitely more precise very muck like using a precision metal lathe. It is more accurate than the chefwarekit but both do a goid job. I've found that my measuring skills cause more problems than the machines. Most of us measure with dial calipers and it's very easy to off by .005" or more. Take 5 measurements of the thread an see how much you vary. That's why I like the Baxter I can very accurately sneak up on the perfect fit. That being said I've always made decent threads with the chefwarekits just not quite as precise.
My Baxter threader was built to fit a jet mini. I sold that years ago. I built my own threading lathe using a router for the headstock and angle iron for the bed. Took a lot of care and filing to get the gap accurate so I could take advantage of the Baxter accuracy. But now my threader is permanently set up for instant use.
I also own a Baxter threader. It is definitely more precise very muck like using a precision metal lathe. It is more accurate than the chefwarekit but both do a goid job. I've found that my measuring skills cause more problems than the machines. Most of us measure with dial calipers and it's very easy to off by .005" or more. Take 5 measurements of the thread an see how much you vary. That's why I like the Baxter I can very accurately sneak up on the perfect fit. That being said I've always made decent threads with the chefwarekits just not quite as precise.
My Baxter threader was built to fit a jet mini. I sold that years ago. I built my own threading lathe using a router for the headstock and angle iron for the bed. Took a lot of care and filing to get the gap accurate so I could take advantage of the Baxter accuracy. But now my threader is permanently set up for instant use.
I do use dial calipers without problems. I measure both pieces and set sizes before I ever cut the thread. On the 16 tpi the female side must be .070 less than the male side. In other words if the female end is 2" the Male side should be 2.070". I then touch each side and take the first cut a .020" and the second cut at .015". On the second cut on the second piece is where I back off the jig and check for fit. Very very seldom do I ever have to make an adjustment but if you do that is where the Baxter shines as putting it back takes it to the exact spot where you made the cut and even a .002 cut is right there.
I filmed the video on Monday. It will take a week or two for editing. A longer video. I will post it in the tips section.
robo hippy
robo hippy
I look forward to seeing it Reed! Thanks!
john lucas
AAW Forum Expert
look forward to seeing it Reed. Hopefully some day I will be back in the video business.
I thought about buying a threading jig, but decided to just built my own. It works pretty well. I did a demo for our club about a week after I made it. (while still figuring it out) This was a shared demo with our club president.
View: https://youtu.be/GeCL43EGDuE?si=RVgkOPWiYYashVBX
I do want an X/Y jig just for cutting the recess and tenon. May have to fabricate one, or see if I can make the one from Harbor Freight work.... One club member made his own. It was a 'farmer welding' job, no slam against farmers, but most are not 'pretty' welders. The jig was plain and simple, and worked great. Timing the threads is the difficult part.
robo hippy
robo hippy
Just some rambling thoughts here...
From pictures I've seen online the Baxter jig it does appear to be the Rolls Royce of threading jigs. But, by definition using it is no more of a woodturning process than than my use of my CNC machine to cut bottle style threads. Both my CNC method and the use of a threading jig are workmanship of certainty as opposed to risk according to Pye. And we know how some posters on this forum reacted to my CNC as a woodturning tool.
IMO workmanship of certainty is not at all a bad thing. The few successful artists I know work in certainty. They put their major effort into design and select the process and many times use others to achieve the design with minimal risk. Some years ago it was an eye opener for me to see really how many artists had others do the actual construction of their art.
By successful artists I mean individuals who make a very good living to support their families from their work. Dale Chihuly, local glass blower, is a perfect example. It's probably been 30 plus years since Dale actually blew any glass. He has talented glass artists in studios he paid for blowing his designs in mass production.
From pictures I've seen online the Baxter jig it does appear to be the Rolls Royce of threading jigs. But, by definition using it is no more of a woodturning process than than my use of my CNC machine to cut bottle style threads. Both my CNC method and the use of a threading jig are workmanship of certainty as opposed to risk according to Pye. And we know how some posters on this forum reacted to my CNC as a woodturning tool.
IMO workmanship of certainty is not at all a bad thing. The few successful artists I know work in certainty. They put their major effort into design and select the process and many times use others to achieve the design with minimal risk. Some years ago it was an eye opener for me to see really how many artists had others do the actual construction of their art.
By successful artists I mean individuals who make a very good living to support their families from their work. Dale Chihuly, local glass blower, is a perfect example. It's probably been 30 plus years since Dale actually blew any glass. He has talented glass artists in studios he paid for blowing his designs in mass production.
Doug being one of those dissenters as I have posted that I bought a New Wave Shark HD510 and I have the fourth axis for it. Now I'm sure with Aspire 11.5 I will be able to do some threading but I sincerely doubt that the shark will replace either of my Baxters ever. I'm taking the Learn Your CNC Course and the capabilities of the software/machine are staggering and I'm sure that I will co-join the CNC with Woodturning in the future but I stand by my previous statement.
I use the Chefware (ezjigs) threading jig on all of my boxes and love it.
Bill, You don't need a 4th axis to do threading. You stand the part upright so the thread pitch is determined by the Z axis movement. Use climb or conventional cutting without giving it a thought.
Timing the threads are a piece of cake. And no thread reliefs are needed. Being able to easily move the cutter away to verify fit and having it come back to exact position is a major plus too.
Since a thread jig is not woodturning you won't have the purists on your case for use of the CNC.
Vectric software is pretty straight forward on threading. Never done it myself, only looked at how and it couldn't be simpler.
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Doug I know that it eats on you that when you posted about CNC in the Ornamental Turning that folks (and me being one of the biggest) did not agree, I apologize. But that is something I'm not worried about and you should try and get past it. If folks here don't like it I'll find one of the gotta be hundreds of CNC groups I've run across already to say something in. Oh and I disagree with you on my threading jigs, they are used on a running lathe 