Best thread mills according to redditors
We found 2 Reddit comments discussing the best thread mills. We ranked the 2 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
We found 2 Reddit comments discussing the best thread mills. We ranked the 2 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
There are smaller internal threading tools, I have seen ones that hold carbides down to 5mm, but with everything they are still around 1/4" minimum hole size. You can also find some from thinbit.com, they have a line called microbit that can get really small, from their website "For internal diameters of .077" and larger. ". Amazon has some of them like https://www.amazon.com/MICROBIT-Uncoated-Carbide-Threading-Elliptical/dp/B01MTIZ8W3 and the price isn't horrible, but be careful to follow the recommended feed and speed suggestions, would hate to break one. If you search "thinbit" you can find other offerings too.
One other option is cut an external thread and make a tap that matches what you want and tap the hole.
If you make your own, a good reference is https://sct-usa.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Catalog2015_081015_QUALIFIEDTHREADTOOLS.pdf, this is also an option instead of the microbits above, but I haven't seen prices of these tools.
OK, going to leave the above info, but was looking around Amazon and found the "Micro 100" line, search for "Micro 100 single point", the price is right, and you can get a good selection of sizes. I think this might be the way to go. Here is an example https://www.amazon.com/Micro-100-Internal-Threading-Projection/dp/B00Q8M1HQ0 but look around to get what fits your needs best.
Thanks for the question, I have ordered a couple of the Micro 100 ones to try out, as I hadn't seen them before and they look really nice for the job.
You are on the right track with the drill press and two axis vice. In essence you're turning your drill press into a mill. You need to use the proper tool, the same tool you would use in a mill, a spiral 2 flute cutter. Something like this - https://www.amazon.com/Grizzly-G9675-Multi-2-Inch-Diameter/dp/B0000DD0LM/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1466882730&sr=8-3&keywords=2+flute+1%2F2+inch+mill
You'll need a drill press with a quill-lock so you can plunge the cutter into the wood and lock it into position before using the slide vice.
Make sure that everything is very secure, vice to table, block to vice, etc. You'll want to take multiple passes. Don't try to mill the whole depth in 1 pass. Each pass should be between 1/4"-1/2".
Go slow and careful on the first few and you'll figure out how to do it.
Source: owner, custom manufacturing business