I tried to Google this but I couldn't find what I was looking for. I'm
looking for a tool that will let me check what kind of screw hole something
is. For example, I have a threaded hole on a piece of equipment, what I want
to know is what size screw would fit in there. I'm not looking for depth,
just for the thread pitch and the size of the screw. I could just buy a
bunch of screws of different sizes and keep them on a string, but I was just
curious if there was already some clever tool that would make this process a
little more elegant. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

-Nebruin

There are thread pitch gauges that you can use to measure the pitch and use
a vernier to measure the diameter, but they aren't a practical solution on
any female thread under about 12 mm.They work ok on smaller male threads
though.


Tom

"Zipper" zipper777ATcomcastDOTnet wrote in message
...
I tried to Google this but I couldn't find what I was looking for. I'm
looking for a tool that will let me check what kind of screw hole
something
is. For example, I have a threaded hole on a piece of equipment, what I
want
to know is what size screw would fit in there. I'm not looking for depth,
just for the thread pitch and the size of the screw. I could just buy a
bunch of screws of different sizes and keep them on a string, but I was
just
curious if there was already some clever tool that would make this process
a
little more elegant. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

-Nebruin

"Zipper" zipper777ATcomcastDOTnet wrote in message
...
I'm looking for a tool that will let me check what kind of screw hole
something is. For example, I have a threaded hole on a piece of equipment,
what I want to know is what size screw would fit in there. I'm not looking
for depth, just for the thread pitch and the size of the screw. I could
just buy a bunch of screws of different sizes and keep them on a string,
but I was just curious if there was already some clever tool that would
make this process a little more elegant.


Hello Nebruin,

There's a guy on Ebay who's selling the exact tool you've described. It's a
bit pricey at $25 (plus $8 shipping), but that's the only place I've seen a
tool like that. The tool this guy is selling appears to be commercially
produced (as opposed to being made one at a time in a small shop), so
perhaps he invested in a large production of them and now has to recoup his
costs.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=4547155970

The one thing I don't like about his design is that they're all strung
together on a cable (just as you described). That would be handy for
checking the size of nuts, but I think it would be a pain for checking the
size of holes, particularly in cramped spaces. There is no quick and easy
way to remove and replace individual gages with his design. At least he put
a lot of extra slack in the cable for isolating an individual gage on the
strand for testing.

Of course, you could always make your own set, either by turning parts on a
lathe, or by using commercial fasteners.

- Michael

"Zipper" zipper777ATcomcastDOTnet wrote in message
...

I'm looking for a tool that will let me check what kind of screw hole
something is. For example, I have a threaded hole on a piece of equipment,
what I want to know is what size screw would fit in there. I'm not looking
for depth, just for the thread pitch and the size of the screw. I could
just buy a bunch of screws of different sizes and keep them on a string,
but I was just curious if there was already some clever tool that would
make this process a little more elegant.

1. Go to the hardware store and get an assortment of bolts, one each of
likely sizes.

2. Put them somewhere all together, keep them together, and remember where
you put the box (or bandaid can or whatever).

3. Next time you need to know, look at it closely and GUESS. Then go test
it and iterate.

By forcing yourself to take your best guess, you will rapidly learn the
sizes. If you're having a little trouble seeing up close, get some safety
glasses with a reading inset.

Time goes by, soon you don't need the little box anymore. If you're cheap,
you saved the receipt and then return the bolts. :-)

GWE

Ahh thank you, that is exactly what I needed. Glad to see someone thought of
it. Thanks again.

-Nebruin

"DeepDiver" wrote in message
...
"Zipper" zipper777ATcomcastDOTnet wrote in message
...
I'm looking for a tool that will let me check what kind of screw hole
something is. For example, I have a threaded hole on a piece of
equipment,
what I want to know is what size screw would fit in there. I'm not
looking
for depth, just for the thread pitch and the size of the screw. I could
just buy a bunch of screws of different sizes and keep them on a string,
but I was just curious if there was already some clever tool that would
make this process a little more elegant.


Hello Nebruin,

There's a guy on Ebay who's selling the exact tool you've described. It's
a bit pricey at $25 (plus $8 shipping), but that's the only place I've
seen a tool like that. The tool this guy is selling appears to be
commercially produced (as opposed to being made one at a time in a small
shop), so perhaps he invested in a large production of them and now has to
recoup his costs.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=4547155970

The one thing I don't like about his design is that they're all strung
together on a cable (just as you described). That would be handy for
checking the size of nuts, but I think it would be a pain for checking the
size of holes, particularly in cramped spaces. There is no quick and easy
way to remove and replace individual gages with his design. At least he
put a lot of extra slack in the cable for isolating an individual gage on
the strand for testing.

Of course, you could always make your own set, either by turning parts on
a lathe, or by using commercial fasteners.

- Michael

On Thu, 05 May 2005 23:15:30 GMT, "DeepDiver"
wrote:

"Zipper" zipper777ATcomcastDOTnet wrote in message
...
I'm looking for a tool that will let me check what kind of screw hole
something is. For example, I have a threaded hole on a piece of equipment,
what I want to know is what size screw would fit in there. I'm not looking
for depth, just for the thread pitch and the size of the screw. I could
just buy a bunch of screws of different sizes and keep them on a string,
but I was just curious if there was already some clever tool that would
make this process a little more elegant.


Hello Nebruin,

There's a guy on Ebay who's selling the exact tool you've described. It's a
bit pricey at $25 (plus $8 shipping), but that's the only place I've seen a
tool like that. The tool this guy is selling appears to be commercially
produced (as opposed to being made one at a time in a small shop), so
perhaps he invested in a large production of them and now has to recoup his
costs.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=4547155970

The one thing I don't like about his design is that they're all strung
together on a cable (just as you described). That would be handy for
checking the size of nuts, but I think it would be a pain for checking the
size of holes, particularly in cramped spaces. There is no quick and easy
way to remove and replace individual gages with his design. At least he put
a lot of extra slack in the cable for isolating an individual gage on the
strand for testing.

Of course, you could always make your own set, either by turning parts on a
lathe, or by using commercial fasteners.

- Michael

Ive seen in hardware stores a nifty board made by gluing nuts over the
approriate size hole, and putting bolts though a hole just below the
same sized nut. You can screw on a nut, or screw in a bolt.

Very simple

Gunner

Liberals - Cosmopolitan critics, men who are the friends
of every country save their own. Benjamin Disraeli

Zipper wrote:
I tried to Google this but I couldn't find what I was looking for. I'm
looking for a tool that will let me check what kind of screw hole something
is. For example, I have a threaded hole on a piece of equipment, what I want
to know is what size screw would fit in there. I'm not looking for depth,
just for the thread pitch and the size of the screw. I could just buy a
bunch of screws of different sizes and keep them on a string, but I was just
curious if there was already some clever tool that would make this process a
little more elegant. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

-Nebruin


I had a similar problem with a threaded hole in a camera. The hole was
less than 2mm diam, but despite trying all the flavours of metric,
imperial and BA that I had, none of the screws would fit. In the end I
took a piece of copper rod that appeared to be the right size, filed
four flats on it to make a square section rod, and screwed it into the
hole. Being soft and with sharp edges, the threaded hole deformed the
rod to form a thread on it which could then be measured properly. It was
a thread I'd never heard of, but I managed to get one.

--

Regards, Gary Wooding
(To reply by email, change feet to foot in my address)