Tech Tip: Measuring Screw Threads

I've had numerous requests for a video showing how to use thread gauges to measure screw threads. Well, here it is...
Threads Per Inch Tool, 51 Identifiers
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10-1/2" Wide All-in-One Identifier
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[@SewingMachineRehab]

Great video Bob! Those two tools are life savers! Thanks for sharing how to use them!

[@janeharris574]

Thanks, Bob! It's always so informative! I am looking forward to learning about how to tap a screw hole!

[@butterflyonmywall6183]

Thanks Bob. This is very informative. 🙏🏽🦋

[@melaniiecampbell1527]

Tapping video?..YES please. Thank you for all you do.

[@jomercer21113]

Great tutorial, Bob!

[@robinr6399]

What a useful video! Thanks, Bob❤

[@boephco]

Great educational tutorial Bob!

[@meganmills6545]

Oh Bob - thank you so much for this! And yes please, I absolutely would love to see something on tapping - that would be awesome. :-)

[@lorimc1248]

Excellent video. Thank you

[@nadinewoods6971]

Thank you for sharing that. I learn the most useful life skills on sewing channels.

[@NWPARetiree]

Good basic explanation for those of us who haven’t worked with this. Thanks Bob! 👍🏼 Luckily, we live in an area with a number of tool & die employers. My husband is mechanical and has these gauges.

[@dalesuhre6522]

Another great video. Thanks

[@eugeneslagle7935]

I use mine quite a bit, at work & while working on VSM's

[@prometheansewingmachines]

Thank you!!! This is so very useful. I am very interested in the tapping video, too. You are a life saver 😊

[@Quiltlady9]

Interesting. Thank you.

[@gavinhodge2290]

Lol i was a tool and die maker for 43 years, i had a screw pitch sets set in metric, inch and even in british whitworth....a lot of times i would use a pair of calipers and pull off a known distance such as a 1/4 of an inch 1/2inch or metric such as 8 mm...yes magnification, white paper and good lighting is key. But while checking with the calipers from crest to crest on the threads, i would count the the thread between the two caliper points..that would give me the pitch, then i would check he diameter, so now i had evverything in needed...so in the case of metric vs inch, , i would just multiply or divided by 25.4 to get he metric or inch equivalent. Yes cover those reasons for the plug, taper and bottoming taps for folks unfamiliar with why they are

[@NWPARetiree]

Our son is journeyman tool & die. He wanted a heavy duty bolt package for his pulling truck motor. The company who supplies them didn’t have one for that motor. He measured and sent them the specs for every bolt. Since they now had the info to sell kits to others, they sent him a free kit. 😄

[@gavinhodge2290]

@@NWPARetiree yes sir, he gave them a lot of valuable info to work with and to sell more bolt kits, your son did them a great service, probably grade 8 bolt stuff they sent him too ....made from heat-treated 4140 or heat treated 8620 metal

[@robotbuster1487]

For dimensions that are less than 1 inch,,,fractional,,, and to obtain a millimeter conversion ,,,, .03937 is the divisor. My Starrett mic reading: .400" What's that in MM? .400÷.03937= 10.16 10.16 mm

[@gavinhodge2290]

@@robotbuster1487 yep, .400 on my starrett or brown and Sharpe mic...really makes no difference as long as it's accurate, .400 x 25.4 = 10.16, less calculator key punching and or decimal dragging. Thus 10.16 mm ÷ 25.4 = .400 By multiplying or dividing by 25.4 you can be above or below an inch without any worries: example 832 mm = 32.7559 inches or 5 mm ÷25.4 =.1968 ( inches)

[@robotbuster1487]

In the short time of collecting post WW2 thru mid 1970's sewing machines, foreign and domestic, the thread determination factor, and sourcing replacement screws has been a little bit of work. One epiphany I reached was/is that many screw pitch/diameters that were utilized in old firearms are often used on old sewing machines. I guess these fine, esoteric thread pitches wether used on a gun or SM cut down the risk of the screw coming loose under vibration and concussive load of operation.

[@KarenC-rv2zp]

Thank You Bob for this Video. now I know how to measure what size screw I need. Other than on Ebay or singer shops, where else can you get screws for 66,99 and 221?

[@deboramunoz1084]

I believe that Singer used treads under a similar nomenclature called British Association for threads.

[@mamiesews123]

This is a problem I'm having now

[@michaelacookePDX]

Is there a general rule on which machines use metric vs SAE? I have two Japanese clone 15's one of which I needed to thread chase the feed regulator. Hardware store helped me find the right tap/die which was SAE. But not sure if that means all the clone 15's were SAE.

[@BobFowlerWorkshop]

Yeah, there's the problem. Not all machines were SAE, nor metric, and for all we know, some might have been may have even been Whitworth. Your best bet is to measure carefully and consult the thread charts, then either keep a file card of your findings or make mental notes. It's definitely a jumbled mess with no real organization. I know that's not a great answer, but unfortunately, it's the way things are...

[@DonaldDavis-r8b]

What do you think about 206K

[@BobFowlerWorkshop]

Honestly, I don't. I consider the 206 et al to be of a transitional type as it was the first domestic zigzag machine that Singer produced. IMO, the later machines such as the 400 and 500 series are far superior, less quirky, and use consumables that are far easier to locate that, in spite of their history, make me bypass them for the later machines such as a 403 or even the 237. I'm not ragging on the 206K, I feel the same way about the 101 vs the 201 - the later of which is by far the superior machine.