Making a barrel threading die guide

If you decide to add a flash hider to a .223 rifle, it is best to use a guide for the die to keep it centered on the barrel when you cut the threads. Now, you can buy one for about $14 or you can make your own for two or three times that much. That is what I decided to do. The most expensive part was the 1/2X28 die. I also bought a 1/2X28 tap in case I want to design and make my own flash hider/recoil reducer. The next expense is the steel rod. I used a ½ inch and a ¼ inch rod to make the guide. I already had a lathe, files, threading tool for the lathe, turning tool, cut off tool, hack saw, center drills, micrometer, dial micrometer, cutting fluid, oil – the usual stuff.

Since the 1/2X28 die is 1.5 inches in diameter, I found I did not have a die holder, so I learned how to thread the ½ inch rod using a threading tool. To do that the gears of the lathe must be changed. Once I figured out how to do that, the rest was patience and measuring.
With the threaded rod in the lathe, I put the drill chuck in the tail stock and center drilled the rod, then used a home made tap guide held in that drill chuck to tap the ½ inch rod 10-32.
Setting aside the ½ inch rod, I took a ¼ inch rod, cut off a piece, put it in the lathe, squared the end, center drilled it for a live center held in the tail stock, and proceeded to turn it to .218 inches for the bore of the rifle to have the barrel threaded. Slow and steady with much measuring is the way to go. I found the Starret micrometer more accurate than the dial micrometer. When it read .218, it was time to cut off the distal end and thread it 10-32 using a die guide for the tail stock of the lathe. At that point I learned the rod was too big to thread as it was so I reduced one end to .197 using the turning tool and threaded that portion on the lathe. It is very easy to line things up by using the tail stock and the head chuck. After I finished threading the .218 rod I discovered the big challenge in threading was because I put the die in backwards and had no starting taper to speak of.

After threading the .218 rod, I cut off the near end, checked to make sure it screwed into the ½ inch rod, removed it and set it aside, then cut off the threaded portion of the ½ inch rod. A file was used to round a few edges to start the post and the die easily. The two threaded steel pieces were assembled and it was done. J

Tractor Boy

8N work

It has been a while since writing anyone.
Recently I did some more repair work on my 8N tractor. First I made a bolt for the timing belt housing (I think it is called) to which the governor housing attaches. The original bolt must have been lost so someone put a short bold in from the opposite side from where it should have been installed. I carefully measured, bought a 3/8X16 bolt from tractor supply and modified it. There is an optical illusion between the unthreaded portion and the threaded portion of the bolt. I thought the unthreaded part was too big so I center drilled the bolt and held it in my lathe while I started turning the rear of the bolt shaft prior to cutting new threads. Once I measured a new bolt I realized that turning the bolt was not needed so I just threaded the whole length of the bolt. Then I very carefully measured the needed length and cut off the end of the bolt exactly one lock washer thickness too short. J

Today I decided to change the hydraulic fluid AND replace the original PTO shaft with a new one with the modern size end for implements. It is most definitely necessary to drain the hydraulic fluid first! Anyway, the man I bought this tractor from did not do much servicing of it and I was sure it was wise to replace the hydraulic fluid. A challenge was that I did not actually have a container to receive five gallons of fluid. I used my genuine store bought oil pan which hold about 5 or 6 quarts to do the job. There are two large threaded plugs on the bottom of the tractor. I started with the front one and drained as much of the hydraulic fluid as I could into the pan, then screwed the plug back on while I dumped the fluid into an empty plastic container. When I removed the plug again there was a flood of more fluid, but less than before. After a while I re-installed the plug and dumped that fluid mostly into a different container. This time the funnel managed to seal the opening in the bottle and a generous portion of fluid poured onto the floor of my building.

The second plug was just like the first only it is between the rear wheels of the tractor so just a bit more difficult to reach. Once this second operation was complete I loosened four 9/16 bolts on the PTO cover at the rear of the tractor, slid the old PTO shaft along with the over run clutch out of the tractor housing and slid in the new PTO which has the modern size attachment. It was easy, which has been unusual on this tractor. I also learned the original seems to have had no gasket (unless it was so tight to the tractor housing that I did not see it. I don’t see it in the picture accompanying this message either.

Some time ago I bought a five gallon bucket of hydraulic fluid and a hand pump for putting it in the tractor without spilling it all over the floor. Once the self priming pump was going it took just about 240 pumps cycles of the lever to fill the tractor to just above the full mark on the dip stick. Then came the test. I started it up, got it running well, and engaged the hydraulic system with the lever on the left side below the seat. Nothing happened. So, I re-did the sequence and this time it started to lift, hesitating and vibrating, finally settling to a smooth operation in both directions. Success!!!! I have rebuilt this tractor so it runs like a young machine.

The other thing I did lately was to send two of my Kel-Tec pistols to the company in Florida for repair. I sent them in the first week of March, using UPS and second day air or whatever they require. It took four days for the package to get there. On the return trip, one came the same day it was shipped by the company while the other came the next day after they shipped it back to me. On each pistol it looks as though they replaced almost everything including the frame. They make a new frame using the old serial number. One pistol was a PF9 made in the very first production run of a hundred pistols. It needed a lot of help. The other, a locked breach .380, had a habit of the disassembly pin “walking out” the side while the pistol was being shot. I have not tried them out or the chrome plated PF9 I bought recently.

I have a physical scheduled for mid May to determine whether I can ‘enlist” for two more years after the present three years of active duty ends in September. It is worth more money for me to enlist for three years – more like a three times larger bonus than for two years. I wish I could stay here at Fort Hood, but it is more likely I will go to Fort Lewis for the tour. Then, or if they do not let me sign on for these next two to three years, I will really retire – sort of. I am not planning ever to sit in a rocking chair, just play a lot more than I have been doing. Life is good.

Tractor Boy