Thread checker

[Tool Pants]

I just bought these. Thought they were more handy than the type you see at a hardware store.

These are made in the US by S&W Manufacturing Company. S&W does not sell direct. http://www.swmanufacturing.com/about.asp

I bought the 21 piece metric and 21 piece inch sets. Black is metric, and silver is inch. There is also a combo 26 piece set, with 12 metric and 14 inch sizes. I think the combo set is the better choice, as the other 2 sets go up to 24 mm and 1 inch, and the typical homeowner is not going to deal with something that large.

They come on a stranded wire cable and are spaced by plastic bead. I may end up cutting the cable and removing the individual pieces. The sizes are stamped and then filled in with red/white paint.

I first saw this style on ebay and found out who made them. I did not buy my 2 sets from ebay because they were $44.95 each. Instead, I bought mine from a distributor fo $28.99 each with combined shipping of $13.85. The combo 26 piece set that I did not by is $26.99 - don't know what shipping is because I bought the other 2 sets.

Now I can go throught the 30 year coffee cans collection of nut and bots and sort out which is which.

 

[zuspiel]

Neat. But i'm still in the coffee can filling stage

 

[J.A.F.E.]

Who was the distributor you bought from and would you recommend them?

~Steve

 

[kidatari]

Who was the distributor you bought from and would you recommend them?

~Steve

+1, I'd really like to get my hands on a set of these, especially the metric!

 

[bmwpower]

What?? You guys can't tell the size just by looking at the bolt/nut?

 

[krusty the clown]

What?? You guys can't tell the size just by looking at the bolt/nut?

hahahaha i thought that myself..........then i realized that just because i play with nuts and bolts for a living doesn't mean everybody does

 

[justinmc]

What?? You guys can't tell the size just by looking at the bolt/nut?

I usually can on metric stuff for sure... I don't play with alot of SAE stuff so I'm not as quick on that. However the stuff that trips me up is the odd size stuff that I don't normally see, etc. I dunno kind of a handy deal to have I suppose. I mean do you need an excuse to buy another toy? haha...

 

[Junkman]

What?? You guys can't tell the size just by looking at the bolt/nut?

On this site it is very easy to tell the nuts.... Just read a few of their posts..

 

[garfunkle24]

What?? You guys can't tell the size just by looking at the bolt/nut?

Now I can go throught the 30 year coffee cans collection of nut and bots and sort out which is which.

Also, it's when I'm sorting lots of hardware that my eyes go screwy, I lose my sense of scale and suddenly a 3/4"" bolt looks like a 3/8". Maybe that's just me lol

 

[J.A.F.E.]

What?? You guys can't tell the size just by looking at the bolt/nut?

Some yes, some no. But the nuts, always.

~Steve

 

[eschoendorff]

That is really cool... but I was just going to go to the hardware store and buy some nuts and label them.

Better yet, I just use the thread chasing nuts I have - they are already labeled.

I can see where a setup like that would be really useful. I think I might be a little jealous... but not quite jealous enough to make a purchase. Yet.

 

[Tool Pants]

Just realized I have a thing about threads.

I think it goes back 100 years ago when my first motorcycle and 2 sports cars from the 1960s era were made in England. There was a mixture of fasteners on those vehicles.

Whitworth - the prince of darkness.

Here is a link to the distributor I bought them from.

http://www.thread-check-tool.com/

 

[johnny1290]

I get bug eyed after a while and can't figure out what is what. I've used the ones on the wire strand and really liked them. I like this new version, but I'm not sold on it enough to spend $50 yet.


http://www.sigfas.com/swtcs21-inch-thread-checker-p-7646531.html

and a new flat card style one $48
http://www.routertabledepot.com/threadchecker.html

 

[Danglerb]

I've got a plastic thing with various sized holes and a row of thread gauges on the side, but haven't done any mass sorting yet. When I look for a nut or bolt I usually have another one for reference and just compare what looks likely to make sure threads mesh etc.

I'm nut and bolt junky, way beyond "a" nut and bolt jar. Anytime I throw something away I spend a few minutes removing all the fasteners and "maybe" useful parts. Parting out a car also generates a huge amount. Shop I know generates a good sized box of nuts and bolts about once a month, runs them through the parts washer and about every three months or so sends a batch "good ones" out for cad plating.

 

[Tool Pants]

It is a sickness or hereditary. If I throw away something like a garage door opener I strip the hardware off and any other parts that might have future use. My late father had jars and cans of stuff he collected over the years. I have my own collections.

That wall mounted thread checker is also made by S&W. There are similar styles, such as the ebay picture.

Since I sometimes work on cars and motorcycles I could not use something mounted on a 39" long board to check the threads on the vehicle itself.

Already went throught 2 old cans of nuts and bolts that I had labeled metric. They all checked out metric. So wherever I got them over the years I put them in the right cans. Inch is next....