Post edited 8:49 PM – June 24, 2010 by Tyler

Here's a set of plans for a handy Die Holder that fits any lathe with a #3 Morse Taper tailstock. The aluminum body of the die holder holds the die perpendicular to the axis of the spindle rotation and rotates freely around a steel shaft firmly inserted into the tailstock. This ensures that your part is threaded perfectly. Here's a picture of the Die Holder with a 1.5″ die inserted:

Here's a picture of the Die Holder flipped 180 degrees with a 1″ die inserted:

I got the idea from Steve Bedair's Die Holder and I adapted it to look similar to a smaller die holder sold here by LittleMachineShop.com. I created the plans myself using Autodesk Inventor. It was my first attempt using the software, and my first time drawing up plans for the machine trade – so if there are any errors please let me know and I'll do my best to fix them. Here are the plans (in PDF format):

  MT3_Die_Holder_-_1.0_to_1.5_Inch.pdf (999.4 KiB, 70 hits)

Read the original blog post

… Um, if I come and measure your die holder will I see a bunch of +.001/-0.000 measurements? I don't think so. Those tolerances are way too tight, this is a die holder not a Lasik machine. Save the precision for stuff that matters. 

 I assume you're talking about the dimensions of the shaft. I was trying to make it clear that you needed to make the hole in the body of the die holder at least .001 larger than the diameter of the shaft, any smaller and it wouldn't fit (hence the "-0000). I really need to read up on dimensioning and tolerances – I tend to over-complicate things. Please don't come over armed with an arsenal of high precision measuring equipment … my die holder won't hold up to the scrutiny. My hole actually ended up being about .004 oversized, which was disappointing to the perfectionist in me, but perfectly suitable to lazy part of me (aka the voice of reason) that kept me from scrapping the part just because it wasn't as snug a fit as I was trying for. Even at .004 over, the tool functions perfectly.

But yes, you're absolutely right. I need to learn what's important and what's not when it comes to drawing up my projects. I think I'll revisit my copy of Blueprint Reading for the Machine Trades that you gave me!

Hi Johnny,

I've found the grip to be adequate even on very large threads, but that's partly because the barrel is a large diameter so it's easy to grab. If you decide to make a smaller version it might not be as easy to use by hand (although it might, since you'll likely be making smaller threads and using smaller dies). Some designs have a hole drilled in them for a "tommy bar" to provide extra leverage. I've never needed one so I didn't put that in my design.