Brad L Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Anybody ever try to make lag bolts? I have tried to figure out a way to make screw threads but I'm drawing a blank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobody Special Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Well, you could buy a tap and die set, and cut em with a die. If you wanna be old fashioned, they'd twist, then cut with a file. Another common practice was instead of screws, use a chisel to make little barbs into a spike so they wouldn't back out. A faster way to cheat is to buy them commercially, then forge the head to the desired decoration (after all, the other part will be in whatever you're making). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arftist Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Tough to cut a lag thread with a standard tap and die set. Made thousands of special lags by cutting bolts and welding other heads on. Specifically flatheads or grind letters iff the top and forge them into square heads. Be sure to size with a wrench. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 A lathe. Threads for wood have a really fast pitch compared to metal. It could be done hammering with some very specialized tooling, but it would be more trouble than it is worth. Buy, and modify. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSW Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 I'm thinking I saw an old one that looked like it had been made by twisting square stock that had been tapered. Been a few years since I saw it, so I might be misremembering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njanvilman Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 If you do buy new ones to modify, be careful of the coatings. Many are galvanized or cadmium plated, which must be removed before heating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad L Posted February 15, 2015 Author Share Posted February 15, 2015 I here you about the coatings, I'm a little paranoid about my lungs. I like the twisted square stock like a spiral nail. I want to make some gate hardware and don't want to ruin the look with galvanized hardware. I guess I will buy and modify. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaughnT Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Blacksmith bolt dot com sells all the fasteners you could ask for, and none of it is coated with nasty stuff you can't forge. They even sell lag bolt blanks last time I looked. For gate hardware, I always modify store-bought fasteners. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 I always considered lag bolts to be fairly modern and they used different methods back in the olden days Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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