Dave,
It is my understanding that the threads on a spoke are not cut, but rolled. I'm sure the Greg Parker or another engineer on the CR list can explain this process in more detail, but by rolling the threads, you are not removing any material from the spoke itself, which in turn leaves the spoke w/a bit more integrity. This is the reason why most spoke threaders cost quite a bit of money. I'm, certainly open to correction on the above info, so please chime in.
Dave Patrick Chelsea, Michigan
d-gordon@sbcglobal.net wrote: Dear Group: I have been thinking about this problem for a while. It has ocurred to me that it should be possible to buy a spoke thread die, with the correct threading that can be used to do my own spoke threading. Here is the problem. Occasionally, I don't have the correct spoke on hand and I can see that it would be nice to add a few threads to a spoke that is a tad long, for example. I don't need a fancy $3000 Phil Wood spoke threader, because I am not in a hurry. I have always thought about going to a place that sells taps and dies to see if I could find the right size, but have never made it around to finding one. So my question to the group, is whether someone has tried this trick, or knows if a thread die is available somewhere? I bought a spoke threader on eBay last year for $75, but it was worn out and doesn't work. I think it would be a great solution to my spoke needs, because I find some of the bike stores are not always willing to sell individual spokes, because they say they don't want to break up their sets. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,
-Dave Gordon
Los Angeles