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EngineeringThreadData
Threads
SeeHealth&SafetyNotice
Note:ThisinformationisproducedforModelEngineersonly.Commercialusersshouldrefertothe
correctBritishorISOstandardsasapplicable.SeeNotesonBritish&InternationalStandards
Screwfittings,essentiallyamatchinginternal&externalconstantpitchanddiameterhelix(female&
male)formanessentialpartofsocietyasweknowit.ItremainstheONLYpracticalwayofjoining
individualelementsinasecure,cheapwaythatcanbeassembled&disassembledasoftenasrequired.
Allthiswiththeminimumofskill&tools.Threadsusedinsituationswheregasorliquidtightnessis
requiredcanbetaperedsoastolockup&sealonengagement.(BSP)
Threadsweredevelopedinmanypartsoftheworld,andassuchproducedabewilderingarrayof
differentstandards.Allattemptsto"unify"thesystemonlysucceededinproducingyetanotherstandard.
AlmostuniversalintheUKwasBSF(BritishStandardFine)BSW(BritishStandardWhitworth)&BA
(BritishAssociation).AsaleadingmanufacturerintheIndustrialageBritishthreadformswereexported
aroundtheworld.TheMotorIndustrymadeanattempttousetheAmerican"UnifiedThreads"(many
UKcarcompanieshadstrongUSconnections.Ford,Vauxhalletc.)butwiththemovetoaEuropean
UniontherehasbeenastrongmovetotheMetricSystem(mostofthelargeEuropeancarfirmsare
indigenous,Audi,Fiat,Mercedes,BMW)etc.anditisalmost100%certainthatinduecourseallthe
oldermainstreamthreadswillslowlyfadeawayasthemarketforfittingsandtoolsdiesoff,andcostsrise
touneconomiclevels.Thereisnosignsofthisasyet.(2005)Americahasbeenslowtoembracedthe
Metricstandardsbutwillalmostcertainlygothatwayinduecourse.
AsfarasthreaddevelopmentisconcernedtheMetricformisalmostcertainlytheendoftheroad.Unless
thereissomeunforeseentechnicaldevelopmenttheMetricthreadwillcontinuetoreplaceallothertypes.
Virtuallyallnewequipmentwillusethemetricmeasurementsystemwhichwillinturnmeanthe
adoptionofmetricthreads.Anyremainingthreadswillbe"metricated"ie:reissuedinmetric
dimensionsastheoldimperialunitsdisappearintothehistorybooksalongwiththerod,pole&perch.
Theolderthreadsareusuallydesignated"nonpreffered"
AsfarasModelEngineeringisconcernedwecanmoreorlessdoasweplease.Muchofourequipment
issecondhandandprobablyquiteoldandwehaveaneedtobeabletoidentifythreadeditemsand
fittingsonaregularbasis.Wealsohaveathreadofourown,theMEorModelEngineerthread.Thisis
ratheruniqueinonlyhavingtwopitchesfortheentirerange.32tpi&40tpi.andisbasedonthe
Whitworthform.AnothercuriousfeatureofthisthreadisthatyoucannotbuycommercialMEnuts&
bolts,althoughsteam&boilerfittingsareveryoftenME.Checkfirst.Anotherthreadmuchusedby
modelengineersistheBAthread.(BritishAssociation)
Anattemptwasmadesomewhileagotointroduceasetofmetricstandardsformodelengineeringwork.
Thesearenotafurthersetofstandards,onlyarecommendationofsuitablesizesformodelengineering
work.TheyconforminallwaystotheISOstandard.Taps&Diesareavailable.
AmodelengineershouldhavefacilitiestoproducethefullrangeofinternalandexternalME&BA
threadstogetherwithaselectionofBSW,BSF&theMetricFine&Coarsethreadsuptoatleast"or
M12sizes.OthertapssuchasUNF,UNCBSPcanbeacquiredasrequired.
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HistoricalArchive
Ifrequiredinformationcanbesuppliedonthefollowingthreads:BritishStandardCycle,Loewenherz,
SystmeInternational,Pipe&SparkingPlug,Square,Acme,BSP,RoyalMicroscopicalSociety,Royal
PhotographicSociety,WalthamWatch,WatchPendant,WatchCrown,ElginWatch,Cordeaux,Edison
LampCap,BriggsPipe,A.S.M.E,Holtzapffel's,SwissScrew,American8,12&16pitchseries,20
Degreeworm,GasThreads,ProgressThreads,SFFrench,FrenchStandard,FrenchMetric,German
Metric&GermanMetricFine.
Mostifnotallofthesethreadsarewell&trulyobsolete.
Nomenclature
Left/RightThreadTypes
ThreadsarenormallyRightHandedandunlessotherwisestatedthisisthenorm.Thismeansthatthenut
screwsonwithaCLOCKWISErotation.LeftHandthreadsareofcoursetheopposite.LeftHanded
ThreadsareusedextensivelyintheMotorIndustrytosecurerotatingpartssuchasDriveShafts,Gears
etc.wherethenormalangularrotationwouldtendtotightenthenut.Left&RightHandthreadsareused,
asappropriate,ontheOffside/NearsideoftheVehicle.Whenworkingonrotatingpartsalwayscheckthe
handofthethreadorconsultthecorrectinstructionmanual.ItisnotuncommonforWheelNutstobe
LeftorRighthanded.Usecaution.
ThreadPitch
Usuallyexpressedinthreadsperinch(tpi)orasanabsolutedimensionforonesinglepitch.ie1mm.
0.2mm.75mmetc.Multistartthreadsarebasicallythesinglestartform,butwiththepitchdoubledetc.
Veryraretocomeacrosstheseinmodelengineering.
ThreadIncludedAngle.
Apartfromanumberofspecialistthreadstheincludedanglesforthemostcommonthreadsareas
follows.BA47.BSW,BSF55.UNF,UNC,ANF,ANC60.MetricorISO60.BritishStandard
CycleThread(BSC)60.Acme29.Donotbetemptedtousemale&femalethreadswithdifferingV
angles.Alltheloadistransferredtothethreadcrestsandcauseshighstresslevels,leadingtoslackening
inserviceandprematurefailure.
Root&CrestForm
Amajorpartofanythreadisthecrest&rootform.Usuallybutnotalwaysthistakestheformofa
radius.Sometimesaflat.Theroot&crestformmayalsovaryonthemale&femalethreads.Production
ofacorrectform,isfortheaveragemodellervirtuallyimpossible.TheISOMetricthreadsarehowever
anexception.Thestandardallowsforflatroots&crests(p/8&p/4)Itispossibletoproducea"V"tool
witharoundedroot&letthecrestremainasaflat.Wheretaps&diesareusedthecorrectformis
producedautomatically..Whenscrewcuttingitisnowpossibletobuyceramictipsthatwill
automaticallyproducethecorrectrootandcrestradii.Sinceaninsertisrequiredforeachform&pitch
thisputstheiruseoutsidethereachofmostmodellersduetocost.A100%sharp"V"isundesirableasit
mayformthestresspointforfractureandonbolts,cutfingers.Addingasmallradiusonthe"V"tool
withastoneisprobablythebestwecanachieve.Anotherverygoodwayistousepartofanewtapasa
threadchaser&skimoffthelastfewtenths&formtheradii.Applicationofthecorrectroot&crestradii
doesofcoursereducetheActualthreaddepthcomparedtothefullTheoreticalTriangular"V"depth.
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EffectiveorPitchdiameter.
Onaparallelthreaditisthediameterofanimaginarycylinderwhichwouldpassthroughthethreadsat
suchapointthatbothmaleandfemalethreadwerethesamewidth.Thispointisusuallybutnotalways
1/2thethreaddepth.Itisonlyat1/2depthwhentheroot&crestradiiarethesame.
ThreadIdentification.
Withoneortwoexceptions(Leadscrews,ViceThreadsetc.)allthethreadswemeetareofthe"V"form.
Onlytheincludedanglevariesandthisisdifficulttodetermineinthesmallersizeswithoutspecial
equipment.(Opticalprojectorsetc.)
1)Thefirststepistodeterminethediameterandseeifthethreadis(ormaybe)ImperialorMetric.For
example5/16"&8mmareveryclosetogether(only2.5thou!)
2)Nextstepisthepitchorthreadsperinch(tpi)Ifweignorethefactthatitmayormaynotbeametric
thread,determinethenumberofthreadsinaninch.Letssayitcomesto25.5approx.Thisequatestoa
1mmpitch&ifthediawas6mmthisisalmostcertaintobeanISOMetricCoarseM6thread(ISOisthe
InternationalStandardsOrganization)Threadpitchgauges,Taps,existingthreadsofknownsizeetc.may
beused.Tryrollingthethreadformontoapieceofpaperandmeasurethepitchwithaneyeglass&
dividers.
3)Ifwecandeterminethethreadincludedangleas60thisclinchesit.Itisverydifficulttoestablish
whatthethreadangleis,buteasytostatewhatitisnot.Forexampleifisbiggerthan47&smaller
than60itisalmostcertainly55andsoon.
4)Determiningthesizeofinternalthreadsbydirectmeasurementis(fortheaveragemodeller)virtually
impossible.Thebestwayistotryaselectionoftapsorthreadsuntilonefitsperfectlywithoutanyslopor
unduetightness.Unlessyouareworkingonsafetycriticalorhighlystressedcomponentsitwillprobably
beOK.Ifpossiblemakeorbuyaplugtypegauge.
5)Lookatthehistoryoftheitem.OldBritishmachinery,toolsetc.probablyBSF/BSW.Easytotell
apartbythepitches.Instruments/ElectronicsBA.MotorCycle/CycleBSC.USA,UNF/UNC.
ContinentalISOMetricetc.OldmotorcarsBSF/BSW,mid50/60'sUNF/UNClatermodelsMetric.
ThreadData.
PleasenotethatthefiguresgiveninthechartshavebeenworkedoutfromfirstprinciplesandwillNOT
beexactlythesameasthosequotedintheISOstandards.Thedifferencesareusuallyonly1/10thsof
thou.
Tablesofthreadsareusuallygiveninhandyreferencebooksbutitisnotgenerallyknownthatallthreads
arebasedonasetformulaforeachthread.
BelowistheformulaforeachthreadandeachtypehasalinktoanWinZipExcelspreadsheet..These
chartsareinteractiveandwillgivetruethreaddetailsforanysizerequired.Byenteringtherequired
%agefullthreadacorrecttappingsizecanbeobtained.Selectyournearest(veryclose)drillsize.See
NotesontheDataSheetsYoumayneedto"unprotect"thedatafirst.
TappingSizes
Someconfusionoftenariseswhendifferentdrillsizesaregiventotapthesamefemalethread.The
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reasonisquitesimple.Thereisnoonedrillsizetotapagivenhole!!
1)Theremaynotbeanexactdrillsizeforthecorediameterrequired.Weusethenearestoneavailable.
2)Inpracticeitisusualtodrill&taptogiveathreadwhichisnot100%fullthread.Figuressuchas
70%,75%,80%fullthreadareveryrarelyquotedbutmusthavebeenusedintheinitialcalculations
3)Itisoftendesirablefortheinternalthreadtohavethecrestsflatratherthanhavethefullperfect
radiusedform.Thispreventsthreadsbinding&prolongstoollife.
4)WhentappinghardmaterialsuchasStainlessSteelan70%fullthread(female)usedwitha100%
maleboltmaybe100%OK.UseaNo.2tapaslesscuttinglengthontheflutesreducestapstress.Also
considermoderncoatedtaps.
5)Itmaybevirtuallyimpossibletotap100%fullthreadanywaywithoutriskingabrokentap.Ifindoubt
drillatadbiggeranduseagoodfittingmalethreadwithmorethreadlengthengaged.
6)Aswithallthingsmechanical,tolerancesmustbementioned.Tolerancesaremainlytheprovinceof
massproduction&interchangeability.Forouroneoff's,ifitfitstoYOURSATISFACTIONitsOK.
Threadtolerancescanbeaverycomplicatedsubject&needsophisticatedgaugingequipment.Tapsare
madeinarangeoftolerances.Class2isthenormalspecification.Carbontapsareusuallycheaper&
manufacturedtowidertolerances.Alltapsaremanufacturedas"plusonbasic"toallowforwearin
production.Asthetapwearsthethreadmovestowardsnominal.
7)Alwaysuseverysharptaps&dies&lubricatewell.
8)Itisvirtuallyimpossibletotapahole100%verticalbyeye.Wheneverpossible,useajigtoensure
thatthetapisvertical.Useofatappingjigwillvirtuallyeliminatebrokentaps.
Health&SafetyNotice
IrecentlyreadanoteinquitealargeCar&MotorcyclerestorationguidethatUNC&Whitworthnuts&
boltswereinterchangeable.Thisiscompleterubbish&whilstsomesizesaresuperficiallythesameie:
Pitch&Diameter,theThreadAngleISNOT.(60/55)Thismeansthatalltheloadisdirectedontothe
threadcrestsandrootsandnotfullflankcontact.DONOTATTEMPTTOMIXTHETWO.Ifindoubt
throwaway.OnewaytotellaUNF/UNCthreadistolookforjoinedupcirclesontheflatsofthe
nuts/bolts.ie:OOOOOOThisisNOThowevera100%guide.IhavealsonoticedUNF/UNCforgedinto
thehead.AnotherwayistousetheAcrossFlatsdimension.ThisisuniquetoUNCfasteners,itisnota
wholemetricsizenorisitthesameastheequivalentWhitworthfastener.Nonofthesemethodsare
100%reliable.Useaproperthreadgaugeifpossibleortrytomeasurethecorediameterswiththecorrect
threadmicrometer.Ifthefitistightorlooseitisprobablyanincorrectmix.AlsonotethatStainlessSteel
fittingsARENOTASSTRONGasHIGHTENSILEsteelboltsetc.DONOTUSEinhighlystressed
applicationswhereboltfailurecouldleadtoanaccidentwithoutfullprofessionaladviceastograde,
threadformandsuitablediameter.IfindoubtalwaysusetheManufacturer'scorrectpartfortherelevant
application.
ThreadData&Formulae
BSW(BritishStandardWhitworth)

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P=Pitch=1/Numberofthreadsperinch(tpi)
h=AngularDepth=0.960491xP
D=DepthofRounding=0.073917xP
h/6=Shortening=0.160083xP
d=ActualDepth=0.640327xP
r=RadiusattheCrest&Root=0.137329xP
C=Corediameter=MajorDiameter1.280654xP
EffectiveorPitchDiameter=MajorDiameter.640327xP
BSF(BritishStandardFine)

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P=Pitch=1/Numberofthreadsperinch(tpi)
h=AngularDepth=0.960491xP
D=DepthofRounding=0.073917xP
h/6=Shortening=0.160083xP
d=ActualDepth=0.640327xP
r=RadiusattheCrest&Root=0.137329xP
C=Corediameter=MajorDiameter1.280654xP
EffectiveorPitchDiameter=MajorDiameter.640327xP
ME(ModelEngineer)

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P=Pitch=1/Numberofthreadsperinch(tpi)
h=AngularDepth=0.960491xP
D=DepthofRounding=0.073917xP
h/6=Shortening=0.160083xP
d=ActualDepth=0.640327xP
r=RadiusattheCrest&Root=0.137329xP
C=Corediameter=MajorDiameter1.280654xP
EffectiveorPitchDiameter=MajorDiameter.640327xP
BA(BritishAssociation)

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P=Pitch=1/Numberofthreadsperinch(tpi)
h=Triangularheight=1.1363365xP
d=ActualDepth=0.60000xP
t=Shortening=0.2681688xP
r=RadiusattheCrest&Root=0.1808346xP
EffectiveorPitchDiameter=MajorDiameter0.6000xP(d)
C=Corediameter=MajorDiameter1.2000xP(2d)
NutsandBoltsacrossflatsisnominally1.75xMajorDiameter
ForModelEngineeringpurposesnutsandboltsareobtainable
withthehexagonheadsonesizelessacrossflats,thisgivesabetterscaleeffect.
ISOMetricFine
ISOMetricCoarse

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P=Pitch=1/Numberofthreadsperinch(tpi)
H=AngularDepth=0.866025xP
H/8=Shorteningofmajordia=0.108253xP
H/4=Shorteningofminordia=0.216506xP
d=ActualDepth=0.541266xP
r=RadiusattheRoot=0.1443xP
Hn=BasicheightofInternalThread=0.54127xP
Hs=BasicheightofExternalThread=0.61344xP
Note:TheformoftheMetricSeriesofThreadsvariesbetweenInternal&ExternalThreads,inparticular
therootandcrestdetails.Thisallowsforflat(truncated)orradiusedforms.Engineersrequiringmore
specificinformationshouldrefertotherelevantISOStandards.Thisdatabaseisfartosmalltofully
coverthissubject.
UnifiedNationalFine(UNF)
UnifiedNationalExtraFine(UNEF)ThisisanextrafineversionoftheUNFseries.Followthelinkfor
moredetails.
UnifiedNationalCoarse(UNC)

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P=Pitch=1/Numberofthreadsperinch(tpi)
H=AngularDepth=0.866025xP
H/8=Shorteningofmajordia=0.108253xP
H/4=Shorteningofminordia=0.216506xP
d=ActualDepth=0.541266xP
r=RadiusattheRoot=0.1443xP
Hn=BasicheightofInternalThread=0.54127xP
Hs=BasicheightofExternalThread=0.61344xP
UnitedStatesStandard(USS)
UnitedStatesForm(USF)
SocietyofAutomobileEngineers(SAE)

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ThisformalsooccursintheNationalCoarse(N.C.)andNationalFine(N.F.)seriesofthreads.
ItisverysimilartotheUNFandUNCthreadsbuthasaFlatRoot&Crest.
P=Pitch=1/Numberofthreadsperinch(tpi)
H=TheoreticalDepth=0.866xP
D=ActualDepth=0.6495xP
F=WidthofFlat=0.125xP
A=DepthofFlat=0.108xP
SharpVthread.(V)

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DetailsforthisthreadweretakenfromMachineryHandbook9thEdition(1938)pg1146.Thisthreadhas
beennotedonolderHarleyDavidsonMotorcyclesandisunderstoodtohavebeenusedonolderUS
CadillacAutomobiles.
Duetothesharprootandcrestonthisform,itisintheory,pronetostresscracking.ThelaterUNF/UNC
threadsshouldbeusedwherepossible,asthesehaveroundedcrestsandroots,thusreducingstress
concentration.The"V"threadiseffectivelyobsolete.Itstillremainsaveryeasythreadtocutusing
singlepointtools.ItishoweverNOTinterchangeablewithmodern60degsImperialthreads.UNF/UNC
etc.Cuttingtools,TapsandDiesetc.arenolongeravailable.
Thesidesofthethreadformanangleof60degswitheachother.Thetopandbottomofthethreadsare
theoreticallysharp,butinpracticethecresthasaslightflatequalto1/25thxPitch.Thisisremovedafter
thethreadiscut,thusreducingtheactualdiameterslightlybelownominal.(D)Seechartdetails.
P=Pitch=1/Numberofthreadsperinch(tpi)
H=TheoreticalDepth=0.866xP
D=ActualDepthwithCrestRelief
A=WidthofFlat=P/25(NotintheOfficialStandards)
N=DepthofFlat
NotesonBritish&InternationalStandards
HardcopiesofISO/BritishStandardsareveryexpensive,typically30forasinglecopy.Lessifyouare
aBSImember.MostlargelibrariesnowhaveInternetAccess&seemtohaveanagreementwiththe
ISO/BSI.Thismeansthatyoucanviewanystandard,butasfarasIamaware,youarenotabletomake
copies.Threadstandardsarebytheirverynaturecomplexdocumentsandunlessyouareworkingina
standardsroomorareamanufactureroftoolingetc.containlargeamountsofdatairrelevanttomodel
engineerswork.Mostoftheoldernonmetricthreadshavebeendesignatedas"nonpreferredthread
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series"formanyyears.Theyshouldbeavoidedinnewequipmentetc.
NotesontheDataSheets
ThedatasheetscanbedownloadedasZipfilesintoanExcelSpreadsheet.Allfilesareintheprotected
mode.Somefileshaveafigureinredoverthetappingsize.Thisrepresentsthe%agefullthread.This
canbealteredtogiveatappingsizetosuitthethreadyourequire.eg.onAluminumyoumaywishtotap
100%fullthread.Youcanalsousethedatatogivefulldetailsofnonstandardthreadssuchasthe
MyfordNoseetc.Byenteringthediameter&pitchalltheotherdetailsselfcalculate.Noresponsibility
canbeacceptedforerrorsoromissionsbywhatevercause.
TextColinUsher2014IllustrationsColinUsher2014
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,storedinaretrievalsystem,or
transmittedinanyformorbyanymeans,electronic,mechanicalorphotocopying,recordingorotherwise
withoutthepriorpermissionofthecopyrightholder.Exceptforprivate&nonprofituse.

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