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Help with a Neal thread chaser.

tcom

Plastic
Joined
Nov 1, 2016
Good evening,

My Neal head has quit giving up the dies. I pull up the release, the head move back as it should but won't release the dies. Something easy to diagnose and repair or does it have make a trip to Ray Morris?



Thanks
 
Maybe some oil will help.

Is that Neal, as in Neal Skokie (Illinois), who used to import German tooling with their name on it? I think Neal had German die heads that took Geometric type D chasers, and similar heads were also marked Enco, Grand, Fahrion, and Rubometric. They were all good tools.

Larry
 
Good morning Larry,

Yes it is. My situation is proof that no good deed goes unpunished. I loaned it and just got it back. When I tried to change chasers last evening they wouldn't release.

No chips or swarf visible. Looks like it has been lubed. No way to get in touch with the individual who used it last.

I made a test cut and it wouldn't release and is now locked up. Hard. It's a fine tool, has cut thousands of threads without a problem and I'd like to get it operating again.

I called Ray Morris and International, neither services the Neal heads.

I'm wondering if anyone here knows of a company servicing them.

Thanks.
 
Update for those interested:

I got it fixed.

The individual who used it apparently took it apart to clean it or???? and when reassembling it bent and buggered the two screws the upper half of the head slides on. It was enough to bind the head. New screws fixed that.

The head slides up and down (head held vertically) along opposing key ways. One key slipped out during reassembly and was lying in the milled groove of the lower half of the head so movement was about half of the full range. Both keys are now seated.

Replaced the thumbscrew which adjusts the the gross thread depth as it was bent and the threads buggered.

Works just fine now.
 
Yeah I know. Only time it's happened in forty plus years. There is a back story. He had some major issues and has left the area.

In the end it turned out well. A couple of screws, a new thumbscrew, a little time and good to go. Now I have a pretty good idea what goes on inside a chaser head.

I've gotten tools back dinged up a time or two, but this is the first time I got one back really buggered up. I was a truck owner operator, rock, sand, gravel and asphalt transport most of my working life. My hand tools got used hard from time to time. Machines and machine tools, CAT and Cummins special tools, instruments and gauges didn't get abused.

I probably should have tried to repair it before I hollered "Help". Once I took a closer look and began disassembly the damage was apparent and easily repaired.

Tony
 
From my experience in loaning tools, you are lucky to get it back. Last time I loaned one I never saw it again. And he seemed like such a nice guy.

I never loan anything that I can't afford to lose.
 








 
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