A series of grooves form, not a thread.

Try less forward pressure when feeding the chaser across the surface of the wood. The chaser should just graze the surface. If the chaser is held lightly then the second tooth falls into the almost invisible groove cut by the first tooth. This allows the chaser to find it’s own speed automatically. We don’t know the correct rate that the chaser should move across the surface so we need to let the chaser slow or accelerate as it’s trailing teeth slip into the groove. A firm grip is a disadvantage as it over-rules this process. “We are chasing threads, we are not going to catch them by getting tough.” Bill Jones.

The wood may be the problem. It needs to be very hard and fully seasoned with straight, fine, even grain. It should be free of splits, knots, voids, wavy grain and interlocked grain. The grain usually runs between centres.

Good Australian species include: Mulga [Acacia aneura], Gidgee [Acacia cambagei], Bullock Bush [Queensland Inland Rosewood], NT Ironwood, Cooktown Ironwood [Erythrophleum chlorostachys], Sandalwood [Santalum spicatum], False Sandalwood [Plum Bush or Goldenwood], Western Myall [Acacia paprocarpa], WA Quandong [Santalum accuminata], WA Native Currant [Cantheum latifolia], Red Ironbark, Red Morrell [Euc. longicornis], Cypress pine [Callitris glauca]. Some Eucalypts will take a thread. 

Good overseas species include: Pink ivory, African Blackwood, Ebony, European Boxwood, Lignum Vitae, African Olive, Osage Orange, Desert Ironwood, Cocobolo and some fine Rosewoods.

Medium density fibreboard [MDF] is an excellent material for practice as it has no grain and takes a thread well. MDF inserts can be threaded, stained and then glued into a box made from wood that won’t take a thread. Use dust protection when working MDF. Inserts may also be made from good chasing species.

Poor wood will sometimes take a thread if strengthened by glue [CA glue dries quickly].

Another reason that threads break is that too much pressure is applied, especially when threads reach their full depth. Rather than taking heavy cuts with a chaser it is better to remove wood by turning off the crowns, leaving the bottom of the threads, then chasing again. Threads may also break if the chaser is blunt. Hone or grind the top of the chaser.

File, sand and wax the toolrest.

Smooth and wax the underneath of the chaser.

There may be a defect in the wood – see thread breaks up above

If the threads are too close together just keep going, usually one thread will eventually dominate. If this fails then turn off the double thread and start again.

Sometimes double-start threads appear. Here the threads are the right distance apart but there are two separate threads. These threads slope much more steeply than normal threads when viewed from the side. They form when the chaser traverses twice as fast as normal. Turn them off and start again.

If the threads are parallel then one of them may need to be deepened. A sloppy fit is better than a tight one.

The wood may not have been fully seasoned. Sometimes even seasoned wood will move after turning as stresses are released. In this case it is often possible to remount the box on the lathe and cut the threads a little deeper. They may even be deepened by holding the box in your hand and running the chaser around the thread by hand. 

This is often caused by a stationary start. Take a running start by positioning the chaser a few millimetres away from the rounded shoulder so that it hits the shoulder on the move. The beginning of the thread is usually removed later so damage here doesn’t matter much.

Make two boxes. Turn a new lid for the base and a new base for the lid. 

It is easy to cut parallel decorative grooves in the rim of a platter, around a spindle or all over a turning using a chaser. The chaser is presented to the wood without moving sideways. This technique works on most species if the cut is light and gradual. If the wood is painted before the grooves are cut then sharp bands of colour will emerge.

Decorative spirals may be chased into the end grain of many species. This can be a striking feature on spinning tops.

Fine chasers [16-24 TPI - teeth per inch] are easier when starting out. Coarser threads are easier to see but take more skill, especially if the lathe won’t run slowly. Very fine threads tend to cross thread in use.

Commercial chasers are expensive. Workable chasers can be made from bolts but it is better to use die head chasers. Email me ernienewman@hotmail.com re die heads.

An old motor may be used to create low speeds to make chasing easier. Turn a wooden pulley about 300 mm [12”] in diameter and attach it securely to the left-hand side of the headstock spindle. Turn a second pulley about 38 mm [1 ½”] in diameter, attach it to a motor mounted behind the lathe and connect the pulleys with a belt. Disengage the regular motor belt and run the lathe with the second motor. The suggested pulley sizes will run a 1400 rpm motor at about 150 rpm and a 1700 rpm motor at about 190 rpm. Chasing is a gentle process so the motor can be low powered. 

When chasing the male [outside] thread it can be tricky to remove the chaser just before it hits the shoulder to the left of the thread. If the chaser hits the shoulder it may damage the thread. If you can reverse the direction of the lathe and stand at the back of the lathe then it is possible to cut the male thread away from the shoulder rather than towards it. This may prove easier than the standard method.  

Bill Jones, Fred Holder, Keith Rowley, Mike Darlow, Mike Mahoney, Gordon Ward, Ken Cooper.