Greetings!
I'm new to this site. I learned timber framing using the old tools and techniques, with the t-auger and chisel. Does anyone out there know how to tune up and sharpen a t-auger? I know how to use a t-auger, but auger bits in general are hard for me to tune right. I just got my t-auger in the mail today, and I plan to build a barn soon. I sharpened it and made the cutting lip angle more aggressive. It seems to cut out some good chips at first, then it just stops and won't cut anymore(without some serious downward pressure).
I have some good auger bits that I use with my brace that cut good, and others don't, and I can't figure out why.
Thanks.
Ryan

Welcome, Ryan.

Sounds to me like the threads on the screw tip aren't as deep or sharp as they should be, so it strips out of its lead hole once there is enough drag.

I applaud your interest in hand tools, but a T-Auger can be very slow and hard on the wrists. Have you looked into a Boring Machine ?

CB

You know I was just thinking that maybe it was the lead screw. Thanks for telling me that. Is there any way to sharpen the lead screw? Surely there is. I would like to get a boring machine, hopefully sometime in the not too distant future.
Thanks
Ryan

Hi Ryan:

I'm new to this site as well. My brother and I recently ran into the same problem, except it applied to both a bit we were using in a boring machine as well as a t-auger. We found that the problem is definitely with the lead screw, as it draws the bit into the wood and if it's dull no amount of sharpening the cutters makes a difference as the lead screw clogs up and then does nothing.

First off, if you're boring into green wood, and especially softwoods, I suspect the thread needs to be fairly coarse (lots of space between threads), which it wasn't with the boring machine bit we were using. We couldn't do anything about the fine threads on the lead screw for the boring machine bit but we did succeed in sharpening it enough to make it work.

To sharpen the threads on the lead screw (which involved deepening them as well as bringing them to a sharp edge) we used what I've seen called a teardrop file: I think it's used for big old crosscut saws. At any rate, its cross-sectional shape is like a teardrop, and the fine edge fits between the threads and allows you to get in there. We sharpened the threads from the bottom (fat) part of the lead screw to the tip and found that as you got to the tip you naturally produced a sharper point. It worked, quite well.

There may be a better file than the teardrop one to use (no doubt there was a specialized one for the job). Leonard Lee describes sharpening threads in his book on sharpening, though I don't recall that he says a lot.

If you can find and afford a boring machine, do get one. It's faster, and easier on your arms, and more importantly, it gives much more accurate holes. Drilling a straight hole for several inches with a T-auger is quite a challenge.

Hope this helps.

Eric

When I purchased my auger bits for my boring machine, I was told that there were different lead screw thread types, and that the fine thread was for hardwoods so that it wouldn't feed into the wood too fast. And that coarse thread was for softwood. I'm not sure if this is true or not. But my bits have different threads. Jim [img]http://www.hpphoto.com/rs/E7654E92-B43D-11D6-B42C-0090277A760E/screen[/img]