Hi Don,
As far as cutting undersize I would have to assume that it was always cutting that way unless the adjusting screw was turned. I had mentioned in another thread about the only way I have found to turn the adjusting screws on these small dies because the screws are so small. I put the die in my small vise and tap a small screwdriver into the slot, just a tiny amount to expand the die, then the screw can be turned. I make up a threaded plug to check my adjustments.
Now onto the matter of junk dies!
The only dies I could find in th 0-80 size were imports, no, lets say Chinese. I wasn't having much luck with them and during the course of a conversation with a buddy of mine, who has a machine shop, I mentioned the lack of quality in these small dies and that I couldn't find domestic dies in that size. He said he would call his supplier and see what they could find. His supplier said yes that he could get an American made 0-80 die, supposedly in high speed steel and adjustable but the price would be $23.00. I told him to order it and that I would pay the money because I was fed up with the 'other' tools. I received it the next day and was anxious to see how it worked. I turned up a piece of stock, mounted the die in my little knurled holder and proceeded to make some threads, at least I tried to make some threads. No matter how I tried I couldn't get the die to start. I took my magnifier out and had a look at the start side of the die and couldn't believe my eyes. It was like the threads were offset to the pilot hole so that one flute of the die had almost no threads. I called up my buddy who in turn called up his supplier who said no problem he would take it back and had something else.
The something else is an OSG die that doesn't have HS marked on it and is non adjustable, and yes it was still expensive. It will cut threads but the fit is nothing to write home about.
I had written about this situation on another forum and received many answers about where to purchase 'good' dies. In the distant past a person could get dies from Japan, Poland and Israel that worked quite well but it seems like they don't even make them any longer.
Most suppliers are gracious enough that they will exchange or refund for poor tooling but personally I'm tired of testing the lack of quality control from the import suppliers, and I might add, domestic suppliers.
I have some very old American made dies (30 years old) that still cut better than what can be purchased today. I have tried Enco, MSC, Travers and several others with about the same luck so if you find one please let me know.
gbritnell
