Saxaphone ligature screw

Edwin's saxaphone ligature takes two 6-32 screws.  One of them broke, so I made a replacement.  I started with 1/2" diameter steel rod.  I think it was zinc plated, but that wasn't too critical; whatever plating was originally there was removed.

I started by turning the portion to be threaded to 1/8".  Since the length wasn't too critical, I just used the good screw to figure the length.

I threaded the end by hand.  (I could have used a geometric die, but the setup would have been longer...)

Once threaded, I turned the shoulder that separates the threaded portion from the handle.

The shoulder actually tapers a bit, which I did with the graver.

The handle is a rounded ball, which I shaped with the graver after using a parting tool to remove most of the waste.

Here is the part next to the broken screw after parting.

I removed the leftover spigot by reversing the screw in the lathe -- good thing I have an 1/8" collet.

Now the handle is ready for final shaping.

Since I had to remove lots of material, I figured I could either spend time with a file or the bench grinder.  The bench grinder seemed like the better option (it may not have been any faster, actually).  I gripped the part in a pin vice so that I was securely in hand.

I ground both flats with numerous breaks to dunk in cool water...

After polishing, hardening, tempering, and final polishing, here is the final product in place.

The handle is a little wider than the original, but it does the job.