Thread Taps

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Keep in mind you do not want to cheap out on certain things. Cheap taps are OK too a certain point but if they break you may lose whole part. We have a machine shop and YES there is some areas you can cut corners. Look at MSC https://www.mscdirect.com/browse/tn...e-Taps?searchterm=metric+tap&navid=4287643437 This is where we get our machine tools from. If you are just going to be doing it by hand stick with 4 flute style. If you want to power tap in a mill and 2 flutes work good.
 
TODD said:
Keep in mind you do not want to cheap out on certain things. Cheap taps are OK too a certain point but if they break you may lose whole part. We have a machine shop and YES there is some areas you can cut corners. Look at MSC https://www.mscdirect.com/browse/tn...e-Taps?searchterm=metric+tap&navid=4287643437 This is where we get our machine tools from. If you are just going to be doing it by hand stick with 4 flute style. If you want to power tap in a mill and 2 flutes work good.
Click to expand...
Thanx for the suggestion TODD.
 
I've tapped several thousand holes over the past 25 years. Cheap "black" taps are ok for soft steel and aluminum however what sets a "quality" tap apart from "cheap" is the flute cutting longevity. Cheap taps loose their ability to cut very quickly. The trick to NOT breaking a tap is keeping the tap perfectly perpendicular to your drilled hole, and only applying torque to BOTH sides of the tap 180 degrees apart. When you attempt to use an adjustable wrench on the square drive of a tap (instead of a correct tap wrench) you run a high risk of tap breakage and you are almost guaranteed to ruin the threads from improper angle. I always recommend starting a tap using your drill press under power. Here's a great vid. The guy in this vid is really running a high spindle speed, as a beginner set your spindle speed as low as possible. If your drill doesn't reverse, no problem just run the tap into the material , keep your other hand ready on the stop button, as soon as the tap is started nice and straight, stop the spindle , loosen the chuck and finish by hand.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="
" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
Polar_Bus said:
I've tapped several thousand holes over the past 25 years. Cheap "black" taps are ok for soft steel and aluminum however what sets a "quality" tap apart from "cheap" is the flute cutting longevity. Cheap taps loose their ability to cut very quickly. The trick to NOT breaking a tap is keeping the tap perfectly perpendicular to your drilled hole, and only applying torque to BOTH sides of the tap 180 degrees apart. When you attempt to use an adjustable wrench on the square drive of a tap (instead of a correct tap wrench) you run a high risk of tap breakage and you are almost guaranteed to ruin the threads from improper angle. I always recommend starting a tap using your drill press under power. Here's a great vid. The guy in this vid is really running a high spindle speed, as a beginner set your spindle speed as low as possible. If your drill doesn't reverse, no problem just run the tap into the material , keep your other hand ready on the stop button, as soon as the tap is started nice and straight, stop the spindle , loosen the chuck and finish by hand.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="
" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Click to expand...
Thanx, I plan on doing this with a tap wrench as I do not have a Drill press (will be getting one hopefully when Im move into the new house) question is, would I just be better off bringing it to a machine shop and asking them to do it? I doubt they would charge for such a little thing, or just get the set and do it myself? I think doing it myself would be good so I have the experience and tools, but also the machine shops would be quicker and Possibly free.
 
Also you need to follow the feed in and out when you do them when power taping. If not possible strip threads will result. Another thing is if have a drill press you can also start the spindle and than stop the motor on it before you enter the part. The friction will slow it down and than you can release the chuck and finish it by hand. If you have a part you can not get into the mill or drill press you want to do. Take a block of aluminum and drill the hole in it with the drill bit. Than drill another hole in it just big enough to clear the tap. This will allow you to hold the block the the work and than use it as a guide to hold the drill straight and the tap straight.
 
Polar_Bus said:
I've tapped several thousand holes over the past 25 years. Cheap "black" taps are ok for soft steel and aluminum however what sets a "quality" tap apart from "cheap" is the flute cutting longevity. Cheap taps loose their ability to cut very quickly. The trick to NOT breaking a tap is keeping the tap perfectly perpendicular to your drilled hole, and only applying torque to BOTH sides of the tap 180 degrees apart. When you attempt to use an adjustable wrench on the square drive of a tap (instead of a correct tap wrench) you run a high risk of tap breakage and you are almost guaranteed to ruin the threads from improper angle. I always recommend starting a tap using your drill press under power. Here's a great vid. The guy in this vid is really running a high spindle speed, as a beginner set your spindle speed as low as possible. If your drill doesn't reverse, no problem just run the tap into the material , keep your other hand ready on the stop button, as soon as the tap is started nice and straight, stop the spindle , loosen the chuck and finish by hand.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="
" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Click to expand...

I've heard of this but never seen it or tried it . I may need to try this at work sometime. I'll need to practice that a few times first.
 
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