What tap & die set?

[atk1]

Hi, any advice on what to look out for in a tap & die set for Beddies? At the moment I need to make a 1/4 inch UNF thread but maybe its a good idea to get a set as Im sure Ill need to do more at some stage.
Cheers

[vintageholden]

supercheep auto or repco

[bed767]

Only buy "gun" taps,its a type of tap with only 3 flutes.They are mutch stonger and are ground to be a chip breakers ie easy to use. Being a fitter@turner all my life(just retired) tapping holes all day long you learn the best way

[ben]

hi bed767

is it ok to use those ones in your cordless drill cause my employees keep breaking my bits.. at 10 bucks a pop it adds up quickly:(

ben

[maicoletta]

Hey Benny et al

I would probably say no to using a drill, as I remember it it's all about drilling a pilot hole, then with the tap doing a quarter turn, then eighth of a turn back, quarter turn, eighth of a turn back.... Etc.

Never had a particular brand name for my set, but $20 got me metric plus imperial at Repco. I'm sure they won't last forever, but a bargain if you ask me...


Al.

[SkippyThBushKangeroo]

i would definately say "NO" to  using a drill  ben, ( or a grinder for that matter too        )  thats why you get those little double handle thingys with the kit.... always done em by hand, and use cutting oil, or WD40, mai,s method sounds correct, and 767,s advice sounds beneficial, will look for the "gun" type myself in future....  cheers 

[Rogerfied]

Over many years I have only used one cutting agent for drilling and for tapping and it is called Trefolex, you can get it from most car places or any machine shop.
Comes in tubs and handy tubes like toothpaste, give it a go it will save you all the grief and money
 I use a battery drill (low speed) and Trefolex for taps up to 12mm and have had no problem, just lucky I guess

Rogerfied

[ben]

i dont have a problem unless i let the employees do it lol then we start breaking bits:(

i guess wont be letting them do that job anymore.. or they can do it by hand!!

its a heck of a lot faster with a drill. just got to keep it steady..

cheers
ben

[hotrod]

The taps used in the shop are all hand taps, since they are, by design, intended to be manually operated. During operation, it is necessary with a hand tap to periodically reverse rotation to break the chip formed during the cutting process, thus preventing an effect called "crowding" that may cause tap breakage.

sound familiar??
you will need to use a tap designed to go in a drill or be prepared to replace breakages