1st tap/die set purchase/use

[RNB]

Does it matter what I buy?

I saw one video comparing things, Draper seemed like a good set. I only need one thread cut into two axle nuts for now, do not know if I will ever need or use again.

I am looking for advice on whether quality/price matters for this as it pertains to building Van's planes. Will this tool come in handy later?

Any pointers on use? Is this my excuse for buying a drill press or stick with hand driving?


IRL we manage a bit of a farm and have lived without such a thing so far.

 

[JonJay]

You don’t need a set. Taps are sold individually at many retailers like ACE, HD, etc…. Just buy ones you need when you need them. You will also need a T handle.
Don’t try to use them with the drill press. Although there are tapping chucks and drill presses that are designed to tap, you wouldn’t have one, or you would know it.
A quick search will give you pilot hole drill size for various bolt/screw sizes.
Lubricate the tap. Almost anything will work but the boelube paste, diesel fuel, kerosene all work well for aluminum.
Start the tap perpendicular, square, to the hole turning about 1/4 of a turn. Back the tap off and repeat. You should feel the tap break the chip as you back off. You can usually go more than 1/4 turn but you will develop a feel for it.
Irwin is a common brand at retail stores and their taps work fine. There are more expensive better taps but you don’t need them for an RV.

 

[lipper03]

I bought the Irwin Hanson set from ats, probably could have just done an Irwin from box store. But I will say by hand is the way to go, lots of back and forth and you can feel it better. I watched a great YouTube video on tapping, I’ll go find the link and add it.

 

[wirejock]

Second that.
Irwin. Buy as needed.
With all the work I do between the airplane, cars, plumbing, etc, I doubt I have more than 10 taps and 10 dies.
SAE, Metric, NPT. Not even close to a set. 4-40, 6-32, 8-32, 10-24, 10-32, 1/4-20, 1/4-28 and 3/8-16 are a good start for the airplane.
Second buying a couple decent handles. One small one for smaller taps. One big one. One die handle.
I do have a set of socket tap holders. Very handy for using a ratchet in a tight spot. Amazon sells the set cheap.

 

[jacoby]

Do not attempt to power tap unless you have the proper taps and know what you're doing. A broken tap can be a real problem. They are extremely hard and give no warning before breaking. A drill or a pin or a tap follower in a drill press can be used as a guide for the t-handle to make sure the tap is square.

Be sure to start the tap square to the work or you will tap a canted hole. Like others have said, use a bit of lubricant and go slow. Straight cut taps need to be reversed every 1/4-1/2 turn or so to break the chip. Smaller taps are significantly more fragile than larger ones. Do not push or pull or lever the tap. You risk breaking it.

Irwin are probably the best quality : price taps out there. I would avoid the bargain sets you can find in the usual online places. They don't have great threads and are usually a bit soft.

 

[Dr_Dave_MT]

I inherited my Dad’s Craftsman tap and die sets and a @@@t-ton of loose taps.
If I needed to buy I strongly suggest staying away from Chinesium Taps, a broken tap in a hole is almost as bad as a broke exhaust stud that sheared flush to manifold…..

-cappy

 

[HFS]

What hasn't been mentioned are the different types of taps (maybe on the YouTube vid - didn't look) you should be aware. For our needs, typically 3 types are used - Taper, Plug & Bottoming (there are many others, but they can be discounted for our nominal needs). A taper tap is just what it says, the diameter is reduced on the thread end by 8-10 thread chamfers, which makes the starting cut be a more gradual process - less stress (torque) on the shank starting out. The plug (intermediate) tap is like the "tweener" of the tap world - 3 - 5 tapered thread chamfers before full diameter, making it somewhat easier to follow a taper tap into a blind hole when you want (almost) full depth threads. Last comes the bottom tap which has a 1.5 thread chamfer before full diameter, and so lets you finish a blind hole almost to the bottom.

If all the tapping (depthwise) you need to do can be accomplished with the remaining thread cutting portion of a taper tap, it would be your first choice - less starting resistance with full thread tapping for the thickness of material you are working with. The other two styles are pretty much self determinate for the conditions of your hole.

A word on pilot holes & tap sizes - Pilot holes listed are designed to net the greatest strength (read pull out) of a threaded joint, in the Machinest's Handbook different pilot hole sizes are listed for different materials. The smaller the threaded hole, i.e. 6-32 and down it's real easy to break the tap unless you are uber careful with your procedure. Sometimes a little "relaxation" of pilot hole size might be in order to facilitate your needs.

I would also suggest, if convenient, practicing on the same material & thickness of the part being considered for threading. That way you get a feel for the "feedback" from the tap as hand pressure is being applied - trust me there is tactical feedback on the smaller sizes & and if you don't listen you'll be sorry. So do it on scrap first.

On quality - there are three main levels: 1. HSS - High Strength Steel which is good for softer materials - i.e. Aluminum & softer steels. 2. Cobalt Steel - better than HSS (equals more pricey) & 3. Carbide - For those really "bitch" of a job (very pricey).

For everyday "stuff" probably those brands listed previously are satisfactory if used correctly - but a better quality of tap is going to be sold by machine tool service suppliers like McMaster-Carr or MSC Supply.

YMMV - But remember the tap will "talk" to you just before it breaks (on smaller sizes) ...

HFS
P.S. I've broken a lot of taps over the last 60 years ...