Hi all as the title really. Who makes some taps that dont break the minute you get a tight spot?
i've got the halfords jobbie for around £40.
It's lasted me pretty well, i only snapped one bit because i didn't drill the hole big enough, but took it back to halfords and they
replaced the broken one.
Feels pretty good quality, Much better than the crap i got from screwfix...
It depends if you are creating new threads or repairing old oes
I have a cheap ish set that is at least 35 years old, and used it numerous times, mainly on repairing threads,
and its been fine,
new threads take a lot of effort and have never really been up to a usable standard
Steve
Try here:
www.drill-service.co.uk
Buy what you need and quick delivery in my experience.
Got a Cromwell Tools near you?
Their stuff is generally good quality and you can buy individual sizes rather than have to fork out for a full set, half of which you'll never
use.
Which do you need? Taps or Dies?
Taps repair or cut threads through the bore of a pre-drilled hole. Dies repair or cut threads onto a piece of bar or pipe.
Either way, you get what you pay for. You might want to invest in a decent set of Cobalt drills if you want a perfect hole. They are very sharp and
reliable so long as you dont abuse them.
[Edited on 15-12-10 by MakeEverything]
With taps always buy the best you can afford.
I personally, buy individual taps as most, in a set, go unused.
Also, again personally, I see no need to ever use a die, bolts are available in all sizes and no cut thread is ever as strong as a rolled thread.
I'd recommend Sherwood and Dormer cutting tools (2 different makes not a partnership! 
)
As for dies, I use them all the time when turning bits up on the lathe, or for instance my front grille which was made of 3mm rod, BBQ style, the
returns were cut to an M3 thread so I could bolt it through the nosecone, the sierra engine mount threads needed running over as there was a little
damage to one, etc etc etc. There are lots of occasions when a bolt wont do IMO
[Edited on 15/12/10 by Stott]
everything of mine is Titex, probably not the very best, but as near as your going to get in my opinion and experience
one day while a little bored and after having tried to explain just how good they were I decided to proove it to someone, they said they all the same
tools and that my set was no better than his 100 piece set from the market that was a tenner LOL
was working on a 1" steel plate making a ransom rest for shooting at the time.
drilled the holes, stuck an M12 tap in a cordless drill, and banged it straight through 
I started out with a small set of drills and taps M3 to M12 few years ago, still all going strong, only one that had to be replaced was the M3 when a
nobhead neighbor borrowed it and snapped it.
if you havd a local college which does manufacturing or fabrication it might be worth contacting them. in my last college they used to get huge crates
delivered with equipment from local industry, usually tooling that was included in the price of their jobs that they won't use again but the vast
majority was in great condition and was anything from dies, taps, drills, grinding materials, tools etc etc. all very good quality.
that or you could contact local industries directly and see if they're throwing any job tooling out
quote:
Originally posted by tony-devon
I started out with a small set of drills and taps M3 to M12 few years ago, still all going strong, only one that had to be replaced was the M3 when a nobhead neighbor borrowed it and snapped it.
Dormer are probably among the best, together with Presto and Goliath (all mine are these and have never broken one yet, even though I use the cordless
drill to do most tapping jobs up to M8 that are not done in the lathe)
In either case, as was mentioned further up the thread, get em from cromwell tools, they will post and take internet orders even if a trade counter
isn't nearby.
Good taps are made of hardened steel and thus brittle. If the taps you are breaking are small (like m3) just have a look at how small the steel cross
section is, then work out the mechanical advantage you have with your tap holder!
For small taps (less than m6, but depends how clumsy you are), they are very easy to break. This can happen because the tap is not properly alligned
with the hole and it just jams. It can also happen when a tap jams due to chips not clearing, so you should make a half turn backwards for every
couple of turns cutting to break the chips and let them eject. If tapping a blind hole, you may need to take the tap out and turn the work over to let
the chips drop out. Also use a taper tap to start and just run down the bottom cut one at the end.
It is important to use a cutting fluid with the taps. When cutting aluminium, use kerosense or WD40. When cutting steel use some oil. Model engineers
sometimes make tapping guides - a block of metal with a hole equal to the OD of the tap drilled at 90 degrees. You place this flat on the metal over
your hole, so the thread starts straight. Quirte useful if you are a novice. let the tap go ina couple of turns, then back it out and remove the guide
and tap fully.
I buy taps from www.traceytools.com and they supply PRESTO/dormer etc - all seem good if you use them properly (and 20% of the price of the taps in my
local cromwells - sometimes for the same make)
Hope that helps
Hugh
(1) Keep a set of good quality HSS Split Dies for cutting new threads and a cheapish set of HSS Hex Dies for cleaning up and repairing threads
threads.
(2) Use proper Tapping & Cutting compound --- it makes an amazing difference
quote:
Originally posted by hughpinder
Good taps are made of blah blah .....
I buy taps from www.traceytools.com and they supply PRESTO/dormer etc - all seem good if you use them properly (and 20% of the price of the taps in my local cromwells - sometimes for the same make)
www.tapdie.com are good too. last time i ordered (a few years ago now...) prices were real cheap, but top quality.
British trident
(2) Use proper Tapping & Cutting compound --- it makes an amazing difference
yep, proper lube makes an unbeleivable difference.
can't beat Trefolex
Presto and good old squished frogs Trefolex.
I use them routinely with students and have yet to have a "breakage".
Dormer and Titex are both very good and both used in industry as well. You get what you pay for. Although I picked up a complete new Dormer M3-M16 set
with Guhering drills for around £40 a couple of years back.
I dont buy cheap drills, taps or dies unless its for a one off job. Make sure whatever you buy is HSS and not plain carbon steel and you generally
cant go too far wrong.
David
quote:
Originally posted by hughpinder
Good taps are made of hardened steel and thus brittle.
Thanks for all the info guys, Its mainly taps that i use and usually M6 upwards. Got a Snap-on set but after plenty of use the M6 finally gave up.
Will check out the websites and companies recomended.
Thanks again.