Broken Tap, need suggestions. $^*#$@!

Matt Shade

Matt Shade

Joined
Nov 24, 1999
Messages
4,981
I broke a tap tonight for the first time ever. No I don't have a jig, tapping machine or anything else. I've always done it free hand very carefully. I've probably done about a hundred holes with this damn #2-56 tap and tonight it broke on me :mad:
So yeah I have to buy another one, or 3 (cause now that I've done it once it will probably happen again) But the big problem is how do I get the damn thing out of the hole?!
Its in a peice of 440C and is a HSS tap.
I'm afraid to just try and drill it out cause its in the 90% finished slab of a framelock I'm workin on. Its been profiled, lock's cut,and ALL the holes are drilled, except for the 3 for the friggin pocket clip which I forgot until I was about ready to heat treat it :grumpy:
There is just a sliver stickin out on each side. I couldn't get ahold of it with any of the pliars in my workbench. My dad might have some better needlenose pliars but I don't think its comin loose that way.

Has anyone found a solution to this problem yet? I know it comes up from time to time and the answer in the past always seemed to be "aint that a bitch".
 
Since there's a bit sticking out on each side you might hold it with your third hand then attack it with a center punch. It's brittle so it should shatter but you'll probably lose the threads in the 440....Do you have liquid nitrogen ? that should make the tap more brittle.
 
soaking Ti in ferric chloride acid eats a tap up and does not hurt the Ti. It's going to eat up that 440c though. There are easy out tap removers but they are meant for bigger taps and even then, they are a royal PITA to get to work. I think you are going to end up leaving that piece of tap stuck in there and working around it some how. It's been done lot's of times before.
 
Matt,

I don't know about 440C...but I've done the same thing in Titanium.....and like George said.....soak it in acid for a few days and the tap dissappears.

2-56 is pretty tiny for most other techniques. Good luck.

-Rob
 
Thanks for all the ideas so far.
I was expecting the first post to be more like

"yep that IS a bitch :p "

Don't have any EZ-outs that small, or L Nitrogen, or acid, or any of that fun stuff.

You guys have got me to thinking though. What if I were to heat it with a torch using MAPP gas and then quench in water, would it shatter? I figure the tap will heat up faster than the handle slab.
I got to look at the pocket clip too, I suppose it wouldn't be too big a deal to just grind it flush and then offset the pocket clip to cover it up.
Really want to get it out though.
 
Put it in any good acid for a couple of days and it will take care of itself.Sparex pickeling solution ,ferric chloride,nitric acid(diluted).First give it a boil in TSP solution to get all the oil out of the tap hole.Put it in the acid and check it after about 12 hours by giving it a little tap.If the teeth are eaten away it will pop right out.Try again every 6 hours.If you don't hit it too hard the threads won't get too messed up.Rethread after a good cleaning and a soak in neutralizing solution.Good luck.
 
If you have no "acid" then just use vinegar. I have done that overnight, left there until the next evening and the tap gets loose enought to back out with needlenosed pliers.

Craig
 
If it broke as it was just going into the hole you can just drive it out with a punch from the back side, the end of those taps are tapered. I have driven them out before and retaped the hole with no problems :)
BTW I hate it when that happens ;)

Don Hanson lll
 
I broke a tap tonight for the first time ever. No I don't have a jig, tapping machine or anything else. I've always done it free hand very carefully. I've probably done about a hundred holes with this damn #2-56 tap and tonight it broke on me.

For future reference I would srcap a tap that small after a few dozen holes.Taps are cheap compared to that aggravation.
 
Have you tried using piece of piano wire and welding it to the tap?
Either a power supply or a stick welding will cause enough curent to get it to ground out and stick. It may break off a time or two? But it works well with a 0-80 tap.

Just adding my two cents?

Dale
 
That is a very interesting idea Dale
I have a stick welder. Do I simply ground the handle slab, and then clamp in the music wire like a welding rod? I don't think I have any wire that thin, but there is a local place that carries it and I've been needing to get some stuff there anyhow.
Thanks alot


Thanks for the other suggestions as well guys. Has anyone tried vinegar on 440C? Just wondering how much it would rust the slab before the tap is loose :confused:

Severteacher
I'm a cheap bastard. I think I will order 5 or 6 replacements though, and drill bits to go with them. Nobody local carries anything smaller than #4-40, besides an industrial tool supply that charges an arm and a leg for everything. Lesson learned though.
 
Here is something else to try. I have never seen this done but have heard it works. Take a torch with a small tip and heat the tap to white hot. Then turn off the gas and leave the oxygen on. It's suppost to burn up the white hot broken tap and not hurt anything else. Good luck.
 
Break it with a small flat bottom punch using the anvil as a solid surface. You could try a scrap piece of 440c in ferric and see if it gets eaten.
 
Matt Shade said:
...There is just a sliver stickin out on each side. I couldn't get ahold of it with any of the pliars in my workbench. My dad might have some better needlenose pliars but I don't think its comin loose that way.
Click to expand...
Matt,
You might try putting it in a small, smooth jaw vise with the ends of the tap facing a vise jaw, carefully tighten the vise, then see if you can turn the piece to flush up one end or the other of the tap with the piece. That might give you enough room on the other side to grab the tap with some type of pliers. Good luck.
Regards,
Greg
 
Matt, go to the hardware store and ask for RDX. Pack it in the hole and use a little black powder to get it started. It'll knock that tap right out! :footinmou
 
Yes,
Use the slab as a ground.
When you get a good solid ground, release the wire at the stinger.
You may have to try a time ot two to get a good ground, but after you can bend the wire about 1/2 above the tap and along with a pair of small plyers the tap should come out and be mounted on the wall for the world to see.

Dale
 
If you have a milling machine, find yourself a solid carbide drill bit or endmill that is slightly smaller than the diameter of the hole. I have had great success with using endmills. Run the rpms very fast and that solid carbide drill or endmill will bore a broken tap like it was warm butter. As a side note, if you break a tap that is somewhat bigger like 1/4 or larger, and there is a portion of the tap still sticking above the part take a nut of the same size as the tap and carefully weld the nut to the tap. Put a wrech on the nut and back the tap out. Anyways just another method for removing broken taps. I have used this method many times with great success.

Cheers, Luke
 
Something you could try, if there’s a bit of the tip of the tap sticking out the back of the piece grind it flush the center punch it (I’ve found using a carbide scribe for this small stuff works well). Take a drill bit smaller than the tap and chuck it up in you drill press, press down good and hard on the bit so that it bites into the tap then turn on the drill. It should bite into the tap and back it out.

Good luck,
Eric
 
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