Tap and die set recomendations.

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Guy Thomas

Joined
Feb 1, 2000
Messages
1,370
I'm shopping for a tap and die set. I usually buy Craftsman hand tools when I can. On sale they are usually a great bargain. Are their tap and die sets good also? In the alternative is it a better idea to just buy the tap or die that I need as I go along instead of buying a whole set? Thanks-Guy T.

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Results! Why, man,
I have gotten a lot of results.
I know several thousand
things that won't work.

Thomas A. Edison
 
I just bought a tapping press from Grizzly, along with some M2 taps and dies; it's pretty good stuff for the money; the press is very sturdy.

Ryan



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For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 6:23


 
Back in my diesel mechanic days I kept up on what was the best hand tools around but have lost touch. My set is a Vermont American. Don't know if they are still as good as they used to be but I've used the heck out of mine and they've held up.

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Hoodoo

The low, hoarse purr of the whirling stone—the light-press’d blade,
Diffusing, dropping, sideways-darting, in tiny showers of gold,
Sparkles from the wheel.

Walt Whitman
 
would pass on a set if i were you and only buy the ones you need....and get 5 or 6.. they break at the worse possible time and wear out too.....go to MSC Inc or Traverse tool or Rutland supply.....those are the three i use all the time....I think they all have websites....msc will send you a cd with their whole catalog on it if you email them.. if you get a set most of them will never get used...and as a knifemaker I NEVER use dies...although i have a few...just never use them.....

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http://www.mayoknives.com


 
Tom, I can see the wisdom in your words. It reminds me of a conversation I had with a woodworker who works at the local Lowe's superstore. I was contemplating buying a set of countersinks simply because the cost for each countersink was so much less than buying them separately. He said "So your going to be drilling a lot of countersinks, eh?" Well all I really needed was one size and that's what I ended up getting.
I must say that it is a huge temptation to collect tools just to have them around but frugality also has to be taken into account. Something of a philosophical tool conundrum.
-Guy T.
 
I'm looking for some dies myself, anyone know where to get a left hand thread 5/8 NF die? Ineed it to thread a motor shaft for a buffer. any other suggestions of an easier way could be a big help!

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Shane ------------------- If you don't have time to do it right the first time, When do you think you'll have time to fix it!!!
 
High speed steel is a far better choice for a tap and die set, over plain carbon steel. The discounts we see in the store and the good deals in the cataloges are normally carbon steel sets. I even found that a few I had purchased thinking they were HSS actually were carbon. Payed a pretty penny ofr them too. Guess buyer beware holds true. M2 or cobalt tool steel and even carbide is available but M2 or more commonly known as HSS is good enough for most aplications and you don't cry too much when you break one.
 
MSC has EVERY kind of tap and die you can think of; enough to make your head spin. The larger size taps are easy to use. It is the SMALLER sizes, say no. 10 or smaller, that are a pain. they require a light touch and sensitive "feel" to avoid breakage. Turn the tap backwards about everu 1/4 turn to break the swarf and be very visually focused. You will actually see the tap twist a little before it moves. A little too much and you have a broken tap and a headache. For some reason i am hell on drills, but have never had any trouble with taps.
 
When I first started out working on heavy equipment, I worked for a big machinery dealer in Billings, Montana. I remember breaking a tooth of a die used to chase/cut axle threads on some heavy duty spindles. My boss was not pleased and informed me that there was no excuse for breaking either a tap or a die. That was back in the early 70s and I haven't broken one since. Still, the guy was a pr*%k.
frown.gif


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Hoodoo

The low, hoarse purr of the whirling stone—the light-press’d blade,
Diffusing, dropping, sideways-darting, in tiny showers of gold,
Sparkles from the wheel.

Walt Whitman
 
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