tap and dye

G

goodshepherdknives

Joined
Apr 7, 2013
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297
Hi, ive been wanting to make a folder sometime and havnt used a tap and dye yet and was wondering what a reccomended one is and, well, how to use it. thanks
 
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rap and dye yet is what happens when you get caught screwin' round with Snoop Lion's gal.
A Tap and Die Set makes screwing possible.
 
Ha ha. Stacy said "Snoop Lion".


...snicker, snort...
 
Last year Snoop Dogg changed his name to Snoop Lion. He became a Rastafarian, and the name represents the Lion of Judah.
 
And then he said "Snoop Dogg"...

lol
 
As said above, google is your friend. There is a tremendous amount of info out there on this subject, but I will give you a starting point (keep in mind, preferences amongst professionals may vary widely as to which style of tool is suitable for a given task)

-I find that for sizes 1/4"-20/28 and below, straight flute spiral point taps are a nice easy to start tap type for beginners, and are more resistant to misalignment breakage than some other tap styles. For most uses, plain HSS with no coating is suitable, and most likely to work across the largest range of materials (some of the coatings are materials specific, for instance certain coatings for ferrous metals may be incompatible with aluminum).

-DO NOT BUY A JUNKY TAP HANDLE. You want a quality handle that holds the tap tight and straight. You are sure to break taps as a beginner if you are using a cheap tap handle. This also goes for dies, although in many cases, one-off external threads are better done with a single-point threading tool on a manual lathe.

-Many tap sets are provided with multi-flute carbon steel taps, some of which are so bad that they are barely suitable for chasing out threads in an engine block (which is what many of these cheap tap sets are used for). I find it superior in most cases to buy quality tools in the sizes you need, and then just keep them until you've built a much better set over time.

-For blind holes, spiral flute (not to be confused with spiral point) taps are ideal, but they can also be very easy to break with a tap handle if you haven't tapped a LOT of holes. In fact, they're sometimes referred to as CNC taps, and I've seen them noted as not for hand use. They can be safely used by hand if you know what you're doing, but the risk of breakage is still there depending on the web thickness, flute count, thread tolerance, and tap size. The spiral flutes eject the chips in reverse, so you don't get binding in the bottom of the hole.
 
Chuck Gedraitis Knives said:
It's a Tap and Die and search is your friend.
Click to expand...

Congrats on your success and awards at bladeshows. i for one am simply not able to believe a folding knife can be made by hand simply because ive had several failed attempts that i havnt had time to finish yet. your knives are truly unique and works of art. i too was not supported by my parents for being fascinated by sharp things. I specialize in the sharpening aspect and have recently in the last two yearst tried making knives, which has gone well in the fixed blade aspect.
The t and r are considerably close on my keyboard. if it was spelled wrong on my thread title post i would have seen pointing out the error, but thanks for nothing. real people can provide answers with experience. the google engine wants to sell. people here have experience and will tell someone who doesnt know whats happeneing or going on what to avoid which was what i was attempting to get at. sometimes trial and error are your friends. sometimes when you have no money and are only dreaming of your future, it is not. im sure a person on this forum with a craftsman title membership has some experience with not being perfect at or knowing everything and would be considerate of small armounts of trade passing to the next generation. bladeforums is generally a helpful place with kind and considerate people and id rather talk to the family and meet new friends or mentors rather than go by whichever ad comes up first with some phony review. it would have done much more to simply say nothing in your case. im working third shift killing myself for very little money and am too tired to job hunt to provide for my wife and unborn child and my dreams of one day being a successful business person and craftsman are the only other thing keeping me going which im sure if i succeed i will appreciate my craft and ability to work on it much more since it wasnt just handed to me. also on the typo note my phone is posessed and i am terrible with touch screens, and the keyboard tends to do random unasked things even though all of the options are unchecked (and i mean weird like, turn the volume up or call someone).
 
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Ok... The Google search the others were referring to is in the stickies, and it a custom search for this forum. It's not selling anything. It's a FANTASTIC tool to find the info you need. Almost every question you can think of has been discussed on this forum at one point or another. Us newbies really need to do our own research instead of expecting everyone to answer the same questions over and over and over again... Anyway good luck with your knife making adventures!!
 
Get a quality set (NOT HF). Make sure you have perfect alignment. Use cutting oil and take your time. I've seen 1 recommendation to use 3 different sets, one to start, one to rough out the threads and one to finish. I believe, with quality tools, 2 sets will suffice.
 
I have a basic 36 piece snap on brand set. It's not much money and it has all the sizes I've ever needed. I ordered mine on eBay but lots of online places sell the snap on brand. Hope this helps
 
Chuck Gedraitis Knives said:
It's a Tap and Die and search is your friend.
Click to expand...

The t and r are considerably close on my keyboard. if it was spelled wrong on my thread title post i would have seen pointing out the error, but thanks for nothing. real people can provide answers with experience. the google engine wants to sell. people here have experience and will tell someone who doesnt know whats happeneing or going on what to avoid which was what i was attempting to get at. sometimes trial and error are your friends. sometimes when you have no money and are only dreaming of your future, it is not. im sure a person on this forum with a craftsman title membership has some experience with not being perfect at or knowing everything and would be considerate of small armounts of trade passing to the next generation. bladeforums is generally a helpful place with kind and considerate people and id rather talk to the family and meet new friends or mentors rather than go by whichever ad comes up first with some phony review. it would have done much more to simply say nothing in your case.
 
Stacy Speaking:
Sorry if you took offense, but the words Tap and Die are misspelled not only in the thread title ,( tap and dye) but also in text (rap and dye yet). We were just being lighthearted over the humorous nature of those errors.

The folks are merely saying that a Google search will bring up lots of information on taps and dies. This information isn't advertisements, it is pages from Machinists manuals or from manufacturers information sites. There is a lot to learn about the right taps needed to make the holes we want in knifemaking. There is no one size fits all tap.
A tapmatic or similar tapping device is almost a necessity in tapping the small holes for knifemaking.
The custom search engine for Bladeforums will also find lots of info:
https://www.google.com/cse/home?cx=011197018607028182644:qfobr3dlcra






Moderator Speaking:
I noticed the misspellings and the lack of capitals and punctuation. I would guess you are typing on a hand help device, not a regular keyboard. That can cause a lot of errors ( especially due to Autocorrect), so proofreading the post before posting it is always a good idea.

Your rant on Chuck Gedraitis is unwarranted, and to be blunt shows poor character. Chuck is a great person who goes out of his way to help others. He was merely pointing out that your spelling was wrong, and that a search for the right words would get lots of information. If you have issues with someone's post or suggestion, try and send them an email or PM.

I realize that you are under a bit of stress, with a baby on the way, a recent move, and looking for work....but stop and think before blasting someone who was only trying to help.
 
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