Question about Snap On/Blue Point rethreading dies

[wyckerman]

Hi everyone,

I'm looking to get some UNF dies for rethreading 316 stainless steel Swagelok fittings (7/16-20 and 10-32 dies specifically). I'm based in Australia, and I've found one of the cheapest places to get rethreading dies individually is from Snap On's online store. What are peoples opinions on these dies? They mostly appear to be USA made, are they essentially rebranded Hansen?

Cheers
- Wyckerman

 

[Wamsutta]

I don't think they're Hanson. I think they're made by Lang which used to be called K-STAR. By the way, Hansen are the people who make the socket holders.

 

[wyckerman]

By the way, Hansen are the people who make the socket holders.

******, missed it by one letter. Thanks for that though mate.

I guess I am wondering if they are are reasonable enough quality to stand rethreading stainless steel fittings. Metric I can find easily enough here, but UNF are a bit harder to track down. Snap On's online Australia store has them for about $5-10 each, which seems quite reasonable to me for individual dies. I might as well grab them anyway and see how long they last.

 

[Tim37]

I have a set of the thread restorers they work just fine.

 

[6PTsocket]

Hi everyone,

I'm looking to get some UNF dies for rethreading 316 stainless steel Swagelok fittings (7/16-20 and 10-32 dies specifically). I'm based in Australia, and I've found one of the cheapest places to get rethreading dies individually is from Snap On's online store. What are peoples opinions on these dies? They mostly appear to be USA made, are they essentially rebranded Hansen?

Cheers
- Wyckerman

No, they are rebranded Kastar/Lang. They are the source for most of the rethreading taps and dies that you will see under their own two brands and most of the others. They are US made. I agree, Snap On on line is a good place to buy them. in the US, shipping is free and they are inexpensive. The cutting taps and dies are Hansen.

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[6PTsocket]

As to standing up to stainless, with a rethreading tap you are not cutting thread, just pushing it back into place. The less material that is removed the better.

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[wyckerman]

Thanks for all of your input. I have ordered a couple of both 7/16-20 and 10-32. Will see how they go. Cheers!

 

[rlitman]

As to standing up to stainless, with a rethreading tap you are not cutting thread, just pushing it back into place. The less material that is removed the better.

I have a set of NC and NF Snap On rethreading dies. I've never seen them remove material, and I'm not sure how you'd wear them out. It would be like wearing out a sharpening steel. They move material, not remove.

My only concern would be with corrosion of the stainless. There's a lot of rubbing between these dies and the 316 fittings you're repairing, and people don't spend extra money on 316 when it isn't necessary.
I'd seriously consider repassivation after rethreading if corrosion is a risk.

 

[6PTsocket]

Aren't they branded Bluepoint?

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[bobcatdan]

The nice thing with SO is they warranty them. Don't use a vise to hold the die, you can crack them pretty easy. Found that out, SO replaced them no questions asked.

 

[rlitman]

Aren't they branded Bluepoint?...

I believe the branding has gone up and back between SO and BP over the years.

I've got two gasket scrapers like that. One is SO, the other is BP. Both have the same part number, and appear to be made in the same place. The only difference is the date of manufacture.

 

[6PTsocket]

Well considering they are Kastar/Lang it doesn't matter what they call them. I was always under the impression that the Snap On name went onto products that they made themselves and Bluepoint was stuff they rebranded to fill in the line, like brushes and scrapers and in some case, a cheaper second line. Now I see Snap On branded junk in Costco. Companies that milk their good name for cheap profits don't keep their good name. I guess they figure that with everybody going China, they are still on top of the junk pile.

 

[foghorn1966]

wyckerman - As I'm an Inst. Mech., just kind of curious what fittings your are trying to thread repair. I suspect that they are some kind of analyzer fitting. I don't think that the Lang/Kastar/Snapon thread repair dies are going to be hard/strong enough to have any success on the SS fittings. I have ruined them on mangled grade 8 bolts.