2 in 1 tap and die set

[GarageGuy89]

Any one use one of these for steel/aluminum? Has the bit on the tip and the tap a couple inches up the shaft.

Would be using this for smaller diameters 3-10mm in diameter.

How well do they work?


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[larry_g]

Any one use one of these for steel/aluminum? Has the bit on the tip and the tap a couple inches up the shaft.

Would be using this for smaller diameters 3-10mm in diameter.

How well do they work?


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Sounds like a production tool. Would work on a rigid spindle machine but could be questionable on a handheld.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[manwithtools]

Are you talking about these or something similar?

If so, they are a combined drill and tap, not a tap and die combination which is quite confusing when worded as such....

As a mater of fact, they are called Tap Drills.

They are a compromise at best, might work okay in thin aluminum. We tried them for mild steel 12 and 10 gauge and they would break pretty easily. Don't want to use them in blind holes either.

 

[Wamsutta]

Whenever I use taps it's always a slow methodical operation.

A tap combined with a drill gives me a little anxiety.

 

[Gogo300]

They work great in a drill press and tap-o-matic especially if you have a fixture to guide the drill section for repeatability.

 

[Wamsutta]

Gogo300, what type of material do you use them on?

 

[lis2323]

Are you talking about these or something similar?

If so, they are a combined drill and tap, not a tap and die combination which is quite confusing when worded as such....

As a mater of fact, they are called Tap Drills.

They are a compromise at best, might work okay in thin aluminum. We tried them for mild steel 12 and 10 gauge and they would break pretty easily. Don't want to use them in blind holes either.

I too think his “tap and die” wording was misleading.

I’ve used tap drills (10-24 and 10-32 ) for installing clearance lights etc on truck bodies. They work really well.


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[LXCam]

Are you talking about these or something similar?

If so, they are a combined drill and tap, not a tap and die combination which is quite confusing when worded as such....

As a mater of fact, they are called Tap Drills.

They are a compromise at best, might work okay in thin aluminum. We tried them for mild steel 12 and 10 gauge and they would break pretty easily. Don't want to use them in blind holes either.

These things rock in up too 1/8 mild steel. I've drilled and tapped thousands upon thousands of holes with the 8/32 and + sizes building motor control centers. They are not made to do anything much thicker however. Also if this is what you're looking for, be mindful of using the appropriate cutting fluid.

https://www.greenlee.com/products/DRILL%40FTAP-KIT.html?product_id=17143

 

[manwithtools]

These things rock in up too 1/8 mild steel. I've drilled and tapped thousands upon thousands of holes with the 8/32 and + sizes building motor control centers. They are not made to do anything much thicker however. Also if this is what you're looking for, be mindful of using the appropriate cutting fluid.

Cam, we did not have the same experience in our control panel building - similar mild steel thicknesses. Of course not everyone can drill a straight hole with a hand drill and some of our guys really like to lean into them. That might explain our experience.

Now we use a CNC panel fabrication machine - consumables like drill bits and taps last forever. I think we average over 1500 holes before we replace a 10-32 tap.

 

[LXCam]

Cam, we did not have the same experience in our control panel building - similar mild steel thicknesses. Of course not everyone can drill a straight hole with a hand drill and some of our guys really like to lean into them. That might explain our experience.

Now we use a CNC panel fabrication machine - consumables like drill bits and taps last forever. I think we average over 1500 holes before we replace a 10-32 tap.

There's certainly a knack to doing it properly, don't think I haven't busted my fair share. What works best for me is one drop of cutting fluid at each hole then a quick clean with brake or contact cleaner. The instant you get these hot enough to fuse the slightest build up of material is right about the time you're done -grab another.

 

[manwithtools]

There's certainly a knack to doing it properly, don't think I haven't busted my fair share. What works best for me is one drop of cutting fluid at each hole then a quick clean with brake or contact cleaner. The instant you get these hot enough to fuse the slightest build up of material is right about the time you're done -grab another.

Well stated, we use Tap-Magic or Tap-Free for hand drilling and tapping. What got us was their cost. About three times what conventional taps cost and they did not last nearly as long.

 

[LXCam]

Well stated, we use Tap-Magic or Tap-Free for hand drilling and tapping. What got us was their cost. About three times what conventional taps cost and they did not last nearly as long.

Well I will add this. A few years ago when I was manufacturing parts in house for the automotive world I changed over to spiral flute taps. Had I know then what I know now back when we built panels in house I probably would have done it differently. But there's a lot to be said about having an all in one tool in some instances.

 

[woody 73]

How good are the Greenlee sets ? I was thinking about picking up a set but I wanted to hear from others if that was a good set or not.

 

[LXCam]

How good are the Greenlee sets ? I was thinking about picking up a set but I wanted to hear from others if that was a good set or not.

They're excellent

 

[AZ Pete]

used one on a brass valve body, because it was the only tap at Lowes, I had pre drilled the pilot hole, and so I loaded the tap with grease and it did a very serviceable job. Like some say, not for blind holes, and I would think a pilot hole would be advisable.


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[manwithtools]

If you are drilling a pilot hole you are completely wasting the minimal time savings these might offer by their design.

 

[MattT]

Cam, we did not have the same experience in our control panel building - similar mild steel thicknesses. Of course not everyone can drill a straight hole with a hand drill and some of our guys really like to lean into them. That might explain our experience.

The short screw machine length drills really help when using a drill motor. Don't need to baby them like jobbers or the drill taps which speeds up the drilling and reduces breakage.

And spiral point taps are the best I've found for panels. Excellent tool life and near impossible to break in thin material.

I run separate drills for the drill and the tap. Gets the speeds closer to optimum for each which improves tool life and increases drilling speed. With this set up a guy using drill taps can keep up with me until they break one

 

[manwithtools]

The short screw machine length drills really help when using a drill motor. Don't need to baby them like jobbers or the drill taps which speeds up the drilling and reduces breakage.

And spiral point taps are the best I've found for panels. Excellent tool life and near impossible to break in thin material.

I run separate drills for the drill and the tap. Gets the speeds closer to optimum for each which improves tool life and increases drilling speed. With this set up a guy using drill taps can keep up with me until they break one

When hand drilling we only use screw machine length drills and spiral taps. Almost all our panels are drilled and tapped on this:

It machines the openings in the enclosure and drills and taps the back panels.

 

[Gogo300]

The company I worked for used a tap-o-matic then attached a fixture to gang drill and tap four holes in one stroke of the drill press. Drilled into cast aluminum for stop light hangers.

 

[LXCam]

When hand drilling we only use screw machine length drills and spiral taps. Almost all our panels are drilled and tapped on this:

It machines the openings in the enclosure and drills and taps the back panels.

That baby is awesome bud. Back in 02/03 I designed and we built a couple hundred exterior security electronics control cabinets for all the major substations in Socal. Since they were all identical in design and layout something like that would have been a godsend just for that series of projects alone.

I'm jealous

 

[manwithtools]

That baby is awesome bud. Back in 02/03 I designed and we built a couple hundred exterior security electronics control cabinets for all the major substations in Socal. Since they were all identical in design and layout something like that would have been a godsend just for that series of projects alone.

I'm jealous

When you build between 100-300 control panels a month from 12" x 12" up to 6-8 door control centers, that machine is invaluable. We sometimes will build 50 or more of the same enclosure, it really shines then. Interestingly, it's still better on one-off enclosures than a single man doing it by hand.