Cheap tap & die sets?

[Farmall450]

This is where an economical set makes for a good starting point. Buy a few others as needed or when "that deal" falls in your lap. Its not worth not having for 25$.

Very true. Thanks!

I have a Matco set at work,lifetime warranty made by Irwin.I broke one tap and dulled two so far,replaced under warranty with no questions asked.Cost me about $300.00,Been a good set so far.

I think that's why a lot of people pay SO prices for Irwin stuff, the warranty.

I've had a cheap set for the past 10 years and I have no complaints. Unbranded from Pep Boys or something, it was $50 at the time. I use them probably twice a year, use tapping fluid (okay, motor oil), and I've never broken one, bolts go in fine (and the dies do fine for some minor thread cleanup).

I wouldn't recommend it if you're building machinery, but for home use if you're not a hobbyist fabricator, why not. Even if you do get a nice set down the road, you'll have a "beater" set to lend out or let your wife use.


For me, it's not one of the things I would see returns splurging on. Okay, that doesn't justify a lot of tools I own, but I don't mind spending a little for drill/drivers, wrenches, sockets, ratchets, etc. where I'll use 'em just about every weekend.


edit: looks exactly like this set: http://www.ebay.com/itm/w4002db-met..._Automotive_Tools&hash=item20e24f38c5&vxp=mtr

Same here, just can't justify the huge upfront investment ATM.

Here's the Tekton set I had for under $40. I used it 1 or 2 times a month for a couple of years and can't complain. DaveR (member here) works for Tekton and they have awesome warranty service.

http://www.amazon.com/TEKTON-7558-Tap-Die-39-Piece/dp/B00AHV3E4G

Sent you a PM Farmall

A warranty would be ideal so if they are junk and break, well, you know.

 

[Truck52]

I looked at the rebadged sets from Mac, snap on, and Matco, but for what
They cost vs the Irwin set I can buy a lot of individual taps or dies that wear out or break.
If I was a pro mechanic the truck brands would be worth it. But for as much as I use them I don't need the warranty.

 

[brettboat]

I run a MAC 41 piece SAE tap and die set that I picked up for $200... Worth it for me because of the warranty. I never use metric for my line of work thank god.

Some aircraft bolts and nuts are well over $500 a piece. So saving them can be pretty important.

 

[Farmall450]

I run a MAC 41 piece SAE tap and die set that I picked up for $200... Worth it for me because of the warranty. I never use metric for my line of work thank god

That's definitely fortunate, to be able to get one nice very in depth set vs trying to cover both ends of the spectrum.

 

[A_Pmech]

OK, so I promised I'd take a few photos of the tap and die toy set I bought way back as a kid, which appears to be the same one they sell today.

Here's the package:

Here's a close-up comparison between a Cleveland on the left, an Irwin / Hanson in the center and one of the taps from the set:

Going in a little closer...

Their high standards of quality weren't confined to poorly executing just one tap. Every one of them is a useless piece of junk! Using one to clean up existing threads would destroy whatever you were trying to save.

I think they thread a few thousand of their taps before selling the dies:

 

[creativecars]

How about this middle of the road TEKTON 7560 Tap and Die Set, SAE, 45-Piece. http://www.tektontools.com/All_Products/7560
It says they are HSS and about $85.00 for a pretty complete set.

 

[mrjaw14]

I've been researching this very topic. I was wanting to buy the large hansen/Irwen kit that snap on, craftsman, and practically everyone else rebrands thinking it's a good kit. I headed over to a machinist forum and there's all kinds of threads (pun intended) about how the cheap sets, made of carbon steel, are garbage. Will they cut threads...maybe. will they meet quality specs for a manufactured part for a torque bearing application...no. The tolerances are looser so the threads are sloppy. That's the best case...worst case is the tap is brittle and breaks in the hole. The opinion was NOT to purchase large sets of every size tap and die, but rather to purchase high-speed steel industrial taps, the same ones used to cut threads in factories and machine shops in the sizes you need them. They are pricey, but many of those guys are keeping the same taps for years on end if they're going light work and say that A) they don't snap off in the work and B) they stay sharp longer and C) are good quality threads formed correctly.

I really really wanted the irwin set to be good. But the machinist guys are pretty unanimous in their opinion that HSS taps from a US manufacturer are the way to go. They'd rather buy a good tap, then risk a crappy one breaking off and spending the time it takes to get it out and be out more money than the good tap would have cost

 

[MBfreak]

I am fortunate to live in a part of Sweden that used to be the mechanical manufacturing heartland here. Think Bahco, CE Johansson, Malte Kansson, SKF and many more.
And on various markets there is usually several old shop owners who are selling of their tools.
I buy all my taps and dies there, top quality stuff, and hardly ever used. For the treasure hunter there are some really odd stuff. Like a M19x1 Left hand tap made by CEJ..
Will never ever be used but I just had to have it

Ola

 

[RedneckWelder]

I don't really use the dies much so I buy my taps individually, mostly on Ebay and through work. I prefer HSS taps from US or other first world countries with quality manufacturing. I've got a chart of the common tap sizes used for work and I check them off as I acquire them. Buying surplus on Ebay means I pay a fraction of the new tap cost, too.

They'd rather buy a good tap, then risk a crappy one breaking off and spending the time it takes to get it out and be out more money than the good tap would have cost

That's pretty much the way I see it. I don't give a **** about warrenty, I'd rather buy a quality HSS tap from a great maker and minimize the risk of breaking it (and yes, part of that is not being an idiot while using the tap) because getting a broken tap out is aggravating, especially when it's in a confined space.

Taps are NOT a place to cut corners, IMHO.

 

[Farmall450]

How about this middle of the road TEKTON 7560 Tap and Die Set, SAE, 45-Piece. http://www.tektontools.com/All_Products/7560
It says they are HSS and about $85.00 for a pretty complete set.

I actually got a Tekton set, MM & SAE, from a member hear. Despite their import status, I've used a few, and with a good amount of quality thread cutting oil, they've worked fine. Granted, I wasn't tapping particularly hard or deep steel. Just flat stock.