Combination drill and tap - a gimmick?

[DanEng]

Hello,

Lately online I came across a number of combination drill + tap sets (a drill and tap in one - lower part drill and upper part tap). I even found a video showing someone drilling and tapping in one go with a cordless drill in a piece of steel.
Searching online for curiosity I only found cheap junk sets. Are there any good quality sets of these drill/taps? or it's only a gimmick tool like the ones popping up from time to time.

 

[bob15]

For thinner metal, it is a time saver. Can be bought through McMaster-Carr and MSC.

Quick google search:
Greenlee: https://www.greenlee.com/us/en/d-tap-bits
Greenfield: https://www.gfii.com/pc_product_detail.asp?p_key=0E5CC772CF074015B740388C5E68B80F

 

[MushCreek]

We used to use them for production work on drill presses. Using one in a hand-held drill sounds sketchy. We also used combination drills/reamers for production work.

 

[KnurledNut]

Definitely not a gimmick.

I can vouch for the quality of the Greenlee ones.
Great tool for their intended application.
But even those will break sooner than expected.

 

[bob15]

We used to use them for production work on drill presses. Using one in a hand-held drill sounds sketchy. We also used combination drills/reamers for production work.

I (actually the whole shop) would use regular taps with a hand held drill in steel and aluminum to thickness exceeding 1/4". This was normal production & procedure. We would occasionally snap a tap which will come out relatively easy after striking it with an automatic center punch first.

 

[LeeG]

I use the Milwaukee ones quite a bit. They work great on metal up to about 1/4”. I use them on my impact with the setting for self tapping screws.

 

[jeffmoss26]

I have a small Klein set. They are nice for cleaning up electrical boxes etc.

 

[alien]

I have been using them for years. I have so far only been using the Greenlee branded ones. I have broken plenty over the years but all mostly due to my improper use. I am considering trying to Milwaukee brand as they are impact rated?

 

[Bubba Fett]

I have the Greenlee set at work. It's come in pretty handy. I may get one for the house.

 

[DanEng]

The Greenlee set seems nice. I till try to get one.

 

[Luciferi]

I use them all the time. I stopped using 6-32 as they always break after a few uses. 8-32 are also very fragile a break more frequently than I think they should. The 10-24, 10-32, 1/4-20 work great and last pretty long as long as you are smart about using them.

I started with greenlee have replaced with some Dewalt, Klein, and cheap generic chinese. The greenlee and dewalt are good but Klein junk. Chinese ones have hard time cutting like they are dull feeing like they will break at anytime. The threads produced are rough. I think I will try Milwaukee soon