looking for a decent priced tap and die set-

[purpony]

Looking to pick up a tap and die set. Would like a metric/inch combo. Can anyone recommend a decent set for a decent price? I want something that will last, but dont want to spend a fortune. thanks

 

[jdcompman]

+1 10 char

 

[Ed_EOD]

I have several year old Craftsman set that has treated me pretty well, however the last new ones I saw at Sears were made in China. I heard somewhere the older Cman was made by the same company that makes some of the truck brands. Can anyone confirm that?

 

[Rickster]

I just sold a beautiful Craftsman old-school 59 pc Kromedge tap & die set in the classifieds. I see them every now and then at estate sales and I allways pick them up. Those old Craftsman sets are really nice if you can get your hands on one I'd highly recommend it.

 

[alex71]

I want something that will last, but dont want to spend a fortune. thanks

Taps and dies are consumable items. Cheap taps and dies are disposable.

Unless you're in a hurry, check out some garage sales. You can typically pick up old US made taps and dies that still have plenty of life left in them for next to nothing. Usually not a lot of metric stuff though.

 

[hemipower0469]

Matco and Snap-on do have some really nice ones. Pricey but nice. I have a matco comes at 76 piece got in on sale $220 regular price around $400

 

[Hiball]

Tap and Die sets are something that if you are gonna use them for creating NEW Threads you need to invest in a Good set, My experience with cheap sets is they are alright for repairing damaged threads only.

 

[Griff93]

As others have pretty much said, don't bother with a cheap set. I bought the HF set when I was in school and a the tap lost its teeth on a piece of 1018 steel. Vermont American used to make Cman taps. I have compared the two side by side. The etching is the only difference. Of course there is always the possibility that someone else makes the taps for both.

 

[alex71]

As others have pretty much said, don't bother with a cheap set. I bought the HF set when I was in school and a the tap lost its teeth on a piece of 1018 steel. Vermont American used to make Cman taps. I have compared the two side by side. The etching is the only difference. Of course there is always the possibility that someone else makes the taps for both.

Vermont American no longer makes taps in America. Bitter irony.

 

[pmohr]

SO has a 48 piece set for ~$100, USA made. Says only for cleaning up existing threads, but personally that's all I've ever needed them for.

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item...d=1148&supersede=&store=snapon-store&tool=all

I plan on picking that up pretty soon.

 

[Sick Puppy]

I've just started looking around at these, but buying US made isn't necessarily an option for me... are the Japanese ones made from about ten years ago any good?

And what sort of tap/ die range should I be looking at? I'm planning on working with mainly metric (Euro/ Jap cars), but I figure I should have imperial ones too...

(sorry to thread hijack- no pun intended!)

 

[Flathead Red]

Irwin makes a decent set but they SAE and Metric are two different sets. I picked up one on EBay for about $20 but that was a super steal

Red