Quality USA COO Tap T-Handles

[bob15]

Where in Kennametal website does it say it own GTD?

According to the Greenfield website they were bought by top-eastern group, a Chinese twist drill manufacturer.

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See the new thread I started http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=344445. It will remove and answer any questions about GTD and Kennametal.

 

[ttpete]

^^ THIS! I am tooling up my shop right now. I wanted a full set of the Starrett 91a, 91b, 91c, 91d straight wrenches. After buying a vintage Starrett 91a (new ones reputedly have problems with soft jaws), I also bought a vintage Greenfield on a whim. Wow -- I won't be buying another Starrett... the Greenfield is significantly nicer IMHO, and they are a lot cheaper used. Note, I would not buy either new -- Starrett has hardening quality issues and Greenfield's new ones have much poorer fit/finish.

I can't speak to the difference between their T-handles, though. My first Greenfield T-handle is in the mail, so we'll see how nice it is.

I wouldn't consider a ratcheting handle. The goal when using small taps is to have great feel so you can cut threads, break chips, yet not break the tap. I wouldn't want anything to reduce rigidity/feel. I broke a bunch of taps due to setups that reduced feel... I don't do that anymore.

There's another little brother to the 91 series smaller than the 91A. I believe it's a 174. Truly tiny.

I built a tapping fixture for the really small taps. It has a small tap wrench on an over arm with a thumb wheel to turn it. It holds the tap in line with the hole and limits the torque applied.

 

[pstemari]

There's another little brother to the 91 series smaller than the 91A. I believe it's a 174. Truly tiny.
...

I have that one. It doesn't have the non-rotating movable v jaw like its bigger cousins, but it's a perfectly good size for small machine screw threads.

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[Teenager with old tools]

Funny how opinions vary. I just sold my Starrett 91B and 91D tap handles and they were tanks when I was a machinist. All the old timers had Starretts. The shop I last worked at owned multiples in all 4 sizes, no problems. This is repetitive, day in and out use, not occasional or light use.



GTD makes good tap handles but I'm not sure where to buy them new, if they are even USA any more. On the used market theyre usually overpriced. The one thing they beat Starrett on is making a lot more sizes. The 91D is the largest Starrett makes, maybe 15-18" long. I owned a GTD #8 tap handle that was 42" long, had tubular steel handles so it was light, and was an all around beast. I've seen on ebay even bigger sizes.



I also have a larger SW Card tap handle bc the Starretts were too small for larger NPT pipe taps. I used to have to tap a lot of 3/4 NPT holes, and the Starrett 91D was not large enough.

That gtd #8 sounds like a perfect watchmakers tap handle


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[avmaine]

I never have good luck at flea markets... And by never have good luck... I mean I am unwilling to pay dealer's prices. Once a dealer has a tool, he wants a reasonable amount of money for it. I want it almost free... I like buying tools for prices the dealer paid for the tool.

I go to flea markets all the time... But I almost never buy anything. I just get ideas about what to look for at garage sales and estate sales. I think I went to the flea market 8 times this year... I bought one vintage trash can. And I low balled the hell out of the guy!

I feel like when i was a kid going to flea markets that you could still find things reasonably. There were a lot more "junkers" just selling off things from house clean outs etc. mixed with bricka bracky BS. Now it seems that everyone there wants top dollar for everything. I saw Snap on wrenches at Snap On prices.

 

[Teenager with old tools]

I feel like when i was a kid going to flea markets that you could still find things reasonably. There were a lot more "junkers" just selling off things from house clean outs etc. mixed with bricka bracky BS. Now it seems that everyone there wants top dollar for everything. I saw Snap on wrenches at Snap On prices.

Most part yeah. But I bought 20 Nicholson files slightly worn for $5. Bought some us made hand saws five dollars total. But yeah most want close to retail. Like the guys with just boxes and boxes of brand new snap on.


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[catalytic]

Let me know when that comes in. I'd love to hear your thoughts.


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So I've had some time to play with the vintage Greenfield #329 T-handle tap wrench. It is made of 3 pieces: handle, body, and knurled nut. The body is hollow to hold the tap, and it has 4 slits in it. When you tighten the nut, it squeezes the slitted end together (just like a collet).

This design is bulletproof and holds rock solid. That said, it takes some force to twist the knurled nut enough to clamp it down on smaller taps.

In contrast, the Starrett 93a, 93b, 93c's have a set of separate jaws that pinch together to hold the tap. This means it doesn't get hard to tighten the nut.

Probably you can't go wrong with either Starrett or Greenfield (vintage for both would be a good idea given Starrett's hardening issues and Greenfield's poor fit/finish these days). I tend to prefer simple/bulletproof tools, so I'll probably keep collecting the Greenfield T-handles.