Tap And Die Set

[Jared]

I am looking for a new tap a die set and I found this one on sale for 60% off.
Here is a picture of http://images.canadiantire.ca/media/images/HandTools/0587184_450_CC_396ad.jpg

It a 76 peice set made by mastercraft which is canadian tire's brand here is what it says on the website:

• 
  Heat treated and fully polished to reduce friction during usage
  Alloy steel construction for greater strength
  Comes in a plastic carrying case
  Lifetime warranty

Thanks Jared

 

[kartracer55]

Well, Id say skip those. Id bet they are garbage.

What exactly are you looking for in a set, I mean, Sae, Metric, both? Just taps?

AS far as brands, My favorites are...

OSG
Greenfield
Cleaveland

Hanson Also makes a Very nice tap, and they are available in a very nice set

http://www.thetoolwarehouse.net/shop/IRW-24606.html

This is pretty high quality, and thats a great price.

Personally, I stay away from Vermont american. I dont think thier stuff is quite as good as the other brands I listed. Snap on and Craftsman are both made by Vermont american.


Do you know about the differen tap styles?

Jim

 

[Jared]

The problem is that i am still in grade 11 and dont have much money and that there isn't really anyware else to buy tap and die sets that are much better and still resonably prices, I also can't really order over internet because of lack of credit card. I am looking for sae and possibly metric tap and die set. I have a 80's cheap chinese tap and dies set now bu most of the are really dull or missing.

I no a little bit bout the kinds or taps but i am not sure what i want for general purpose tap, i will only be using it ocasionaly.


thanks for the help, Jared

 

[kartracer55]

Im still in highschool too, I know your situation, but Remember, Cheap tools not good, good tools not cheap. Save up for a good set of taps. Use cutting oil, and remember to use the correct procedure (tap, back out, tap, back out) and this will keep your taps sharp for a long time. Invest in good tools once. You will probably regret buying that cheap set.

As far the internet part, well, have your parents order it for you and give them the $$$, or tell them thats wt you want for christmas. Taps are something I use very often.

Trust me on this one. At the very least go get a craftsman set. Dont get me wrong, they are still good taps, but as I said before, just not quite as good as the other brands I listed, yet much cheaper. Dont bother with coated taps, get plain uncoated, as the coating doesnt doo much at low cutting speeds. Remember there are Carbon steel taps and HSS taps. HSS (high speed steel) is harder, and they will stay sharper longer, but they are more expensive. FI you arnt going to be using them that often, get carbon steel, if you plan on tapping alot of steel, get HSS. Most (if not all) of my taps are HSS.

Jim

 

[kartracer55]

AS for the "style" tap you want, for general purpouse, you want what are called PLUG taps.

There are 3 kinds of taps, Taper, Plug, and bottoming. Taper taps have 6 tapered threads, Plug taps have 3-4, and bottoming taps have 1-2. Naturally, a bottoming tap will cut deeper into a hole, but you cant easily start a hole with them. Plug taps are ideal if you are going to have just one tap per size.

Jim

 

[Jared]

stupid sears doesn't even sell taps here lol i hate it. We do have a grainger and I have been looking on their site, what do you think of the westward tap and die sets?


Thanks Jared

 

[Rickster]

Pal, if you're looking to save a dollar you should try hitting the garage sales. I always see tap and die pieces and sometimes full sets (mostly sets with pieces missing). Just may need to piece together a full set but it can be done on the cheap and used tools are OK for starting out.

 

[Jared]

Good Point rick I will start checking for used ones.


Thans Jared

 

[l_bilyk]

They're on sale this week aren't they?

I wouldn't buy that set if I were you. They're about the same quality as a cheap princess auto set.

Instead, get both 11 piece stubby wrench sets or the 20 piece torx/hex socket set.

 

[Cebby]

I bought this one on sale. I'm sure it is an import, but I haven't broken any of them yet...

http://www.eastwoodco.com/shopping/...itemID=2130&itemType=PRODUCT&RS=1&keyword=Tap

Mine has a red case though....

 

[filthy_shovel]

Jared, the canadian tire ones are not garbage. Since i live in Canada, most of my tools come from canadian tire. I bought a set about 10 years ago. I used them alot and they toughed it out. Oh, and they are not like princess auto... Now princess auto, that is ****...

Also, they come with a lifetime waranty and Canadian tire does not hassle you at all. Bring the tool, they will replace it no questions asked.

Also, why not look at their screwdriver set they have on special this week. 70% off.

 

[kartracer55]

Well, You can pick out a set on the sears website or in thier catalog, and have sears orderit for you to pick up in the store.

Westward is made in taiwan. I have never used thier stuff, but I prefer USA made whenever possible.

Also, Be careful with garage sales. Unlessyou know how to twell a dull tap, you can very easily get ripped off by buying a bunch of dull taps.

Jim

 

[Jared]

I just went and bought it any ways lol cause i opened it first and it actually looked fairly high quality. They will also warantie them if they brake.


Thanks Anyways Jared

 

[kartracer55]

Well, Just remember to use cutting oil/tapping fluid and the should do ya ok.

Jim

 

[Swift]

Hey Jared, those Crappy Tire tap & dies are a really good deal at $80 off. I have an older 60 piece set from them for the past 11 or 12 years and have had no big problems with them. Just yesterday I bought the same set that you did and they look to be about the same as my older set. At the same time yesterday, I warrantied the die insert tool from my older set. One of the 3 screw holes that hold die was stripped, (weird that this happened with a tool from a tap & die set) anyways, they gave me a new one, no questions asked. That's the good thing about Crappy Tire, any Mastercraft, older Professional Series or newer Maximum series hand tools carry a no time limit warranty. And their power tools carry a 3 year warranty. I somehow manage to break my power tools just before warranty expires and use thier no hassle warranty.

 

[Jared]

So far the tap and die set seems excellent! Wouldn't have bought it for 130$ tho

 

[kartracer55]

As long as YOUR happy with them!

Jim

 

[REFLEXX]

Here's the deal.

just one broken cheap tap will have you regretting the purchase. I've tapped THOUSANDS of holes and I've broken taps from 4-40 to 1/2-13. They are hell to get out, no matter what size. there's NO good way to get them out and the time/frustration is just not worth it.

I lessen my odds by sticking to OSG taps. They cut steel and alum like butter, and if it's not butter then the tap is telling you to get replaced or get broken.

Good taps are $2.50 to $40 depending on what size. Places like www.use-enco.com or www.msc-direct.com or www.travers.com always have good quality taps on sale. Download thier monthly sales flyers (PDFs) and see what they have. sometimes it's like 70% off.

My 2.5c

REFLEXX

 

[kartracer55]

Reflexx, Im with ya. I like OSG taps as well, However I buy mostly greenfield, because the quality is pretty much the same, yet the price is a few$ less, and Being that I dont make a living with them, I dont need to have the absolute best, just something thats still very good quality.

Jim

 

[rhandwor]

I bought a Matco set at a flea market for a good price. I think it is made by Hanson. If you need them frequently I would buy a couple of pieces a week. Most hardwares sell Hanson or Ace. As you would normally buy what you use first it allows you to do what you need and build up to a full set. This is how I got almost all of my tools. Even my set I purchased more to add what was missing.

 

[Senorpablo]

Personally, I stay away from Vermont american. I dont think thier stuff is quite as good as the other brands I listed. Snap on and Craftsman are both made by Vermont american.

I'm pretty sure all the truck brands are made by Hanson/Irwin. I have the large Hanson set, and the Snap-on, Mac, Matco sets look almost identical.

 

[Bolster]

Late in the thread for me to ask this, but what IS the difference between a cheap and an expensive T&D set? Is it:

Cheap sets give oversize or undersize results?
Cheap sets more likely to break?
Cheap sets dull more quickly?

What's the main thing I'm giving up if I go with an inexpensive set?

 

[Charles (in GA)]

Well, You can pick out a set on the sears website or in thier catalog, and have sears orderit for you to pick up in the store.

Westward is made in taiwan. I have never used thier stuff, but I prefer USA made whenever possible.

Also, Be careful with garage sales. Unlessyou know how to twell a dull tap, you can very easily get ripped off by buying a bunch of dull taps.

Jim

Most garage sale taps will probably be ones that were virtually never used. One or two were used, and broken, then the set was shoved up on a shelf till someone got tired of it, died, or moved and left it. You can always fill out the common sizes that get broken or actually used (like 1/4-20 and 10-32) with individual ones from the hardware store.

Charles

 

[Charles (in GA)]

The problem is that i am still in grade 11 and dont have much money and that there isn't really anyware else to buy tap and die sets that are much better and still resonably prices, I also can't really order over internet because of lack of credit card. I am looking for sae and possibly metric tap and die set. I have a 80's cheap chinese tap and dies set now bu most of the are really dull or missing.

Work with your parents. They ought to be proud that you are spending money on something lasting and useful, and not wasting it on some of the **** kids buy nowdays ($150 sneakers and overpriced Ipods and such come to mind). Might look at setting up a bank account and tie it to a paypal account. You save the money, deposit it, bid (carefully) and win reasonable stuff on ebay, and pay via paypal.

Charles

 

[Elroy]

Late in the thread for me to ask this, but what IS the difference between a cheap and an expensive T&D set? Is it:

Cheap sets give oversize or undersize results?
Cheap sets more likely to break?
Cheap sets dull more quickly?

What's the main thing I'm giving up if I go with an inexpensive set?

Typically a cheaper set will contain carbon steel taps and hex die also made from case hard carbon steel.

A professional grade kit will contain tools made from High Speed tool steel (HSS) with ground thread, not cut thread. The dies will typically be round and adjustable. Even higher grade taps are available that in addition to being made from HSS will have some kind of surface finish metallurgically applied to offer even higher hardness and gall resistance. Like titanium carbide etc. Higher grade carbon steel taps will be chrome plated but even they are no match for a HSS tap.

In addition a "real" tap wrench actually has chucking inserts where a cheap tap wrench will simply have a saw cut body.

 

[senlow]

Late in the thread for me to ask this, but what IS the difference between a cheap and an expensive T&D set? Is it:

Cheap sets give oversize or undersize results?
Cheap sets more likely to break?
Cheap sets dull more quickly?

What's the main thing I'm giving up if I go with an inexpensive set?

Yes to all of your questions.

A cheap set is made of carbon steel, and a good set uses HSS (high speed steel).

The heat treat is better on a quality set.

A quality set will be ground more accurately and sharper. Many cheap taps & dies are dull from the factory.

For the OP, I suggest that he evaluate his needs. Cheap taps & dies are usually OK for light duty use, such as threading nonferrous metals and chasing damaged or rusted threads. In fact I prefer to use cheap taps & dies for recutting rusted threads. Rust dulls a tap quickly, so I prefer to dull a cheap tap, rather than a costly good tap.

When I was first starting out, I bought a cheap set of taps & dies. Then later, as I needed them, I added quality taps and dies. I usually advocate buying high quality tools so that they only need to be bought once. However, with taps & dies, a cheaper set fills the need for a full set and is still useful after adding high quality taps & dies.

 

[Charles (in GA)]

Ebay 260299653124

Greenfield set, USA made, new.

1/4 to 1/2 fine and coarse thread.

Charles

 

[Coach James]

I have a set from HF that looks like exactly like the Eastwood set pictured earlier. It cuts easily enough, but the threads are not as accurate as some I have used. I mean the threads I cut do not fit as tightly as threads I have cut with better quality taps and dies. I wouldn't use it to build an engine but for much of my stuff, it is ok.

Coach

 

[SCguy]

I'm in high school too, so I feel your pain. I suggest to do what I did. I won my 40pc Gearwrench set on here in a survey! I really like the set, and thankfully, haven't had to use it yet.

RD

 

[Bolster]

Thanks for the answers re: cheap vs quality T&D sets. I'm asking because I bought my T&D set when I was in graduate school, and poorer than a church-mouse. So I purchased a 40-piece SAE tungsten import set through JC Whitney. I remember the price was ridiculously low. Still have it, and playing with the idea of upgrading.

My tapped holes have always been of mediocre quality, looser than desired, but I am not sure if it's the set, or my technique. I actually suspect my technique. For instance, never using the appropriate numbered drill (grabbing the nearest fractional instead), and I didn't know about the "drill press" trick (bearing down on the T-handle from above) until I learned it here.

I suspect I should improve my technique before I get a nice set of taps and dies.

For some reason, I think I use the taps 10x more than the dies, which I mainly use to rethread damaged bolts. And, from this forum, I've learned that you really shouldn't use dies for that purpose anyway.

 

[dwilliams35]

If you're looking for an organized, fitted case, etc., there's lots of options: On the other hand, if you just want some good taps, I've got about three tool chest drawers slap-full of good, real machine-shop taps that I bought on Ebay in assorted lots. Probably five hundred taps or more all in all, covering pretty much all the threads you can handle. I've rarely gotten one that I can't use for some mild steel or something: they may be too worn for some 718 inconel or some really hard heat-treated stuff, but they'll rip through mild steel like warm butter. Lots cheaper and you get the good stuff that way.

 

[billymade]

I've been buying taps/dies at the flea lately, many are selling for .25/.50 cents apiece or I am just getting handfuls... duplicates? At these prices, who cares! I am finding they are old school USA made high quality taps.... ahhh, vintage American Made tools, gotta love it!

 

[Stuey]

Is anyone else aware that this is a 3+ year old thread?