Tap and die set

[Finky198]

I almost went down that road, but Those price are insane, just buy used snap on sets off eBay USA made...

I have both 41pc sets and I paid under 200 for both. Then just call snap on and order any replacement tap or dies you need there only a few bucks a piece. It will save you a small fortune...

 

[Finky198]

I think for MD, myself and a lot of others on here the issue become you need large organized sets to reduce down time as my sig says "time is money". I don't have the time to inventory and order tap and dies when needed for a project unless it super special. It does not make us profit any more it just uses more of my time.

I want to be able to grab a case and have 75-95 percent of what I might need not worrying if we have it. Only how long its going to take for me or my partner to repair it right the first time....

The other 5-25% of additional stuff fall into the specialty category don't get me wrong everyone should have a good inventory of what the have, but streamlining the process is just as important. What you stock, order, ship, pickup, deliver, ease of access all play a part in the efficiency.

 

[T45]

Don't get me wrong everyone should have a good inventory of what the have, but streamlining the process is just as important. What you stock, order, ship, pickup, deliver, ease of access all play a part in the efficiency.

This is more than fair point, you need to buy tools suited to your workflow. The #1 thing going for the box sets is actually the blow-molded case. The only caveat I would make to this is I prefer SAE sets and Metric sets be complete and boxed separately (if I had the choice).

Most applications are not mix and match, I'd rather grab a box thats half the size and weight most of the time. A full sae or metric set is quite useful for maintenance work and on-the-fly repairs. Production and fab work seem to favour using HSS tools an usually a bit higher quality and more bespoke for the project.

If you go with a custome setup, then you also have to deal with inventory and a huot box or something to keep track...which adds some extra expense.

Long story short, a $20 dollar tap is not a big deal on $1000-2000 fab work project. but 100x$20 taps =2,000 and is alot for a maintenance toolset that may only see occasional use...thats a crappy ROI and alot of workin capital to carry around.

For alot of people the sweetspot in budget is maye $200 (and below), and then you need to figure out what you can get for that budget--50pcs at $4/per or 100 for $2/per and what kind of quality for $2 is not going to be the same for $20/per piece.

A very focused set you can still build respectably tho for that kind of money. Its just not quick or easy.

 

[md21722]

On Monday I was in need of a 7/16-20 NF tap. Neither Lowe's or the farm store had anything remotely close. Fastenal needed to order in as well. I asked my Snap On guy and he said he has it on the truck. My only mistake was not asking him first.

Like T45 said, I prefer to have the SAE and Metric sets packaged separately. I have the Irwin Hansen 117 pc set with the drill bits. I don't like the bulky case and it doesn't have the 7/16"-20 that the TD2425 includes. These smaller sets are dual stacked inside and a fraction of the size of the 117 pc combined metric/SAE set.

 

[6PTsocket]

I've been looking to update my tap & die sets. It looks like the new tap & die sets from Hansen are Made in China. I saw a set or two on the Matco truck and it was Taiwan. Snap On says theirs are Made in the U.S.A. and the prices seem to reflect this.

SNAP ON 41 pc Metric Tap and Die Set TDM117A $279.95
SNAP ON 41 pc US Tap and Die Set TD2425 $244.95
SNAP ON 25 pc Metric Tap and Die Set TDM99117B $584.95
SNAP ON 25 pc US Tap and Die Set TD9902B $539.95

The equivalents from MAC:
202.99 TD41METS
202.99 TD41SAES
405.99 TD25METS
405.99 TD25SAES

The equivalents from MATCO:
200.55TD40M
185.00TD40S
399.956095TD
399.956094TD

The equivalents from Hansen:
IRWIN Tools Metric Tap and Hex Die Set, 41-Piece (26317) $111 Amazon
Irwin Tools 24606 Machine Screw with Fractional Tap and Die Set, 41-Piece $107 Amazon
HA97311 $230.44 Amazon
HA97094 $292 Amazon

With sales tax, that comes to $1785.91 for Snap On, $1318.44 for MAC, $1283.25 for MATCO, and $801.53 for Hansen.

Can anyone comment on which brands work better than others?

I am leery of Chinese taps, but maybe Hansen is doing a good job with these.

For all that money you are getting carbon steel taps. If you are prepared to spend that much you can take the savings from staying out of the tool truck and apply it to some first rate HSS taps from OSG, GTD, Regal, etc. Hansen actually makes a HSS set for less than you were prepared to give SO for carbon. Once you get beyond the ratchet, wrench and pliers, screw driver stuff SO and the other truck guys are just ghasty over priced resellers. Unless you are in a business situation where it pays to spend that kind of extra money for convenience, I see no reason to buy anything from those guys that they do not make. Even USA made carbon taps do not compare to HSS from a reputable USA, Japanese or European brand

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[Finky198]

On Monday I was in need of a 7/16-20 NF tap. Neither Lowe's or the farm store had anything remotely close. Fastenal needed to order in as well. I asked my Snap On guy and he said he has it on the truck. My only mistake was not asking him first.

Like T45 said, I prefer to have the SAE and Metric sets packaged separately. I have the Irwin Hansen 117 pc set with the drill bits. I don't like the bulky case and it doesn't have the 7/16"-20 that the TD2425 includes. These smaller sets are dual stacked inside and a fraction of the size of the 117 pc combined metric/SAE set.

The most complete setup with kits is the 4 snap on sets you listed above. The fact that you have a dealer makes an even bigger case to just go down that road...would he warranty them if you bought used sets? The new prices make me sick...

Your above reasoning is why I ended up going with the individuals sets as well. It covers almost everything and if its not in there then its not very common. I can always order it.

Its the same issue with extractors and drill bits you can get a mixed kit that only has a few sizes or you can get separate kits and cover 3x-5x the range of sizes, But it all depend on the range of what you might see in a day.... Whatever works best for you is how you should spend it, and it doesn't need to be brand specific...

 

[OutsideMachinist]

I never use rethreading taps. If a real tap is going to remove enough material to put the fastener in question then it is junk. Replace it. Those dont work for any serious heavy duty work.

Sometimes its tapping techniques that causes them to break. Sometimes the hole not being straight. Especially smaller taps break very easily. Another thing that often causes people to break taps is they are wore slam out. They arent very sharp. Taps are consumeables. Treat them accordingly. You dont buy a set and keep it for life, not if you use it regularly or even often.

Buy a few single high quality taps in the sizes you expect to use most.

 

[T45]

I never use rethreading taps. If a real tap is going to remove enough material to put the fastener in question then it is junk. Replace it. Those dont work for any serious heavy duty work.

This has been beat to death in other threads, but "rethreaders" are glorified fastener cleaners...

Dirty Fasteners = Rethreaders
Light damage = off the shelf carbon tap/die sets
Fab Work = high-end HSS taps, roll-form or cut threads with lathe/cnc etc

in other words, marketing is marketing

 

[OutsideMachinist]

This has been beat to death in other threads, but "rethreaders" are glorified fastener cleaners...

Dirty Fasteners = Rethreaders
Light damage = off the shelf carbon tap/die sets
Fab Work = high-end HSS taps, roll-form or cut threads with lathe/cnc etc

in other words, marketing is marketing

I hear you. Depends on the extent of the cleaning required. Enough and it will gall up and now you have a whole new and worse problem on your hands. Their use is extremely limited in my opinion.

 

[md21722]

I hear you. Depends on the extent of the cleaning required. Enough and it will gall up and now you have a whole new and worse problem on your hands. Their use is extremely limited in my opinion.

I think a lot of it has to do with application. Some mechanics clean things like head bolt threads with a tap, others say they should use a rethreaded. When we say clean here, we are talking about removing grease and grime, with no attempt to recut threads. In a machine shop the application would probably be different.

I agree for fab/machine shop work HSS would be better, but for these my use is hand threading for automotive repair. I have also read while HSS taps are less likely to break, they are harder to deal with if they do break.

I talked to my Snap On guy today. He will take the Irwin/Hansen set I have that I don't care for in on trade, so I'm going that way.

 

[PeterT]

Tap magic is lovely

 

[sberry]

I have a couple pieces but never owned a rethreader set.

 

[454ragtop]

I have a couple extra sets if anyone is looking, these are the Hanson Ace sets in the 2 tier compact cases, these are the same ones Snap On and Mac used to sell (maybe they still do?). Have 1 metric and 1 SAE, prefer to sell them together, $110 for both plus the ride, can get pics.

 

[M35A2]

My wife gave me the Gearwrench 114 pc kit that is listed in that review for Christmas. I have used it a couple times and so far so good...time will tell. I really like the die holders and ratcheting handles.

 

[RedneckWelder]

I buy taps individually on Ebay...American made and HSS. Pretty cheap

 

[MShaw]

I believe the judge said in one of his replies that he was tapping a bumper. If so, many of them are heat treated and will be nearly impossible to tap.

 

[Jlarson]

We use Champion or GTD that we get from our fastener suppler and McMaster Carr. I replace other brands in tap sets as I go along.