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Tap and Die set.

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Kenskip1

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Dec 30, 2013
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657
Location
Missouri
Hello.Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas... I am now in the market for a new Tap and Die set. There is not a lot of stores locally, however, a new HF store has opened about 33 miles from my home.They have a 60 piece set that has very good ratings.And it is within my budget.Has anyone used this set with any degree of success? I will be using it for my welding projects, and general maintenance practices.
BTW, I did use the search function with very little success. Thanks, Ken






https://www.harborfreight.com/60-piece-sae-metric-tap-and-die-set-35407.html
 
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ocloc24

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Apr 21, 2017
Messages
977
I bought that set when I first got into fab work, its usable but the taps and dies will break easily and they do not last, after a few uses the threads are junk. I ended up just buying Hansen taps and dies. They're not terribly expensive and they're the best quality cost combo. All the too trucks use Hansen rebrands taps/dies. They can be pretty expensive at HD/lowes but on ebay and other sites they can be had for good prices. If you're only going to use a few specific sizes it's best to just order them individually, they come with the drill bit you need also(not a very good drill bit but good enough considering it's basically free).
 
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WhataTool

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Sep 8, 2015
Messages
472
If what you're tapping can't be easily replaced or you use taps/dies more than once a month, look elsewhere.

Otherwise, those do make threads and will work in many cases.
 
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CobraRed

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Joined
May 30, 2014
Messages
670
ocloc24 said:
I bought that set when I first got into fab work, its usable but the taps and dies will break easily and they do not last, after a few uses the threads are junk. I ended up just buying Hansen taps and dies. They're not terribly expensive and they're the best quality cost combo. All the too trucks use Hansen rebrands taps/dies. They can be pretty expensive at HD/lowes but on ebay and other sites they can be had for good prices. If you're only going to use a few specific sizes it's best to just order them individually, they come with the drill bit you need also(not a very good drill bit but good enough considering it's basically free).
Click to expand...

My 81pc Matco tap/die set that comes with a ratchet isn't Hansen and I've been using it for about a year and no breakage yet. Although it aint cheap.
 
S

shawhite

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Joined
May 28, 2014
Messages
1,519
“Nothing more expensive than a cheap tap”. Or at least I have always been told this. American made sets are all over the used market. Irwin/Hanson would be a good starting point and as you wear an item out upgrade to HSS replacement
 
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cherrybomb

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Oct 18, 2016
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893
Location
Near Madison Wi.
Look elsewhere than HF,much better choices,Hanson or Bluepoint.Cheap tap sets will bite you,removing broken taps can be a real challenge.
 
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ken w.

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Aug 16, 2012
Messages
2,237
Location
Western New York
I've been looking on Ebay for tap & die sets lately. I see a lot of used "as new" sets on there priced pretty reasonable . With used , you don't know how used. But , they are made by Hansen , Ace , Blue Point.
 
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Wamsutta

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Jan 8, 2014
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10,885
Location
Amarillo, Texas
Taps & Dies fall under the category of critical; meaning, it's not wise to take chances on quality. Hanson has always been the standard that you don't want to fall below of.
 
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tarbellb

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Apr 17, 2011
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5,771
Location
Oregon
There are so many tap/die bundles on Ebay right now at awesome prices. It may not be complete, but chances are that the person selling a group of tap and dies is likely using commonly used sizes.

I would take a used USA tap over a new China tap any day.

Fill it whatever you dont get in the auction with individual pieces.

JMO.
 
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Mgdoug3

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Mar 2, 2018
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1,391
Location
KY
I once bought a cheap tap and die set because it was the only way I could find the tap I needed after going to 4 different stores and I needed it that day. The cheap ones work better as thread chasers than actual taps. I was retapping a stripped out in an aluminum housing. The cheap tap took a lot of effort and I stopped. I grabbed an old USA tap and it cut the threads like butter.

I bought a lot of old Winterfield (I think) taps in a tool box and after many years they cut better than anything else I have. Usually when I buy a tap I don't have, it's an Irwin brand.
 
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pstemari

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Jan 7, 2012
Messages
903
Location
Seattle
Irwin/Hansen's carbon steel taps ****. Not sharp to begin with and even in aluminum they dull quickly. Drove me nuts trying to thread the ends of a bunch of 80/20 extrusions with them. With a HSS spiral point tap the work went about 3x faster.

Union Butterfield HSS taps from Amazon or R&N taps from KBC are excellent. Buy what you need, expand out to a full set incrementally. For discount prices, I've has surprisingly good luck with the Interstate HSS taps from MSC.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk
 
S

Skin

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Feb 24, 2010
Messages
11,713
Location
Boston
Hanson sets are fine. They're made to a price point and they know that 90% of home gamers and mechanics are going to use them as thread chasers anyway. I never had any problem tapping cast aluminum with them (assuming pstemari might mean an aluminum alloy). I even keep a 6, 8, and 12mm dies set up for cleaning bolt threads of corrosion and generally get half a year out of them before I bin them and use new ones.


HSS is much better but also much more expensive. My 10pc HSS set that I made (without tap wrench or die stock) cost almost as much as the 76pc Hanson master kit.
 
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Mr Ratchet

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pstemari

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Seattle
Skin said:
Hanson sets are fine. .... I never had any problem tapping cast aluminum with them (assuming pstemari might mean an aluminum alloy).
Click to expand...

I assume 80/20 extrusions are good old 6061 aluminum. They are anodized, which does add to to the wear factor, but I don't think it's significant.

I was tapping maybe 200 holes 1/4-20 to about 1" deep. After three nights I got less than halfway through the tapping. Once I switched to a HSS spiral point tap I knocked out the rest in a couple hours.

Since then I've bought tapping heads, for obvious reasons.

HSS is much better but also much more expensive. My 10pc HSS set that I made (without tap wrench or die stock) cost almost as much as the 76pc Hanson master kit.
Click to expand...

True that, but you get what you pay for.

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Punkinhead

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Nov 19, 2011
Messages
71
Don't buy sets. They're usually carbon steel instead of HSS and you'll never use most of the sizes. For metric, 4 sizes (M4, 5, 6, & 8) will cover 95% of what you need so buy individual, high quality HSS taps from an industrial supplier like McMaster-Carr.
 
L

LXCam

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Apr 23, 2013
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AZ
The gear wrench sets are a pretty decent value if you can find them on sale. I paid like $70 for the master metric set most because I wanted the ratchet mechanisms but was surprised to find they cut quite nicely. I've now had this set for ~5yrs and still am very happy with it. However when my sanity depends on the planets aligning and can't chance a damaged thread or broken tap I go elsewhere.
 
B

bobcatdan

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Jan 4, 2011
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Kaukauna,WI
CobraRed said:
My 81pc Matco tap/die set that comes with a ratchet isn't Hansen and I've been using it for about a year and no breakage yet. Although it aint cheap.
Click to expand...

Pretty much every other tap and die set matco sells is Irwin(Hansen). The set you have looks to be basically the same as gearwrench other than different ratcheting tee handles.
 
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danielbuck

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Apr 15, 2014
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926
Whatever you do, make sure it's HSS. I'd reserve carbon steel taps for thread chasers... at best.
 
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cmandp

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Dec 22, 2011
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1,285
Location
New Jersey
The sets are usually handy for a size you don't have and need now but like others I fnd even the Hanson set a bit worthless. The taps and dies are carbon steel and dull quickly or break.

I prefer machinist quality taps and dies made from HSS. Greenfield, union butterfield, etc. The basic ones from Mcmaster are usually Greenfield which are plenlty good enough for stuff you'd do in a home shop.
 
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Dave455

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Mar 19, 2013
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Sussex, England
I tend to find that you’re better off picking up individual taps and dies as needed, rather than sets.

Individual taps, or sets of 3, tend to be of decent quality. The crappy ones tend to mostly be in sets as the importers want to lift more money off you. Anything British or U.S. made tends to be decent, but you get to know the different brands. If in doubt, buy from a reputable supplier and you won’t get rubbish! I quite like MSC, and I know they are in the U.S. too.

If you buy individual, you can buy the smaller (cheaper) sizes new, but perhaps pick up bigger ones used. I have large sized taps (3/4 inch plus) that I’ve bought used for seriously reasonable money, that have been superb value! Carbon steel or HSS doesn’t make any real difference if you’re hand tapping, but the quality of the steel, and the heat treatment, is everything!

Also, buying individually, you can buy tapers, seconds or plugs (English terminology) as you need. Not all sets include all types, and of course you might not need them anyway!

If you get a reasonable selection, consider getting a proper machinists tool chest with shallow drawers to store them! I got one years back when I only had a handful of taps, but have gradually filled it up over the years!
 
6

6PTsocket

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Mar 12, 2014
Messages
4,593
danielbuck said:
Whatever you do, make sure it's HSS. I'd reserve carbon steel taps for thread chasers... at best.
Click to expand...
The Hanson set is carbon steel. They do make a HSS set but the cost is WAAAY up there. I had a Hanson set at work for years. I filled in with HSS when they broke. Decent quality carbon is not that bad for maintenance use. Just don't use it on hard to tap types of steel.

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6

6PTsocket

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Joined
Mar 12, 2014
Messages
4,593
Astro pneumatic is on this board and discussions over needed sizes and evaluation tests were done developing their new tap and die set. To maintain quality and keep cost reasonable the alloy for the taps and dies was sourced in Japan and manufacturing was done in Taiwan. It is a metric set of the most needed automotive sizes. The best price I saw was Amazon at $62. I didn't do that much looking. I do not own the set.

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D

dr_clyde

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Joined
Jan 7, 2009
Messages
6,462
Location
Holland, MI
pstemari said:
Irwin/Hansen's carbon steel taps ****. Not sharp to begin with and even in aluminum they dull quickly. Drove me nuts trying to thread the ends of a bunch of 80/20 extrusions with them. With a HSS spiral point tap the work went about 3x faster.

Union Butterfield HSS taps from Amazon or R&N taps from KBC are excellent. Buy what you need, expand out to a full set incrementally. For discount prices, I've has surprisingly good luck with the Interstate HSS taps from MSC.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Punkinhead said:
Don't buy sets. They're usually carbon steel instead of HSS and you'll never use most of the sizes. For metric, 4 sizes (M4, 5, 6, & 8) will cover 95% of what you need so buy individual, high quality HSS taps from an industrial supplier like McMaster-Carr.
Click to expand...

danielbuck said:
Whatever you do, make sure it's HSS. I'd reserve carbon steel taps for thread chasers... at best.
Click to expand...

Dave455 said:
I tend to find that you’re better off picking up individual taps and dies as needed, rather than sets.

Individual taps, or sets of 3, tend to be of decent quality. The crappy ones tend to mostly be in sets as the importers want to lift more money off you. Anything British or U.S. made tends to be decent, but you get to know the different brands. If in doubt, buy from a reputable supplier and you won’t get rubbish! I quite like MSC, and I know they are in the U.S. too.

If you buy individual, you can buy the smaller (cheaper) sizes new, but perhaps pick up bigger ones used. I have large sized taps (3/4 inch plus) that I’ve bought used for seriously reasonable money, that have been superb value! Carbon steel or HSS doesn’t make any real difference if you’re hand tapping, but the quality of the steel, and the heat treatment, is everything!

Also, buying individually, you can buy tapers, seconds or plugs (English terminology) as you need. Not all sets include all types, and of course you might not need them anyway!

If you get a reasonable selection, consider getting a proper machinists tool chest with shallow drawers to store them! I got one years back when I only had a handful of taps, but have gradually filled it up over the years!
Click to expand...

Agree. There aren't many sets available that aren't junk. I include Hansen in this. They are owned by IRWIN, a known hawker of garbage.

High carbon steel taps are about useless. I will only buy HSS (high speed steel).

Buy high quality HSS taps and dies from a reputable tooling manufacturer. (NOT Snap-on, Matco or any hand tool maker). Union Butterfield is my favorite, but there are several top quality makes. OSG and CTD come to mind.

Buy what a machine shop buys for these tools. Mechanics are constantly being ripped off by the tool trucks for drills, taps and dies because most guys don't know any better.
 
N

Newell33

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Jun 8, 2016
Messages
318
Location
Midwest
I own a cheaper Craftsman set and a nice Snap-On set. They both break, especially if you go too fast with the taps, or use them at the wrong angle. Removing a broken tap can add hours to your project. I'm not convinced that any of the high priced sets are better than the mid-priced sets, but as much as I'm a fan of Harbor Freight on some things, I'm not sure I'd gamble on the their tap / die sets.
 
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Professional Tool User

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Apr 9, 2018
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1,835
Location
BC
CobraRed said:
My 81pc Matco tap/die set that comes with a ratchet isn't Hansen and I've been using it for about a year and no breakage yet. Although it aint cheap.
Click to expand...

Mac also seems to be pushing something other than the Hansen ones these days. As far as I know, only the Snap on ones are Hansen for sure.
 
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