pendragon1998
Well-known member
I drill and tap the occasional hole in steel or aluminum (just a few holes a year). Is it worth keeping a bottle of tapping fluid on hand, or is something like motor oil, ATF, or mineral oil good enough?
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Tapping fluid
- Thread starter pendragon1998
- Start date
bwringer
Well-known member
Same here -- I don't do a whole lot of drilling and tapping. But I invested $10 or whatever it was for a bottle of Tap Magic (Pro Tap, which works for all metals), and daggum that stuff does indeed seem to work a lot better than anything else. Drilling goes faster with noticeably less wear. Same for tapping.
So yeah, I think it's well worth it.
So yeah, I think it's well worth it.
joe49
Well-known member
Used motor oil works well.
clarence wetzel
Active member
get a can of tap magic and your golden
Bondo
Well-known member
Ayuh,.... Atf is my default cuttin' oil,....
Bee's wax is Great for workin' with aluminum,...
Bee's wax is Great for workin' with aluminum,...
bad_idea
Well-known member
STOP EVERYTHING!!!
Get a jug of Anchorlube. Water based. Clean. Love the stuff. I use it at work drilling big holes in thick plate. Much better for your bits and cuts fast. The best part is it wipes up and the welder can come behind me w/o contaminating his weld. Tap magic sinks into the steel and plays hell with the welder.
Get a jug of Anchorlube. Water based. Clean. Love the stuff. I use it at work drilling big holes in thick plate. Much better for your bits and cuts fast. The best part is it wipes up and the welder can come behind me w/o contaminating his weld. Tap magic sinks into the steel and plays hell with the welder.
BPJOOP93
Well-known member
Another one for Anchor lube. We call it frog come. You know what I mean. Also Ridgid threading oil.
spongerich
Well-known member
For aluminum, kerosene works great.
If the smell bothers you, WD40 is a good alternative.
I use Anchor lube for some stuff, but it's a little messy.
If the smell bothers you, WD40 is a good alternative.
I use Anchor lube for some stuff, but it's a little messy.
Kevin54
MEMBER EMERITUS
STOP EVERYTHING!!!
Get a jug of Anchorlube. Water based. Clean. Love the stuff. I use it at work drilling big holes in thick plate. Much better for your bits and cuts fast. The best part is it wipes up and the welder can come behind me w/o contaminating his weld. Tap magic sinks into the steel and plays hell with the welder.
Another one for Anchor lube. We call it frog come. You know what I mean. Also Ridgid threading oil.
One thing to remember about AnchorLube.......it can sour. And when it sours, it can really start to smell a little rank. We used to have one tool & Die Maker who used it when flycutting his material and it would sling that **** all over the place. He sat directly in front of me. Good god, it was the rankest smell ever.
BUT....it is some damn good ****. If you don't do a lot of drilling and tapping, buy a small bottle. As far as using it for machining......there are other alternatives to using AnchorLube. Just use a little bit of motor oil, 3-in-1, oil, or even a little Motor Honey. Machining correctly shouldn't need to use a lot of lube anyways, and AnchorLube would just be a waste of money for machining.
For ones that are curious as to what AnchorLube is, here is a link to it. http://anchorlube.com/ And if you look, you can request a free sample which is about the size of a small medicine bottle, 2 oz.
BTW...one of the main components is animal fat.
Last edited:
BaMaDuDe87
Well-known member
Same here -- I don't do a whole lot of drilling and tapping. But I invested $10 or whatever it was for a bottle of Tap Magic (Pro Tap, which works for all metals), and daggum that stuff does indeed seem to work a lot better than anything else. Drilling goes faster with noticeably less wear. Same for tapping.
So yeah, I think it's well worth it.
I agree. Just spend the $10-$15 on a bottle of tap magic.
ilovevocs
Well-known member
I use marvel mystery oil for machining lubricant. You can buy it at most hardware stores and I find other uses for it in the shop. Maybe not the best but it's easy to source and does the job.
The viscosity of the tap magic seems to be of benefit for tapping. I have a small bottle and it goes a long way. Before I bought the tap magic I used the mystery oil with acceptable results.
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The viscosity of the tap magic seems to be of benefit for tapping. I have a small bottle and it goes a long way. Before I bought the tap magic I used the mystery oil with acceptable results.
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No expert but all i use is 3 in 1 oil and it seems to do the job
x2, same here, seems to always work, and doesn't make a mess like spraying wd40 everywhere
flyingblind
Well-known member
I just use cutting oil for drilling and tapping steel or wd40 for aluminum.
turbowoodworker
Well-known member
TapMagic, great stuff and they make a specific formulation for aluminum.
zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Get U sum...
Tapmatic standard for tapping steel
WD 40 for tapping, drilling and cutting aluminum
Rigid dark cutting fluid for drilling steel
^^This.
I use Rigid Dark cutting fluid for most machining operations on steel and s/s, WD40 or T-9 for aluminum and for tapping I use Castrol Moly-Dee in most carbon steels. Tapmatic also works well, especially if only for occasional use.
Mike.
OP
pendragon1998
Well-known member
For ones that are curious as to what AnchorLube is, here is a link to it. http://anchorlube.com/ And if you look, you can request a free sample which is about the size of a small medicine bottle, 2 oz.
BTW...one of the main components is animal fat.
Thanks, I ordered a sample. Coincidentally, animal fat is also one of my main components.
Richard Cranium
Well-known member
I have a bottle that I purchased several years ago, I don't use it much. Then last summer I found another bottle at an estate sale that had not been opened. So I have most likely a life time supply of cutting oil
Seppala
Well-known member
or you could just use lard or bacon fat. bonus is the shop will smell good and an excuse to get SWMBO to cook more bacon!
works especially well when tapping cast iron.
When old tech slow drilling mild steel (A36) use the cheapest lubricant, water.
pennsylvaniaboy
Well-known member
- Joined
- May 28, 2014
- Messages
- 417
This is the best stuff i have ever used for notching, tapping, drilling, etc...it doesn't fade, evaporate, thin out, etc
http://www.trick-tools.com/Trick_Tools_Notching_Lube_W4177_5602
http://www.trick-tools.com/Trick_Tools_Notching_Lube_W4177_5602
Jim Johnstone
Well-known member
Tap magic works very well, but my god I hate the smell of it.
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four.cycle
Well-known member
just picked up a quart bottle of Marvel Mystery Oil at Baxter's Auto Parts for $9.02 including tax.
works just dandy.
works just dandy.
Evilunclegrimace
Well-known member
I use Tap magic most of the time but if I have a lot of heavy boring to do I use a product called Edge Cream.
Jim Johnstone
Well-known member
I've had sample bottles of tapping fluid from oemeta, which was really good stuff, couldn't get the boss to buy it though
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Sent from my SM-G900W8 using Tapatalk
One thing to remember about AnchorLube.......it can sour. And when it sours, it can really start to smell a little rank. We used to have one tool & Die Maker who used it when flycutting his material and it would sling that **** all over the place. He sat directly in front of me. Good god, it was the rankest smell ever.
BUT....it is some damn good ****. If you don't do a lot of drilling and tapping, buy a small bottle. As far as using it for machining......there are other alternatives to using AnchorLube. Just use a little bit of motor oil, 3-in-1, oil, or even a little Motor Honey. Machining correctly shouldn't need to use a lot of lube anyways, and AnchorLube would just be a waste of money for machining.
For ones that are curious as to what AnchorLube is, here is a link to it. http://anchorlube.com/ And if you look, you can request a free sample which is about the size of a small medicine bottle, 2 oz.
BTW...one of the main components is animal fat.
Thanks Kevin54 for the tip. Received sample last week and have been using it. I like that it's thick and doesn't run all over. I been calling it frog snot.
bobcatdan
Well-known member
Normally I just use motor oil I keep in a pump can. I do have tap magic at home and I can't tell if really works any better. Have rapid tap at work and at times that stuff seems to make the drill cut noticeably better.
Same here, Moly Dee works great.^^This.
I use Rigid Dark cutting fluid for most machining operations on steel and s/s, WD40 or T-9 for aluminum and for tapping I use Castrol Moly-Dee in most carbon steels. Tapmatic also works well, especially if only for occasional use.
Mike.
-Cole