Tapping on a lathe

[93sr20det]

I found this interesting. Now I need a lathe....

 

[Greg-nwo]

Check out mrpete222 on youtube... tons of very very informative machining videos.

 

[rickairmedic]

I do most of my tapping on my lathe or drill press but I do like that little trick .


I will warn you though buying a lathe begins a downward spiral . Then you need a BIGGER lathe . Then you will need a mill . I wont even start on tooling but dont worry inheritance for the kids wont be a problem . There wont be any money left just machining tools and tooling .


Rick

 

[rsanter]

grab the tap in the tailstock chuck
run the tap to the workpiece and then

unpowered
grab the chuck and turn it to start the tap going. continue as far as needed
release the tailstock chuck and back off tailstock. finish with tap wrench or....

powered method
turn on the lathe and then turn off, feed tap into workpiece as lathe is slowing. this will tap into the part enough that you can finish with a tap wrench

bob

 

[OccupantRJ]

Too dangerous for me..... Since I use a 3 phase lathe, I simply leave the tailstock loose enough to slide, chuck up a tap, run the lathe in back gear, (granny gear), slide the tailstock up to the part, let the tap engage, then switch to reverse when deep enough to suit. For through holes, a spiral pointed tap is used, and for blind holes, I use a wrap of masking tape on the tap as a depth indicator on when to reverse. Takes about 30 seconds to a minute, and my hands are not attached to a spinning lathe. That thing will hurt your *** in back gear. I use a similar method on the Bridgeport. The only time I hand tap a part is to get the last 2 or 3 threads the right depth.

 

[A_Pmech]

That looks like a good way to get hurt.

I use a sliding tap holder in the tailstock. The tailstock weighs around 3/4 of a ton, so it takes a mighty big tap to move it on the ways. The tap holder has a keyway which allows the chuck to slide in and out freely but not rotate.

Procedure is start the machine and run the tailstock forward until the tap bites then back off one turn. When the tap reaches depth clutch out, hit reverse, clutch in let the tap drive out.

 

[Griff93]

What's going to happen when the tap hangs? It will probably just break but it might still be a problem. I either put one in the tailstock or use a pressure sensitive tapping head. The only thing bad about using my tap head is it won't shift like it does in a drill or mill and back the tap out when the spindle is going the same direction.

 

[gorilla]

My lathe doesn't have a clutch so I use a sliding tap handle and do it by hand.

 

[MBfreak]

Our shop class teacher taught us stuff like that back in the late fifties. However, we were taught to always blow the chips out of the flutes before reversing the tap out. Still do that.

Ola

 

[rlitman]

What's going to happen when the tap hangs? It will probably just break but it might still be a problem. I either put one in the tailstock or use a pressure sensitive tapping head. The only thing bad about using my tap head is it won't shift like it does in a drill or mill and back the tap out when the spindle is going the same direction.

That's what I was wondering.
I've got a knurled tap holder that looks like a huge pin vice, which has a hole bored into it's barrel, and a 5/16" rod trapped in the hole which can spin freely, but telescope about 3".
I chuck the rod in the tailstock, and engage the lathe with it's back gears. If it does hang up, then I just have to let go of the tap holder, and it spins. The ratchet handle doesn't allow for that, and something's going to break eventually.