Good Quality Taps

[FlinterNick]

Hi and thanks to everyone who provides advice.

Looking for high quality taps that are less likely to break on me. The four fluted taps are just not working for me, especially for small 6-32 screws.

 

[Old Hawkeye]

All taps that small will break quite easily. Just gotta be very careful & use the correct tap oil. Wrong oil = broken tap! Never encountered a 6-32 screw on a gun. 6-48 is the most common.

 

[old ugly]

good subject.

also i would like to ask along with tap quality.
brass seams to give me the most issues. what is the secret to tapping brass without the tap tightening up as you go?
ou

 

[Pete G]

good subject.

also i would like to ask along with tap quality.
brass seams to give me the most issues. what is the secret to tapping brass without the tap tightening up as you go?
ou

Good cutting oil or "Tap Magic"

 

[user 34300]

Gun taps have been recommended. They are 2-flute and push the chips out ahead of the cut. I used a couple in the past and they were much better than hardware store taps. Do pay more for quality. BE warned that high speed taps are much more difficult to remove when you break them off. Whenever possible use a drill press or mill to align the tap. Use a transfer punch in the chuck to align the tap handle. Taps break from side loads. Avoid free handing taps it at all possible.

 

[ZUG]

Look for 2 flute spiral HSS taps. There are ones for tapping through holes and ones that are for tapping blind holes. The use of a "TAPPING OIL" is mandatory not any old oil as they are not the same. The hole diameter is also critical for the proper thread engagement. Look up the info in a machinist handbook. Starting and keeping the tap straight is VERY important to prevent broken taps.

 

[JHB]

The best supplier I have found but not the cheapest. Like the old saying goes you get what you pay for.
https://www.mcmaster.com/

 

[ord sgt]

Brownells offers several types of taps and explains the difference between the taps. But yes, a good cutting oil should be used when cutting threads. Good people there.

 

[The Crisco Kid]

Use a new tap for brass. Once a tap, or file for that matter, has cut steel it will no longer work very well on brass although it will still work fine on steel. I don't know why. I read about it years ago in the Dixie catalog and it seems to be true.

 

[old ugly]

Use a new tap for brass. Once a tap, or file for that matter, has cut steel it will no longer work very well on brass although it will still work fine on steel. I don't know why. I read about it years ago in the Dixie catalog and it seems to be true.

i was wondering if that was the issue. even using good cutting fluid the taps still bind in brass, but they have been used on steel and still cut steel just fine.

if the tap is new and it is only used on brass will it stay good for cutting brass?
ou

 

[The Crisco Kid]

I think so but I don't know for sure.

 

[pmccoywss]

if the tap is new and it is only used on brass will it stay good for cutting brass?

It will be good for longer, but eventually dull.

Cutting steel slightly dulls the tap, but as steel is so hard it still taps fine (again the tap will eventually dull). Brass is much softer, and tends to cut with new taps, but galls slightly with dull taps.

If your part to be tapped is small enough to get on a drill press, put the tap in the press and get everything aligned properly then put very light pressure on the press handle while you turn the chuck with your hand. If you get a small tap slightly off perfect alignment it can hang ( and break) easier.

It hasn't been mentioned, but don't try to tap the entire hole in one go. Run a thread or two, then back the tap off slightly (you should feel it loosen), then got back in for another thread or two. Using a two flute tap to start, then four flute to finish is best for blind holes.

 

[ord sgt]

Using a two flute tap to start, then four flute to finish is best for blind holes.

The four flute is best known as a bottom tap. The two flute is a tapered tap, great for starting to thread a hole.

 

[Nameless Hunter]

The best supplier I have found but not the cheapest. Like the old saying goes you get what you pay for.
https://www.mcmaster.com/

McMaster Carr and MSC have been my go to places for industrial supplies for over 20 years.

 

[ohio ramrod]

For many years I used a mixture of white lead ( bought at paint stores)and kerosene as a tap lube. But as you know buying white lead is no longer an option. I have had good results with STP as a tap lube.

 

[MiddleJohn]

As I have always understood; taper, plug and bottoming taps differ in the amount of chamfering each has. The taper has the greatest and is best used for thru holes.

2, 3 or 4 flutes have more to do with how easily the chips clean out. Above 1/4" 4 flutes are generally fine. For small taps with tiny chips use a 2 flute, it clears better.

Always use cutting oil and back up frequently to help clear chips.

 

[GREENSWLDE]

When we get High speed steel Taps this side, they normally come in sets of three. Taper,Second and Plug. For small stuff Change from taper to second and back frequently before finishing out with plug. Tallow is fairly good tapping lube. Soluble oil is good as water is a pretty god lube as well.. OLD DOG..

 

[Rum River]

I've been using the Brownell's set for some years now with good success. I made one minor modification - grinding just the very tip of the bottoming taps to more of a flat so they cut threads just that much deeper.

Once upon a time I bought out the remaining tools in a gunsmith's shop. Got digging through all the 'stuff' and lo and behold there was a Forster's sight jig. Using that I'm far less likely to bend and break taps.