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tap and die set

1K views 14 replies 11 participants last post by  Kartracer55 
#1 ·
i tried to search for post that talks about tap and die and no luck

which brand? and if i get snap on or something its lifetime warranty as my friend mentioned it.. if i snap them they will bring new one over to my place.. got me interested in that part.. or do you guys have another better suggestion on which one to pick?
 
#2 ·
I say no to snap on... They are made by vermont american, and vermont american taps arnt all that great. They also make craftsman taps and dies, so You can go to sears and get an identical set for one hell of alot less.


If you want really good taps,

greenfield
Cleaveland (Made by Cleavland twist drill)
or OSG

You will pay good$$$ for them, but they are much better than snap on. They dont really come in sets, typically you order them by the size in sets of three... one plug tap, one taper, and one bottoming tap.


If you want just a basic yet good quality set hanson makes a good one for about $80 from www.thetoolwarehouse.net

Jim
 
#6 ·
JJS said:
the vermont american taps aren't too bad for moderate use. they will last a while, but get the craftsman version like kartracer55 said.

Be careful with the craftsman taps.... They have two styles... High Carbon and HSS. Any tap worth a damn is made from HSS. High carbon taps are more or less for the weekend warior or whatever, but wont hold up nearly as well as HSS.

Dont bother with coated, there isnt really enough speed involved to justify buying coated taps for the extra 100, unless your machine tapping.

You will be MUCH happier with Hanson taps than you will Craftsmans or snap ons, but then again you have the warantee involved.

A 1/4-20 Greenfield, Cleaveland or OSG tap will run you about $10, whereas a craftsman could be as low as 4, but You cant beat the Thread quality of the more expensive taps. They are Proffessional taps meant to stay sharp for a long time. Use cutting oil, and remember to clear the chips as your cutting, and they will last a long time.

Jim
 
#11 ·
I have the top line HSS Craftsman tap set bought on sale. IMO, a VERY good value for the money and more than good enough for anything other than professional work. I've used the crap out of them and they are still sharp and cut threads I've no complaint with. I would guess something like 120 (30 odd in aluminum) holes on the 1/4-20 and maybe 70 or so on the 3/8-18 and a dozen 1/2-whatevers and they cut just like new far as I can tell. The rest have remained pretty much unused except for onesy-twoseys on the 3/8 NPT and such...
 
#12 ·
LOL! I have the Snap-On in both metric and Imperial. I have worn out several of both and broken more. I now prefer to buy only Greenfield Tap & Die. They've been making tools for a long fawking time and have it down.

Some of the import stuff isn't too bad. I've had really good luck with the Czech and Yugoslavian stuff-believe it or not.

But, I still prefer the GT&D stuff. The Snap-On taps/dies aren't really that good-I have pieces of an 8*1.25 imbedded in my chest from one that exploded!
 
#13 ·
Oh, that brings up another point. I bought the big Craftsman kit to "cover all the bases" without selling a Kidney to pay for it. I figured stuff like the heavily used 1/4-20 and 3/8-18 would be dull or broken fairly soon and I had planned to replace with high quality tap/die upgrades. Either a small "main stream" sizes kit or singles depending. But I've had no cause to do so on a single size, and I use them quite a bit for a non-pro...
 
#14 ·
Cleveland is tops.

Greenfields are not to awful.
OSG are decent also.

I would advise against getting a snap-on or craftsman. Warranty means nothing in REMOVING a broken tap. (got carbide??? hows that warranty now???)

Get 2 flute taps. More wall of tap=higher strentgh.:D

After 3/8 in. they usually come in 3 flute, but the larger the diameter, the stonger the tap.
 
#15 ·
solarpower said:
Cleveland is tops.

Greenfields are not to awful.
OSG are decent also.

I would advise against getting a snap-on or craftsman. Warranty means nothing in REMOVING a broken tap. (got carbide??? hows that warranty now???)

Get 2 flute taps. More wall of tap=higher strentgh.:D

After 3/8 in. they usually come in 3 flute, but the larger the diameter, the stonger the tap.
They are all about the same in terms of quality... Id say OSG is probably tops, but they are also a bit more$$ than greenfield, and there isnt THAT much of a quality difference. I buy whichever brand is the cheapest at the time, because all three are very very good quality.

Anyway, what kind of holes do you plan on tapping? If its only through holes, get gun taps... you dont need to reverse to break up the chips, they are shot ahead of the tap, which is VERY nice. Spiral FLUTE taps are also nice for blind holes, because the tap ejects the chips. But for general purpose, Id say get the 3 sets of plug, bottom and taper taps.

Jim
 
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