Re: SAVE A THREAD trick ?

[billw]

I always thought the cleaning part of those taps was some kind of gimmicky thing. Good, larger taps can be kind of pricey. I would consider grinding off the cleaning part of the special tap. Then use a proper size drill to clean out the old threads, like Heli-coils use? If that goes against your better judgement, you can measure the pitch and diameter of the threads, if you have a tap and die set. Just keep in mind that even the outer thread of the insert may be metric, seeing as the inner part is 14 mm. It might even be a special thread, but I kind of doubt it.

Of course, another head is a lot easier; but where is the challenge in THAT? 😀

Long live American manufacturing!