Re: What Is A Good Set Of Taps and Dies?

[RICHARD A. WHITE]

quote beerman57:

But not too expensive. A few years ago I bought a Grand Rapids Industrial set and I’m tired of “trying” to use this junk, something as simple as a 1/4-20 die isn’t even close to being 1/4-20.

I am in no way implying ignorance, but are you aware that dies come with either an adjustment screw or pre-cut for a specific class of fit? Taps are made for the specific class of fit with basically means they either are a nice less sloppy fit or more slop than you could ever imagine as being correct fit.

A quick look at a Machinist handbook will show you that a 1/4-20 bolt is NOT 1/4 inch in diameter….depending on class of fit could be .005 or more under that size.
Also note cheaper tap and die sets are notorious for being pretty generous on the slop meter.

Hertel is one brand my company uses, OSG is another one that comes to mind. These are one item that you truly DO get what you pay for, Try MSC they carry many different brands.

If you tap one or ten holes per year, you would be ok with HF taps and dies…more than that, get the good stuff…

Regards

Richard

http://www.richardsoutboardtools.com
classicomctools@gmail.com