Home › Forum › Ask A Member › What Is A Good Set Of Taps and Dies? › Re: What Is A Good Set Of Taps and Dies?
I started my mechanical career as an aircraft mechanic. I bought a set of Craftsman taps and dies over 50 years ago and still use the same set to this day. Great value for the money. The set came with a tap/drill card for all sizes of SAE bolts. The set covers about 95% of all bolts and screws used in vintage and classic outboard motors. BTW, when using a good tap and die always use lubricating oil and turn the tap or die about 2 or 3 turns than back it off about a 1/2 turn to break away any metal chips. After about 4 or 5 turns, back out the tap and clean the metal chips out of the hole, then add some more oil and go back to cutting the treads. This helps the tap to cut cleaner and prevents jamming of the tap in the hole.