Tap handle

[PChristy]

does anyone know where I can get one of those ratcheting tap handles

 

[McRabbet]

I bought one at Sears a gazillion years ago. Still have it. Somewhere. I think.

 

[PChristy]

Thanks Rob - I will check there:icon_thum

Found it
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_... & Dies&psid=FROOGLE01&sid=IDx20070921x00003a

 

[aplpickr]

Try a wholesale HVAC/refrigeration supply. They are a "service valve wrench."

 

[Dudelive]

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=33682
This is for a tap as in a tap and die set.

From Napa online:
http://www.napaonline.com/Search/Detail.aspx?R=VG_3095001_0071313850

 

[scsmith42]

does anyone know where I can get one of those ratcheting tap handles

Phil, something that I like even better than a ratcheting tap handle is a socket that slips over the end of the tap. My brother gave me a set several years ago, and they are now my preferred method of tapping (unless I require extraordinary precision - then I use the mill or my Ellis drill press for precise alignment).

Among other reasons, you can tap a hole right up against something since you're using a ratchet to drive the socket.

Sears also sells them, but you can find better deals. Here is what I'm talking about.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_...LE01&sid=IAx20090815x000001&aff=Y&origin=prod

Scott

 

[PChristy]

Phil, something that I like even better than a ratcheting tap handle is a socket that slips over the end of the tap. My brother gave me a set several years ago, and they are now my preferred method of tapping (unless I require extraordinary precision - then I use the mill or my Ellis drill press for precise alignment).

Among other reasons, you can tap a hole right up against something since you're using a ratchet to drive the socket.

Sears also sells them, but you can find better deals. Here is what I'm talking about.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_...LE01&sid=IAx20090815x000001&aff=Y&origin=prod

Scott

Thanks Scott, that kit looks great and it would work fine if I had alot of tapping to do - but the only thing I have to tap out is my bottle stoppers - I sometimes do the Acrylic stoppers and I need to get a good straight tap on them. I seen a video on how to get a good straight hole/tap and he suggested one of the ratcheting handles.

 

[Glennbear]

In the past I have used a 1/4" drive extension with the socket end lopped off in my drill press chuck. On the end the appropriate 8pt. socket is placed on the tap. These sockets were originally designed for square fasteners which we rarely run into nowadays. The drill press is of course used with the power OFF. :wsmile:

 

[scsmith42]

In the past I have used a 1/4" drive extension with the socket end lopped off in my drill press chuck. On the end the appropriate 8pt. socket is placed on the tap. These sockets were originally designed for square fasteners which we rarely run into nowadays. The drill press is of course used with the power OFF. :wsmile:

Glenn, I've done something similar (great minds think alike, eh?), but not on bottle stoppers.

The nice thing about using glen's method is that you can use a couple of squares to keep the item aligned perfectly to the tap.

BTW - 12 point sockets also work on some taps - not as well as the 8 pointers and they may slip if you torque them down a lot.

 

[aplpickr]

The service valve wrench that I referred to in an earlier post has four different sizes of square holes and is rotation switchable. I used one all the time during my forty year industrial career for tapping holes in tight places. They are only about 6 inches long.

 

[FlyingRon]

You keep saying tap handle and I keep thinking about these:

 

[TedAS]

Phillip,
I have 2 thoughts on this subject.

1-

In the past I have used a 1/4" drive extension with the socket end lopped off in my drill press chuck.

Why not just chuck the tap in the drill press? this way you don't have to cut an extension.


2- When my father worked in the machine shop for Rockwell International their CNC machines would tap the holes under power as if drilling a hole. I would try tapping the bottle stopper blanks using your cordless drill. The wood is soft enough so you should not have problems with breaking the tap. If you mark the tap for depth so it doesn't bottom out the threads should not strip out.

I would try this on some scrap so you don't ruin a good stopper blank.

 

[Gofor]

Thanks Scott, that kit looks great and it would work fine if I had alot of tapping to do - but the only thing I have to tap out is my bottle stoppers - I sometimes do the Acrylic stoppers and I need to get a good straight tap on them. I seen a video on how to get a good straight hole/tap and he suggested one of the ratcheting handles.

Haven't tapped acrylic, but with metal I have never liked a ratchet. Backing up the tap to break the chips has always been my practice, and having to reverse a ratchet just adds a step. That said, when i was helping a friend in his boat trailer building business, he just chucked the tap in a power drill or drill press on low speed and went to it. (this was in mild steel) I only saw him break one tap in 4 years, and that was in a piece that was 1" thick.

Go

 

[DaveD]

Just remember that there are 'taps' and then there are 'TAPS'.

Hand taps, Spiral point taps, spiral flute taps, HSS , HF mystery metal taps, various surface treatments, taper/plug/bottoming taps, and on and on.

As a minimum you want good quality HSS taps. As you head toward power tapping and/or high speed tapping you have to get better educated on tap specifics.

I saw a video a few years back of a 'high dollar' CNC machine tapping in the 5000-9000 RPM range. Now that was tapping.

If you get too aggressive the weak link will break. That may be the tap or it may be what you are tapping (particularly if its wood).

A good way to keep a tap perpendicular to the surface you are tapping is to take a block of 'something' about 1-1/2" high and drill a perpendicular hole through it that is slightly larger than the tap outside diameter and use it to guide the tap. They are called bench blocks in the metalworking catalogs. The one I have is about 3" in diameter with about 8 holes of various sizes in it and it is hollowed out on the backside about 2/3 of the way.