THSCC Forums

The makeashorter links require some patience for the redirect. I typically use tinyurl which is much quicker but the tinyurl website was having probs this AM.

Frank

http://cgi.ebay.com/SK-Tools-5-Piece-Ex ... dZViewItem

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91 Jetta GLI STS/DSP 111
85 Porsche 944 ASP 11
http://www.blackforestindustries.com

Thanks Adam. I think I'm going to step it up a notch and put this on my Christmas list. My parents like buying me tools.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00061 ... 3&v=glance

Time to retire some of my Craftsman screwdrivers which have been used too many times for chipping, scraping, and punching holes in things

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Mike Whitney
whit32@gmail.com, 919-454-5445
V10, V8, V8t, I6, I6, V6, F4t, I4, I4, I4, I4, I2, 1, 1

I've not read th full thread so don't know all the stories told.

As most of you know ( and many of you have helped) I am building a house in Pittsboro. With few exceptions the tools I am using are from HF. The drills we used to drill the bolt holes and joint sealer plugs for the log walls all came from HF. The nail guns too. The small air compressor (not the one in the trailer but the small pancake one) all again from HF. When I've had trouble bring it in with a receipt and a no problem exchange.

Heck, even the BIG silver tarp that I had covering the roof was exchanged for a new one when it shredded (anyone need a new REALLY big silver tarp)?

I'd certainly say that indeed HF stuff is cheap but that doesn't mean it won't do the job dasy in and day out. And, when it brreaks then replaceit with something better!

R

Just another "heads up" for HF ... You can access the UPS tracking number on line when your order "ships". The wrinkle is that HF uses a common carrier to ship to a UPS hub. So you have to allow 7-10 working days between when HF "ships" and when UPS shows the package in their system. Until received at their hub, UPS shows the tracking number as "Billing Information Received" - nothing more.

Frank

Broke my Harbor Freight tap "key" Tuesday night tapping a hole in an aluminum cylinder head. The "metal" surrounding the key disintegrated as if it were cast out of Elmer's glue. And it's too small to even be a effing hammer. But not too small to be thrown for distance.

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Has no responsibility whatsoever.

Mine did the same thing on first use. That's got to be the worst tool design in existence.

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Dustin Fredrickson
-- I'm a nobody --

The most reassuring part of the whole deal was the way that the tool crumbled like styrofoam in your hands.

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Rich
http://www.v8mongrel.com/

Same problem with my tap set from HF. Not worth the plastic the set came in!

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Todd Breakey
STS 42 - 1992 Sunburst Miata
Dammit!
"You souldn't play leap frog with a porcupine. You might get hurt." - Eliza

Yeah, tap and die sets are important to get from somewhere good.

I'd also point out for those who may not know that it's very important to clamp your work. It's very important to use cutting "oil" (any cutting coolant product should work). And it's a good idea to make sure you can get a good firm hold on your tool in a good steady position (if you're wiggling all over the place, that is likely to lead to damage).

Also note that when operating a tap you should always go in a half turn and then back off a quarter turn or so. Repeat until done. Most hand taps are not designed to be "self cleaning" and the "back off" move cleans the chips out.

Hopefully these tips help avoid a "how do I get this broken tap out of here" thread.


--Donnie

Donnie, the backing out, advance 1/2-turn is really not the way to use a tap. Straight-fluted taps are configured to be able to thread 1-diameter deep without backing out to clear chips. But you still must back them out and remove the chips from the flutes if you're tapping 2 or 3 diameters deep. However, each time you reverse and remove the tap, you're creating the possibility of enlarging the pitch diameter of the thread.

Since 2B guage limits are on the order of .005" or so, depending on thread major diameter. That leaves only .002-.003" of room for error per side---something you would have difficulty achieving if tapping by hand. So the less you run the tap in and out, the better your chances of keeping the P.D. wihin limits.

Solution: After drilling the hole with the appropriate tap drill, leave the part clamped, replace the drill in the chuck with a 60-deg. center. Then, using a QUALITY tee-handle tap wrench, tap the hole while following the the tap/wrench assembly with the center positioned in the end of the tap wrench and keeping minimal pressure on the drill press handle. Good-quality tap wrenches have a female 60-degree center machined in just for this purpose. It assures that you will start and keep the tap on the centerline of the hole, and results in a thread that is as close as possible to either 2B (for SAE threads) or 6H (metric) P.D. Limits.

Also, straight-flute hand taps are a poor choice for most tapping anyway. For best results, use a Spiral-Pointed tap for through holes, or Spiral Fluted taps for blind holes. Neither requires any reversal, regardless of depth to be tapped!

Look here: https://www.unionbutterfield.com/catalo ... p?page=207 for an example of a tap designed for blind-hole tapping. The spiral flutes extract the chips out of the hole, similar to a drill.

A Spiral-Pointd tap https://www.unionbutterfield.com/catalo ... p?page=205 pushes the chips ahead of the cutting area and out the bottom of a through hole.

Cool, eh? Hope this helps.

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Brad

Thanks for that correction. I learned with a lot of mistakes along the way, and they appear to be finally getting worked out. If you *don't* use cutting fluid (which used to be the way I did it), then it seems like you have to do the in/out thing or the chips will bind up in there and not clear like they should. At least that was my experience, and once someone said go in/out I didn't have *that* problem again. I have noticed my thread fit seemed a bit on the loose side, so this last correction will fix that.

Thanks!


--Donnie