|
|
The Folding Knife (& Switchblade) Forum The materials, techniques and the designing of folding knives. |
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
||||
|
||||
what am i looking for in taps? will these do?
i've never bought or used a tap before so i dont really know what to look for when i buy them. i saw these on ebay and was wondering whether they are suitable for making folders.
they are item number 7553614129 it says These are new osg/sossner 2-56 spiral pointed, plug ground high speed steel hand taps. QUANTITY:12 FLUTES:2 GROUND THREAD LIMIT:H1 STEAM OXIDE FINISH EDP# 1200601 the auction is for 12 of them, which is a little more than i think i need or can afford right now but maybe i could talk them in to selling me 6 or so. anyway, are they what i need to buy? thanks brett |
#2
|
||||
|
||||
Those should work fine, depending on the material your planning on tapping. Everything will depend on the material, and using the proper size drill bit for that material. (also use cutting oil when tapping) The drill/tap charts will only give you one size drill for each tap, which is generally for tapping holes in mild steel. Unless you have a tapping head on a drill press, you'll likely go through 12 taps pretty quickly. I've broken as many as 5 taps in one day when I was doing it by hand. Once I broke down and purchased a tapping head, I now wear them out instead of breaking them.
A cheap way to tap small holes without a lot of breakage problems is to go to Wal-mart and purchase on of the rechargable Skil-Twist screw#######. Their basically a screw driver with a motor. Then find yourself a 1/4" chuck that fits the thing and use it to tap with. The motor on those screw####### isn't so powerful that it will snap taps quickly, and the fact that it has a forward/reverse rocker switch on it helps if taps get stuck. Kit Carson turned me on to this method several years ago, and it worked until I could save the money for a tapping head. __________________ WWW.CAFFREYKNIVES.NET Caffreyknives@gmail.com "Every CHOICE has a CONSEQUENCE, and all your CONSEQUENCES are a result of your CHOICES." |
#3
|
||||
|
||||
gee, been a while since i checked in here.
thanks for that info Ed, i almost put in a bid for them but if you say i will probably break a few, i should probably just find a reliable source close to home. so i was wondering, what does 2-56 mean? can it be converted to say a metric number like Xmm or are they not interchangeable brett |
#4
|
||||
|
||||
Good One!!
Get'em, Brett. You can't buy a better tap than those anywhere.
Always use a spiral flute tap on knife material. Drill the hole one size over what the tap chart recommends as Ed says. |
#5
|
||||
|
||||
the local hardware shop had 1/8" taps, are they aout what size i am after or are they too big?
brett |
#6
|
||||
|
||||
Quote:
|
#7
|
||||
|
||||
jeff i would looooove to buy one of yout tappers, so i dont mind the plug but i can barely afford a tap let alone something to hold it
brett |
Tags |
knife, knives |
Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests) | |
|
|