What is best and easiest tapping method?

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ome

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Without power on lathe or drill press, or a manual 250.00tapping machine.
Wanted to still develop the feel for tapping, so did not want a tapping head for my mill.
Thanks
jon
 
Not sure exactly what you are asking, but there are lots of ways to tap. The most obvious is to simply hand tap by holding the tap in a tap handle, starting it square and breaking the chip every half turn or so. You can also use a tapping head in a drill press or mill. My favorite method is to power tap in the lathe or mill, or with a cordless drill. This requires a two flute spiral point tap, a good grade of tapping fluid and a light grip in the chuck of the machine driving the tap. I'm planning on doing a video on power tapping over the next few days. It's the method I use most of the time.

Tom
 
ome said:
Without power on lathe or drill press, or a manual 250.00tapping machine.
Wanted to still develop the feel for tapping, so did not want a tapping head for my mill.
Thanks
jon
Click to expand...

If I understand your question correctly you have a milling machine. Using a two fluted tap mount it in a drill chuck. Put the spindle in neutral or loosen the drive belt. Start the tap by gently bring the spindle and tap into the hole and hand turn it until you make at least three or four turns. Loosen the chuck and move the spindle out of the way and use a tapping handle to finish threading the hole. If using a four fluted tap you will need to back it out after every turn to remove the chips. Thats how I do it. Use a good cutting fluid too.
 
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Whenever possible, make the hole a through hole and use a spiral pointed (not spiral fluted) tap. Some people refer to them as "gun" taps. That kind of tap pushes the chip ahead of the tap, and you don't have to stop and reverse direction to break the chip like you do with a hand tap. If you have to tap a blind hole, spiral fluted taps work well, because the force the chip back out of the hole. If you only have hand taps, you have to back off and break the chip every turn, but a through hole still keeps the chips from packing up on the bottom. Also, if you're not doing a large number of holes, drill the tap hole, don't move the table, and use the spindle to guide your tap handle. Most smalle T-handle tap wrenches have a chamfered hole in the end so you can put a spring-loaded center against it, and some larger taps (1/2-13 and up) have a center hole in the end of the tap and you can do the same thing while using a larger tap handle.
 
Here's what a spiral point tap does. This is on the mill, shutting off the machine before the tap enters, letting the tap coast in, and hitting reverse quickly when the tap goes completely through. 1/2" thick steel with a 5/16" tap.

th_MVI_5222.jpg
 
I usually power tap with the mill in back gear using a two flute gun tap. The slow speed gives you plenty of time to react to go into reverse at the proper time.
 
ome said:
Without power on lathe or drill press, or a manual 250.00tapping machine.
Wanted to still develop the feel for tapping, so did not want a tapping head for my mill.
Thanks
jon
Click to expand...

Jon,

I personally found that tapping by hand was MUCH easier when I converted an old drill press a friend gave me to a tapping stand. This keeps the tap square to the work (which I normally mount in a small drill press vise) and makes the whole operation simple, while decreasing the risk of broken taps from going in at an angle. You can also use a drill press (without power) by simply chucking the tap and placing the handle of the chuck key in the tightening holes to turn it. Apply a LITTLE downward pressure until the threads are started. Go forward 1/2 turn, then back one full turn to break the chip, then forward one turn so you are back where you stopped, and repeat. Every 3-4 turns, when you feel it's getting hard to tap, back the tap all the way out, clean it (I use a chip brush), and recoat tap and hole with tapping fluid. I found that, for me, the best tapping fluid (which is important for easiest tapping) is Tap Magic Pro-Tap. Good luck!

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bob vaughan said:
Here's what a spiral point tap does. This is on the mill, shutting off the machine before the tap enters, letting the tap coast in, and hitting reverse quickly when the tap goes completely through. 1/2" thick steel with a 5/16" tap.

th_MVI_5222.jpg
Click to expand...

Well, that's certainly the fastest tapping method I've seen!
 
clevinski said:
Jon,

I personally found that tapping by hand was MUCH easier when I converted an old drill press a friend gave me to a tapping stand. This keeps the tap square to the work (which I normally mount in a small drill press vise) and makes the whole operation simple, while decreasing the risk of broken taps from going in at an angle. You can also use a drill press (without power) by simply chucking the tap and placing the handle of the chuck key in the tightening holes to turn it. Apply a LITTLE downward pressure until the threads are started. Go forward 1/2 turn, then back one full turn to break the chip, then forward one turn so you are back where you stopped, and repeat. Every 3-4 turns, when you feel it's getting hard to tap, back the tap all the way out, clean it (I use a chip brush), and recoat tap and hole with tapping fluid. I found that, for me, the best tapping fluid (which is important for easiest tapping) is Tap Magic Pro-Tap. Good luck!

- - - Updated - - -



Well, that's certainly the fastest tapping method I've seen!
Click to expand...

Charlie! Did you ever post pics of that? I'd love to see it!



Bernie
 
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