Do you have any of the adjustable tap and die sets?

HMF

HMF

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They used to make some really nice adjustable tap and die sets in woden boxes. Do any of you have these sets? (Photos please!)

Thanks,


Nelson

adjust_tap_die.jpg
 
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Nice set Jack. You didn't like the box? ;)

Best,

Nelson
 
Nels said:
They used to make some really nice adjustable tap and die sets in woden boxes. Do any of you have these sets? (Photos please!)

Thanks,


Nelson
Click to expand...

I have a New in the box when I bought them on CL Antique Greenfield set. Two trays. 1" 1 1/8" 1 1/4" 1 1/2" Taps, Dies, Drill bits ( Monsters) Taper shank. Big honking handles. I'll get some pics. I was making phony bolts out of acetal and painting them for an Art piece. Made nuts from Acetal hex 1 1/2" I tried Aluminum but I can not find a way to hold the work yet. The whole bench walks.
 
I have quite few of the Little Giant sets, some made by Wells Bros, some by Wiley & Russell, and some by GTD.

I love them as far as quality, adjustability, and sharpenability. They do tend to be larger than a standard die, and so won't fit into some tight spots.
 
I have a full set from 1/4" NC and NF to 1-1/8" NF , NC made by Cleavland Tools. Very good quality, I made an adapter to fit the dies in the tailstock of my lathe.
 
I like the idea of making an adapter to hold the dies in the tailstock but I have a Craftsman 101 lathe and it may not be strong enough. I did put the die in my 20" Rockwell DP XY vise but the aluminum 1.5" rod just would not hold in the chuck. The DP is variable speed and plus it is on a VFD so I got down really slow but no go. I am trying to make really big faux bolts for art projects. I tried acetal / Delrin and dyed the plastic but I'm not there yet. The Greenfield set is awesome. What a find. I have taper shank bits up to 1.5" and all the adapters as well.
 
My 1963 Craftsman tap and die set has adjustable round dies. That has long since been discontinued.

I have several of the type of adjustable sets as Nelson illustrated. I bought them off Ebay. They seem to be much more scarce these days.

At work,I bought a NEW set with the old style adjustable dies,but it cost about $350.00 for a fairly small size set. So,I recommend picking them up used.

BTW,if you get a used set with a chipped cutter in a die,you can still buy them from MSC. But,they are not cheap.
 
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