High Quality Taps and Dies

I've been very happy with YG-1 spiral flute bottoming taps. They cut far easier than any other taps I've used. I have some of the taps from Lowes and Home depot, they are okay. Don't even consider Harbor Freight, those are worthless. I had a set from years ago before I knew better.

I decided to skip the sets and just order high quality for a few common sizes I use frequently as needed. I tend to spend about $15/ea. I find myself picking fasteners based on the taps I own. :) Not always possible, but it works frequently.

I haven't had any luck with dies. I single point external threads, perhaps running a die for a final pass depending on the requirements.

It can be frustrating to have to wait for taps in the mail when I need to order them. But I'm a hobby user so time isn't that big of a deal and I usually have something else to do while I wait. If you have Prime, Amazon has a surprising amount of decent tooling with 2 day shipping. With a little planning, I can usually order at the start of the project and have them when I need them.

I have 2 Craftsman sets. The standard set is over 40 years old. However I do have quality taps in my most used sizes. In fact on the smaller ones I keep several sizes


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Buy the big tap set so that you have all the bases covered. Then buy high quality taps and dies for the most commonly used sizes. Then figure out a way to store them all so you know what you have. I hate waiting 3 or 4 days for a tap to arrive so I usually end up ordering from McMaster-Carr and have it the next day.
 
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