Walton Tap Extractor Sets-

ErichKeane

Making scrap at ludicrous speed.
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To get right to the point: these guys : https://www.waltontools.com/products/extract-sets.htm

I was putting my DRO in, and the very last tapped hole broke the tap. I could possibly have moved the hole and re-tapped, but decided I'd see if I could extract it first.

1 $100 ebay order later, 1 week of shipping time, and I had the #1 set in my hands! You can buy them individually for ~$20 each, but it seemed easy enough to get a set, if I'm good at ANYTHING, its breaking taps.

My tap was REALLY stuck and REALLY bad. I was power tapping with a drill into a blind hole into cast-iron. I was doing a bad job of cleaning the chips (I was rushing, as it was the last hole :/, AND the hole was upsidedown. I tried using some pins, I tried using a punch to turn it, and nothing worked. I was in trouble.

I followed the directions on the extractors and snapped off the pointy-bits of hte tap the best I could (though wasn't terribly successful). I put the 'tines' into the tap slots, but they were pretty well packed with chips. I only was able to get them to go in ~1/4" at most. However, after applying a pretty solid amount of force, it spun out! It was REALLY hard to turn most of the way out (due to being packed with chips), but it was a success!

I ended up mangling the tines a little (they are ~$1 each from a variety of vendors, AND the book says you can shorten them with a grinder if you wish). I ordered replacements anyway.

So, in summary: these are a WONDERFUL addition to anyone's toolbox! They seem to work a charm, and in my case, got me out of a pickle :)
 
they have saved my bacon a few times!
i'm glad you have some :grin:
 
I never bought any because I didn't think they would work. I guess I need to do some shopping.
 
They work fine unless the tap is shattered in the hole. Using tap magic and working the extractor back and forth in rotation helps to loosen the tap in the hole for easier removal.
 
I never bought any because I didn't think they would work. I guess I need to do some shopping.

Yeah, same here! This was sort of my last gasp attempt on something I couldn't remake, so I went with it. I was pleasantly surprised how effective it was!
They work fine unless the tap is shattered in the hole. Using tap magic and working the extractor back and forth in rotation helps to loosen the tap in the hole for easier removal.
The instructions mention it being in 2 pieces and that it should still work (and you should just use more force!), But I'm not sure much of anything could be done about a shattered tap!

They do say to clear chips with air if possible, use cutting fluid if you can, and to do the back and forth to get it working. I was upside-down, so the cutting fluid I had to use (and the force to remove chips!) Was just WD40.

I posted because I figured these were just a scam and bought them out of desperation... Turns out they are a way better tool than I could have imagined!
 
I have the complete set, bought from a buddy who was liquidating his Father-in-Law's estate. I have never used ANY of them. I did not have much confidence in their worthiness. Thanks for an update to that thought.

Still, I hope NEVER to need them.....
 
When MY taps get stuck and break , they aren't coming out with any extractor other than a carbide end mill or EDM machine . :(
 
Walton also makes tap extensions for both hand and machine tapping.
 
I "acquired" a full set of Walton tap extractors while on active duty about 15 years ago (thanks to y'all for paying your taxes). If it's a clean break, these puppies do the job extremely well. I don't know of any other way to grab a broken tap and back it out cleanly.
 
The TIG wizards claim they can just weld a handle to the broken end of the tap. Dunno about that.

What size tap broke? The criticism I've heard of the Weldon extractors is that they work ok on larger taps that aren't stuck too badly, but that using them on the more likely to break machine screw sizes is generally unsuccessful.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk
 
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