tapping heads

[jdunmyer]

What's the difference in brands of tapping heads? I see some on eBay bringing what seems to be Big Money, while others are much cheaper.

Just wondering.

see: http://cgi.ebay.com/ETTCO-TAPPING-HE...QQcmdZViewItem

In the interest of full disclosure, this is my tapping head. It worked fine in a quicky test, but I never actually used it. The TapMatic heads are bringing in the hundreds of $$$.

[Wirecutter]

I just bought the smallest version of the Tapmatic line a couple weeks ago. It costs plenty, but ooooh, it's sooo cool. It's already turned a two day job into a 1.5 hour job. I can't say enough good things about it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ou9o-aUqAUI

Tapmatic is apparently the big "brand name" - there are other copies and such about. If you get one, get one that's auto-reversing, and has a good torque adjustment. And heed the warnings - don't try to restrain the "torque bar" with your hand - fixture it somehow.

-Mark

[torker]

I have a really nice tapping head. It's called a Big Accu...imported from Japan into Canada by Sowa Tools. It works fabulous but there is very little company support. I've emailed this outfit a dozen times and got one answer where to get some parts for it. The place doesn't answer their phone and has no message service.
All my future tapping heads will be Tapmatics. They seem to have good support and a good rep.
Russ

[JCHannum]

The various tapping heads were discussed a few days ago, here;
http://bbs.homeshopmachinist.net/sho...light=tapmatic

and here;
http://www.practicalmachinist.com/ub...77.html#000000

While Ettco, Procunier and others of the same general type are all good tools, the Tapmatic is considered a better choice by many for several reasons and commands a higher price.

[jdunmyer]

Thanks for those links and the information! Although I try to read this board every day, it's not always possible, and I missed that thread and the one on the "other" BBS. Oh yeah, Tuesday the 16th was pistol league. :-)

[BobWarfield]

Here's another thread on tapping heads:

http://www.practicalmachinist.com/ub...c/30/1143.html

One fellow says the Harbor Fright head works fine. Same guy put me onto my powered drawbar. I'm inclined to try one. I looked at some Tapmatics on eBay, but they either look really beat (may not have all the parts or work right) or sell for more than I need to spend on something I won't use that often.

If I did get a tapping head going, I would have to think about building one of these to go on one corner of my welding table:



Seems really handy to leave it setup and quick to go after a bunch of holes with an arm like that. Sticking it on the corner of the welding table would keep it out of the way too.

Best,

BW

[JCHannum]

Just a point that may or may not have been mentioned in those posts, when machine tapping, it is best to use a gun tap and through holes.

The gun tap throws the chips ahead of it, while a hand tap allows them to build up in the flutes. If tapping in a blind hole, the hole should be deep enough for the accumulated chips. If using a hand tap, back it out and clear the chips to prevent binding.

[Wirecutter]

In my humble, limited experience, the special "spiral flute" taps work extremely well with the tapping head. I don't know if that's called a "gun" tap, but that kind of tap has a lot of clearance for chips, and they seem to come out the hole mostly behind the tap.

The video link I posted was when I was tapping test holes all the way through a 1/2" plate of 6061 aluminum. I found that alcohol worked nicely as a lube, and had the added advantage of not being as messy as some other lubes.

As this was my first experience with a tapping head, it took me a couple tries to get the head "dialed in". I broke a couple of those expensive taps before I had 5 holes done. I ordered some more for backup, since I only had a couple left. Then I got the head adjusted right and threaded over 100 holes with a single 4-40 tap without breaking anything.

Anyway, my previous experience tapping lots of 4-40 stuff has never been as good as that. I had to learn the alum trick for disolving taps, and of course, several new cuss words. Getting so many holes done so quickly and without breaking a tap was what lead to my glowing recommendation. That sucker rocks!

-Mark

[wierdscience]

I have Ettco,Prociuner and Tapmatic heads.I like the Ettco's,I have three different sizes all cost me less than $25 on Ebay.One of them I just used the otherday to tap 1500 3/8-16 holes in crs.

Reasons I like the Ettco's is there aren't any collets to buy/make/keep track of,two of the units I have don't have torque arms but attach directly to the quill instead.

The Tapmatics have the advantage of a slip clutch that makes tapping bottomed holes easier,although I just set the drill's depthstop to slip the clutch when it bottoms on the Ettco's,no big deal there.

Procuiner I can take or leave.

With the price of used heads being cheap and the price of Asian drillpresses being what they are there isn't much reason not to have a dedicated tapping setup in the shop.

[Tin Falcon]

I have used tapping units like the photo in Bobs post they work great. But are a bit pricy IIRC over $1500 US to get set up new. And like I mentioned on the other post IMHO Tapmatic is also an excelent product.
On another thought an often overlooked "tapping Head" that many of us have about the shop is the cordless drill driver. They have adjustable torque settings and reverse. If you have trouble holding the tap square to the surface you can use a tapping block. When I worked at the yacht builder the Tech rep from the window vendor taught me this. I have used my dewalt sucessfully tapping aluminum. Have not broken a tap with it. Use common sence and the right tap for the job and you should have no problem.
Tin