Tapmatic.

[plunger]

I gota 30x tapmatic at an auction.It is missing the arm and unfortunately the rubber collets. This unit is brand new. It seems a waste to not try get this working but the two rubber collets that are
missing seem to be very expensive.
I wonder if i could not make some collets out of brass for the range of taps that I need.

[oxford]

I have a Tapmatic head that I don’t use very much. I am missing one of the collets for it, you aren’t kidding on the price of replacement collets.

In for answers on alternative replacements.

[Toolguy]

The rubber collets are a convenient way to do multiple sizes with just 2. I would make one for each size. #0-#6 is all the same one. The Tapmatic tapping head is a great tool if you have to tap a lot of holes on the mill or drill press. I use tapping heads fairly often. I have 5 different ones, and find them very useful.

[gellfex]

Don't know this design, mine is Procunier that doesn't use collets. Rubber collets sound odd, I'm sure there's something I don't understand. If brass works, why not make one? Broaching it with a homemade square broach shouldn't be all that hard. I just made a handle for small 1/4" hex shank driver bits out of 6061 1/2" hex rod using a piece of sharpened hex tool as a broach. And it was a dead flat end, not even hollow ground.

[oxford]

The Tapmatic tapping head is a great tool if you have to tap a lot of holes on the mill or drill press.

You are correct, I have had mine for years and I think I have only used it maybe for 2 jobs that had a bunch of holes to tap.

Most of the time it isn’t worth even getting out for a few holes.

Don't know this design, mine is Procunier that doesn't use collets. Rubber collets sound odd, I'm sure there's something I don't understand.

They use the flex collets that have rubber molded onto steel and can grip through a certain range. The heads only use the collet for centering, inside the head there is a place that grips the square on the tap to drive it.

[psomero]

I've come into two tapmatics, both of which were missing a collet. I was glad to find that there's only two collets per model, so I bought the other one.

[Ed ke6bnl]

Don't know this design, mine is Procunier that doesn't use collets. Rubber collets sound odd, I'm sure there's something I don't understand. If brass works, why not make one? Broaching it with a homemade square broach shouldn't be all that hard. I just made a handle for small 1/4" hex shank driver bits out of 6061 1/2" hex rod using a piece of sharpened hex tool as a broach. And it was a dead flat end, not even hollow ground.

That is what I picked up at an estate sale. Came with one collet. I did make a temporary piece to accept other taps

[gellfex]

You are correct, I have had mine for years and I think I have only used it maybe for 2 jobs that had a bunch of holes to tap.

Most of the time it isn’t worth even getting out for a few holes.

I find the same. I use my reversing Hamilton sensitive press all the time for #10 and under, which is 95% of my tapping. Otherwise it's a hand drill. I used to rely on a desktop setup of a Zero-Max gearbox with a 1/4" chuck and a 1/10 hp motor, but the Hamilton replaced that. Below is one not mine, mine's set up for higher speed with a 1:1 flat belt drive.

[Bented]

Had to do a web search for Tapmatic collets.
Nothing very expensive turned up.

Likely using incorrect search parameters.

[psomero]

The most common ones are jacobs flex collets. They have 6-8 ground steel wedges that are bonded together with a black rubber chunk. MSC, McMaster, etc sell them for about $45-50 usually
Looking back, my Enco unit (a rebranded tapmatic?) uses a collet that has gone up $13 on mcmaster since I bought it on 4/19/21 https://www.mcmaster.com/25305A59. Uggghh inflation sucks

[Paul Alciatore]

Sets of ER collets can hold any diameter from the smallest diameter of the smallest collet in the set to the largest diameter of the largest one. Imported ER collet sets can be purchased for relatively good prices. Taps do not require extraordinary precision so a collet holder with a bit of wiggle built in would allow a set of ERs to be used with a tapping head. And would likely cost less than the OEM prices.

Of course, you could search on E-bay or other sites.

[Randy]

+1 on Toolguy and Oxford's comments.
The square is secured by setscrews above the collet. The collet only holds the tap coaxial with the spindle. You can make individual collets out of brass, aluminum, even plastic. I don't think you even need to slit them so they tighten down, just drill them for bare clearance. Slitting would still be good, if you can, so that you aren't relying on the set screws to keep the tap from pulling out.

I used both Tapmatic and Procunier tapping heads a lot before I retired. I don't remember which I liked best. As I recall, the Procunier felt a bit more solid, but the Tapmatic has a bit more radial float, which is helpfull sometimes. I think I liked Tapmatic a bit more. I adapted a manual Tapmatic for a CNC router that didn't support tapping cycles. It was a lifesaver.

[JRouche]

I gota 30x tapmatic at an auction.It is missing the arm and unfortunately the rubber collets.

Hey welcome to the club. Those of us that have theses tools that really dont suit our purposes.

I have a few tapping systems, They ar tools, I like tools.

The collet issue has been one for some time. The rubber flex collets are good to go. AS long as they are Rbber Flex, collet closer company,

Kidding.. Jacobs owned that pat for some time. Its probably a jacobs rubber flex collt companion.

I found a good metal collet for a work around. Not even useful for under .001" work.

JR

[plunger]

Sets of ER collets can hold any diameter from the smallest diameter of the smallest collet in the set to the largest diameter of the largest one. Imported ER collet sets can be purchased for relatively good prices. Taps do not require extraordinary precision so a collet holder with a bit of wiggle built in would allow a set of ERs to be used with a tapping head. And would likely cost less than the OEM prices.

Of course, you could search on E-bay or other sites.

I dont think ebay works for S Africa. I wonder if the tap doesnt have to float in the rubber collet to self align . Maybe a solid collet will cause breakages. I also havnt figured out how to use it. The small 4mm tap squarehead part doesnt fit into the square recess at the bottom of the tapmatic. So Im not sure if the collet just holds the tap for self alignment or actually drives the tap.

[Tundra Twin Track]

I find the same. I use my reversing Hamilton sensitive press all the time for #10 and under, which is 95% of my tapping. Otherwise it's a hand drill. I used to rely on a desktop setup of a Zero-Max gearbox with a 1/4" chuck and a 1/10 hp motor, but the Hamilton replaced that. Below is one not mine, mine's set up for higher speed with a 1:1 flat belt drive.

I’ve always been intrigued by those Cone Drive setups,the reversing function is so simple.