/diy/ - Do It Yourself

Morse tools are my go to, but it depends on your definition of breaking the bank. Their plug tap with stubby twist drill sets are about 90.

I get stuff from a local fastener place, especially if I'm tapping stainless or something else sturdy and need to do it by hand. Otherwise, for wimpy stuff, I have an Ideal brand self drilling starter tap set that's been pretty good to me.

>>1596488
Just paid $30 USD (taxes included) for this guy. Looks like it was only lightly used, if at all. I have a similar Metric Craftsman set that I have used for several years and I have had zero complaints. Both are made by Hanson for Sears. Hanson also made 'Ace' brand tools (not for Ace hardware stores) and some of Irwin's tools before they shipped manufacturing over to China. If you see any 1970's or before 'Kromedge' tap and die kits in good shape, they are worth the money. They also go for a fucking mint on eBay.

>>1596488
I tried asking this before a bunch of times and all the machinist fags say you NEED to buy individual HSS taps and dies.

I just got the Craftsman set when it went on sale. Something like that or the Gearwrench set seem fine for occasional use and fixing damaged threads. I have yet to break a tap but I haven’t used them a ton. So it depends what you want to do and how much you want to spend. A lot of people like having a high carbon steel set for the random rare sizes and then buy quality HSS US taps for the commonly used ones.

>>1596614
Nice find. I always see them with missing parts.

>>1596488
Just buy as you need them. You'll probably find that you only need a couple of the very common sizes. To get a complete set of good quality HSS tap and dies is fairly costly. And to be real, you will likely not have to use half the taps and 99% of the dies. YMMV of course as everyone is doing slightly different work. This is my experience though.

>>1596655
>Just buy as you need them.

sounds like good advice but who wants to drive to the store or order online every time they do something? buy a general set, then buy the weird ones that come up once every five years. buying any tool one at a time is usually not cost-efficient.

>>1596488
hehe heh beppo comes crawling back?

>>1596616
Machinist fag here. It's because none of the big boy brands sell sets like that since they expect you to be ordering 10+ or much more of the same size because you have a job to run.

>>1596671
not that anon, but when i started buying tools like taps i just got the most common course threads i was likely to need
1/4-20
5/16-18
3/8-16
1/2-13

>>1596671
>buy a set of shitty taps
> phew good thing I don't have to go to the store every time
>shitty tap breaks after third use
> buy a proper nice tap, so end up ordering/waiting anyway
Why do you enjoy lying to yourself?

>>1596537
That set looks pretty nice

Viking also makes similar sets just like that, in the same general price range.

>>1596616
>machinist fags say you NEED to buy individual HSS taps and dies.

With your criteria of "I need as many useless sizes I will never use, and for it to be cheap", you were told to buy quality used stuff. Its the only way. But you refused to even look.

The proper way to go about it when you dont want to spend a ton of money is to figure out what you ACTUALLY need and then buy individually, or buy small sets.
Thats were you were told to buy individually.

Instead bought some garbage dump set that you used a common tap out of once, and feel like you made a good choice.

Oof.

>>1596671
>sounds like good advice but who wants to drive to the store or order online every time they do something?

Thats just what happens when you dont buy a large prohibitively expensive but proper set in the first place. You buy a small set like >>1596907 or >>1596537 and then buy high quality as the time comes for weirder stuff and end up with a personalized set just for you and your purposes.

Or you buy a trash gearwrench or craftsman set that will let you down when you most need it, end up STILL buying expensive individual taps.
But hey, that 2 day amazon shipping wont be a problem. Youll be spending those 2 days trying to dig a broken tap out of your part, or remaking it altogether so it all works out.

>>1596488
chicago latrobe

>>1596911
mcmaster is sometimes single day tho

>>1596655
>And to be real, you will likely not have to use half the taps and 99% of the dies.

This is 100% accurate.
Buy common taps you know you will use, dont bother with the dies. If you arent a machinist, you wont be cutting threads with dies often if ever, only cleaning threads

For cleaning shitty threads buy Nicholson Thread Files. They are made in the USA still, and they work fucking amazing for cleaning threads. The whole SAE + Metric + NPT set is $40 on amazon. And the LANG ones are dogshit so dont buy them, I returned them and got the Nicholsons which are far superior.

>>1596614
I bought a Kromedge set from a while back too. Its been pretty nice, but I dont use Metric all that much.

>>1596922

>>1596923
>>1596922
Also bought this for 10$ from the same guy

>>1596929
A little more beat up but I had to pick it up.

>>1596537
Looks like there is a decent deal on a used SAE morse set like that
Its missing the 4-40 and 5-40 tap, but who gives a shit about those.

Search for "Morse Cutting Tools 37103" its on there for $40

>>1596933
lol sold

>>1596488
Has anyone actually used that harbor freight set?
Is it that bad?

>>1596607
>I have an Ideal brand self drilling starter tap

Is it like pic related?
Ive actually used these and they worked better than you would think.

>>1596916

speak for yourself

its opens up a world of possibilities once you can make things thread together

whats that saying, someone who has only ever learned to use a hammer, the solution will only ever look like a hammer

or something

>>1597804
With how bad cheap dies are, and how finicky they are for proper stock sizes, unless you have a lathe or are buying stock in a specific size for a specific purpose, having dies isnt going to be a revelation for your average guy.
More likely to get sloppy threads that fail or broken dies than to really impress someone who just happened to pull it out of his toolbox.

>>1597791
There’s a super cheap HF set, and then a slightly better one. I don’t think the more expensive one is complete trash (based on reading the reviews after searching and keeping in mind that 50% of the population is retarded).

But one must remember why Harbor Freight is so cheap- almost zero quality control. So you can never be too sure about where that patch of pot metal will be within your Chinesium tools, and you don’t want it to be in a tap that breaks off in something expensive.

Who knows though. The people around here like to say it’s machinist grade or nothing, but I imagine the higher priced HF set wouldn’t be the worst thing to have around the shop if you need to clean up some threads.

>>1597793
...for sheet metal.

There’s also pic related which is in the same category. 1/3 of the buyers hate the thing because they don’t understand what it’s for and they thought it would be like your DeWalt bits that are less expensive than a full tap and die set. The other 2/3 of buyers love it because it’s a fast and handy tool when used correctly.

>>1597829
>...for sheet metal.

Says who?
They are HSS, they are rated for impact. The 8-32 chewed through 7/16 stainless steel stock like butter.

>t. machinist that was doing a project in his relatives garage, with almost no tools.

>>1597791
I have the cheap set. It is pretty bad. The dies have insufficient taper so it has the tendency to just tear threads off instead of cutting anything (unless a lot of pressure is put on it, like say with a tailstock of a lathe). At best it is useful for cleaning up threads, but this function is more cheaply accomplished by thread repair files. The taps I've gotten to work. Dunno how well they're going to last in the long run though. I've already bought good taps so I've more of less stopped using the HF taps and dies. The main thing is that if a tap ever fails, it is a royal pain in the ass to remove. It is better not to risk it.

>>1597851
I'm guessing he is referring to the fact that you are restricted to working on something thinner than the length of the pilot.

>>1597857
>I'm guessing he is referring to the fact that you are restricted to working on something thinner than the length of the pilot.

He doesnt think that much into it, trust me. It looks like the junction box tap tool from klein, so it has to be the same thing!

>>1597851
That’s pretty rugged considering they’re rated for 10ga max. Did you run them on a drill all in one shot or drill out the hole first with another bit and then go at it like a regular tap?

I just recieved this tap and dye set today. Their marketing is kinda weird, and despite it being pretty hotly debated what their real country of origin is, they do get good reviews for their drill bits online. I've used the bits, and have zero complaints so far.
I figured, with a lifetime warranty on taps and dies, I can take a risk on them being junk and just sell them off at a loss after replacing anything that breaks. In the chance they're decent, the lifetime warranty is a huge bonus, because I'm damn sure I'll be snapping some of these.

https://drill-hog.myshopify.com/collections/tap-die-sets/products/drill-hog-usa-40-pc-tap-die-set-sae-tap-rethreading-titanium-lifetime-warranty

The tap wrench is definitely garbage, though. If you go on Ebay, you can buy from the company at a slightly lower price--and even make an offer. They tend to accept you lowballing them about 10-20% less than the listed price.

>>1598098
That company is strange. I was looking at their stuff on Amazon and I still don’t understand a lifetime warranty on drill bits. They want $197 for a supposed US made 115pc index.

>>1597912
We predrilled the hole on a small drill press then tapped with a cordless drill.

>>1598115
>>1598098
It's very clear.
The company is very verbose in telling you what is made in the USA. If it's not explicit, it's not USA made. Their name is meant to be deceptive, using Huot indexes is meant to be deceptive.

Your tap did set is Chinese, it's got the same shitty die stock and tap holders as all the other Chinese titanium coated tap and die sets

Also the fact that they say "The taps and dies are made from Titanium Ti-22 Steel" should give you pause too. Deceptive all the way across the board. Not sure I would trust their warranty either

>>1598145
I haven’t bought anything from that company but I was looking at some of the stuff and anon wasn’t lying when he said the stuff has good reviews. Lots of the reviews claim the company replaced their broken bits too.

I’m curious if the tools are stamped “USA”. The prices aren’t really cheap Chinesium low, but definitely well below machinist grade stuff. Pic related is only like 30% less than a similar Viking set.

>>1598147
I dont trust reviews and I dont give money to shitty companies who are actively trying to pull one over on me. Not only that, they clearly have a bunch of different suppliers and they just put their own logo on it. Not a known commodity.

Viking may be a little more, but they manufacture their own tools in their own USA factory.

>>1598145
>"The taps and dies are made from Titanium Ti-22 Steel"
Much better than the cheaper Aluminum Al-13 Steel.

>>1598098
>Their marketing is kinda weird, and despite it being pretty hotly debated what their real country of origin is

They spend the extra few bucks to get Huot boxes for a reason. Nowhere does it say USA in the description, aside from their name.

>>1598161
The general consensus I've read is a lot of their tools are factory seconds from better known brands. I'm personally of the belief they are semi-decent Chinese products, but a lot of people are damn certain everything is US made. I mentioned their advertising is weird so that people could come to their own conclusion. I'm not advising anyone to buy them suggesting they're high quality, but so far the drill bits I've used have been great. The taps and dies would have to seriously suck to not benifet from the warranty.
Either way, what most people say is correct--buy the high quality commonly used taps and dies as you need them, and eventually you'll have a valuable set that caters to your needs. I bought this one on a whim to test it and the warranty out. Sure beats breaking my good stuff on non-essential projects.

>>1598351
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cqa6RIEVD9w

Read this guys comment.
>" they are out of Sunburst Montana. Drill hog drill bits are made there and ship out of Southern California. I have a set of their older bits that are marked made in USA. My understanding from Mike the reason why these are not marked now is it would add more of a cost to print extra characters on the drill bit. Hope that helps.

So they USED to have USA stamped in them and now they dont. And from Mike the guy who runs the business says he has to pay extra for those stamps, IE they are specced out by him not factory seconds.

The fact that there is so much mystery and conflicting info around the company is ridiculous.

>>1598355
Also I wouldnt put it past "Mike" to bold faced lie to some random customer. He has created a big enough name with enough retards thinking they are getting USA made stuff, why ruin it?

>>1598098

anyone who buys this over the less expensive and bigger mastercraft set is short a few brain cells

>>1598416
>leaf harbor freight taps

>>1596488
buy em individual as and when you need them, far easier to get good quality single taps/dies and you won't end up spending a fortune in one go, cos a full set of decent ones will cost you an arm and a leg.

Someone pointed out a lot of them only have 3 flutes instead of 4 so they wear quickly.

I picked this up for free at a garage sale after spending $56 and change in CanadaBucks for a pile of really good stuff, like a 4 piece Starett combination square set and a Lee Valley steel topped router table

BTW 1/2 13 TPI? who cuts 13 thread per inch holes?

I am a tap and die brainlet and have no idea what they are and never bothered to learn.
However, just by reading this thread I gathered they are for threading holes or whatever term is used.
I do a lot of work myself on my home and may need to use them.
So my question is, what are they commonly used for for home projects and how do you use them?
I'm sure I can find this info elsewhere but if one of you feels like spending the time could I get a quick (or long) rundown?

>>1600596
If you have messed up/rusty threads/holes, you can retap them to help yourself out.

If you do any amount of engine work, you will need them

>>1600585
1/2-13 is your standard 1/2 course thread. 1/2-20 is your 1/2 fine thread. Its not uncommon.

Also nice score, you can never have too many taps and dies.

>>1600596
They are cutting tools that create threads of specific diameters and thread pitches. Basically they are bolts and nuts with cutting edges on them.

Drill a hole, use a tap in the hole, it now has threads you can throw bolts in.
Have round stock, thread a die onto it, it now has threads on the end of it like a bolt.

Simple as that.
Have you ever crossthreaded or stripped some threads out of something before?

Drill it out and tap it for the next size bigger and youll have perfect threads again.

They can also be used to fix existing threads.
Say you have a bolt that has some mangled threads, but is otherwise ok. You screw the die onto the threads, and it should help straighten out and clean the threads. (though you should really just use a thread file)

Same thing with slightly damaged holes with threads, thread a tap into it and it should somewhat fix the messed up parts of the threads.

Obviously its very useful for machinists and fabricators and the like.
Can be useful on occasion to handymen.

>>1600585
>Someone pointed out a lot of them only have 3 flutes instead of 4 so they wear quickly.
Unless you're busting out hundreds of holes it med+carbon steel or other abrasive shit, wear on a tap is negligible as fuck. Hand taps are 4 flute to help reduce the required cutting force, actual machine taps are always 2-3 flute unless they're fuck huge.

>BTW 1/2 13 TPI? who cuts 13 thread per inch holes?
That's a totally standard size, 90% of normal mill clamping hardware uses it.

>>1600780
Why an odd number of TPI? If you are cutting this on a lath, the required setting must be fairly obtuse to set up

My favorite brands to buy from to guarantee you’re getting quality shit. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=awHvbBOMjhQ

>>1596923
>that rust

Get it together anon. Spray some fucking oil or some shit in there.

>>1600812
Those were pictures I took immediately after buying them, I cleaned them up shortly after.

>>1600811
I hope to god this isnt your music video, seriously.

>>1600840
It is. Looking for feedback.

>>1596488
you "make it further than most", you dont need others feedback, itll just hold you back

>>1596488
>My tap and die set is total shit

I have the same $15 Harbor Freight tap and die set.
To say its shit is an understatement.

I needed to tap a hole in some mild 1/4" scrap steel. I actually thought of this thread and decided to try out the HF set, I have never actually used it for anything because I have a big collection of good taps and dies already.

>drill #7 size hole
>start trying to tap with 1/4-20
>just spins and spins and wont start

It just reamed out half of the fucking hole and never did start cutting threads.
I grabbed a cheap crappy Century carbon steel 1/4 tap and it started with the first turn and cut the rest of the hole quickly.

The 1/4 HF was a 3 fluter (most other taps are 4 in the kit). It looked pretty shit so I decided to try out the 5/16-18
Same thing, it just reamed out the hole and wouldnt start cutting.

Its actually baffling how horrible they performed.

>>1600799
What are you even talking about? Have you even seen a lathe in real life much less run one?

>>1600799
Are you fucking retarded?

>>1600799
>Move lever from 20tpi to 13tpi
So obtuse, yes.

>>1600799

im speechless