Hand Tapper

[d-m]

Hi Stan
I knew someone may ask that, this is the second shaft I have made the first one was about half the size. Wile trying to work the run out, out of the chuck I lost more than half of what I had. I am sure that when I get to the point were I am happy with the run out I won't have much shaft left on this one and will need to start all over again :big: :big:
This has been challenging for me I have one more ideal to releave the run out if that fails I may just have to give up and become a wood butcher :big:
Dave

 

[Bogstandard]

Dave,

Don't give up on it. It is your little project and if you are happy, that is all you have to worry about.

You have shown us your results, which a lot of people never do, and even though not perfect in your eyes, you are definitely getting there.

You WILL get it in the end.

We have all been thru little problems such as this, and at each little step you will learn something useful, to be filed away and used at a later date.

Keep up the good work.

John

 

[d-m]

Hi all
Well the weather here in central or is crappy at best I woke early this morning hoping to get to the shop and get some more done on my hand tapper. Scratching my head I knew using the tap chuck was risky at best having it solid on the shaft if not machined as one, the run out would be bad and it was. Knowing that I needed a different approach I remembered a chuck kit I had bought some 15 years ago thinking it was a good ideal (for what I don't know) but I was glad I found it after searching for about and hour. The kit contained 2 Jacob's chucks one with a 3/8 square drive and one with a 1/4 drive operating range 0- 6.5 mm ( for the Brittish friends) at that point I wondered how a 1/4 drive extension fit my bushing on my rod end. Well the people at Snap-On tools must have know that some day in the future that Dave was going to do this project it fit spot on. Not wanting this to be that simple and wanting to make some chips I found in a junk drawer an off brand import that was over size chucked it up turned it down and polished to size. All I have left is to come up with a hand wheel set up ( any suggestions ? )
Dave

 

[Divided He ad]

Hello all, I have not yet ventured into the hand tapper design yet but found this on the tube of you and thought it very well made indeed, very well thought out too.
Many of you may have already seen this but I thought I would share the talents of Gmark1953 with you ;D



[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDKZ7ThaAFI[/ame]



Ralph.

 

[Bogstandard]

Very well made job there, but a bit of overkill.

I would have had the holes tapped, fitted to the engine, and the engine run in by the time he had set up. Well not quite, but you know what I mean.

There are tools, and there are tools.

Tools that do the job perfectly well, and tools that are made for an audience and most probably never get used, because he doesn't want to get it dirty.
Imagine if he had a bit of rough stuff and that dingly doodah thing hanging on the back jumped off the roller, I am sure that would be the first thing thrown up the yard. Counterbalance my a##e.

Marvs tools are a perfect example, easily made and do the job perfectly, with no extraneous bells and whistles attached, and they do the job they were designed for. What more could you ask for? Except maybe a few rhinestones.

What isn't there, can't go wrong.

John

Now that I have got a dustbin lid for protection, let the arguments commence.

 

[mklotz]

Gee, John, I'm flattered. Many thanks.

I began the apostasy when I suggested that QCTPs weren't the absolute necessity that so many think they are. Let me continue the heresy by suggesting that a hand tapper is not a real model engineering requirement (listens closely for thunderclap).

Whether on lathe, mill or drill press, at some point you needed to have a drill precisely aligned to drill the hole-to-be-tapped. After drilling the hole, pull the drill out of the chuck and stick one of these...

in its place and, voila, you've created a tapping machine that is auto-aligned to the hole where the threads need to go. Moreover, for really tiny taps (e.g., 0-80), the jigs shown in the photo will give you better "feel" than you'll get with any machine.

I won't go so far as to say there is no application for a tapping machine, but, in 99% of the model making I've done, I've never had need for one.

 

[Bogstandard]

Marv,

I partially agree with you on that one, if you only do a few, then a hand tapper will be a waste of space, but like myself, I sometimes tap hundreds of small holes in a day, so it saves me a lot of time and setting up by using a hand tapper.
But don't get me wrong, I sometimes use your method in my miller, but only for larger stuff. I have just been out to the shop and got a couple of piccies of my heavyweight one.

 

[Divided He ad]

Well gents, I really do like the drill/tapper I posted for it's looks as well as overkill... You got to appreciate the workmanship and the design (counterbalance and all!!)

But I have to say I really like Marv's tooling too... Simple and effective is also very appealing (probably why I like blonde's! :big: )
Would I be correct in assuming there are bearings in the top for the main tool to rotate on Marv?
I think I would like to try one of these before I build a probably not going to be used much devise again (ref' peck drill... Was still fun creating that though!!)

Ralph.

 

[BobWarfield]

<In best Crocodile Dundee voice he sez:>

Hand Tapper?

<chuckles>

That's not a hand tapper. THIS, is a hand tapper:

LOL!

Cheers,

BW

PS I will suggest that the root of all Model Engineering evil is not any particular method, but rather the tendency for some to lapse into feeling it is a competition and there is one right way or that their way is better. Invariably the one right way is either, "that's too simple, you have to do it like this" or "that's overkill, why didn't you do it the simpler way like this." You can never win either bout. Clearly they're entirely at logger heads and both are often right. It's a silly business to try to sort out these arguments. To do so causes one to forget that Model Engineering is, itself, superfluous. It's fun and nothing more.

 

[mklotz]

Ralph,

Yes, the tap holders are free to turn on the guide rods which are gripped in the chuck when the tool is used. In some of them, the collets shown allow a single tool to be used with several different tap sizes.

Building one will cost you maybe twenty minutes of time. Give it a try and see if you like it. If not, or, like John, you have a multitude of holes to tap, then invest the time to fabricate a tapping machine.

As Bob points out, we can't determine what is best for you and your situation. The best we can do is offer alternatives so you have a selection of options from which to choose.

 

[Mcgyver]

I won't go so far as to say there is no application for a tapping machine, but, in 99% of the model making I've done, I've never had need for one.

Its just a convenience, you could say the same about the three jaw. If I have a bunch to do, and they're small, I set up the UPT (is it a tapping machine? or do you mean a tapping head?) . Nothing i've used is easier or has a more sensitive feel. light springs hold things in place so the tap doesn't fall into the work and you're not awkwardly moving around a machine's spindle or tail stock barrel because the entire top is open. a wonderful luxury.

otoh, for a onesy or twosy or for larger size i just reach for one of little cylinders of AL the taps OD drilled in, i have a box of them in the my bench top Kennedy (recently acquired, but that's a tool gloat thread ). those little slugs see a lot of action and are the simplest tapping machine.

 

[Bernd]

Marv,

Like your tappers you got there. Going to have to make a couple to use in my mini-mill. Those two round pieces with part of the dia. milled off, how do those relate to the tapper? They look almost like edge finders to me. ???

Bernd

 

[Circlip]

They give you a clear view of the hole while using a normal hand tap. The block sits on the job with the cut out end on the job face. Regards Ian.

 

[mklotz]

Bernd,

The pieces you asked about are collets to accommodate tap shanks of various diameters. When inserted into the tap holder, the cutaway section allows the setscrew to seat on the square part of the tap shank and lock it from turning.

 

[Bernd]

Ok, finally sank in after a few minutes of studying the pic. (must of had a senoir moment :big Very ingenious.

Bernd

 

[Circlip]

Sorry for jumping in there Marv :bow: But I've seen bits like your "half collets" used purely as guides. Have you seen the simpler version of the mousetrap, the one without cheese? :big: :big: Regards Ian.

 

[Bogstandard]

Here is another nice hand tapper

http://www.frets.com/FRETSPages/Machining/Tooling/MiniHandTapper/minihandtapper.html

John

 

[Cedge]

John
To quote Tel in the Rounder Table thread..."Bugger... another tool to build"...LOL. I really like that sturdy design.

Steve

 

[Bogstandard]

Looks good to me bill.

Happy tapping.

John

 

[bentprop]

Here is my home brew version.Parts of old drill etc. picked up at a club night:

I was thinking pretty much along the same lines as John(Bogs).Hence the knurling around the side of the handle.For bigger taps,I can fit a spanner on top and twirl that around.The chuck is 0-1/4".
The arm was an odd casting,also picked up at a club sale.
Hans.