- Joined
- Dec 5, 2009
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Here is a good tip to thread holes without taps, in aluminum stock.
Instead of breaking taps in aluminum workpieces, I decided to drill the hole for a 2-56 screw a little bit oversize, and use the screw itself to do thread forming, instead of thread cutting, this is working real well, I think I can do this trhoughout the whole project for aluminum workpieces, sure saves a lot of wear and tear on my taps, tapping steel works good because of the hardness of the material, no binding of the tap as with aluminum being on the gummy side, causes taps to bind and break more easily.
I don't know how well it works with larger diameter screws, but works excellent for the very fine threads as the 2-56 I'm doing.
But the screw should have cutting oil on it, to keep the screw from sticking and breaking off.
If the screw head does break, it can be redrilled out, unlike a tap, that is too hard to drill out.
But using the proper size drill to allow easy thread forming works good in aluminum stock.
Best to experiment to find the best drill size for the screw being used.
 
Instead of breaking taps in aluminum workpieces, I decided to drill the hole for a 2-56 screw a little bit oversize, and use the screw itself to do thread forming, instead of thread cutting, this is working real well, I think I can do this trhoughout the whole project for aluminum workpieces, sure saves a lot of wear and tear on my taps, tapping steel works good because of the hardness of the material, no binding of the tap as with aluminum being on the gummy side, causes taps to bind and break more easily.
I don't know how well it works with larger diameter screws, but works excellent for the very fine threads as the 2-56 I'm doing.
But the screw should have cutting oil on it, to keep the screw from sticking and breaking off.
If the screw head does break, it can be redrilled out, unlike a tap, that is too hard to drill out.
But using the proper size drill to allow easy thread forming works good in aluminum stock.
Best to experiment to find the best drill size for the screw being used.