Yet another self-made hand tapper

[misfitsailor]

Having seen the success other have had using a Briggs & Stratton connecting rod to make a hand tapping machine, I did the same. The small end of the rod reams to a nice 1/2" size. The cast iron base had been lying around for years, and most of the the other materials were already on hand. The tapping shaft is .5" drill rod, which was no fun to thread. The stop collar is useful, but the lifting lever is optional. (I found it in the parts bin.) I used a small hand wheel instead of a long handle because I wanted a sensitive feel for the small taps I tend to use. (The hand wheel was left over from upgrading my 7x12 to chrome wheels.) I had to make the bolts to mount the lever and spring, as the "big end" is threaded 1/4x28; a size you may not find at your local Ace store! The tapper works well.

 

[Wizard69]

Thanks for the post, never saw this hand taper approach before. Maybe a reason to disassemble the dead engines in the back yard. The only issue i see here is that those rods are pretty chewed up by the time the engine is dead. In any event a nice little tapping machine.