Author Topic: Tap & Die Storage  (Read 3440 times)

Offline smfr

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Tap & Die Storage
« on: June 24, 2013, 06:17:00 AM »
I seem to have acquired a few taps  :o



Actually these are just the BSB/ME variety (26, 32, 40TPI). While fiddling with piping and valves, I kept finding myself without the specific combination of diameter and TPI that I needed. And with shipping from the UK is so expensive, it's somewhat more economical to buy a whole bunch of once, so that's what I did. But these where just rattling around in a drawer, and it was very frustrating to dig through and find the right one.

So a nice strip of beech, left over from a kitchen remodel, was pressed into service! For each size, I drilled three blind holes for taps, and cut a recess for the matching die:



Some of the dies fit into the hole left by this cutter, but in a few cases I had to touch it with a boring bar to make a bit more room. I did one "plank" per TPI, and this is what I ended up with:



Much better! I do wish I'd made them all the same length, and left a bit more room for expansion though.

Simon

Offline tel

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Re: Tap & Die Storage
« Reply #1 on: June 24, 2013, 07:14:29 AM »
Nice job - I should really do something like that for mine. :ThumbsUp:
The older I get, the better I was.
Lacerta es reptiles quisnam mos non exsisto accuso nusquam

Offline b.lindsey

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Re: Tap & Die Storage
« Reply #2 on: June 24, 2013, 11:43:11 AM »
Nice Simon, should be a breeze to find the size and tpi you need now :)

Bill

 

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