Alot of good info. If you can't thread back in to blow the threads out, push that bitch outside for a while. Let it get chilly, then try it. Go slow! NEVER HEAT UP A TAP. Heat is not your friend.
i tapped a few holes over 22yrs in tool&die making... tap magic is old stuff, its ok, good for general tapping.. i've found its not to good in tool steels actually.. try some stuff called ezz foamy, it sprays out in a foam with a good amount of pressure, also refrigerates because of its in an aerosol can.. I have used this stuff for many years..its definetly better than tap magic.. it actually does its best in tool steels such as h-13 and viscount, also great in 4140 prehard,4340 and the like.. .. it comes with one of those little red things like on a wd40 can so you can run it down the flute of a tap and can actually blow out from underneath the tap with it.. this stuff is great. http://www.mullenoil.com/images/Foamy-Lit.pdf
Hey fellas, got it out Used the computer can shit, and grabbed it with a vise grip as far up as i could. Lots of gibbs oil and slow going, and shes out. Thanks alot fellas!
Any time you guy's want to start a tap tech thread, I'll be more than happy to contribute. There is SO much to discuss, the diffrent types, # of flutes, the way the flutes are cut, materials they are made of, tapping fluids, handles and drivers, etc., etc. As far as the O/P and this thread, the fact that it was a 4 flute tap, there are such animals as tap wrenches. They have 4 little arms or claws that reach down inside each flute the length of the tap. You then tighten up the adjuster, and turn out or back out the tap with the wrench. And for freezing, I always have a bottle of NITROUS around, want something frozen, spray it. For accuracy, it takes only a minute to hook up a nitrous solenoid, a fogger nozzle and a line and two jumper wires and you have a direct shot for freezing the perp. Dont have your own bottle, grab some kid and his Honda going down the street and ask him. BDM.
If you want to freeze the tap, buy a can of that "air in a can" from an office supply store - the stuff that people use to blow off their computers. Spray it on the tap while holding in the can upside down. The air will come out frosty cold. If you warm up the area around the tap and then freeze the tap, you might be able to get it out.
Co2 from a paintball shop works well also i think that is what the air in the can for your keyboard is. I have a Pepsi tank for the fountain pop machines which is 10 pounds of co2 you can do lots of freezing if needed. i have even used it when the city broke my water line to freeze the main, plumers had a new toy to try out it worked. sure works good for bearing races. Glad you got the tap out.
Where did you get the tap from??? I'm a toolmaker, so tapping a thread is second nature to me. But friends have bought cheap tap sets off ebay. The metallurgy is suspect, and the cutting geometry on them is all wrong. They will bind in just about any hole you ever try to cut. Oils and special lubricants make almost no difference. There is NO way to make these things work right. If you have one of these types of tap sets, throw it out lock stock and barrel before it ruins something valuable...
This is an old thread.....but today, I was running a tap into the block where the starter is attached. It was close quarters and in my infinite wisdom put enough side load on the tap that it broke off about a half inch into the block I figured I was screwed, gonna have to pull the motor and use the torch to blow it out. My wife says "why don't you call Jerry down the street and see if he'd look at it before you go to all that work"? I called him, he couldn't come for a little while so I went on the HAMB and someone suggested melting a crayon into the tap, the hole was open so I shoved a crayon in from the top, got the torch with a fine tip and heated the broken 3/8" tap for a bit. I had two scribes, stuck them in the opposing flutes, put a tiny crescent wrench tight as I could on them, at first nothing moved...then it backed right out. Just another way that might work for someone else.
I also use Tap Magic, I also have a set of Wilton Tap Extractors. They work pretty well for relieving that I’m so screwed feeling! Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Tapping requires a certain feel. When problems arise, its best to tap maybe a 1/4 to 1/2 turn and then back the tap up so you break the chip. If you feel a lot of resistance, turn forward just enough that you feel it begin cutting again.....just a little. Then back it up again till you feel the chip break. If it still fights against turning back freely, go forward again so you cut a little (1/8 turn) then back it again. Once you clear the chip do a normal 1/2 (to 1 turn) and back it up again. Not all threads fight with you, but clearing the chip really helps keep from jambing a tap. Some threads just walk right thru, but others don't and keeping the chip small helps a lot. Try a test hole and see. Think of it like a chip coming off a lathe. The lathe can peel a long chip, so the machinist disengages the feed momentarily and the chip breaks.
Truck doctor, I was just going to mention the broken tap extractors. I was beginning to think I was the only person here that had a set! I have used them several times. Good tool. Bones
Don't use lube for cutting..... Tap Magic does work great. It doesn't take a lot, just wet the hole or the tap. For aluminum, try A-9 . we bought it in 1 gal cans. Aside from tapping and milling, we did a lot of aluminum plate sawing. Seemed to work best when diluted by half with solvent. Just last week I got some of this stuff....seems to work even better than Tap Magic. Some may balk at the cost of these cutting fluids, but when you compare it to what it would cost to have a tap "professionally removed" it's a bargain.
Broke a 12-24 in the roadster door today. Liked only three turns to finish. Had the lube there but didn't use it. Last hole to tap!
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