So i was tapping a hole in a piece of steel, and i ran into a slight problem. I used 30 weight oil for cutting fluid, and got the hole tapped. When i was running the tap back though the fresh threads, it stuck. Now it wont budge and im not gonna take a chance on breaking it. I was thinkin of using a torch to heat the area around the tap to try and ease it out. Any help?
ive had that happen before. torch didnt work for me just made the tap more brittle. i would up breaking my tap. and drilling it out . before you break it off , try to just move it a slight amount back and forth. using penetrating oil.
Ive had a tap break and heated the tap cherry red and then redrilled and retapped .I thought this thread was about a stuck keg tap and you needed the tap for another keg ,Damn Im confused .....
If you can't get it to move at all, in or out. Get somebody with a big plasma cutter and a steady hand to burn the center out. Then you can pick the sides out.
Hey, has the tap broken off or just seized in the thread? If broken, can you post a picture of it from the top. Having trained apprentices for years, and being in the trade myself for 30 of em, I've removed my share of busted and siezed taps. What's it in, blind or thru hole, etc. etc. What material? What size thread? I've always started with the simplest way of removing and worked up to the "EDM tap remover" method as a last resort. Try this. Get a piece of thin stiff wire, a small drill, or a scriber if it will fit, & poke it (rub it) down the tap along the back side of the flutes. There might be some shit in there that has caused it to jam. Then try screwing it back in a bit. If it won't move, you're buggered!
I changed my mind ,Run it back in ,and then try to take it out ,JUST LITTLE TURNS THOUGH HEAT BRAKES BOLTS AND TAPS .They can twist a fair amount .Good luck...
How you proceed depends on what object you are tapping. If it doesn't matter, break off the tap, hammer it out and start again. This simple, stupid thing has worked for me lots of times. If it is a high value part and you used a dull tap with improper tap fluid.........well, you need to re-evaluate your situation. Sometimes it is the simple shitz that works............spray that tap with Liquid Wrench. This has been a huge problem solver for me thoughout the years.
Don't heat it! It will lose it's temper (hardness) and then it (will) break. You need to give us more info as stated above size, 3 flute, 4 flute, bottom tap, starter tap, fine thread, course thread? What's the material you are tapping? Then maybe we can help you out.
In this case you would want to freeze it, shrink the metal in the base part and shrink the tap, same as a press in stud, can you put it in the freezer? By me you could park it out side for an hour.
Get a can of Tap Magic, smells like cinnamon. Soak it down and run the tap back into the hole. You will have to go down a little and back out a little. It a process of down a little and out a little in small increments. Patience is KING !! >>>>.
its a 4 flute tap, 1/2 - 20 thread. Im tapping the holes on the crank flange of a motor so i can bolt a flywheel up to it.
If the crank is out of the motor, worst case, it can be set up in a milling machine, to drill the tap out. Done it before, with a Carbide drill. Done correctly, it won't touch the threads.
Yup Patience Grasshopper Patience. If you go too fast it will be FUBAR! (Fucked up beyond all recognition).
try turning the tap all the way back in. blow out the hole with compressed air, then spray some penetrating oil on it and back out. If you tapped the hole in one shot (meaning you just kept turning the tap in, not 3/4 in, 1/4 out, 3/4 in...) then there is a good chance that the longer chip has just bound up the tap
The only way i have seen it work very well would be solid carbide drill in a mill with a rigid set up.Then use the threaded stop so slowly increment the feed down.Would also have an air blast going to remove the chips as the tap breaks up.Most times its quicker and less destructive if you can get the part in an edm machine.I would do it for free if you take care of the shipping.
Freeze it, colder the better, then go at it right away. Don't have a freezer, use a fire extinquisher.
I was thinking the same thing. Try some P.B. Blaster after the compressed air and poking with a wire to free up all the chips.
as dumb as it may sound, you might try a can of computer keyboard spray turned upside down with the extension on the nozzle (think wd-40 like) and aim it at the tap. it comes out freezing cold. Just a thought
FYI: Next time use two flute taps on steel and 4 flute taps on softer materials. Two flute taps can handle more torque before breaking. Justin
Yes, a tapping 101 thread would be a good idea. Always use a tapping fluid like tap magic. That wonderful smell is a higher content of lubricating minerals. They get in between the cutting edge and the metal. You are cutting with the sulfur or zinc or whatever they put in there, and not with the actual tap. Think solid lifter cam and zddp. I generally never cut more than half a turn at a time unless I'm going into plastic. Also, don't be fooled into thinking that this doesn't apply to aluminum and other soft metals. They tend to gall much more that steel or iron, and proper lubrication is really important.
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